By Rachel Katz
SPECIAL TO THE ST PETERSBURG TIMES
Barely 12 hours after facing his first election defeat, Mayor Anatoly Sobchak tossed the gauntlet to his successor, promising to create a structured force for democratic opposition and strengthen democratic development in the city he governed for the past five years.
"I want to create an organized democratic opposition that can be offered to the city by the two serious political structures that have the potential to become [political] parties," he said, looking composed in his first press appearance after his defeat by First Deputy Mayor Vladimir Yakovlev.
In his term as mayor, Sobchak consistently put himself and St Petersburg forward as leaders in the long trek to democracy that began with the country's first free elections in 1991. Yet as Sobchak strove to make the city a point on the business and cultural map of the world, many of his constituents argued that he lost touch with the day-to-day situations faced by his voters, leaving him vulnerable to their ballots.
"Democracy is messy," said Richard Torrence, who worked as an adviser to Sobchak on international projects. "I feel bad that he doesn't have a chance to continue in a job that he wanted to continue. On the other hand, maybe it was time for a change, and that's what the voters said."
Sobchak's acceptance of this loss of confidence was evident in a single gesture as he watched results scroll across the television screen in his office at the Mariinsky Palace. Standing with his arms folded across the red sweater he had donned under his brown sports jacket, the mayor waited until the announcer wrapped up the latest figures and then nodded, letting escape a smile that seemed to indicate that, deep down inside, he knew it was coming. Around him, supporters quietly consoled themselves with the Russian, "Yescho ne vecher" - the evening is still young.
Retiring into the inner sanctum of his office, but leaving the doors open, he continued to chat in a relaxed manner with his remaining deputies. When the last of the results failed to close the gap between the mayor and his opponent, the doors silently closed as the few journalists gathered in the area were quietly asked to return to the press center.
The disappointment among his aides was more outspoken.
"It's a real pity for the city," sighed Lyudmila Fomicheva, Sobchak's press secretary. "He was a worthy mayor."
Sobchak showed no signs of anger or sorrow as he watched power slip away from him Sunday night.
Accepting defeat Monday, the mayor warned his successor that Sunday's victory was only the first step.
"I am sure that [Yakovlev's] so-called coalition government will be unable to significantly please the various moods of the electorate," said Sobchak. "I think this is a struggle worth fighting, and I don't plan on stopping my struggle or political activities." Under no circumstances, he added, would he consider joining the new government.
Despite this challenge, Sobchak's relaxed composure seemed to indicate his acceptance of the results of the democratic process. Gone were the accusations of Communist support for his opponent, as well as references to the insidious "hand of Moscow" ready to impose its will on the unsuspecting city that had plunged the campaign into a venomous war of accusations.
"When I began my campaign, I said the most important thing is to make sure the city has a legally-elected governor before the June 16 election, and, if that comes about, a peaceful transfer of power in our city," he said.
"I feel that this is an inalienable part of the democratic development of our country, without which it is impossible to provide either a legal governing system of further development of the country."
The only harsh words for his constituents were aimed at the 56 percent who failed vote. "Unfortunately, some people believe their own personal problems are more important and pressing than concern for the city,," he said.
Several members of Sobchak's government, who are expected to hand in their resignations as accorded by Russian law, indicated their reluctance to enter the new government.
But if Sobchak's announcement Monday is any indication, he's not likely to disappear from sight.
"Sobchak should celebrate these results because he really is bigger than the post of mayor of St Petersburg," said Torrence. "He really is a figure who has stood for democracy."