ARLES By BEN SWANKEY “‘What is your city soviet in charge of?’ I asked. **Everything!”’ he replied with a smile. I smiled too. I thought he was kidding, or perhaps just an over-worked public official. But he was quite serious, as it turned out, and also quite right. (Soviet translates as council). The conversation took place in Baku, a city of 1.5 million, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the Soviet Union. The city is on the shores of the Caspian Sea, an inland sea bordering on Iran. I was a long way from home, 11 time zones from Vancouver. I was interviewing Gabib Sadikh ogly Fataliev, the young and energetic vice- chairman of the Baku City Soviet. (The chairman of the City Soviet is the equiva- lent of a mayor in a Canadian city, so the man I interviewed would be the equiva- lent of a vice-mayor if we had such a position.) The time was in 1979; I was holidaying in the Soviet Union and I thought I would take advantage of my trip to learn a bit more about how their city councils function. I requested an interview with an alderman; they went one better and arranged for me to see the vice-chairman. The week before that I had the plea- sure of interviewing Vershkov Dmitry Dementjevich, the chairman of the Yalta town Soviet. Yalta is a town (we would call it a city) on the Black Sea, a summer and tourist resort. Its normal population is about 60,000 but it swells to double that during the summer holiday season. Here are some of the things I learned in these two interviews, supplemented by some research of my own on the subject. But before comparing the similarities and noting the differences between a city soviet in the Soviet Union and a city council in Canada it is necessary, even if briefly, to re-state the fundamental dif- ferences between Soviet society and Canadian society. The first is that in the Soviet Union the economy is under public and cooperative ownership, not under the control of pri- vate corporations as in our own country. Secondly, the Soviet economy is geared to serve the national interest and the economic well-being of its people. Its purpose is not the production of profit for private individuals or corporations, as in . Canada. Third, all growth and development in the Soviet Union is based on planning, starting with Five-Year Plans that en- compass the whole country and, extend- ing right down to Five-Year Plans for each state, region, city, town, and rural area. How City Soviets Are Elected What is the composition of city soviets: and how are they elected? They are elected by secret ballot. All citizens 18 years of age and over may vote. Elections are preceded by a wide- spread public airing of issues. This applies also to the qualifications or short- comings of candidates. This is done through the media and in public gather- ings at no expense to the candidates or the organizations participating. The elected deputies come from all walks of life; the majority are usually workers. About half are women. About half of them are also members of the Communist Party. One interesting practice is the frequent change of deputies. In most elections about half are newcomers; apparently the feeling is that the job should be pas- sed around and as many people as possi- ble should have the experience of being in government. The term of office is two or two and one-half years. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOV. 7, 1980—Page 6 CiTl IN THE SOVIET UNION PHOTOS — NOVOSTI Ameeting of a committee of the Moscow Soviet. Most government meetings are televised in the Soviet Union to keep citizens better informed. The number of deputies depends upon the population. The Baku City Soviet has 600 de- puties, one for every 5,200 people. The Baku Regional Soviet has 2,000 deputies, one for every 10,000 people. To decen- tralize government and bring it closer to the people, the city is divided into 10 administrative regions. The right of recall exists; any deputy who doesn’t perform can be recalled and replaced. In fact 4,000 deputies have been recalled for neglecting their duties over the past 10 years. This is not a large number however considering more than 20 million deputies were elected during this period. The percentage of the population that turns out to vote is extremely high — almost 100%. Responsibilities of City Soviets What are the responsibilities of city soviets? The vice-chairman of the Baku City Soviet was right on when he told me, “‘Everything’’. In general, city soviets appear to be responsible for everything that happens within their boundaries, although many of these responsibilities are shared with senior governments. They guide all as- pects of the city’s economic, cultural, and social life. Each city, for instance, has its own Five-Year Plan, which is integrated with the Five-Year Plans of the state and the Union as a whole. All growth and development, all major changes in the city’s life, are included in these five-year plans and city soviets have a respon- sibility to see that they are fulfilled. Specifically, city soviets are in charge of: consumer industries in their area; all land and its use; housing construction; public