News From the Soviet Union

Fascism on the Rise in Putin’s Russia!

Victor Bourenkov

On May 16 of this year, the Russian Communist Party and the Revolutionary Party of Communists was refused registration by the Russian Ministry of Justice.

According to the new Bill of Political Parties inspired by president Putin, all acting groups and movements with their political program were required to undergo a re-registration, presenting their program and relative documentation.

Following this demand, the RCWP-RCP submitted its previously gotten Charter and the Programme that was adopted at its Unification Congress in Oct9ver 2001.

Having "assessed" the RCWP-RPC documents, the bourgeois authorities then rejected the application, on the grounds that the "aims are incompatible with the Russian constitution." They saw the programme as the one aiming at the "violent overthrow of the constitutional order" and "threatening the integrity of the Russian Federation".

It is not entirely clear what the implication of "unregistered" status are, and how far it is from an illegal status, but our ownership of an office in Leningrad and the possibility to publish our biweekly newspaper, "Trudovaya Rossia" are threatened.

The very obvious immediate consequence is that our party is denied the chance to elect candidates in national or local elections (not that we will be missing them very much). This also means that we have no right to organize demonstrations or any other protest actions. (The law requires that authorities be notified at least 10 days in advance by a registered social organization].

We are left with a choice of tailing behind the permitted, moderate demonstrations headed by the social-democratic CPRF, or holding an illegal action independently, only to be dispersed and detained by the police.

An official ban for a period of two months was already imposed of the Russian Communist Workers’ Party in October of 1993 for its active involvement in large-scale anti-Yeltsin uprisings in Moscow. This time they have not (yet) called it a ban, but this equates the status of a party with branches in over 70 regions of Russia, to that of a fishing club. In fact, a less favorable condition – a fishing club is less likely to have its activity interrupted.

RCWP-RPC is the biggest (and in many areas, the only) working-class organization in Russia which upholds Marxism-Leninism. It is also the largest extra-parliamentary political force in the country.

Let it be known to the international progressive, labour and communist movements that this move by Putin’s authorities is indicative of his slide towards fascism, but this will not divert us from the revolutionary road to socialism and to the reestablishment of the USSR. Please spread this information in your journal as widely as possible. Send letters of protests to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and other relevant bodies.

Already the Communist Party of Greece has featured this call on the front page of its newspaper "Rizospastis", expressing support and condemning the actions of Russian bourgeois ruling elite.

Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation
Russia 109830 GSP
ZH.28, Moskva
Ul. Vorontsovo pole D.4

Radical Islamists Become More Active in Kyrghystan

A US-led anti-terrorism operation in Afghanistan has held up activity of extremist organizations in Central Asia for a short period. For example, an Islamic party Hizb-ut-Tahrir has not shown up for several months already. Its leaders did not appear now at illegal meetings and demonstrations, amount of leaflets and forbidden literature has reduced. But in June, these Islamists have resumed their subversive activities.

Investigation of the mass disorders in the Akay district of the Jelal-Abad region revealed appeals to Jihad had been announced at the demonstrations. What is more important, the population of the southern area is much more religious than in the northern part of Kyrghystan. According to some sources, Hizb-ut-Tahrir has won from 2,000 to 4,000 active supporters in this part of the republic, no one can give the exact amount, as the party is conspiratorial: every member is acquainted with three or four people who regularly contact each other. To tell the truth, they know each other only by assumed names. Members of the party have got secret perfectly equipped printing houses and even radio stations in some places, all with Western equipment.

However, the majority of Islamists work at marketplaces that are traditionally considered centers of East’s public life. Unfortunately, official authorities seldom go to the marketplaces, but if they go, they are accompanied by police. Hizb-ut-Tahrir members carry out individual work, help the poor and answer the most acute questions. For example, members of the party were the first to give estimates, even before the official governmental commission.

It is now confirmed that these Islamists are connected with the Uzbekistan Islamists who have more freedom there according to the liberal laws adopted and thus there is cooperation. Many large explosive cashes were found, plus Islamic literature asking for a wholly war.

It is a fact that religious extremists really enjoy support of the Kyrghystan parliament. Legislative Assembly deputy Tursunbal Bakir Uulu, who is very popular in the south of the republic, is sure that it is a mistake to persecute this peaceful organization and there should be a dialogue established with the prevailing Orthodox Muslim leaders.

