The end of Soviet power in St Petersburg: An insider's view

Through a Glass Darkly: Investigating the St Petersburg Administration

“…Although he came to prominence as a proponent of civil rights and leader of the Democratic bloc on the city Soviet, and continued to play a leading role in the arguments over the Federal constitution, his instincts as an executive were autocratic. By the time the previous city council (the Petrosoviet) was annulled in 1993, he was known as 'the worst enemy of the deputies' (Vinnikov, 1994(Vinnikov, : 1224. His autocratic style would tell against him in the elections of May/June 1996 when, despite financial inducements to the local press, he was ousted by his deputy.…”

“…Between spring 1990 and the election of a city soviet with a majority of democrats, and its termination in October 1993 after opposing Yeltsin's abolition of Parliament, the city experienced democratic rule. Although the unwieldiness of the Soviet with its 380 deputies was partially resolved by the adoption of a 'Small Soviet' system in which a small committee of 35 managed the agenda, it 'transformed the City soviet from an institution that represented city residents into a very extensive administrative apparatus manipulated by a small group of insiders' (Vinnikov, 1994(Vinnikov, : 1224. He and Campbell discuss the indecisiveness of the democrats in this period, the latter quoting Sobchak who (after a year as chair of the City Soviet's meetings) concluded that 'There are as many political parties as there are deputies and factions are temporary and blurred, there is no order.…”

Transformation of Local Power Elites: the Institutionalization of Social Movements in St Petersburg

“…However, their actions would only cause even greater discontent among the deputies. The antagonism between those who presided over the session and the rest of the deputies was so strong that the co-chairmen had to be elected practically every day, and sometimes even several times on the same day (Vinnikov, 1994(Vinnikov, : 1216.…”