Cassius Clay
8th September 2003, 12:46
Not sure quite where this belongs. I thought since you can still write letters of protest to Russain Government ministers it belongs here. It's over a year old now and the RCWP was not banned outright, but many of it's activists face oprression. Many in it's sister organisations aswell face the threat of arrest when going to demonstrations and youth members are often victim of beatings by Putin's Thugs known as OMON. Anarchists have also been arrested on charges of 'terriorism' so the threat is real.
Putin's fascism: an introduction
Russian Communist Workers Party —Revolutionary Party
28-05-2002
On the 16th of May the Russian Communist Workers’ Party — Revolutionary Party of Communists was refused in registration by the Ministry of Justice. According to the new Bill on Political Parties inspired by Putin, all acting groups with political demands were required to undergo a re-registration, presenting programmatic and other documents. Following this demand, RCWP-RPC submitted its Charter and the Programme adopted at its Unification Congress in October 2001.
Having "assessing" the documents, the bourgeois authorities have rejected the application on the grounds that the aims are incompatible with their constitution. They see the Programme as the one aiming at "a violentchange of the constitutional order" and as "threatening the integrity of
Russian Federation". It is not entirely clear what exactly the implications 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, Trudovaja Rossija, are threatened.
The obvious immediate consequence is that the party is denied a chance to stand candidates in national or local elections (not that we will be missing them very much). This also means we have no right to organise a demonstration or other protest action. (The law requires that the relevant authorities are notified 10 or more days in advance by a registered social organisation.) We are left with a choice of tailing behind the permitted, moderate demonstrations headed by social-democrats from CPRF, or holding an illegal action independently only to be dispersed and detained by police.
An official ban for a period of over two months was already imposed on the Russian Communist Workers’ Party in October 1993 for its active involvement in a large-scale anti-Yeltsin uprising 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 favourable 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 organisation in Russia which upholds Marxism-Leninism. It is also the largest extraparliamentary political force in the country. Let it be known to the international communist movement that this move by Putin’s authorities is indicative of his slide towards fascism, but this will not divert us off the revolutionary road to socialism and to the re-establishment of the USSR. Please spread this information as widely as possible. Send letters of protest to the Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation and other relevant bodies.
Thanks go to the Communist Party of Greece who has already responded by covering the story on the front page of its daily newspaper Rizospastis, expressing support and condemning the actions of Russian bourgeois ruling élite.
To: Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation
Russia, 109830, GSP, Zh-28, Moskva, ul. Vorontsovo pole, d. 4
Fax: +7 095 9162903
www.minjust.ru/contacts.html
Dear Minister,
Your refusal to recognise Russian Communist Workers Party —Revolutionary Party of Communists as a political establishment puts you below your Western models not known for their commitment to the widely proclaimed democratic values when it comes to the question of working-class organisations.
But since it is so fashionable amongst your circles to act as parrots, you should observe that communist organisations nevertheless have a nominal right to exist in the West. Furthermore, your refusal demonstrates that the new repressive law concerning political parties is enforced to deprive the money-less social layers of any political representation. It is imperative that you either allow RCWP-RPC to be registered, or lift the laws restricting the activities of "unregistered" parties altogether.
In addition, we express our deepest concern with the continued imprisonment of young members of RCWP-RPC in Moscow and other anti-Putin activists on false terrorism charges and demand their immediate release. Revolution is a normal and law-governed process in historical development. Marxism-Leninism is the dominant ideology of the 20th and the 21st Centuries, which is officially advocated in the socialist countries including Cuba and DPRK today.
Any attempts to ignorantly label it as "violence" or to equate it with terrorism are unacceptable and will only be a cause of laughter and disgrace for the future generations when they will look at the present Russian government's activities record. Under Yeltsin and Putin, the capitalist reforms decreased the population of Russia by no less than 5 million. The industry output dropped by no less than 60%. Workers’ wages are delayed by up to 3 years. At their expense, a group of marauders were made world-rich through privatisation.
