Elections, elections...

Kobrin → Outstanding persons → Alexey Mikhaylovich Martynov

From time immemorial different tribes and the people had a procedure of elections of leaders. The extensive range of the chosen positions since ancient times was available in Russia. To take at least the Novgorod posadnik or election of the highest hierarches of orthodox church. In the period of the Time of Troubles the seigniorial thought elected even tsars. And at Peter I many officer positions up to commanders of a division were elective.

Presently the concept of elections usually is associated with active participation of the population in political life of the country by means of election of deputies in members of the central legislature, is equal as in local self-government institutions.

For the first time in Russia the State Duma called by the imperial government in the form of a concession to revolutionary movement of 1905 became electoral legislative institution. The electoral system was very difficult, multistage and deprived of the izbiratelsky rights considerable part of workers and peasants. Women were completely deprived of the izbiratelsky rights. However in this regard Western Europe not much more differed from Russia: there the izbiratelsky rights were granted to women only in the 20th years of the XX century.

All citizens since 18 years take part in the Country of Councils in elections of People's Deputies of different steps. If in the beginning voters were given an opportunity of a genuine choice from several candidates, then subsequently this procedure turned into simple vote for the only candidate.

It should be noted one more characteristic. After a victory of October the population layer consisting of representatives of the former exploiter classes and their families which was deprived of the right of participation not only in public elections, but even to consist members of labor unions and other public organizations. For them there was a specific name "lishenets". Subsequently the category of lishenets considerably changed on social composition and significantly extended for the account "illegally repressed" as now it is accepted to be expressed, wide workers of mass of the city and village whose number was estimated in millions.

After this general review we will tell about some characteristic episodes of the election campaigns which were taking place in the foreseeable past in Kobrin district.

In two decades of domination of bourgeois Poland elections of deputies to legislative chambers – the diet and the senate – occurred each 5 years. For shorter terms local governments – povyatovy seymik were elected (zemstvo) and magistrate (City Council).

Usually election campaign accompanied with fierce fight for voices brought violent turmoil in sleepy daily occurrence. Walls stuck with motley posters and slogans which were stuck or broke competitors at night. Lists about thirty diverse parties and the organizations were offered attention of voters (!). And it – with the population of the city of 11-12 thousand. In a word, it was not necessary to miss!

Was considered quite natural to attract momentary sympathy of voters with obviously impracticable promises and at the same time not to disdain by all means for discredit of opponents.

Quite often it happened that the pre-election meetings of left-wing parties held with the permission of the authorities in the closed halls under different pretexts dispersed police clubs with the subsequent involvement of participants to administrative responsibility. And the most known to a defenziva activists of illegal KPZB during election campaign were just imprisoned "in Pak" for several weeks …

At times selective merrymakings turned for their participants into an unforeseen embarrassment as it happened to the Lviv student by the name of the Boor. It was directed by the candidate from the party of "Selrob" to Kobrin district. To welcome the guest on the next station local activists left. Considering the forthcoming performance before "common people", the Boor took worn clothes, including the crushed boots and the soldier's overcoat which gave types remembering civil war. Having replaced a sound suit with this dress, he was sure that he became "the guy in a board" for Workers' and Peasants' audience. Meanwhile his opponents, having learned about this masquerade, did not fail to use a suitable trump for discredit Hama. After several performances the mocked and catcalled import candidate was forced to go back home.

Ritual of elections was carried out according to a certain scenario. After check according to the list, the next voter was handed the pure envelope certified by the press of election commission. It was possible to enclose in the neighboring room in an envelope digital number of the list for which the vote was given. After that the envelope was handed to the chairman of the commission who lowered it in a ballot box, proclaiming: "The citizen of NN gave a vote". However, it was possible to vote in the last minute before closing. It was not forbidden to evade in general from vote. Usually the percent of the voters boycotting elections was considerable and in different elections hesitated from 20% to 70%.

On the polling precinct the authorized representatives from each list who are watching closely all events were on duty all the time.

