From newspaper "Mysl"
Organ of the RCWP-RCP
By G. Gunko
The American daily newspaper "Baltimore Sun" took notice of the results of the criminal victory in the election to the Moscow Duma. Actually the cost of getting elected to the Moscow Duma went from $50,000 per each candidate in 1995 to $300,000 in 2001. Looking at this, a question begs to be asked: why must any candidate lose all this money in order to get into the Moscow Duma? Some candidates spent even a couple millions of dollars to get into the Moscow Duma. Why… if in return these winners receive only $4,800 per year, a small office and only maybe a secretary?
The answer is very, very, clear, if they have a shady and criminal background, no matter from which party they are candidates. And, since these elements do not want to change their criminal past, an elected member of the Duma receives immunity from any prosecution… so, there’s your clear answer!
Besides, such sums spent are not very hard for most of them to recoup, while in the Duma they are involved still in their activities without fear of being charged and there, they act as the lobbyists for the criminal and private companies that they were involved with in the first place. Most of their expenses are paid by these criminal elements that they lobby for.
This being so, was it necessary for the Communists to agitate their members to take part in such elections?
Today, Moscow is full of these elements who are very well fed bourgeoisie and, the media, being in their hands, they control the airways and thus most of the people are in their media trap. This was clearly shown in the elections in 1996, when even the largest Communist Party of Russian Federation could not gain even one seat in the Moscow Duma, as opposed to the Russian Duma. Communists should know that taking part in such elections in Moscow is fruitless, and besides, this brings only confusion and this also supports the illusion of parliamentary victory.
The only answer to this is a boycott of the election while propagating the policy of Marxism-Leninism. Many workers now understand that this as a "foreign game which will not bring the working class any benefits".
The bourgeoisie wanted very much that there should be a large voter turn out and they spent billions of rubles towards this end. Very cleverly, the mass media blasted Moscow voters with this argument: "If you do not come to the election to cast your ballot, and if the election is canceled, all the candidates will lose their deposits and spent money on promotion, and you as a citizen of Moscow are taking money out of your own pockets, bringing hard times on your family etc. etc."
Did you want to cry over this?
Let us mathematically figure this financial ploy out. The election cost 120 million rubles from the city budget; this is for 8 million people living in Moscow. This works out to 50 kopeks per family, which the capitalist leaders say would cover your health needs, schooling for children and other community services! Let’s go to vote and help the capitalist system survive!
This Moscow Duma bourgeois propaganda produced the desired results. But was this necessary, could it have been avoided?
Yes, the CPRF in 1993 helped Yeltsin to institute his bourgeois constitution, that was covered in bloodshed, and the same thing happened now in the Moscow Duma election that the leadership of the CPRF promoted so vigorously to their membership, to take part in elections to the Moscow criminal Duma.
It is a fact, that in spite of all the work, expenses and agitation, the CPRF was not able to elect even one member to the Moscow Duma in 1996 and as it did not now. Did the CPRF leadership know the forthcoming results would happen? If they did, then it is correct to call this policy traitorous!
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