Russian Elections

Published in the Solidaire Newspaper, Belgium, in Dutch

Kasparov (left) receives diploma of the Center for Security Policy.

Regular articles by Kasparov were always published in the Wall Street Journal, but they did not include a political program by Kasparov, only that: “Putin is a fascist dictator, he destroyed democracy in Russia. That’s why the West is also responsible, and even President Bush calls President Putin his friend. Democracy in Russia became impossible after the selling of Yukos.”

Khodorowsky was the boss of this Petrol Giant Yukos, which did not pay any taxes and he smuggled his dodgy profits into Western Banks, until he was arrested for tax evasion. Then there is Berezovsky, the Russian media magnate who financed the election campaign of Boris Yeltsin. But he ran away to London, England from where he finances the “opposition.”

(These “Oligarchs” also have dual Russian and Israel citizenship, plus now even British citizenship – Editor)

But these persons are hated in Russia because they enriched themselves scandalously. In the meantime, the ordinary people cannot pay their heating bills from their miserable salaries. Putin finally decided to get rid of these individuals and now the US Pentagon sees them as weaklings, since they are no longer useful.

The tactics of Kasparov was to provoke a struggle between a couple hundreds of his followers and police in front of the Western TV cameras and style himself as a “martyr for democracy”. His hope was to declare that election invalid and to provoke an “Orange Revolution” like the one that happened in Ukraine.

PRESIDENT PUTIN – AN OIL SUPPLIER

The rough anti-Communism of former Boris Yetsin no longer appeals to the Russian people. The population has lost all of their savings in the privatization frenzy of 1992 and the devaluation of the ruble in 1998. The public opinion turned against the West and Putin adjusted his image to be more palatable to the people. He protested against the plans of US to place the missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic. No matter how Putin flexes his muscles in the media, his main role is that of a supplier of natural resources, gas ands oil to the highest bidder, be it the USA, Europe, China or Japan.

Putin is not interested in building a national industry. Not a single large factory, machinery construction or electronic enterprise was built. This former industrial might of former Soviet Union is dying out, if not dead already. The high revenue the capitalist class now receives from these oil and gas exports does not benefit the population.

The difference in income between the 10% of the poorest and the 10% of the richest has grown under Putin over 18 times. Russia now has to import over 50% of its daily foodstuffs! But President Putin now invests the oil and gas revenues into the “Stabilization Fund” that buys shares in all of the stock markets in the West.

can you imagine that President Putin even suggested to President Bush that instead of US missiles being installed in Poland and Czech Republic America could use the Russian anti-missile system on Gabalin, Azerbaijan?

That would suite the USA perfectly in their preparations for war against the neighboring Iran. This policy of seeing eye - to - eye with the US can been seen by the fact that last September Russia and America held together an extensively very large military exercise in the Pacific Ocean. US and RUSSIA jointly tested their artillery, helicopters and assault techniques (not against each other, since they both are allies – Editor) Putin and Bush agreed to hold such exercises annually.

Can you imagine Cuba and US holding joint military attack-planning exercises together? Editor!

They are largely ignored by the media, but they do exist in Russia now as the left opposition. Last November there was a strike of dockworkers and workers at the Ford car factory in Leningrad, demanding a pay rise. President Putin had abolished the national celebration of November 7^th , the day of the Great October Socialist Revolution and made it an ordinary working day. But despite this, over 30,000 Muscovites went into the streets on November 7th, and also despite the bitter cold, they met next to statue of Marx and words “Lenin” and “Marx” were met with huge applause and cheering. The communist grass roots are there and agree with this holiday and what it stands for. They all demanded nationalization and that private capital should be abolished from the present power structures. The power should be given to the people (the Soviets) of workers.

Gennady Zyuganov (CPRF) has deeply disappointed the protesters by promising that all of this can be achieved very easily through the method of winning future elections. Zyuganov is saving Putin’s regime and offers to join him in “the Government of National Interests”.

The Russian Communist Workers Party (Viktor Tiulkin) unlike Zyuganov, is based on the idea of the class struggle by the workers, not begging from those in power, but to give the workers an opportunity to achieve their interests through their own struggles.

WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION IN RUSSIA?

It's good to remember that parties that do not enjoy the approval of Mr. Putin, were excluded from taking part in the election, under many various pretences.

Readers of NSC know that there are of course many more Communist parties in Russia (27 by the last count) not just the two communist parties that are mentioned in this article. Most of them do not believe that Putin’s capitalist regime will allow a change of the government even though by chance the Communists would win the election.

The weakness of the CPRF and also to a certain extent is the RCWP, in that they concentrate only on Russia in name and work. In fact, they have GIVEN UP to work in other former Soviet Republics.

There is at the moment only two Communist Parties that carry on the work of being active in most of the former 15 Soviet Republics. The main one is the All Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, headed by Nina Andreeva, who are active in all of the form Soviet Republics and, who are not afraid to mention and give credit to Stalin. Coming in lately is the Communist Party of the Soviet Union headed by Oleg Shenin, who will be running for President in 2008. There are a few other small splinter groups also who do not dump dirt on the name of J.V. Stalin.

Unfortunately, for years now I read the official press of Zyuganov and Tiulkin, but Stalin’s name is never ever mentioned.Why?

I think that the readers of NSC know by now as to why!