Russian Communists use May Day to protest NATO role in WWII parade

[Nolan]

http://en.rian.ru/images/15883/24/158832483.jpg


13:5101/05/2010
Seven thousand people attended the Russian Communist Party's May Day rally in Moscow, which added anti-NATO slogans to the more traditional "Peace! May! Labor! Socialism!"
The Communists used their annual demonstration of workers' solidarity to protest the inclusion of Western troops - from the United States, Britain and France - in the May 9 Victory Day parade.
"NATO on Red Square - Defeat!" and "NATO - get off Red Square!" proclaimed the demonstrators.
This year's Victory Day parade, marking the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, is the first time Western militaries have taken part in the annual march across Red Square.
Several other political parties and opposition groups also held demonstrations in the capital, the largest being the march of the Russian Federation of Trades Unions along Tverskaya Street, held jointly with the pro-Kremlin United Russia party.
At the rally afterwards, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov said the city government would work to ensure that employment in the city is the highest in the country.
"We in Moscow jointly achieved a unique result - unemployment here is below 1%," he said.
Luzhkov then condemned the federal government for the level of funding for the construction of the Moscow Metro in the 2010 state budget.
"The development of public transport is a national task," he said, adding that whatever happened, the city government and Moscow City Duma would resolve any issues surrounding subway construction.

MOSCOW, May 1 (RIA Novosti)


http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100501/158832427.html

[The Vegan Marxist]

How large is the Russian Communist party? I'm sure there's a lot of propaganda against them in Russia, due to Russia's past of being the Soviet Union.

[Nolan]

How large is the Russian Communist party? I'm sure there's a lot of propaganda against them in Russia, due to Russia's past of being the Soviet Union.

There's not a lot of anti-communist propaganda. Not like Poland or Ukraine. The CPRF is the second largest party in the Russian government now. Also the majority of Russians say they see Stalin as a positive figure in Russian history, so there hasn't been some massive propaganda campaign. The CPRF led the May day marches.

But the fact that they're the second largest party in the Russian government now makes me suspicious as to their platform and leadership. They very well may be a part of the problem and not the solution. But you should visit their website and their forums, do some research, talk to Russians and decide for yourself.

[Red Commissar]

The CPRF, from what I've heard, doesn't put up much opposition to Putin's initiatives. They've largely followed in step with the general nationalist wanking that is in Russia right now.

What I'm getting at is that despite being the largest opposition party, they don't seem interested in going about for some changes or resisting neoliberal reforms.

Putin and co. for instance like to put a better light on Soviet times, but not because it was socialist but because the country was a super power at the time. The CPRF follows in step with this seeing it as common ground but won't agitate the fact that Russia is continuously going more and more towards capitalism under Putin.

Personally they should have protested something more pertinent on May Day- it shows how they are avoiding issues. There was even an ultra-nationalist group protesting on May Day in Russia for immigrants to get out. Why didn't the CPRF decide to address those shitbags? They're just following the Kremlin's lead unfortunately.

[The Vegan Marxist]

The CPRF, from what I've heard, doesn't put up much opposition to Putin's initiatives. They've largely followed in step with the general nationalist wanking that is in Russia right now.

What I'm getting at is that despite being the largest opposition party, they don't seem interested in going about for some changes or resisting neoliberal reforms.

Putin and co. for instance like to put a better light on Soviet times, but not because it was socialist but because the country was a super power at the time. The CPRF follows in step with this seeing it as common ground but won't agitate the fact that Russia is continuously going more and more towards capitalism under Putin.

Personally they should have protested something more pertinent on May Day- it shows how they are avoiding issues. There was even an ultra-nationalist group protesting on May Day in Russia for immigrants to get out. Why didn't the CPRF decide to address those shitbags? They're just following the Kremlin's lead unfortunately.

They could be trying to just rise in power of support again, & the support in Putin might put them back in a positive light?

[Nolan]

They could be trying to just rise in power of support again, & the support in Putin might put them back in a positive light?

This could be the case, but I think supporting Putin might be an extremely bad thing for PR in the long run.

[The Vegan Marxist]

This could be the case, but I think supporting Putin might be an extremely bad thing for PR in the long run.

Maybe so, but Putin isn't the worst president Russia's had. I would actually argue that Putin's a far better president than any other post-Soviet Union president Russia's had.

[Nolan]

Maybe so, but Putin isn't the worst president Russia's had. I would actually argue that Putin's a far better president than any other post-Soviet Union president Russia's had.

If you mean better for the oligarchy and the military-industrial complex then yeah.

[The Vegan Marxist]

If you mean better for the oligarchy and the military-industrial complex then yeah.

That too, but I mean more lenient as well.