The authorities have admitted since the break up of the USSR there has been instability, high unemployment and more than half of the population who are young cannot get even a minimum wage or legal work. So this Islamist sect promises to improve the situation and promises to give people work if they come to power. So the people believe in these promises.

So it looks that in the south of Kyrghystan there will be set up an Islamic Party and the present government has to make a choice now of what to do.

Trade Unionist Beaten Up at Russia-EU Summit

Over two dozen people had been arrested during a protest in June at the Russia-European Union summit in Moscow. The rally was declared illegal by the Putin government and was violently broken up by the OMON riot squad. The arrested include V. Petrov, the coordinator of the independent union Zashchita. I. Budraitskis, leading campaigner against the new anti-Union Labor Code and the Chechen war, and S. Sychev, union leader of the large GPZ enterprise in Moscow.

Slogans at the rally included: anti-capitalist, ant-racist and anti-war slogans as well as specific demands to end foreign debt repayments, against the new Labor Code which (effectively imposes a 58-hour working week) and against the enforced rise in rent.

Colleague of the arrested trade unionists believe that the rally was violently broken up in order to save the Russian government from the embarrassment at a time when Russia is negotiating close co-operation with its number one partner, the EU and NATO.

Please protest by sending your protests to the Russian Embassy or Consulate or by sending your e-mail protests to Moscow: (7095) 245-0104 and (7095) 2452-426.

World’s Largest Nuclear Waste Dump

Vic Ratsma

MAYAK: Not a place that many people never heard about. It is situated in the territory of the Urals, roughly 1,4000 km east of Moscow and not far from the borders of Kazakhstan. It is reported to be one of the most radioactive places on earth, caused by a huge accident in a nuclear reactor in 1967, and the careless handling of radioactive nuclear waste by the governments since 1953. As with Chernobyl, the people in the area have paid the price ever since. However, as though this was not enough suffering, the present Russian government of Vladimir Putin has decided to accept 20,000 tons of nuclear waste from other countries for storage in the Mayak area, and for this dangerous storage arrangement Putin will receive $20 billion!?

Ca n you imagine this?

Recently, a Dutch journalist Antoinette de Jong and the photographer Robert Knoth have put together an exhibit that will travel around the world. Part of that story is presented here:

Between 1948 and 1956 radioactive waste from this giant Mayak nuclear complex was poured straight into the Trecha River, the source of drinking water for many villages. It exposed 124,000 people to medium and high-level of radiation. Nuclear waste was also dumped into the lakes went dry during a hot summer and a storm blew nuclear dust across a vast area around the lake. In 1957 one of the cooling systems of the Mayak-plant exploded and more than half the amount of radioactive waste was released by the accident in Chernobyl got into the atmosphere. Some villages had to be evacuated. At least 372,000 people were affected by the Mayak radiation. It is at this time that the privatized Russian Atomic Ministry Minatom, wants to dump and store more nuclear waste in the coming years. The present Russian government has overturned a previous ban on import of nuclear waste. Plans are now to import 20,000 tones of nuclear waste in exchange for $20 billion US dollars. The following countries are involved since their own governments do not want to store the nuclear waste in their own countries: Japan, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. Recently the deputy head of the Mayak plant told the Russian government commission that they cannot guarantee the safety of people living downstream of the Trecha River. This Mayak plant is totally against any such deal to store the waste there.

Thousands have died and many more have fallen ill because of the radioactive exposure.

What is the Leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine Up To?

Galina Sawchenko

The bourgeoisie press of Ukraine is very happy about the defeat of the Communists in the last elections at the beginning of this year. To the Supreme Council of Ukraine, the Communists elected only 65 deputies, while before the elections the CPU had 123. What this means is that the right-wing forces, although they argued amongst themselves, they united against the communist candidates.

As always, this election in Ukraine was held under a cloud of cheating and buy-out of votes. Engels was correct when he wrote: "The election process in a bourgeois state, this is the weapon of the ruling class, which gives the ruling class an opportunity to insert into the minds of the people that there is an opportunity for a change. The bourgeoisie know very well that no changes are possible, no amount of changing of candidates will make any difference, even if the candidates are social democratic." With already many, many such experiences, you would think that the communist leaders would learn this cardinal lesson. The right wing representatives and their blocs, led by Yushenko, Litvin, Medvechuk and also Timoshenko, after the last election results are now the majority in parliament and they support the policy of Kuchma and the sell out to Western imperialism.

