Last Aril 24^th in Moscow there took place the Constituent Congress of the Federation of Unions of Russia, a new all-national union organization. In total 13 unions and union organizations joined the new federation: Zashchita Truda, the Union of Air Dispatchers of Russia, Union of Aviation Engineers, Union of Railway workers, Solidarnost, Uralproneft and many others. Additionally, the Union of Dock Workers, the Union Edinstvo of Avtovax and others attended the congress for now as observers.

The president of the Union of Air Dispatchers, Sergei Kovalev was elected as chairman plus two vice chairman. This Union Congress adopted a Declaration which says in part: "Our symbol is the Red Flag which is for our ideals and our struggles. We do not allow the owners of private companies to be members of the union and we oppose this capitalist state. We are against the presence in our union of forces that represent racist, chauvinist, nationalist or religious and other views contrary to the defense of the workers rights and the organization of the workers."

Present Latvian Regime Refuses to Recognize Victory Day Over Nazism

Russian-speaking population in Latvia comprises over 40% of the population, celebrated the Victory Day over Nazism on May 9^th with over 100,000 people at the monument of Soviet Liberator Soldiers in Riga. There is move afoot by the Latvian regime to do away with any monuments dedicated to the Soviet liberators and – plans are afoot to bar Russian language being spoken on city streets.

There are rallies and protest meetings against the curbing of secondary education in the Russian language.

The present Latvian regime does honour the German SS cemeteries and the local SS troopers that fought against the Soviets and helped Hitler in murdering the local population.

Now - the Latvian pre-Second World War gold reserves that were shipped to the US - is now being returned to the present regime, but the US refused to forward this gold to the USSR when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union.

With the present political and economic situation in the world in an extremely dangerous situation, we feel that that the idea of holding such a gathering is very important and timely

We understand and appreciate your attention and your correct understanding in the Open Letter. We also agree with you that the process of the cooperation and integration of all those forces that want to resurrect the Soviet Union is taking too long to become a reality. The changes that were forced upon us in 1991-1993 did not produce results and the potential of the working class to do away with the previous mistakes in the CPSU was lost.

The resurrection of socialism and of the USSR can only happen with the involvement and the participation of the working class in running the state and economy. We cannot just throw rocks at our past history. We have to find a starting point to rebuild anew the dictatorship of the proletariat.

We have now for a long time held discussions about the working class and communists in cooperation for the resurrection of the Soviet Union. To our way of thinking the blockage that stops this unity is the question of their attitude to the USSR before its collapse and the real reasons for it. Time has long past that this problem must be resolved and quickly.

That is why we support NSC and the International Council in arranging to get all the forces together and help in solving this cardinal problem.

Due to our financial limitations we would ask that if we cannot attend the Congress that you will inform us with materials of the Congress so that we can give our input into the proceedings. Can you inform us to when our presentation has to be sent, in order that it can be discussed by the Second World Congress?

We would like to cooperate with Northstar Compass and the Organizing Committee of the International Council, because the idea and the activity of the International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People at the present time has a tremendous historical necessity.

We look forward to our mutual cooperation.

With great respect we are:

Committee of Party of the Working Class of Russia
Alexander V. Chizhikov
Viktor S. Petrukhin

Uzbekistan Is a Pawn of US!

BURT HERMAN, Associated Press

For more than 2 ½ years after Uzbekistan allowed US forces to use the base, Russia, Iran and China are nervously watching this American presence on their doorstep. US has spent billions to build a large airport to park their C-130 transport planes there at K-2.

These transport planes will figure strongly in the realignment for 21^st century hot spots.

The Chinese have also grown uneasy at the airport and US presence near Bishket, the capital of Kyrgystan, just 175 miles from the Chinese border.

The airbase in Uzbekistan is the Karshi-Khanadad, and also known as K-2 is only 90 miles from the border of Afghanistan and built by Halliburton Corporation tied in to Cheney and the White House.

Jobs are scarce in Uzbekistan due to the complete privatization of this once very rich productive Soviet Republic. This airbase employs about 500 Uzbeks and a janitor supervisor gets $200 American per month. This 22-year old Uzbek wears a Boston Red Sox cap and said that: "America trusts me. The US Army trusts me."

Azerbaijan and NATO Cooperation

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev (former General Secretary of the CPA and member of Soviet Politbureau – Editor) presented a plan for closer bilateral cooperation between NATO and Azerbaijan during a visit to NATO headquarters in Belgium last May 19, 2004. This encompasses closer defense and political cooperation, following the same plans that were arranged between Georgia and NATO.

It’s interesting that Aliyev and NATO did not mention one important behind-the-scenes agreement. The Caspian Oil is to be controlled and profits made by NATO and its multinational corporate sponsors.

