Читать онлайн "State Secrets: An Insider's Chronicle of the Russian Chemical Weapons Program" - Мирзаянов Вил Султанович - RuLit

A real legal battle broke out around the last two candidates, because they were people from the KGB, though they openly struggled against its anti-national activities. This outraged all the powerful chiefs of the Chekists. It was really obvious from the correspondence between different sections of the KGB.[115]^,[116]^,[117]^,[118]^,[119]^,[120]

The Investigation Department rejected both of them, but one year later Peter Sergeevich Nikulin became the Deputy Chairman of the Commission for the Reorganization of the KGB, and the lives of those who had dismissed him from the expert commission with a mocking reply came to depend on him greatly. What can you say? Sometimes our fate suddenly takes some very sharp and unexpected turns.

Later I met Peter Sergeevich several times at different press conferences. He made a strong impression on me. It was obvious that he was an intelligent and reasoning person, deeply devoted to democratic ideals. This was extremely rare for someone from the KGB. Apparently that was the reason why he, like Kalugin, became such an embarrassment to the old Chekists. As a member of the working group of the Committee on the Problems of Defense and Security at the RF Supreme Soviet, Nikulin gave an interview to the magazine Novoe Vremya in which he broached the fundamental questions of keeping state secrets. He didn’t leave a stone unturned, when it came to the old outdated system of “keeping” secrets, in which each department prepared its own lists of secrets and included in the lists whatever popped into their minds “from the health of the general secretary to the buttons on the soldier’s overcoat.”[121] This system proved to be much worse than simply ineffective, incurring serious losses to the state, on the level of something like 60 billion rubles annually. So, the program “Secret” was developed, which stipulated changes in the regime of secrecy and the preparation of a law about state secrets, on the initiative of the NII (scientific research institute) for Problems of Security of the KGB.

In his interview Nikulin reminded his readers, that on November 29, 1989 he had acted as an expert at a session of the Committee of Constitutional Supervision, and after that all unpublished “sub-legal norms” became invalid.

Nikulin openly criticized the decree Yeltsin signed, which reinstated and made these acts valid again, because this document didn’t take into consideration the changes that had taken place in the country. Many of Nikulin’s statements later became the basis of a law about state secrets, which the Supreme Soviet had adopted shortly before it was dissolved in 1993.

Later I also had a chance to meet General Kalugin. I never managed to have a good talk with him, but his statements in the press and on TV made a strong impression on me. I am certain that he is an outstanding individual.

I think that I was resolute and decisive in my struggle against the hypocritical policy of the leaders of the military-chemical complex, because to a great extent I was influenced by the actions of this courageous and resolute man. Actions of such individuals are precious little seeds that later grow in the minds of thoughtful rational people, encouraging them to take resolute actions against the old system that hinders the democratic development of Russia and prevents it from joining the civilized world community. Academician Georgi Arbatov was not accepted as an expert on the pretext that he already expressed his opinion in his publication.[122]

CHAPTER 18

I am not Alone

Investigator Shkarin faced more and more difficulties, but he recklessly held his line. His objective was to produce the resolution that the Chekists needed from the expert commission. To be honest, I didn’t take it as seriously my lawyer Alexander Asnis did. I didn’t believe that I could be vindicated by the court or the investigation. I felt that only the pressure of public opinion could save me and make the KGB and the authorities retreat.

The press closely followed the progress of my case, and journalists interviewed me practically every day, calling and asking how the investigation was going. This instilled some kind of optimism in me. I still keep a lot of the articles published during that time in my archive.[123]^,[124]^,[125]^,[126]^,[127]^,[128]^,[129]^,[130]^,[131]^,[132]^, [133]^,[134]^,[135]^,[136]^,[137]^,[138]^,[139]^,[140]^,[141]^,[142]^,[143]

In the middle of November, Dr. Vladimir Iakimets, an activist with the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Antinuclear Movement called me and said that his organization was interested in my case and ready to give me some practical help. He also said that the secretary of the U.S. branch of the movement, Gale Colby, had already been working on this. Gale had learned about my case, from an article in the New York Times^143,[144] and from Dr. Frank von Hippel, shortly after my arrest. In early 1993, her friend Irene Goldman joined her in this work. Over the next year and a half, the two women worked long days, tirelessly, privately and at their own expense, meeting people and keeping contact with many American legislators and policy makers, prominent individuals and organizations, committees of scientific organizations and others that protect human rights and support scientists, by phone, e-mail and fax. They kept me posted on how my case was supported and reported abroad. This gave me precious moral support. I can’t put into words what I felt when I found out once again that people abroad were interested in my case, sympathized with me, and conducted various campaigns in my defense.

This is how I found out about the appeal by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. This organization was founded in 1945 by members of the Manhattan Project on the development of the first atom bomb. The objective of this organization was to struggle for peace and universal security. This organization is sponsored by about half of the surviving laureates of the Nobel Prize (45 scientists). In its first address the Federation of American Scientists asked the president of Russia to show generosity and release me from jail. Doctor Jeremy Stone, from the Federation of American Scientists, remarked in his letter to Yeltsin dated October 30, 1992, “Many of our scientists believe that Doctor Mirzayanov acted responsibly.”

Another special statement in the form of a resolution was adopted by the FAS on December 5, 1992—signed by Robert Solow, Nobel Prize laureate for peace, Chairman of the FAS, Doctor Jeremy Stone, President, Doctor Frank von Hippel, Chairman of the FAS Fund, and other scientists. It reads as follows: