Word: nomenklatura
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...revolutionary heyday, it did a lot more. The voice it offered to all, in participatory arenas large and small. A "soviet" was a democratic forum more like a town meeting than anything else, back before it became sysonymous with gerontocracy, corruption and the nomenklatura. Factory meetings, cooperative meetings, production meetings, even artists' meetings. When we think of the Soviet avant-garde of the early twenties, we must remember that it was the massive unleashing of human potential that drove the arts forward. Marx's dream wasn't becoming a reality, but it was becoming less ludicrous...
...line is allegiance to the Communist Party. All top officers belonged to the party, while a network of loyalty officers ensures political orthodoxy throughout the ranks. The coup "wasn't the army as such in revolt," says Stephen Meyer, a Soviet expert at M.I.T. "It was the tired old nomenklatura, the party figures in the army." In his first act as defense minister, Shaposhnikov resigned from the party and, on the basis of a decree issued by Yeltsin, ordered its cells banished from the barracks. The generals must also accept firmer control from the Supreme Soviet, whose members have shown...
...after lobbying by church officials, the government introduced optional religious instruction in schools by administrative fiat rather than parliamentary vote. A poll released last week shows that the church is perceived as the single most powerful national institution, stronger than the government, the presidency, the military, the old communist nomenklatura and even Solidarity. The church's ascendancy has left many Poles uneasily wondering whether their country might someday be transformed into a clerical state, ruling in accordance with the dicta of Pope John Paul II (who makes his fourth papal visit to his native country next month...
...elections, and all have pledged to abandon command economies for the free market. But while small-scale capitalism is beginning to take root, no country has yet attempted to privatize the thousands of large-scale industries in the portfolios of state- owned business. In some countries an entrenched communist nomenklatura is hanging on to as much economic power as it can; in others, both government and opposition are so riven by disagreements that day-to-day administration seems to be coming apart. Says George Karasimeonov, a political science professor at Sofia University: "We have experienced the birth of democracy...
This does not mean Politburo members will soon be seen in the food queues. According to officials familiar with the new party platform, the Central Committee recommended that party benefits be transferred to holders of government posts, most of whom are at present members of the nomenklatura. Communist officials who founder at the polls in future elections, however, will, at least in theory, find their standard of living much diminished...