ABSTRACT
The General Secretary said at the time that dictatorship can exist even if there is a multiparty system. These words were regarded as an attempt to preserve the unlimited power of the Party, but he turned out to be a true prophet. Only the judicial power, if it is really independent and sovereign, will be able to defend the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens and to stand against administrative and governmental arbitrariness. A judicial suit is a claim for justice. And the right to independent and just treatment—this is one of the most important aspects of a democratic society. Without this right all the other rights and freedoms are a fiction. The Moscow City Court declined to review Oleg Kalugin’s suit against the President, and stated quite frankly: “The President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the head of state, and complaints about his acts are not subject to court jurisdiction.”