These representatives of the American-Zionist capital in Ukraine are there by the false "constitutional means" and have learned well how to manipulate the people on behalf of their foreign master, with all manner of anti-constitutional referendums, allowing pseudo-communist parties to function, such as the CPU or the CPRF in Russia with a pro-bourgeois orientation and using slogans stolen from the left, and setting up organizations such as the "For the Future of the Children - and play their manipulating games.

The attacks against communists reached such a pitch that Madeleine Albright of US appeared at the meeting of the Central Election Commission in Kiev, thus giving direction as to how the elections are to be conducted.

This was also proven in the elections in the Crimea, where the leader of the Communists Leonid Grach was disqualified supposedly on a technicality, because, he would have won the election.

In the pre-election campaign the government controlled media and the foreign owned media went wild with prognosis, ratings and falsification of different economic data and of events, in order to make certain that the right wing forces won this important election.

The results of this election did not teach some communist leaders anything. Even with these false results the CPU made and keeps on making this statement as if nothing had happened: "we must kick out this anti-peoples regime which is criminal and corrupted by only constitutional means".

This decision again leaves the Ukrainian people with another 4 years of this regime to do its devastating work for capitalism and imperialism. In actual fact, the CPU will work in alliance with the enemies of the people. They will just have their cushy seats in parliament, good pay, but the work among the masses will be non-existent. They will give each other medals as if they have the state in their hands, debate endlessly and our class lines will not be even mentioned or referred to. Instead of fighting the present regime, there continues fighting among the left movements. Leonid Kuchma, president of Ukraine, while in Syria on a visit, looking at the situation as it is now in Ukraine, stated prophetically there: "Now, no one can dismember or disrupt the people of Ukraine!"

The All-Ukrainian Committee of Bolsheviks struggled and struggles against all of these useless and inconsequential methods of struggle against the enemies of the people. We, even in 1992 decided that we shall hold our meetings in the streets, amongst the people and under the Red Flags. We gave out left newspapers, leaflets and talked with the people. We were attacked and beaten up. But we brought many of the left thinking people into our ranks. By utilizing Soviet patriotic songs we were able to awaken the spirits of people that for so long have been practically defeated morally.

During these years we struggled and worked hard among the army ranks. In order to start a left wing in the armed forces. If the All-Ukrainian Union of Soviet Officers will not work among the ranks of the army and lead an active struggle against NATO, then there is no need for such an organization! Without all of us working in all spheres of the army, security and militia organs and bring them to our side of thinking, we shall not win the resurrection if the Soviet Union.

There is no forgiveness for some veterans of the Great Patriotic War, who defeated fascism and saved the USSR. Losing their shame and conscience, with Soviet medals on their chests were marching parallel on Kreshchatik Street in Kiev during Victory Day celebrations, marching together with the Bandera fascists, traitors with the fascist insignias on their arms and carrying the flags which were used by these bandits under Hitler. Shame on you comrades, marching behind these bandits, forgetting that you hoisted the Red Flag over the Reichstag in Berlin!

What a shame it was to look at the marching columns, with the Communist Party of Ukraine leadership bringing up the rear of these nationalists. It broke the hearts of patriots when over the TV , radio the regime’s announcers laughingly proclaimed: "And bringing up the rear of the yellow and blue flags was a column of reds!" And this on the glorious DAY OF SOVIET VICTORY!

Time is coming very quickly when you will not be able to see any World War II veterans with their Soviet medals on their chest. So, let us my dear friends, while they are still alive, not allow these nationalists to desecrate these graves of the Red Army soldiers and heroes with yellow an blue flowers and to make fun of our Soviet holidays for their own nationalist show.

On May 23 of this year, Eugene Marchuk, Secretary of the Council of Security and Defense of Ukraine, made a statement that Ukraine is joining NATO and also made it mandatory that every soldier-recruit in the present Ukrainian army must learn English, since this will be the official language of the army. At the same time, President Kuchma said that between members of NATOI there is no war!"

NATO leadership already understood Kuchma’s statement and stated that: "Kiev doesn’t probably understand how this is important to the NATO alliance." Of course, inside of 5 minutes missiles from Ukraine can reach Moscow and Minsk!

