How Abdul-Jalil and MC Hammer HISTORIC “Rap-The-Vote Concert Series” Campaign Strategy Spawned Rise of Vladamir Putin to Power AND Secured Re-Election of Russian President Boris Yeltsin!
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How Abdul-Jalil and MC Hammer HISTORIC “Rap-The-Vote Concert Series” Campaign Strategy Spawned Rise of Vladamir Putin to Power AND Secured Re-Election of Russian President Boris Yeltsin!
This article was written strictly from a WORLD HISTORIC perspective about how our “WORLD ALTERING” Urban-American, western style, political campaign strategy utilizing M. C. Hammer in a “Rap-The-Vote Concert Series” secured the 18-45 voter turnout and the re-election of Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1995 with the “Our Home Is Russia” (NDR), a Russian liberal political party. Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim devised a strategic plan, executive produced, produced, filmed and broadcast on Russian National TV a series of concerts in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and the WORLD. This campaign tactic was their most effective strategy, greatest strength- uniquely different and vastly superior to anything Russia had ever witnessed. This comprehensive, targeted attack with our expertise well grounded in modern focused campaigning strategy, advertising, marketing, and promotions was trumpeted for saving Russian democracy with Yeltsin’s re-election ensuring continuity in the Democratic evolution of Russia and securing world peace. The television programming was so successful that it has regularly run on air since 1995!
This strategy was trumpeted for saving Russian democracy with Yeltsin’s re-election ensuring continuity in the Democratic evolution of Russia and securing world peace.
At the time we began our concerts and campaign events over the weeks in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin was then Deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, organized the St. Petersburg branch of the Party Our Home Is Russia, was it’s Chairman, and led the campaign issue of the party in the elections to the Duma that led to his rise to power and being named President of Russia by Boris Yeltsin.
After our concerts and campaign events over the weeks ending in Moscow, our overwhelmingly positive Polling numbers cemented the campaign an incredible success and this strategy was heralded world wide by political pundits as “incredibly brilliant”, “ a global coup”, “a miraculous event in history”, a “triumph for democratic reform” and “universally invaluable” in it’s effect of being “a savior”, as Yeltsin was the only alternative to guaranteeing the West’s and the World’s political, economic, and military security to carry out their reform agenda.
BUT, with a Western audience in mind, and I must add an important clarification that I do not aim to justify the authoritarian tendency or the confrontational policies undertaken by Russia, EVER. However, a sober conversation about missed opportunities, of what went wrong, requires a scrutinizing evaluation not only of Russian, but also of the rest of the World, including China, North Korea, South America, Israel and the United States.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has been traversing its own, often difficult path toward independent development. The trajectory of the country’s development was mostly determined by internal factors, particularly concerning the balance of power among various sections of the Russian elite.
For Russia, the early 1990s were one of those critical junctures when many paths were open. The politically active section of society defeated a decrepit totalitarian regime, hoping to restore Russia’s full participation in the community of developed states in the global north. In those days, the most pressing question in Russian society appeared to concern identity: Who are we? In searching for an answer, many members of the reformist elite waited for the West to extend a hand in friendship, to offer assistance as equals. Accordingly, many among the Russian elite and society at large answered that question by attempting to reclassify their country as a member of the “first world.” It was the world Andrei Sakharov dreamed that Russia could join, as yesterday’s foe and tomorrow’s friend. That move, they hoped, could lead to Russia’s deeper integration into the West’s political, economic, and security structures, such as the EU, NATO, WHO, Schengen Zone, and the World.
Such a move, had it been successful, would not have prevented a nationalist backlash in subsequent years but might at least have limited it: elites integrated into Western systems would have valued the advantages of their position. And if, regardless of those achievements, Russia’s leaders had still opted for isolationism, then the world would be discussing “Russia’s Brexit” and its departure from the EU. It would not be discussing the invasion of Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, wars in Georgia and Chechnya, and the evisceration of constitutional freedoms in Russia.
“Our Home Is Russia” (NDR) was a Russian liberal political party founded in 1995, existed to 2006, by former Gazprom chairman, then Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. It was a liberal, centrist political movement, founded for the purpose of rallying more technocratic-reformist (right-wing) government supporters. At the time of its founding, Chernomyrdin had the backing of Russian president Boris Yeltsin along with numerous large financial institutions such as Association of Russian Banks, and major companies such as Gazprom, of which he was formerly the chairman.
Viktor Chernomyrdin, served as Russia’s prime minister under then President Boris Yeltsin from 1992 to 1998, a turbulent period of economic hardship and political turmoil as a bankrupted Russia struggled to recreate itself as a democracy after the Soviet collapse, developing as a market economy while throwing off communism and engineered the creation of Gazprom, now the world’s biggest gas company.
The movement attracted the sympathies and interests of many prominent members of the ruling elite of Russia, and NDR was thus nicknamed “the party of power”. It was also known as the party of the Oligarchs, the position previously identified with another political party, Democratic Choice of Russia. Two other parties were interested in cooperating with NDR after its foundation: parts of the Agrarian Party of Russia and Democratic Choice of Russia. Together their platform would promote “freedom, property, and legality”, and would favor such policies as reducing the state’s role in the economy, support for small businesses, privatization of agriculture, military cutbacks and sought “a normal life in Russia” and peace in Chechnya after the First Chechen War. However, after Chernomyrdin’s candidacy for a second term as Prime Minister was in 1998 rejected by the Duma, Our Home – Russia declined the other parties’ bid for cooperation.
Boris Yeltsin wanted to establish a two-party system in 1995 after the American model and advocated the establishment of a center-right and a left- centrist electoral blocs. Yeltsin’s aim was on the one hand to clip the extreme parties on the political fringe, even at the head of the Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov KPRF away from the power. On the other hand, Yeltsin wanted to create functional, loyal and non-ideological parties to consolidate its power and stability of the country.
Recently KPFA Radio DJ Doug Edwards and Gabrielle Wilson hosted a Tribute and Benefit for Khalil Shaheed on “Music of the World”. The event featured testimonials from many of the Nations and Bay Areas top Jazz personalities honoring Shaheed. During the program they aired for the first time the Public Service Announcements featuring the Prospect Sierra 8th Grade Students and their teacher Bert Kessler. Bert begins the PSA’s with an introduction of the students and their Community Service Project at KPFA arranged by Gabrielle Wilson and Associates with the Aaron & Margaret Wallace Foundation.