Unemployment, bribery and crime are a general standard. Acting against the will of the people, the powers gave a green light to NATO to start its 1999 aggression against Yugoslavia. This tradition of attacking the p In these circumstances, RCWP-RPC has every right to exist and put forward the most radical demands, whilst your regime deserves to be overthrown in the most violent way.
Putin's fascism: an introduction
Russian Communist Workers Party —Revolutionary Party
28-05-2002
On the 16th of May the Russian Communist Workers’ Party — Revolutionary Party of Communists was refused in registration by the Ministry of Justice. According to the new Bill on Political Parties inspired by Putin, all acting groups with political demands were required to undergo a re-registration, presenting programmatic and other documents. Following this demand, RCWP-RPC submitted its Charter and the Programme adopted at its Unification Congress in October 2001.
Having "assessing" the documents, the bourgeois authorities have rejected the application on the grounds that the aims are incompatible with their constitution. They see the Programme as the one aiming at "a violentchange of the constitutional order" and as "threatening the integrity of
Russian Federation". It is not entirely clear what exactly the implications 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, Trudovaja Rossija, are threatened.
The obvious immediate consequence is that the party is denied a chance to stand candidates in national or local elections (not that we will be missing them very much). This also means we have no right to organise a demonstration or other protest action. (The law requires that the relevant authorities are notified 10 or more days in advance by a registered social organisation.) We are left with a choice of tailing behind the permitted, moderate demonstrations headed by social-democrats from CPRF, or holding an illegal action independently only to be dispersed and detained by police.
An official ban for a period of over two months was already imposed on the Russian Communist Workers’ Party in October 1993 for its active involvement in a large-scale anti-Yeltsin uprising 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 favourable 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 organisation in Russia which upholds Marxism-Leninism. It is also the largest extraparliamentary political force in the country. Let it be known to the international communist movement that this move by Putin’s authorities is indicative of his slide towards fascism, but this will not divert us off the revolutionary road to socialism and to the re-establishment of the USSR. Please spread this information as widely as possible. Send letters of protest to the Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation and other relevant bodies.
Thanks go to the Communist Party of Greece who has already responded by covering the story on the front page of its daily newspaper Rizospastis, expressing support and condemning the actions of Russian bourgeois ruling élite.
To: Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation
Russia, 109830, GSP, Zh-28, Moskva, ul. Vorontsovo pole, d. 4
Fax: +7 095 9162903
www.minjust.ru/contacts.html
Dear Minister,
Your refusal to recognise Russian Communist Workers Party —Revolutionary Party of Communists as a political establishment puts you below your Western models not known for their commitment to the widely proclaimed democratic values when it comes to the question of working-class organisations.
But since it is so fashionable amongst your circles to act as parrots, you should observe that communist organisations nevertheless have a nominal right to exist in the West. Furthermore, your refusal demonstrates that the new repressive law concerning political parties is enforced to deprive the money-less social layers of any political representation. It is imperative that you either allow RCWP-RPC to be registered, or lift the laws restricting the activities of "unregistered" parties altogether.
In addition, we express our deepest concern with the continued imprisonment of young members of RCWP-RPC in Moscow and other anti-Putin activists on false terrorism charges and demand their immediate release. Revolution is a normal and law-governed process in historical development. Marxism-Leninism is the dominant ideology of the 20th and the 21st Centuries, which is officially advocated in the socialist countries including Cuba and DPRK today.
Any attempts to ignorantly label it as "violence" or to equate it with terrorism are unacceptable and will only be a cause of laughter and disgrace for the future generations when they will look at the present Russian government's activities record. Under Yeltsin and Putin, the capitalist reforms decreased the population of Russia by no less than 5 million. The industry output dropped by no less than 60%. Workers’ wages are delayed by up to 3 years. At their expense, a group of marauders were made world-rich through privatisation.
Unemployment, bribery and crime are a general standard. Acting against the will of the people, the powers gave a green light to NATO to start its 1999 aggression against Yugoslavia. This tradition of attacking the p In these circumstances, RCWP-RPC has every right to exist and put forward the most radical demands, whilst your regime deserves to be overthrown in the most violent way.