Time has again arrived to have the 26 Baku Commissars start the fight against the ruling class!

Latvian Fascism Is Growing

Latvia’s Supreme Court convicted Vassili Kononov, 81, for "war crimes". Sentenced to twenty-two months imprisonment, Kononov stayed free as he had served out his term while his extremely controversial case was considered and reconsidered again and again.

Kononov lived in Latvia and is Russian. He was leading a Partisan Detachment which fought Nazi Germany’ occupation. He was leading the guerilla attack on a Malye Baty rural police station in May of 1944 during WW II where six local Latvian police were killed, who were part of the German SS unit.

Vassili Kononov pleaded innocent, and he told the court that Latvia had 20,000 WWII guerrillas who fought the Germans and the local Latvian collaborationists in Latvia. If he was guilty as charged, then the 20,000 anti-fascist guerrillas are guilty, as well as the Allies who fought and defeated the German fascist hordes.

"A war was on, and I was fighting the German military occupiers of my Motherland and my native village" Kononov said in his final statement.

This is being done to please their sponsors, now that Latvia has been accepted into the European Union and soon to be part of NATO. "This Latvian government wants to deprive over 35 per cent of Russians living for generations in Latvia of all their rights" was the statement by the Russian Duma spokesman Andrey Kokoshin.

Tycoon Potanin of Russia Leaves With Billions!

Vladimir Potanin, head of Interros Investment Holding, worth billions of dollars has left the country for Israel and his holdings in Norilsk Nickel, worth over $5 billions…he decided to convert it into the controlling interest in the South African Mining Company - Gold Fields. This will be the biggest transfer of Russian wealth offshore since the collapse of the USSR.

Potanin is tied in very heavily into the present Mafiosi billionaires and with nothing more than a wrist slap by the Russian government of Putin.

These Oligarchs are even pussyfooting in the Russian Duma and no definite action is being taken.

The Rodina faction in the Duma is wallowing in inactivity, but surely the Communist faction in the Duma, led by Zyuganov should be able to bring this up to scrutiny. But the CPRF has a very soft spot for Yukos oil conglomerate and its top guru. CPRF and Zyuganov in the Duma have failed dismally in both and it led to serious internal troubles in the Duma, since Zyuganov took money from this Mafiosi-run oil concern for the last presidential election.

Although Nikolai Sapozhnikov of the CPRF in the Duma is the spokesman, he has refused to answer any question about Potanin. Zyuganov listened in the Duma about the plans of Potanin and the South African Gold Fields and was going to say a few words, after stalling and not knowing what to say: He managed to say: "The past ten years were robbery…" and then he was tugged on his sleeve by his assistant, and the assistant whispered in Zyuganov’s ear, but it was heard by all…the assistant said to Zyuganov: "That’s enough!" With that, Zyuganov, the supposed leader of the CPRF closed his mouth, and made a hasty exist through the door. Obviously Potanin has nothing to fear from the CPRF.

President Putin is allowed to be the dictator over all the political parties in the Russian Duma!

Western Funds Sponsor Ukrainian Opposition

Communist Party of Ukraine lawmaker, Yuriy Solomatin and Valery Mishura told the Government of Ukraine last May 21 that Western organizations and funds – primarily from the United States and Germany – are financing non governmental organizations (NGOs) in an effort to interfere in the country’s political situation in order to help Viktor Yushenko from "Our Ukraine" in the upcoming presidential elections.

President Kuchma has his own Western sponsors and Yushenko has his own also… so, the demand by the Communists and the voters should be to have Kuchma and Yushenko resign immediately, because these upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine are going to be a farce and manipulated as were the previous elections.

The National Resistance Against the Imperialist Occupiers Grows

The unconditional withdrawal of all imperialist forces is the demand of the Iraqi people and the people of the world.

1. One year is passed from the anti-human and barbaric aggression against Iraqi people by the US imperialists and their reactionary allies. The US goal for the occupation of Iraq is to achieve strategic and economic superiority in the world. Using the pretext of fight against terrorism, of threat of the world peace by Saddam, of human rights and freedom, and of the rights of nations to self determination, the US imperialists have violently occupied Iraq with the goal of dominating the energy resources of the region, opening new markets, removing barriers to the complete domination by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization, and searching for new markets for their military products. The US imperialists are trying to overcome their economic crisis through war and destruction.

