AFPThree hungry men, one missing his lower legs, might not look dangerous, but these are no ordinary men and they would like to bring down Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government.
After oligarchs, Communists, liberals and pensioners, these three hunger strikers represent Putin’s latest and perhaps least likely opponents: decorated “Heroes” of Russia or the Soviet Union who have resorted to a hunger strike.
Like many other groups, the “Heroes” are infuriated at Putin’s attempt to modernize social benefits by scrapping Soviet-era perks such as the right to free transport and medicine in exchange for limited sums of money that can be spent however the recipient chooses.
So three weeks ago a group of them started a hunger strike, which they have decided to bring to an end Tuesday.
“The government says we’ll take away your special rights and give you compensation,” said Valery Burkov, 48, who lost his legs to a landmine in 1984 while fighting for the Soviet armed forces in Afghanistan.
“We believe the perquisites were always a way of thanks for our sacrifices. To call it compensation, rather than thanks, then to tell us to get lost — we think that is insulting.”
In January, tens of thousands of pensioners took to the streets to protest against the social benefit reforms, prompting talk of a “grey revolution.” Now there are the first signs of a “Heroes’ revolution.”
There are only just under 1,000 decorated “Heroes” in the whole country, but their tiny gold stars and red ribbons, awarded for supreme bravery make them a potent symbol of discontent.
After 17 days of surviving only on water, Burkov rested with his two comrades — test pilot Oleg Shepitkov, 51, and Soviet-era miner Yury Rakhmanov, 67 — on a mattress on the floor of a north-west Moscow room.
Another five “Heroes” - a space program tester, three more test pilots and an Afghan war veteran — have done stints of several days. Another — a veteran of Russia’s modern anti-guerrilla war in Chechnya — is about to join in the hunger strike.
Staying active and taking occasional Russian saunas keeps them healthy, the hunger strikers say.
The mostly state-controlled media barely pays attention, but passion for their cause makes them resolute.
“Never could I have imagined that I, a Hero of the Soviet Union, would be on hunger strike,” Rakhmanov said with quiet fury. “It’s hard even to talk about.”
In Burkov’s eyes, Putin’s government “spits on the law”.
The president signed Sunday an apparent concession in which “Heroes” will be allowed to pick between taking monetary compensation or keeping traditional automatic perks.
But “in reality, the perquisites are no longer recognised everywhere. Our Heroes find themselves thrown off buses because their passes have not been recognised,” Burkov said.
Perhaps most significantly, the issue for these men goes far beyond what money they receive.
“There is an extreme lack of civility in the way the authorities treat citizens,” Burkov said.
“How can I be proud of a country where the academics are out of work, the pensioners fight with riot police and veterans, who defended the country, are so poor?”
These are sentiments echoed by a still small, but growing and diverse coalition of anti-Putin forces: everything from the pro-Western Yabloko liberals to the radical National Bolsheviks.
As is Burkov’s angry vow: “we should do everything to bring down such a government.” http://www.mosnews.com/column/2005/07/25/heroesrevolution.shtml a
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