Already for these many years, behind the backs of the Ukrainian people, Krawchuk, Tarasiuk, Zlenko, Kuchma, Kuzmik, Mtchuk, Grbulim, Udovenko were giving away Ukraine to the neo-fascists of NATO. These criminals have devastated Ukraine in 11 years that the population has dropped from 52 million to 38 million. People of Ukraine will never reconcile themselves to this treachery. Only Putin of Russia has done one better, he has already gave up Russia to NATO, WTO, IMF and left in the lurch Byelorussia, Serbia, Cuba, Palestine, North Korea – a gift to US imperialism.

And these traitors are now vying with each other as to who will be the first to kiss the ass of Uncle Sam…of course by "constitutional means.

A leader who is capable and brave enough to get on a tank and lead the people, our call to you is MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN!

Statement International Committee Against Railway Privatization

In November of 2001 the railway workers of Britain, Germany, France and Russia set up an "International Committee Against Privatization of Railways." We received the support from railway workers in Pakistan, Ukraine, Estonia, South Korea and Brazil. After that, the railway workers of Bangladesh and Switzerland joined our ranks.

The joining together o the unionized and non-unionized workers of the railways did not happen by chance. The privatization upsurge is of course not for the benefit of the workers, but demanded by the IMF, WB and the TNCs for profits. If the line in the eyes is not profitable, they close it down, not caring whether towns and cities on the railway line are left without means of transport or work.

The countries, like Britain which privatized the railways for four years already, are beginning to see that this is not the answer. here are accidents, deaths, thousands of unemployed and industry also is complaining the higher costs of transport.

Looking at all of this in Britain, more than 100 members of British parliament signed a bill asking and demanding the railways be again nationalized, because it costs the government more now then ever before.

Last February 14^th in Berlin, Germany there took place a meeting of the Bureau of this International Committee and it was decided that October 19, 2002 there should take place an international action of protests against the privatization of the railways.

We are asking all workers to support this struggle in every country. Privatization of the railways is another step of exploitation by the TNCs of the workers of the world.

Alexander D. Penin
Member of the International Bureau

Russian Trade Unionist Found Murdered

The body of Yuri Smolentsev, who disappeared on June 15, had been found floating in a small pond. Yuri Smolentsev was the chairman of the independent and very trade union SOTSPROG at the Alumina Plant located in the city of Achinsk. He had a long record of organizing worker strikes and court activities on behalf of the plant workers.

He was a victim of physical assaults by the factory goon squad. He was to have participated in a court trial on June 25 and together with his son he went to his summer cottage to plant vegetables while his son went to the store When is son returned, his father was gone..

This private enterprise is owned by Oleg Deripasko who was more than once accused of using gangster like methods to intimidate the workers as they tried to organize.

Yuri Smolentsev will forever remain in the hearts of those who knew him.

Big businesses of Russia that stand behind this crime hopes to preserve its power over our society by terror and murder. Our resistance will be the best memory of Yuri.

Two Conventions of the CPU

Felix Gorelik

On May 25 and 26 in Kiev there took place, one after another two Conventions of the Communist Party of Ukraine: First Extraordinary Convention, after that a "Unity Convention. These two Conventions were a result of the decision by the Supreme Court of Ukraine. After many years of struggles in the courts, the Supreme Court of Ukraine was forced to admit that the unlawful banning of the Communist Party of Ukraine in August of 1991 was unlawful.

This decision is now a definite sign that the lies regarding the CPU were false and that the former First Secretary of the CPU Leonid Krawchuk was a provocateur and also a Judas. That decision, under Krawchuk’s plan that outlawed the CPU, took away all of its property and finances and gave the green light to capitalism and nationalism and the breakaway of Ukraine from the USSR. All of this was possible because of the hysterical campaign of anti-communism and the result was the banning of the CPU.

But of course this regime will not just fade away on its very own. The only way is through a revolutionary change.

At the Second Conference there was a proposal by the CPU and its former 1^st Secretary S. Gurenko to join forces with the present CPU which was formed after 1993 \ when the party was banned.

This unification of former and present CPU must resolve the problems of tactics. Inside the united CPU there is struggle between the left wing and the right wing elements.

The question is being discussed and formulated that through parliamentary means you cannot get rid of the bourgeoisie, only by a revolution.

This united CPU can have a future only if it becomes the vanguard of the working class and starts the revolutionary process of establishing Socialism.

As an official correspondent of NSC at these two Conventions of the CPU, I met the Editor of the new newspaper, called "Red Ukraine".

Elena Ushakova is the Secretary of the Kiev District CPU. She is a promising young writer. The future of the CPU and socialism is in the hands of young Communists as the photo shows.

Click here to return to August 2002 index.