Soviet Chemist Launches Appeal Against Anti-Semitism

People's Deputy Vitali Goldanski, a leading scientist and politician, steps up campaign against Russian 'monarcho-Nazis'. Extending his involvement in the politics of his troubled country, Soviet chemist Vitali Goldanski has launched an international appeal warning of the rise of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. Goldanski, director of the Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics and a member of the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies, wrote in January to his foreign colleagues about a new "monarcho-fascist" movement that has developed in his country under the guise of Russian nationalism. This concern was heightened by an incident on January 18, when several men entered the Moscow House of Writers and roughed up people there, while shouting anti-Semitic slogans and waving anti-Semitic banners. Police did not respond to the attack for 45 minutes and made no arrests. [Editor's note: Following are excerpts from Goldanski's letter, which has been edited for clarity by The Scientist.] The supporters of Gorbachev's perestroika are increasingly alarmed by the possibility of its imminent wreck, which would bring innumerable disasters onto the whole of humanity. In this short appeal and warning addressed to the world scientific community and all people of good will, we won't touch in detail all the difficulties facing perestroika. Our present task is limited to stressing that one of the most obvious results of perestroika's failure would be dramatic and even tragic consequences for the Jewish population of the USSR. . . . Among the forces that have sown mutual hatred and led the country to civil war and bloodshed, the strongest, fastest growing, and most populous are the Russian monarcho-Nazis. They call themselves by different names and have recently consolidated themselves into the "Bloc of Social-Patriotic Movements of Russia." The name "monarcho-Nazis" (or "monarcho-fascists") seems to be most proper for these forces, because their program combines deep reverence for the autocratic and tsarist Russian Empire with a ferocious hatred of the Jews. They openly and widely condemn the Jews as the principal (if not the only) culprits for Russia's misfortunes, from the October Revolution of 1917 to the present day. . . . Jews are even accused of participating in ritual murders and a worldwide conspiracy against humanity. . . . Unfortunately, the monarcho-Nazis have apparently met no opposition, but rather sympathy and connivance, from important representatives of the party and the Soviet leadership. Indeed, in the platform of the Soviet Communist Party on ethnic problems published in August 1989 not a single word was said about the anti-Semitic campaign against so-called cosmopolites waged in 1949, the shooting of leading Jewish writers and artists in 1952, nor the disgraceful [fabrication] of the "Doctors' Plot" [against Stalin] in 1953, while many other crimes of the Stalinist era against other Soviet nationalities were scrupulously mentioned. The appeal of more than 200 People's Deputies of the USSR to the Presidium of the First Session of the Congress of People's Deputies in June 1989, which expressed concern about "the growing wave of anti-Semitic activities, including open calls for violence that can lead to irretrievable consequences," remained unanswered. Also unanswered was the September letter of 10 distinguished Soviet scientists to Gorbachev. . . . Russian monarcho-Nazis count on either decisively influencing Gorbachev's policy or removing him and completely seizing power. What would that mean for Jewish people in the USSR? The example of Hitler's Germany is too well known. Following the Nazis, Russian monarcho-Nazis already possess their SA-like and SS-like stormgroups, connected to the Pamyat movement. These stormgroups don't hide their pogrom intentions. . . . Those newcomers who want to join Pamyat must prove their racial purity and, in addition, provide home addresses of Jewish people, for future violence. . . . The world should know of the names of the followers and the innovators of Hitler's traditions and should learn about their activities and intentions. The mass media, the publishers of newspapers, journals, and books can and should play an important part. . . . There are now two kinds of publications in the USSR: those of the monarcho-Nazis themselves and those of the progressive intelligentsia, which has disclosed the neo-Nazis' vileness and criminality. It would be important to translate selected materials of both types into English (and other languages) and to systematically publish collections of such materials, perhaps in the form of monthly magazines or bulletins. Besides the importance of these collections in forming public opinion, they will also arrange unusual feedback for Soviet leaders. These publications could support them if they are willing to fight the monarcho-Nazis, or denounce these leaders if they expose themselves as Nazi sympathizers and supporters. Academician Vitali I. Goldanski People's Deputy of the USSR In his letter, Goldanski, who is Jewish, condemned the Communist Party's "sympathy and connivance" with such groups. He added that the party has not spoken out about the long Soviet history of anti-Semitism, despite its recent declarations about the country's other ethnic problems, and warned of the possibility of anti-Jewish pogroms in the near-future. As chairman of the Soviet chapter of the Pugwash group, a 33-year-old informal organization of scientists dedicated to world peace, Goldanski addressed his appeal to other Pugwash members. At the last Pugwash Conference in Cambridge, Mass., in July 1989, scientists adopted a resolution supporting perestroika. Goldanski wrote that the failure of perestroika - bringing a collapse in the economy and further aggravating ethnic tensions - could be a tragedy for Soviet Jews. His parliamentary group has been among the leading properestroika forces in the Soviet Union, voicing concern that Gorbachev's reforms won't go far enough (The Scientist, Feb. 19, 1990, page 15). The group has also spoken out about problems facing other non-Russian minorities. Pugwash chairman John Holdren, a professor of energy and resources at the University of California, Berkeley, has responded to Goldanski's appeal with a letter-writing campaign to his scientific colleagues and the press. He met with members of the Washington Post editorial board last month. However, without a meeting of its executive board scheduled soon, it may be some time before Pugwash officially responds. Holdren is hoping to use fax and other electronic means to hammer out a "strong" executive board statement without requiring a meeting. Holdren is aware that Goldanski's appeal could draw Pugwash into Soviet political battles, but says, "There is a long-standing interaction between U.S. and Soviet scientists over human rights. It's not a new thing. When you see something as ugly as the resurgence of anti-Semitism, it's no longer a Russian internal problem." Goldanski's appeal followed a September 1989 letter from the chemist and nine other distinguished Soviet scientists, who urged President Mikhail Gorbachev to take measures to "guarantee Jews safe residence in the USSR, unpoisoned by streams of racial insults, vandalistic destruction of graveyards, and direct threats of pogroms."

Soviet Chemist Launches Appeal Against Anti-Semitism

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