Do you think USSR could 'strike' back ?

[Rafiko Bingo]

Hello, I'm pretty new on this forum (even to marxist ideology though) and it seems really interresting. However, I have a question that remains without answer.

I've found out that Russia official 'opposition' - second party - was the communist party with 20% of votes. So my question is - Do you think we could assist to ... the USSR returns ?

P.S Sorry if you already discussed about that or something :blushing:

[Aurora]

The Russian communist party now openly supports capitalism and has no interest in revolution and socialism except to try and win support through use of symbols and preying on nostalgia. The party plays the part of a loyal opposition and is extremely nationalistic and divisive towards workers, a worthy successor to those who disbanded the union.

If there is to be another revolution is will be through the mass of the workers educated in socialism and organised in a democratic and revolutionary communist party like the original Bolshevik party and any such revolution today would be in much more favourable conditions than the October revolution and would not have to endure the hardships and catastrophes that led the last revolution into the sorry state it ended in.

[Let's Get Free]

The USSR is gone, in the dustbin of history, banished into oblivion, never to be seen again.

[Questionable]

If socialism returns to Russia it will be totally different than it was the first time. The state of capitalism is much more developed than it was during the Bolshevik Revolution.

[tuwix]

If socialism will be in Russia, it will be first time from times of primitive communism. The Soviet Union was never socialist.

[Captain Ahab]

The CPRF is a social democratic party masquerading as a communist party. If they ever achieve power the only thing they'll do is bring back some of the safety nets the USSR had. Don't get your hopes up.

[RedSun]

Hello, I'm pretty new on this forum (even to marxist ideology though) and it seems really interresting. However, I have a question that remains without answer.

I've found out that Russia official 'opposition' - second party - was the communist party with 20% of votes. So my question is - Do you think we could assist to ... the USSR returns ?

P.S Sorry if you already discussed about that or something :blushing:

Like its western counterparts the CPRF is already institutionalized into the system and therefore it won't be ever a menace to the Russian regime even if they reach 30 or more percent. Just to give a concrete idea, the Italian Communist Party was the largest opposition party post-WWII during decades and you never had any concrete chance of having any socialist revolution there. In France they even integrated the government.

Today, those communist parties play a role more favorably to the Bourgeoisie regime than unfavorable simply because they canalize and institutionalize the anger of the people towards the government through their institutionalized opposition. For the bourgeoisie regime that is nothing worst than demonstrations uncontrolled by a party or a syndicate. I already heard many right-wing commentators saying "thank god we have the communist party and the syndicate to control those demonstrations. Otherwise they would be dangerous and a threat."

The same works for the CPRF. If they were a really threat for Putin they would have been "neutralized" a long time ago. The 20% means nothing at all.

[Geiseric]

Yeah that party is pretty dismal, I know most soviet bureaucrats became the capitalists, the mafia, and the new parties existing in Russia, so consider them all basically in the same boat.

[hashem]

after its communist party was corrupted by revisionism, USSR became a reactionary social imperialist regime. no honest and class conscious worker wishes to see such thing again.

present day "communist" parties of former eastern bloc countries are completely counter revolutionary. take the Moldovan party for example. it managed to return to power by election (almost 70% of parliament), but what has it done? it has proved that it stands on the right side of traditional liberals.

"brothers" of Russian revisionist party have always sided with counter revolutionaries in other countries (Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India and ...).

[The Idler]

Welcome, do you think we should assist the Russian Communist Party to return to power? I don't. If I merely wanted a generous welfare state I'd vote for a labour style social democratic party.

[Mass Grave Aesthetics]

" Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce."

The CPRF is essentially the left- wing of United Russia (Putin´s party). Perhaps they will develop into something far more sinister and treat us to a humorous re- enactment of stalinism. I certainly hope not though.

[Rafiko Bingo]

And what about Algeria ? I know there is a trotskyist party and it manages to get some decent % (6,5% I think) in the last election.

P.S - I'm really curious, I thought a party naming itself Communist shared Marx and/or Lenin's views and had at heart the good-being of workers.

[Rafiko Bingo]

And what about Algeria ? I know there is a trotskyist party and it manages to get some decent % (6,5% I think) in the last election.

P.S - I'm really curious, I thought a party naming itself Communist shared Marx and/or Lenin's views and had at heart the good-being of workers.

[l'Enfermé]

In the last elections, Trots, the Parti des Travailleurs, got 280,000 votes. That's 3.7 percent of the vote.

[l'Enfermé]

Also, "strick back"? Do you mean "strike"?

I re-named the thread name to "strike".

[Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist]

The CPRF is a social democratic party masquerading as a communist party. If they ever achieve power the only thing they'll do is bring back some of the safety nets the USSR had. Don't get your hopes up.

I feel like this is oversimplfying things a wee bit.

If the communist party won a strong majority, they would nationalize a few major businesses, hoist up the red flag, re-write the consitution, and perhaps use their knew found ideology as an excuse to round up all of the Anarchists and Anti-Revisionists that are doing fine work there. Other than that you wouldn't see much change. It might become a one party state, but most likely it would do so not by eliminating other parties but by merging into United Russia or by running one of those "united front" schemes that North Korea has that theoretically makes them a multi party state but keeps the various ruling parties in power by preventing any political force outside of the front, while any political force inside the front is tolerated regardless of it's class nature.

But at the end of the day, Putin would probably remain behind the scenes if not as a public figure (puppet master). Putin's bueracracy would remain in place and I am sure the communists and the bueracracy would become best of friends. They might nationalize some things, but I doubt they'd do away with capitalism and probably just say something along the lines of "building socialism will take a long time" while selling you a hamburg for 8.95$ In short, It'd probably become Dengist China, maybe the USSR under Brezhnev at best. It wouldn't be socialism in the least bit. But it would be a radical overhaul of capitalism and we Marxists ought to recognize it.

[rednordman]

In a way yes it could. The old 'USSR' will never be back, but a new 'fuck you USA and Britain telling us how to live our lives' state very much could be...and they definitely wont be the only countries to do this either.

[Yuppie Grinder]

The USSR is gone, in the dustbin of history, banished into oblivion, never to be seen again.


Good riddance.

[Die Neue Zeit]

If socialism returns to Russia it will be totally different than it was the first time. The state of capitalism is much more developed than it was during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Left opposition can have it several ways in Russia today. Not only is capitalism more developed, but it can levy the charge of not pursuing sufficient industrial development against the status quo as it formulates its own development and re-development program.

[The Jay]

OP, just because a party calls itself communist does not make it so. If you want to get a better understanding of what a party is about you should read their constitution in addition to reading of their past political moves.

[Fourth Internationalist]

Hello, I'm pretty new on this forum (even to marxist ideology though) and it seems really interresting. However, I have a question that remains without answer.

I've found out that Russia official 'opposition' - second party - was the communist party with 20% of votes. So my question is - Do you think we could assist to ... the USSR returns ?

P.S Sorry if you already discussed about that or something :blushing:

Maybe if they went back to the pre-beaurocratic Bolshevik/Communist Party before Lenin became too authoritarian they could gain enough support.

[Karl Renegade]

No, National Socialism (Nazism) has a better chance of being revived there. I say this because I also like to observe the Far right. It is my understanding that Russia has one of the most active Far right movement even openly racist racist movements in the world. Attacks on immigrants are very common and that the Communist party there is more nationalist than communist. Russia is also already living under the semi-fascist regime of Putin so to me, Russia is the home of the Far right, sad to say.:(

[The Idler]

In a way yes it could. The old 'USSR' will never be back, but a new 'fuck you USA and Britain telling us how to live our lives' state very much could be...and they definitely wont be the only countries to do this either.
So lifestylism? Yeah, can't wait.

[Yuppie Grinder]

So lifestylism? Yeah, can't wait.

What has Russia competing with the States and the UK got to do with lifestylism?

[The Idler]

What has Russia competing with the States and the UK got to do with lifestylism?
rednordman argues USA and Britain tell us how to live our lives, hence the essence of lifestylism.

In a way yes it could. The old 'USSR' will never be back, but a new 'fuck you USA and Britain telling us how to live our lives' state very much could be...and they definitely wont be the only countries to do this either.

[MarxArchist]

I think Russia and China, as capitalist global crisis worsens with each crisis, are in a better position for workers to facilitate revolution than the USA simply because of the fact more workers in those nations already see socialism as a viable alternative and have a somewhat better understanding of what communism actually is (albiet a tad warped by Maoism/Stalinism). I think only now are economic/material conditions in Russia/China ripe for actual socialist revolution but I don't live in either region so I see my task, our task (in America), as first and foremost class struggle/helping to form higher levels of class consciousness.

Do I think the Russian/Chinese governments are playing a cold war strategy comparable to playing possum? Play dead then strike at an advantageous place/time? I think that would enter into the realm of pure speculation, maybe even conspiracy theory, but, I wouldn't unequivocally say no, I'd say it's highly improbable. I have read the Chinese conception of global strategy is much more complex than their western counterparts. Many commentators say the Chinese play chess whilst the American state plays checkers.