Russia's main political parties agree that the recent terrorist attacks highlighted shortcomings in the country's security system but fail to agree on who is to blame for these incidents, according to Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The Duma majority party, One Russia, sticks to the official line, talking of uniting to fight international terrorism. However, the Union of Right Forces draws a direct link between the Chechen war and the attacks, while the Communists and the Motherland faction lay the blame firmly at the door of President Putin's regime. The following is the text of an article by Anatoliy Kostyukov, "Party members get to roots of terrorism: the security forces, government, Duma and president must be brought to account", published on 8 September; subheadings have been added editorially:
The leading Russian political parties have formulated their reaction to the Beslan tragedy and what they view as the reasons behind it. All the recent party pronouncements that have followed discussed the organizers and perpetrators of this surprising terrorist attack and noted the need to strengthen the national security system. However, the unanimity and lilike-mindedness come to an end as soon as the party members attempt to find answers to the questions of "who is to blame" and "what should be done".
Beslan - "direct result of Chechen war", says Union of Right Forces
On Monday evening [6 September] the federal policy council of the Union of Right Forces [SPS] gathered for an extraordinary session. In the ensuing declaration the right-wingers lent support to the president's theory that a war has been declared on Russia by international terrorism, but at the same time they noted that "the tragic events of recent weeks" are "a direct result of the Chechen war". "It is for this reason", the SPS policy council considers, "that the country's president must explain to the nation, how and in what time frame he intends resolving the Chechen problem and what grounds he has for considering that the path he has chosen will lead to success". The right-wingers suggest that "Russia's strategy in Chechnya should be agreed through nationwide discussion".
The declaration discusses the practice of "curtailing democratic institutions and civil liberties", the fact that citizens are discriminated against according to ethnic traits and the anti-Western propaganda, which is distancing Russia from its main allies in the war against international terrorism. The right-wingers are also proposing measures for reacting to the terrorist attacks that have taken place. "We believe that the president of Russia should take a decision to dismiss the heads of the power structures who bear personal responsibility for the security of the citizens of Russia," says the SPS policy council declaration.

Pro-Putin party gives restrained response
The general council of the One Russia party expressed itself in the most concise and restrained manner on the series of recent terrorist attacks. In their announcement the One Russia party members expressed unconditional solidarity with the president, defining the dramatic events of the last few weeks as the actions of international terrorism. In the opinion of One Russia's general council there can only be one response to this evil: "The time has come for both ordinary people and the government to realize that there is only one way of combating the threat of terrorism that is spreading unstoppably throughout the world and this is for all people and states to unite in opposition to this mortal danger." The One Russia party members also speak laconically about their own participation in this opposition: "Having at our disposition the majority of votes in parliament, we will do all we can to ensure the success of the measures adopted by the president and the government in the fight against terrorism."
Nationalists and Communists lay blame on Putin's regime
The leadership of the Motherland faction has drawn the most radical conclusions from the Beslan tragedy. Through the lips of their leader Dmitriy Rogozin, the Motherland faction appealed to the Russian president to "dissolve the government, including the military and law-enforcement agencies because of the neglect they have shown which has led to multiple human casualties among the civilian population".
Characterizing the current situation in the government as a "crisis of authority", the party is also calling for an early termination of the mandate of the State Duma and for new parliamentary elections to be held.
An announcement by the presidium of the central committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation [CPRF] is no less critical in its assessment of the state of Russia's government. The Communists are advising us to seek "the roots of the tragedy not so much in 'international terrorism', which is a convenient cover for the real reasons behind what happened, as inside our own country". In their view "Putin's regime has directed all its efforts towards fighting the opposition, pressurizing the independent mass media, ensuring the 'necessary result' in the elections and constructing a 'strict vertical power structure', which in this situation has been helpless. The law-enforcement agencies have been turned into an instrument for executing the authorities' political commands."
The declaration from the presidium of the central committee of the CPRF does not contain any specific demands on the state's leadership. The document concludes with the words: "We are sure that after the series of dreadful tragedies that have taken place the public will see at last the true face of the current authorities and will insist on a change in the country's leadership." But in an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the first deputy chairman of the CPRF central committee, Ivan Melnikov, explained that the Communists share the same point of view as their colleagues from Motherland concerning the current government and Duma, but they believe that nothing would come of dissolving them. "In the current power structure the president is responsible for everything that happens in the country. The attempt to place responsibility on the government, parliament and security structures is senseless. Therefore we are counting on the fact that the public will recognize at last the need for a cardinal change of authority," Melnikov said.
Yabloko urges revision of Chechen policy
The Yabloko party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia have not made any official declarations in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Yabloko's press service told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that the party's position had been expressed in a statement by its leader Grigoriy Yavlinskiy. The text which was handed to the editorial office yesterday says: "The series of terrorist acts has confirmed the existence of a problem with the system in our country. This consists of the lack of independent civil mechanisms for checking the activities of the special services and of the lack of independence among the mass media, parliament and political parties and independent elections and independent business - it is closely connected with the authorities, and the legal system is in the same condition". The Yabloko leader continued: "We insist on the swift resignation of the leaders of the power-wielding agencies, the formation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the events in Beslan and a direct public dialogue with the president on issues of security and policy towards Chechnya and the Caucasus as a whole."
The 2008 Committee slams authorities over Beslan
Yesterday, the 2008 Committee [anti-Putin reform group] gave its opinion on the recent series of terrorist attacks. The declaration passed by the committee has an extremely severe tone: "The lack of will, lack of power, falseness, incompetence and the corruption of the Russian authorities at all levels are the main reasons why the bandits feel they are at an advantage on our streets and in our schools and theatres." "Today once more the authorities are trying to escape responsibility and turn the anger and despair of the people to their own advantage," the committee's announcement says. To investigate the real reasons for what has happened and discover the real guilty parties, members of the committee are demanding "the formation of an independent public commission with the widest possible powers".

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow
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