Albert Makashov
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Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...
Albert Mikhailovich Makashov (; born 12 June 1938) is a Russian officer and a
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
-
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
politician.


Biography

Makashov was born in Levaya Rossosh,
Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...
. He graduated from the Tashkent Higher Combined Arms Command School, finished the M. V. Frunze Military Academy (with the gold medal), and the General Staff Academy (with the gold medal) during the 1960s. He became major general of the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
in 1979, serving in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
region. In 1989, Makashov was elected to the
Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...
. He ran in the 1991 presidential election as an "independent nationalist", obtaining 3.74%. He then supported the Soviet coup d'état attempt that took place later in the same year. During the October crisis of 1993 he was in charge of the defense of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. He organized a people army which, on 3 October, stormed the police cordons, seized the Moscow Mayor's office and attempted to seize the
Ostankino Tower Ostankino Tower () is a television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia, owned by the Moscow branch of unitary enterprise Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network. Standing , it was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. , it is the tallest free-standin ...
. After the rebellion was suppressed, Makashov and a number of other opposition figures were arrested. After the imprisonment and amnesty in 1994, he was elected a deputy to the
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
as a member of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; ) is a communist political party in Russia that officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist philosophy. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after United Russia. The youth o ...
(since 1995).


1991 presidential campaign

Makashov ran in the
1991 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on 12 June 1991.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1642 This was the first ever Russian presidential ele ...
. His running mate was Alexey Sergeyev (who had originally been running for president himself). Having made a name for himself after strongly attacking
perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
at the 1990 RSFSR Party Congress, calls for Mashakov to run for president arose in mid-May. Demonstrators at a May 10, 1991 pro-
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
demonstration in Moscow organized by the conservative movement Yedinstvo were reported by the media to have called for Mashakov to run. Several military units in Central Russia endorsed him as a candidate. On May 14, 1991, Makashov announced that he would run for president. Makashov declared his goal as president would be to preserve Russia as a power by insuring that it be strong and wealthy. He promised that would fight for the preservation of a strong Soviet Union and its armed forces. He also promised that to restore law and order to Russian society. He opposed the privatization of Russian industries, arguing that enterprises should instead be placed under the control of worker collectives. He additionally proposed changing the RSFSR's political system so that its parliament and its local soviets would be elected by workers' collectives rather than through popular elections. Considered to be a hard-liner, during his campaign Makashov publicly exchanged heated debate with reformers such as Aleksandr Yakovlev. He also attacked liberal media, accusing them of distributing anti-military propaganda. Makashov's campaign politics were characterized as neo-
Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...
. He was considered to be a military zealot. Mashakov's campaign appealed to a core base of neo-Stalinists. His candidacy received the backing of neo-Stalinist Nina Andreyeva. Two of the groups which Makashov intended to focus on getting the votes of were military personnel and "patriotic" Russians. A third group he intended to focus on were members of the workforce who were worried by Yeltsin's economic proposals. In order to appeal to this third group, Makashov's campaign repeatedly referenced "social defense" in the transition to a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...
.


Accusations of antisemitism

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
associations and a number of commentators have accused Makashov of being
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. According to a report produced by the Anti-Defamation League and the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, Makashov "has become infamous worldwide for his anti-Semitic outbursts blaming Jews for the country's economic problems, and advocating the establishment of a quota on the number of Jews allowed in Russia." '' The Jewish Week'' stated that Makashov "has long revelled in unabashed anti-Jewish rhetoric". Makashov was accused of appearing on TV to "advocate the extinction of the ' Zhyds', and he promised to take at least 10 Zhyds with him into the next world." According to Alexander Saley, a communist deputy from
Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...
and ally of Makashov, "He was misquoted. ewas quite specific in addressing specific people but the media put it in a more general way. Among Makashov's closest friends are quite a few Jews." After the general's call for expulsion of all Jews at a public meeting in 1999, there were attempts to prosecute him for
hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
; the newspaper ''
Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
'' ran an article about him named "Makashov — Zoological Antisemite". David Duke, who visited
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in 1999, met Makashov and expressed his support for the General. Makashov was among the signatories of the " Letter of 5000", which was described as "an appeal to the prosecutor general urging him to review the activity of all Jewish organizations in Russia due to their alleged
extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...
" against non-Jews. The
open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
was published in January 2005 in '' Rus Pravoslavnaya'', a
Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
newspaper. Amongst the 500 signatures, Makashov was among 19 members of the State Duma (five from the Communist Party, and 14 from the Rodina Party). Makashov defended the letter in an appearance on a televised debate show hosted by Vladimir Solovyov on 3 February 2005; 53 percent of the more than 100,000 viewers who called the station maintained that Makashov got the better of his debate opponent—
Alexei Leonov Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. (30 May 1934 – 11 October 2019) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut and aviator, Soviet Air Forces, Air Force major general, writer, and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first person to conduct a Extravehic ...
— who denounced Makashov for ethnic incitement.


References


Further reading

* * * Ostrovsky, Alexander (2014)
Расстрел «Белого дома». Чёрный октябрь 1993 (The shooting of the "White House". Black October 1993)
— М.: «Книжный мир», 2014. — 640 с. ISBN 978-5-8041-0637-0 *


External links



at Our Campaigns
Biography
on '' Lebedev.com'' (in Russian)
Parliamentary page
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Makashov, Albert 1938 births Living people People from Voronezh Oblast Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Communist Party of the Russian Federation members Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Second convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Russian nationalists Soviet colonel generals People of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt Makashov Defenders of the White House (1993) Antisemitism in Russia Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Neo-Stalinists Tashkent Higher All-Arms Command School alumni Deputy defence ministers of Russia