utilities — water, gas electricity, etc.; law and order; hospitals.and clinics, medical care; general education schools; child care facilities; retail stores and shops; libraries, museums, cinemas; parks, recreational facilities; transporta- tion. Executive Committees The number of deputies in a city soviet often runs into the hundreds. It becomes, in effect, a mini parliament. To facilitate its work, the city soviet elects an executive committee which functions something like a cabinet in our ‘form of provincial or federal govern- ment. One decisive difference, however, is that the executive committee is much more accountable to the Soviet which elected it. The executive committee in the Baku City Soviet has 13 members. Then the whole city soviet is divided into commissions. We would call them permanent standing committees. They include a wide variety such as finance, housing, utilities, retail trade, planning, education, health, housing, building, industry, and so on. In the big cities there are as many as 15 such commissions, or even more; in the smaller soviets perhaps seven to nine. The Baku City Soviet has 17 commis- sions. Every one of its 600 members is on one or more commissions. The Electors’ Mandate: The Electors’ Mandate is one of the most interesting and innovative features of the Soviet electoral system. Here in Canada at election time we usually think in terms of election plat- forms and election promises by political parties and candidates. In the Soviet Union it’s the other way around. There the electors get together and draw up lists of the things they want done. These are then presented to the candidates at pub- lic meetings, as well as to the soviets after they are elected... % Entrance to the Moscow subway. Run by the Moscow Soviet, services are constantly expanding but fares haven't gone up since 1933. In fact, you can ride on most intercity transit in the Soviet Union for about five cents. g + tai” The Soviet consitution requires that these mandates be acted on by the elected soviets. Article 102 states: ‘Electors give mandates to their De- puties. The appropriate Soviet of People’s Deputies shall examine elec tors’ mandates, take them into accountin drafting economic and social plans andin drawing up the budget, organize imple- mentation of mandates, and inform cit- zens about it,”’ It is the personal responsibility of the elected deputy to see that the mandate adopted by his electors is taken up by thé soviet of which he is a member and ac on. He must also report back frequently to the voters on progress being made t0 implement the mandate. Budget of City Soviets © Every city soviet operates on @ budget, of course, as do our Canadian city councils. But there is a significant difference aS to where the revenues are derived. In — city soviets, the main source of revenue is from the economy, from industry. This accounts for 80% to 90% of the city $ revenues. The balance is raised by taxes on the population, taxes such as income tax, 4 tax on bachelors and a tax on marti without children. The city soviet budgets are quite large. Baku, for example, has a budget of 300 million roubles. That’s about $550 mil- — lion in Canadian money. 3 Another distinguishing mark of Soviet city budgets is that they are balanced budgets. They don’t usually borrow money to carry on; they haven't the problem of paying interest and princi on loans as have most Canadian cities. But even if they did, it wouldn’t be a big item. Interest rates in the Soviet Union . on loans are one to two per cent. Involvement of the People City soviets give much attention to in-— volving the citizens in municip government. ~ One way this is done is through the establishment of street committees (resi- dents who live on a specified street); pa- tents’ committees, women’s councils, and so on, which work closely with the city soviets. Also the city soviets maintain a very close relationship with public organiza- tions such as the trade unions, cultural and sports associations, women’s youth organizations, where not only are ideas exchanged but these organizations are involved in carrying out of city soviet decisions. Then there are what are called People’s Control bodies. These are groups elected at places of work — industry, offices, etc. They include ordi- nary citizens, members of public - organizations, as well as elected public Officials. Their job is to check up on the fulfillment of plans, to play a watch-dog role on the functioning of bureaucracy © and generally to see that government — functions in the interests of the people and that the people also observe their responsibilities. These People’s Control bodies have access to the media in all its forms, and their decisions and recommendations are binding. Even local government must . carry them out. Ben Swankey is a B.C. labor journal- ist, lecturer and author. He is associated — with the municipal alliance, the Commit- tee of Progressive Electors-in Van- couver. His articles and pamphlets on Canada’s Native peoples have. been widely published. His newest pamphlet on Native land claims will be released by Progress Books this month.