Evidence of post-1991 communist support in ex-socialist countries

[Kitskits]

The title pretty much says it all. I am debating with some cappies and I need some evidence from you comrades showing that people of ex-"socialist" countries approved even the stalinist socialist model better than the super come back of capitalism post-1991. Once I heard that something like a poll was done in russia and they voted as best leaders. 1. Lenin, 2. Stalin. I was doing a research on the modern anti-revisionist communist parties in those countries, looking at the voting percentages etc.

Do you comrades have some flashy evidence or something like that? Thanks

[jake williams]

I can't offer any specific advice to your question (sorry), but I will say - from what I heard, public opinion in post-1991 Russia is an extremely mixed story, even more so if you expand to the whole former Soviet Union. I've seen a lot of strange polls. I'm trying to think if it was Bush or Harper who ranked extremely high on a Russian poll (well, it might've been a Canadian poll of Russians, come to think), maybe even the same one as Lenin/Stalin also did well.

So yeah, truth is, from what I've heard (and it's slight and scattered), the polls are more strange than anything else. I don't know though, and that's just Russia.

[Red Terror Doctor]

The title pretty much says it all. I am debating with some cappies and I need some evidence from you comrades showing that people of ex-"socialist" countries approved even the stalinist socialist model better than the super come back of capitalism post-1991. Once I heard that something like a poll was done in russia and they voted as best leaders. 1. Lenin, 2. Stalin. I was doing a research on the modern anti-revisionist communist parties in those countries, looking at the voting percentages etc.

Do you comrades have some flashy evidence or something like that? Thanks

You NEED to check out the book Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communsim by Dr. Michael Parenti

There was a joke circulating in Russia post 1991 and went something like this:

Question: What has capitalism done in one year that communsim couldn't do in 70 years?

Answer: Make Communism look good.


http://www.amazon.com/Blackshirts-Reds-Rational-Overthrow-Communism/dp/0872863298/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199912560&sr=1-2


Also check out the recent survey(s) by rabid anti-communist Richard Pipes (professor of Harrvard University) which conclude that Russians prefer communism. He has done some real good surveys---better than the work below. If only I could find them!!!!

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040501facomment83302/richard-pipes/flight-from-freedom-what-russians-think-and-want.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pipes

[lvleph]

Everyone I have ever tried to discuss this with from a former soviet block nation did not want to discuss it. It has been a real disappointment.

[manic expression]

Just about everyone I've talked to who actually lived in the Soviet Union has stated that life was better during the Soviet Union than it is now. I've talked to many people from Warsaw Pact countries who think much the same way. Even a virulent anti-communist Czech told me there were very good things that socialism brought to his/her country.

If you want real proof, look at the support that many communist parties get in former socialist nations. Leftist parties from Russia (it's a shame they're homophobic and that they employ chauvanist rhetoric), Latvia, Germany, Moldova and other nations are very strong and enjoy a good measure of support. Even Poland, which if you ask me is home to many reactionary ideas, has preserved the "Milk Bars", which were a staple of everyday life during socialism.

It's very difficult to look at the reality of Russia and other former Soviet Bloc countries, compare it with life during the Soviet Union and say that socialism wasn't far better. Homelessness (especially for children and veterans), unemployment, inefficient education, inefficient public transportation, stark poverty, hopelessness, inequality and more have all gotten worse and worse and worse. It's proof positive that socialism in the worst case scenario is far better than capitalism for the vast majority of the population.

[Sugar Hill Kevis]

I remember reading that about 72% of East Germans believe that socialism is fundamentally a good idea, but it was just implemented poorly in the DDR.

[Bear MacMillan]

"Since 2003, we have conducted three surveys in Russia, and according to these polls, there is no stigma associated with Stalin in the country today. In fact, many Russians hold ambivalent or even positive views of him. For example, one-quarter or more of Russian adults say they would definitely or probably vote for Stalin were he alive and running for president, and less than 40 percent say they definitely would not."

It's a shame that alot of people who support Stalin and the old Soviet government are "National Bolsheviks".

[Comrade Rage]

"Since 2003, we have conducted three surveys in Russia, and according to these polls, there is no stigma associated with Stalin in the country today. In fact, many Russians hold ambivalent or even positive views of him. For example, one-quarter or more of Russian adults say they would definitely or probably vote for Stalin were he alive and running for president, and less than 40 percent say they definitely would not."

It's a shame that alot of people who support Stalin and the old Soviet government are "National Bolsheviks".Fail. I suggest that you and Kitskits take a look at the 1994 election of Aleksandr Lukashenko in Belarus, and the return of a basic level of Socialism in that country.