After reunion of the West Belarusian lands in the fall of 1939 our fellow citizens repeatedly amicably came from BSSR to ballot boxes. Delegates got out to Belostoksky people's assembly, deputies in the Supreme Council of BSSR and the similar USSR. The radical kobrinets who became meanwhile "Westerners" who remembered the official and solemn atmosphere of polling precincts of the recent past were literally stunned. The "vostochnik" who were completely directing elections allowed the psychological miscalculation, having reduced the serious state act to a low-standard festivity. On polling precincts dancings were started, rollicking songs under an accordion sounded. Buffets worked with the undemanding range of viands – also unseemly invention from the point of view of local population. Though the prestige of Councils as a result of similar elections hardly increased, nevertheless the objectives were achieved completely: the necessary percent of votes were amicably given to the uncompetitive candidate.

In the first post-war years elections of a different rank had the same tiresome character of carefully arranged ceremony. Was to become the only candidate for full confidence enough that the deputy mandate is provided.

Such detail is very indicative: only once in the first post-war elections by our representative in the Supreme Council of the USSR there was a local native, the former activist of KPZB Aleksandra Ivanovna Fedosyuk. In general from mysterious administrative heights to us candidacies prestigious quite often even the main figures, however equally unknown to local population and people alien to its interests were proposed. Among them the colonel general Sunets, the people's artist Varvashenya, the deputy minister of defense Poplavsky and others is remembered. They appeared on a meeting with voters, got acquainted with orders and generally their interest on it came to an end with Kobrin. How here not to compare the French electoral system according to which the candidate for members of parliament surely has to live in radius not over 70 kilometers from the center of the constituency voters though edge of an ear could hear about it.

In several post-war election campaigns I happened to be directly involved as the released secretary of precinct election commissions. Several interesting episodes, enough characteristic of fortieth or fiftieth were remembered.

Before the fact that VS USSR which became the candidate A. Fedosyuk thereby received to some extent the status of the prominent statesman which where it went, the vigilant security guard surely accompanied caused sensation. Apparently, in it in general the mania of suspiciousness of that time affected. On polling precincts the anxious militiamen interrogating repeatedly were whether is not present in lists of such surnames which list all of them refused to leave. It were "lishenets". Among them the surname of our fellow countryman Ignatiy Semenovich Sidoruk, former activist of KPZB running in due time in the Union appeared. There he was arrested and got the due camp penal. After release criminal record "loop" tried to keep step with it for a long time in the form of deprivation of the right to vote.

In general elections on the established custom turned into some ridiculous race. In good time agreed with the conscious people who were firmly promising to be to opening of a site by 6:00. Were interviewed them for the newspaper. On sites school students of the senior classes which in the afternoon dispersed were on duty to push shirking performance of the civic duty. And from 14 o'clock spread on houses where there were sick and aged, representatives with mobile ballot-boxes. It is good still if they were conscientious people and, having stepped into a house threshold, cast the ballot in a ballot box crack, previously having shown it with words: "You look, the grandmother, you voted".

For observance of due decorum the isolated cabins for "ballot" were equipped. At the same time on instructing were instructed to try to obtain that voters in them did not look. In panic possible anti-Soviet inscriptions frightened. In any case – blood from a nose! – necessary percent of votes as voting, and given have to be provided.

And here midnight, vote is ended. The most responsible moment – counting of votes began. And suddenly there was an incident: the ends do not meet with the ends. For the first time the captain who headed the polling precinct taking everything seriously completely became puzzled, walked up and down backwards-forward and constantly muttered: "Let's go with you to prison, Martynov". Fortunately, the chairman of the Executive Committee of the City Soviet of People's Deputies M. G. Kutnyuk checking all sites helped out of trouble. Having conjured over our data, it to everybody's delight fast summed up the necessary result, rescuing the chairman and the secretary from prison.

The chairwoman of other commission to such an extent was fond of obscene in this case socialist competition with the next sites that at 10:00 (data on the percent which voted moved each 2 hours) reported so improbable data in the district commission that for check two pruzhansky colonels from the district commission were. It is possible to imagine position of the unlucky liar who had to get out in every possible way in order to avoid a serious trouble.

The conscious wreckers who are for vote literally in the last minutes came across. Sometimes, reached scandalous scenes when according to lists they already managed to vote.

Still so recently all this was sad reality at which the whole world rightly scoffed. And who will consider harmful consequences of such elections for moral health of society?



Navigation





Our partners