Others parties received lesser percentages.

Let us just see as to why most of these candidates to the Duma were so anxious to get elected? What was so inviting for them? According to the present perks each deputy receives the following:

• Each deputy gets $500 USA pension per month, while the average Russian has to live on $20 per month.

• He or she has immunity as a deputy

• Free transportation inside Moscow and inside Russia

• Free trips abroad and free night clubs and theatres

• Paid staff

• He or she gets paid ten times more than any Academician or Scientist.

But this does not force you to attend any sessions of the Russian Duma while you are a Deputy. Last Duma had 57 deputies who attended less than 3 sessions of the Duma in 4 years.

The new party (Rodina) that was set up, many speculate with the help of Putin, these were former high officials in the CPRF party, and some are still in there! Strange – but true.

Let not the present bourgeois celebrate too early, the evening is still far away. More and more Soviets are realizing as to the farce of these elections and time is coming when these people will realize the truth. There is an old Russian proverb: "you might take a long time to harness the horses, but once harnessed, they go faster than the wind."

Lessons of the Election in Russia

Felix Gorelik

The mass media is full of stories about the low turn out of the electorate. They say that only 56% took part in voting –but there were over 5% of people who voted against all the parties. Which means that only about 50% of voters support the existing parties. Why? They showed in this way their protest against the Putin administration and the terrible situation that is in the country.

In some localities the rise of prices for electricity and gas had gone up by 200-300 per cent. The hardship is such that people cannot pay rent and thus are evicted. Therefore they abstained to vote as a sign of protest. They cannot forget that during Soviet times all communal services were free or very minimal costs were required to pay.

How then did the governing party manage to win the election? The present United Russia, under Yeltsin was called "Our Home Russia" but did not receive the necessary votes. What has changed?

The Western programmed and promoted Hollywood style public relations have made an idol out of Putin and sold him over the mass media as the West sells soap or any other product. What happened and why?

We live now in global psychological era and a moral crisis. The sell out by the top leadership of the CPSU, liquidation of the USSR and the onset of reforms, has nurtured a non-belief in communists and left them with dissolution. The promotion of the West, plus the Russian Orthodox Church has presented Putin as the new Messiah. The West, in picking Putin knew that Yeltsin was old, a drunkard, and here they presented Putin as young, energetic man - and he played on the yearning of patriotism, cleverly promoted war against the Oligarchs, while at the same he supported them and they supported him. He was promoted as a hero that will ride his white horse against all evil. The West and his New Russians made certain that the media – TV, press, radio and newspapers – were all controlled by his "party" and thus the new "Messiah" was born.

He undertook upon himself as a fighter against "terrorism" while at the same time he became a stooge for US imperialism. He fought for Russian capitalism, not foreign capitalism, which was a clever mask, as if Putin was just concerned for the welfare of Russia only.

Before the elections, all efforts were made to convince the Russian people that Putin was that shining knight in white armour and is fighting against all policies of that traitor Yeltsin. Even though the Oligarchs are guaranteed their ill-gotten profits, the people unfortunately believed that a "new era" has come with Putin. From morning until night, the daily media was Zomberizing the population… including the ongoing propaganda from the Russian Orthodox Church pulpit.

Western Imperialism has poured billions into Russia before the election and some industries started to grow and exports grew in some places, even though this capitalist Russia needs at least 15 years to reach the economic potential that the Soviet Union had twenty years ago. To some extent this false "growth" has fooled some of the voters who believed the "Putin miracle".

The practical defeat of Zyuganov and the CPRF is also not by chance. The vicious anti-communism that was let loose, the millions being poured by not only US imperialism, but by the organization set up by this vicious George Soros all over Russia, played its part. It is also interesting to note that as the Duma elections were being organized, there grew and were set up 22 different political parties that all of a sudden had finances, had publicity and got much free media coverage, The CPRF and other left-wing parties did not get much time on the TV or radio.

The weakness of the CPRF is that they appealed to "all the people", but not one word of appeal to the "working class", "socialism" or the "resurrection of the Soviet Union!" Amongst the candidates of the CPRF there were big businessmen, capitalists and owners of industries. The money that flowed into the CPRF was used as propaganda by the Putin regime and many scandals abounded. Accusations were made, they had their effect, but replies from CPRF were either not heard or were not forthcoming.

These elections to the Russian Duma show us that "bourgeois" democracy" is a fairy tale, hiding the actual dictatorship of big capital. The main struggle by the people must not be through parliamentary games, but a class struggle. The masses learn on their own skins in participating in the struggles. They are learning that "United Russia" is hiding behind this sportsman Putin image who is now using his billions from the oligarchs to prepare his election for a Second Term as President. But the people are awakening and will awaken sooner than later. In order to make this happen sooner, the Russian communists must learn from V.I. Lenin, J.V. Stalin and the Bolsheviks in their struggle on behalf of the working class.

Defeat Could Widen Split in the Communist Party!

The CPRF is in a crisis and facing a possible change in leadership or even a break-up after it was routed at the polls December 7, 2003 and pushed to the political sidelines Ilya Ponomaryov, the CPRF’s chief information officer who was in charge of attracting younger voters, said that the CPRF have only themselves to blame for their worst showing in 10 years.

The CPRF is in a crisis, with many different ideological currents fighting for supremacy within the party. According to Ponomaryov the CPRF should have stuck to its base and dedicated communists.

CPRF leadership was not able to explain as to why they allowed rich and powerful big businessmen, the Oligarchs to be candidates and to have them in the CC of the CPRF and to have them support the CPRF with their ill-gotten fortunes.

A powerful and influential group within the CPRF want to have the CPRF turn itself into social democrats as it is in Europe. Ivan Melnikov is the head of this group and is the deputy chairman of the CPRF. Another group, headed by the Deputy Speaker in the last Russian Duma, he wants to find a compromise with the Putin leadership.

According to Ponomaryov of the CPRF, Gennady Semigin will be the party candidate in the next March’s presidential election, replacing Zyuganov, who has run and lost in the last two presidential elections. Zyuganov still does not know as to which group he will support.

What direction the CPRF will take is unclear, it all depends as to which faction takes over the leadership. During these reform troubles, the CPRF is likely to lose some of its deputies who might switch their allegiance in the Duma.

The CPRF was formed in February of 1993 and claims it has 500,000 members.

This Just In!

There were reports published in the Moscow press after the elections of December 7^th, that Gennady Zyuganov, head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is planning to resign after the disastrous showing by the CPRF in the elections to the Duma.

The CPRF Central Committee would only say that a "plenary meeting will take place to discuss the results."

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