[Red Commissar]

The main "benefit" Putin had to the Russia was that he was more competent at his job. Particularly after the joke that was Boris Yeltsin, any politician could have seemed leaps and bounds better at managing Russia.

It also helped that he mostly got the government to cash in on the natural resources of Russia, which helped Russia to rebound from its economic woes following Yeltin's shock reforms into capitalism.

So the Russian citizen sees the following

-A leader who isn't embarrassing
-Economic growth
-Having pride in one's country

Obviously Putin would be supported by many Russians, though it's arguable whether his policies are purely responsible for Russia's surge.

The CPRF is simply trying to make themselves look good on this sentimentality. The issue is that parties that have taken an increasingly critical stance of Putin's reforms have tended to see themselves get ostracized out of the political system. You'll see from time to time the CPRF makes the usual promises- social services, cutting unemployment, return to socialism, USSR wasn't bad, etc though they are not aggressive in pushing for those in such a way you would expect from the largest opposition party in Russia.

My point is that it seems like they've compromised their values in return for acceptance by the mainstream. I could somewhat forgive a communist party for taking a critical supportive stance on a ruling social democratic party, but not so much for a group like Putin's.

[Sir Comradical]

The irony is that these days, those marches are full of Nazi sympathizing cossacks!

[Nolan]

The irony is that these days, those marches are full of Nazi sympathizing cossacks!

In the CPRF marches? No.

[Sir Comradical]

In the CPRF marches? No.

Hell no, not in the CPRF!

I'm talking about the Victory Day marches.

[Nolan]

Hell no, not in the CPRF!

I'm talking about the Victory Day marches.

OH. Yeah they are a serious problem. Antifa should "address" it next time.

[Robocommie]

Here's the thing though, if the CPSU was so heavily revisionist by the late period of Soviet history, how reliably Marxist can this party be expected to be? Are the party leaders the Soviet old guard, or a new generation? This, in addition to the problems of Russian nationalism, seems like a concern to me.

[Nolan]

Here's the thing though, if the CPSU was so heavily revisionist by the late period of Soviet history, how reliably Marxist can this party be expected to be? Are the party leaders the Soviet old guard, or a new generation? This, in addition to the problems of Russian nationalism, seems like a concern to me.

As far as I know they're a mix of tankie middle-aged old-school, pro-everyone-revisionist-or-not Soviet nostalgiacs and new Marxist-Leninist anti-revisionist activists. That's the impression I get from reading around. Somewhat like the CPUSA but with a far higher revolutionary to revisionist ratio.

Here's another group we should keep our eyes on. AKM 1917 (http://www.akm1917.org/) They apparently had an excellent turnout as well.

So did some anarchist groups. May Day in Moscow was great for everyone.

Edit: From looking at the wiki article on them I think the CPRF is quite revisionist. The party leadership acts that way at least.

[Dire Helix]

There's not a lot of anti-communist propaganda.

That`s really not true. For the past 20 years not a single positive thing has been said about Lenin and the Bolsheviks on Russian TV. While Stalin may be praised from time to time as a "great leader"(usually by nationalists and imperialists), Lenin is attacked all the time from all angles by liberals, nationalists and other reactionary scum.

Also, Russian Orthodox Church now plays a very important role in Russia and they`ve recently become the main beacon of anti-communist propaganda. The Patriarch of the Church has gone on saying that The Great Patriotic War and the blockade of Leningrad in particular was god`s punishment for 1917.

So, yes, there`s a lot of anti-communist propaganda in Russia. Maybe less than in Poland, but just barely.


On the topic of the nature of CPRF... Most of their supporters are people with actual communist views. The leadership however is 100% reactionary. Thankfully, there are many other communist groups in Russia to choose from, even if they are not quite as big as CPRF.

[Nolan]

That`s really not true. For the past 20 years not a single positive thing has been said about Lenin and the Bolsheviks on Russian TV. While Stalin may be praised from time to time as a "great leader"(usually by nationalists and imperialists), Lenin is attacked all the time from all angles by liberals, nationalists and other reactionary scum.

Also, Russian Orthodox Church now plays a very important role in Russia and they`ve recently become the main beacon of anti-communist propaganda. The Patriarch of the Church has gone on saying that The Great Patriotic War and the blockade of Leningrad in particular was god`s punishment for 1917.

So, yes, there`s a lot of anti-communist propaganda in Russia. Maybe less than in Poland, but just barely.


On the topic of the nature of CPRF... Most of their supporters are people with actual communist views. The leadership however is 100% reactionary. Thankfully, there are many other communist groups in Russia to choose from, even if they are not quite as big as CPRF.

I suppose you would know.

