MOSCOW: The good news is that Russia's parliamentary elections took place. Just three or four months ago it seemed that they would be postponed or cancelled. Russia's legislature – the Duma – has now gained power and a new legitimacy, even if only theoretically. Now it is time for curtailing the vast powers of the presidency. If this can take place without nullification (a big if), legitimately and in time, Russians can hope that today's ineffective, corrupt regime, rejected by almost the entire Russian population, will leave office. Only then will there will be a chance to construct a more effective government, to start rebuilding the state.

Of the elections, they were conducted (and ended) rather strangely. Never before either in Russia or in any other state, insofar as I know, was an election campaign so utterly dirty, with countless formal and factual violations of Russian laws and infringements of democratic norms. Two out of the three most important TV channels (state channels from the formal point of view but are really controlled by the "family" around President Yeltsin, including the family oligarchs like Boris Berezovsky), transmitting across all Russia, almost completely prevented the two main opposition parties -- the Primakov and Luzhkov "Fatherland-All Russia”(OVR) and Yavlinskiy's "Yabloko" from getting their message broadcast.

OVR and its leaders were constantly slandered by these channels. No one bothered about the truth. Primakov was attacked for supposedly taking brides from Saddam Hussein as well as for conspiring with America to overthrow Prime Minister Putin's government. The claims against Luzhkov were even more monstrous . They followed the rule of the BIG LIE: the more preposterous the lie, the more people will believe it.

With frankness and brute force the Kremlin supported three parties: The “Union of Right Forces" led by Boris Nemtzov, Sergei Kiriyenko, and Anatoly Chubais; the ever obedient to the Kremlin mob of Vladimir Zhirinovsky; and "Edinstvo” (meaning Unity or Bear), specially created for the election by Yeltsin's administration. The Kremlin did not criticise the Communist Party this time, as it poses no threat today -- though the idea of a communist threat could be held in reserve just in case the presidential elections go wrong next summer.

"Unity" proved a godsend for Yeltsin and his family. Disoriented by the Kremlin's massive black propaganda, voters, especially the less educated and economically wounded, cast their votes for it, a political bloc without a recognizable face or program.

Government interference in the election process was another characteristic of the elections, though this is something certainly old hat here. Prime Minister Putin used the popularity he gained through his prosecution of the Chechen war to support Unity and the Union of Right Forces. Regional governors, ministers and other federal authorities were instructed to support these parties during the election campaigns as well as when counting the votes. One additional dark feature of this election was the use of anti-western rhetoric by Kremlin supporters who were previously seen as pro-west.

Freedom of speech in Russia was perhaps the most important victim of these elections. The first hints of the usefulness in politics of such an assault were seen during the presidential elections of 1996, when journalists became closely tied to the presidential family, sometimes for a fee but mostly because they remained afraid of the communists. Now we are paying for this self-censorship and contempt for professional ethics, as all media abandoned the truth in order to curry favor with the Kremlin. Formal freedom of the mass media still exists, but only for trivial matters. Touch something important to the rulers, and press freedom evaporates.

Given the unprincipled nature of the elections, no mandate exists upon which the Duma can act. Moreover, because the elected deputies from Unity joined the party for no other purpose but election, their discipline is likely to be scant. It is doubtful that this Duma will be able to pass necessary constitutional reforms aimed at restricting the President's power and making Parliament and the President more accountable. The majority needed for overcoming a presidential veto will be difficult to find, particularly as President Yeltsin (as well as his likely successor) will fight hard to block any restriction of presidential power.

The current lame duck Duma, despite being dominated by communists, became more effective near the end of its tenure. The financial panic of two years ago taught even its most unreconstructed communist members some realism. Now, new and untested men will assemble. We may be back to square one insofar as the Duma is concerned.

Personally, I was among the figures under attack from the Kremlin during the elections. I worked with OVR, the bloc of Primakov and Luzhkov. Perhaps that is why my presentation of the results seems so dismal, where others see the reality as much more optimistic. I wished I could believe in their optimism. But, sad to say, the only hope that I can see is something vaguely Leninist: in Lenin's terminology, if we made two steps backwards, one step was nevertheless made forward. Democracy in Russia has taken a beating. Still, our democracy is alive; it lives on. Given our history in this century, that is a victory.