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Article: At the moment of creation. (split of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union may mark the beginning of a multi-party political system)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 25, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Political power in the Soviet Union is like matter at the beginning of the universe. The dense mass known as the Communist Party is splitting into a bewildering variety of elements. Our Moscow correspondent offers a cosmic guide
THE drag of tradition may yet cause the Soviet Union's big bang to collapse back on itself But through the confusion, the outline of a multi-party system can already be picked out.
There are two key distinctions. One is between "centralisers" and "regionalists": those who want control to remain in Moscow and those who want it to spread down to republics and localities. The other is between "authoritarians" and "democrats", the ...