2. In order to justify their aggression against Iraq and to turn the country into a colony of US in the region and by fabricating documents and lies, the US imperialists and their reactionary allies violated all the international laws, norms, and treaties on the right of nations to self determination. The imperialist criminals accused Iraq of having atomic bomb and threatening the world peace. It is clear now (It was clear to the communists from the beginning.) that neither Iraq had atomic bomb nor Saddam was a threat to world peace. The US imperialists are the biggest state terrorists and threat to the world peace. In order to justify their aggressive policy towards Iraq, the US imperialists accused the regime of Saddam of having relation with Bin Laden and Al Qaida terrorists. It is clear today that this was another lie. The goal of US invasion of Iraq is becoming clearer for the masses of the world with every passing day.

3. The US imperialists stupidly thought that the Iraqi people would welcome with flowers the occupying forces and that the Bush and company's colonialist-imperialist plan would be implemented peacefully and with a minimum loss. But the heroic struggle of the Iraqi people frustrated the imperialist sinister plots, and the spread of the armed struggle has frightened the occupiers.

The struggle of the Iraqi people, which has adopted the form of mass and popular resistance, is the harbinger of victory for the Iraqi people and shameful defeat for the imperialist occupiers.

Iraq is becoming the US second Vietnam, and the Yankee imperialists are sinking into a quagmire of defeat every day. The US and its allies will resort to every conspiracy and crime in order to impose its reactionary rule on Iraq but, the victory belongs to the Iraqi people. The masses of Iraq are fighting against the occupying forces in every possible way and their demand is the unconditional withdrawal of all imperialist forces from their homeland. The struggle of the Iraqi people against the invaders is legitimate and just. We support this just and legitimate struggle. We condemn the US attempts to split the Iraqi people, and we stress on the unity of all anti-imperialist and anti-occupation forces in Iraq. Regardless of its reasons and justifications, every force that collaborates with the occupiers and their puppet Council is in the service of imperialism and reaction, and the people of Iraq will not forgive such a sell out force.

4. The expulsion of the imperialist occupiers from Iraq is the first prerequisite for resolving the other social contradictions within Iraq. The people of Iraq are fighting for their independence. The establishment of socialism in Iraq is impossible with the presence of the military forces of the US and other imperialist countries. In Iraq, the national struggle and the revolutionary struggle for independence surpass the other questions. It is only through the active participation in this national and anti-imperialist struggle that the Marxist-Leninists can gain the trust of the masses, organize the working class and labourers, seize the leadership of the movement, lead the liberation movement to a higher level, and can establish socialism in Iraq. Otherwise, the ground will be prepared for the Islamic and fundamentalist forces to gain strength and to mislead the anti-imperialist struggle of the Iraqi masses and to cause an irreparable damage to the movement of the working class.

Anatolii Pizhov
Secretary of International Relations of the Executive Committee of the Interregional Association of workers' unions of Russia "Zaschita Truda"-Defense of Labor

Inars Pavelka – Chief Editor of "Proletarskaya Gazeta"

Russian Banned as Language for Media in Ukraine

The Ukrainian government has passed a law to stop registering any other language media except the state-language last month. The law makes it mandatory that all TV stations and radio stations must use only the Ukrainian language.

The head of the Council, appointed by President Kuchma, Boris Kholod, called this decision "historical" and the present policy is to stop the use of the Russian language, even though all Ukrainians know and speak Russian as fluently as Ukrainian.

Russia is the largest minority language in Ukraine, with over 17% of the population being Russian and Russian language is their first language.

Will Kaliningrad Remain Russian?

From Kominform and Novosti

May 20, 2004

The Kaliningrad region faces a military and economic blockade, now that the Baltic countries have joined NATO and the European Union. US military experts state that they believe that Russia now lacks the required capabilities of breaching this double line.

Russia has cut its regional military formations there by over 40% (the question is why and under whose pressure –Editor) while NATO, on the contrary beefed up its forces by over 30%. Among other things, this objective was accomplished by incorporating the Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Armed Forces.

The CIA maps even now do not show the Kaliningrad Region of Russia or the Kurile Islands!!?? According to the experts, this can be explained by the fact that both territories will no longer be controlled by Russia 11 years from now!???

Russian diplomacy will have two tasks ahead of it: To check NATO and US military and political expansion in the Baltic and to make every effort to sign inter-state passenger and freight transit agreements with Lithuania.

Russian leadership should know that NATO expansion has virtually separated the Kaliningrad enclave from Russia! NATO is expanding quickly its major-forward bases. NATO’s tactical planes will be able to hit any Russia target within a 1,600 km combat radius.

A report issued by US State Department American analysts recently, which predict that Russia’s disintegration into several smaller states. CIA predicts that by 2015 Russia will disintegrate into eight states with its own governments and control of the rich mineral wealth.

These plans by Imperialism were long nurtured, and planned for and all steps were taken to have this juicy plum in the hands of Western transnational corporations.