But there was a plan a while back to actually make Stalin a saint. :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guaRfmY0iWA&feature=fvw

And it may seem like a lot to you comrade, but it can't be anything compared to what Marxists in countries like the US and Poland have to go through. At least in Russia many people view Stalin positively.

[Saorsa]

I can't find anything about akm1917 except on their website, but they look interesting. Could you tell us more about them?

[Die Neue Zeit]

As far as I know they're a mix of tankie middle-aged old-school, pro-everyone-revisionist-or-not Soviet nostalgiacs and new Marxist-Leninist anti-revisionist activists. That's the impression I get from reading around. Somewhat like the CPUSA but with a far higher revolutionary to revisionist ratio.

I would like to see momentum in favour of "Anti-Revisionists" inside and outside the KPRF, setting aside the Trotsky-Stalin debate here. I would like to see them gain more organizational footing within the KPRF, but also I would like to see the Russian Communist Workers Party - Revolutionary Party of Communists gain more support among Russia's workers.

[Crux]

I suppose you would know.

But there was a plan a while back to actually make Stalin a saint. :lol:

guaRfmY0iWA

And it may seem like a lot to you comrade, but it can't be anything compared to what Marxists in countries like the US and Poland have to go through. At least in Russia many people view Stalin positively.
Yes, people, like nationalists with wet dreams about a greater russia.
The discrepancy between how Lenin is viewed and stalin is viewed and by whom is quite telling really. And yeah, you're such a martyr in the U.S. Do you know what the russian far right is like?

[Die Neue Zeit]

Lenin's Loss is Stalin's Gain (http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=31371) by Boris Kagarlitsky



Several years ago, I taught political science at a technical college. Why future engineers were required to study political science is anybody’s guess, but perhaps it replaced the mandatory Soviet-era course on the history of the Communist Party.

I asked one student to come up to the front of the class to describe what he knew about Vladimir Lenin. We’re not talking here about French philosopher Michel Foucault, or even Aristotle, but a leader who had a very important role in 20th-century history — not only in Russia but all over the globe.

“Lenin lived in the 19th century,” he said.

Technically speaking, the young man was correct. Lenin did live a little more than half of his life in the 19th century.

“Lenin fought against the tsarist regime,” the student managed to pull up out of his memory. Gathering courage, he continued: “He managed to overthrow the tsar, and he was able to do this while living abroad. After the Bolshevik Revolution, he returned to Russia in an armored train car, became friends with Josef Stalin and died.”

And that was the end of his narrative.

I went straight to the administrator and submitted my letter of resignation.

These days, I often recall that student whenever I read the results of opinion polls about Lenin’s role in history, listen to leftist intellectuals argue about the legacy of 1917 or consider the debate over whether to remove Lenin’s body from the mausoleum on Red Square. The issue is not so much that official propaganda tends to shape public opinion toward Lenin or that a whole generation is coming of age that doesn’t even know who Lenin was. The real problem is that a vast and rapidly growing number of people are incapable of doing any serious critical thinking whatsoever.

If people know nothing about Lenin, they can always learn. But if they have no desire to learn and can’t process meaningful information, then it is largely irrelevant what they think about this or that politician of the past. When people don’t know how to think in general, it is a very serious problem for society as a whole.

The dumbing-down of the masses is the primary achievement of the last two decades of so-called “reform” in Russia. Society has changed radically, and the mechanism by which cultural identity is formed has been seriously undermined, if not completely destroyed.

The cultural institutions of the Soviet era have been demolished, and that legacy has been stripped away from most people’s consciousness. But it has not been replaced by a new culture. More or less civilized forms of thinking have been destroyed along with Soviet culture. We can keep laughing for a few more years, but after that, it will not be funny anymore.

It is very revealing that public opinion polls show Lenin falling in popularity ratings even while Stalin is steadily gaining. If attitudes toward the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution are worsening, it is not because of the atrocities of the Russian Civil War from 1917-23 or the authoritarian measures he took. After all, respondents associate Stalin with far greater violence and rigid authoritarianism. Or at least those factors do not spoil people’s opinion of the Stalinist era.

What was the result of liberal intelligentsia’s struggle with Lenin’s ideology? Stalin’s pragmatism won.

[Nolan]

The discrepancy between how Lenin is viewed and stalin is viewed and by whom is quite telling really.

You have a point there. There's a big effort to rewrite history on the part of the Russian right.


And yeah, you're such a martyr in the U.S. Do you know what the russian far right is like?

Do you know what the American far-right can be like? I won't be surprised if the militias and the nazis start assassinating cpusa members and even democrats.

[Nolan]

Good article. But it's not Stalin that's getting ahead, its his corpse stripped of everything he stood for and stuffed with ultra-nationalism.