Communism back in fashion in Russia

[bootleg42]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vYM5Yrrlk&feature=related

Anyone with any extra info on this??? Any comments, opinions????? I know the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has taken very racist stands lately but are the Russian youth like this???? Or is it just the older people??? Comments please.

[#FF0000]

From what I've heard, much of which was on this very forum, yes, the youth are very racist as well. I've heard tales of neo-nazi gangs pretty much running the streets in Moscow. That was maybe a year ago, but I doubt it has changed much in that time.

[nvm]

:D I am very pleased.
Dont forget that the communists would have won the 1996 ellection i it wasn't for fraud

[Hyacinth]

I think we have to be very careful to distinguish the nostalgia and support for the Soviet Union with support for communism. From what I have heard and read, most of the supporters of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation tend to be older, and their support isn’t so much for communism proper, but rather for the sort of social system that existed in the USSR. And it isn’t a real surprise that there would be nostalgia for the USSR, for all its faults, most of the population of the former Soviet Union were considerably better off under Soviet rule than they are under capitalism.

As for the resurgence of pride for the Soviet past, as well as the usage of Soviet-era imagery, this has less to do with communism and more to do with patriotism. The Soviet Union was a superpower, and after its collapse Russia lost much prestige, both in the eyes of its own citizens, and in the eyes of the world. And the Soviet Union did accomplish many great things, the new Russian state wishes to appropriate this history for its own ends.

[3A CCCP]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vYM5Yrrlk&feature=related

Anyone with any extra info on this??? Any comments, opinions????? I know the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has taken very racist stands lately but are the Russian youth like this???? Or is it just the older people??? Comments please.

What "racist stands" are you referring to?

In my opinion, the CPRF is revisionist because it lacks revolutionary fervor and is trying to restore Communism through participation in the system. However, I don't see any racist stands in their ideological platform or in their actions.

The website of the "AKM" ("Avanguard of Red Youth") is at: http://www.akm1917.org/

This is the youth arm of the CPRF. If you look on the left of the home page click on the link third from bottom "Один раз увидеть." On the page that appears the word "ФОТОРЕАЛИИ" will be near the top. Click on the box underneath it and then you can click on a number of photoessays to get an idea what the AKM is doing.

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[bootleg42]

What "racist stands" are you referring to?



They did, according to people here, take a stand against immigration and they did take the same stand on the subject as the National Bolshiveks (basically the neo-fascist party there). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[3A CCCP]

From what I've heard, much of which was on this very forum, yes, the youth are very racist as well. I've heard tales of neo-nazi gangs pretty much running the streets in Moscow. That was maybe a year ago, but I doubt it has changed much in that time.

The sad fact is that neo-Nazi and neo-fascist groups appeared not long after the counter-revolution in 1991. Zhirinovsky was the first fascist to raise his ugly head, and he and his party are still in action today having representation in the Duma.

More dangerous than Zhirinovsky is Edouard Limonov whose Russian National Bolshevik Party was recently banned by Putin's government. They are (or, were, until recently) appearing at every demonstration that was held against the government waving their flag which is an exact copy of the Nazi German flag, except it has a black hammer and sickle in the white circle in place of a swastika.

This may be where some list members are confusing the fascist National Bolsheviks with Communists. The hammer and sickle is just a prop for the NBP. They are Nazis. Read their program in their newspaper "Limonka" (the word "limonka" literally means a little lemon, but is Russian slang for a hand grenade).

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[3A CCCP]

They did, according to people here, take a stand against immigration and they did take the same stand on the subject as the National Bolshiveks (basically the neo-fascist party there). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Please direct me to a section here or to a website where I can read what stand they actually took according to people here.

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[which doctor]

I thought this thread title said communist fashion back in russia and I was really upset when I opened it and it had nothing to do with fashion.

[Forward Union]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vYM5Yrrlk&feature=related

Anyone with any extra info on this??? Any comments, opinions????? I know the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has taken very racist stands lately but are the Russian youth like this???? Or is it just the older people??? Comments please.

That one video contradicts the norm. I have spoken to comrades in Russia who confirm that these two videos are very representative of mainstream politics amongst the working class;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sSj7DR-XF4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uR95pQhsM

[Kropotesta]

I like how you can get an expert on human nature haha

[Colonello Buendia]

they day the last nazi bites the dust is the day that I know I can die happy

[3A CCCP]

That one video contradicts the norm. I have spoken to comrades in Russia who confirm that these two videos are very representative of mainstream politics amongst the working class;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sSj7DR-XF4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uR95pQhsM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uR95pQhsM)

Things have really deteriorated since I left in 1996. I knew it was bad, but those videos made me want to puke.

How an Eastern Slav can espouse this crap is beyond me. It's insane! The fascists killed over 25 million of us!!

The one thing I will say is that the Moscow Patriarchate denounced this fascist garbage and the Russian Orthodox symbolism in the videos is a propaganda ploy. The priests pictured are either defrocked or just phonies dressed up to play out a role.

I can assure you that you won't find this shit in Belarus!

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[redSHARP]

so is there a communist party in Russia that is legit and not just riding the communist name for propaganda sake?

[bootleg42]

That one video contradicts the norm. I have spoken to comrades in Russia who confirm that these two videos are very representative of mainstream politics amongst the working class;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sSj7DR-XF4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uR95pQhsM

Oh shit. How the fuck does that happen????? Don't they remember that the Nazis tried invading Russia and taking it over??? And that if the Nazis had succeeded, they probably would have killed all of them????

Any other info on how this could have started????

[Dean]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vYM5Yrrlk&feature=related

Anyone with any extra info on this??? Any comments, opinions????? I know the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has taken very racist stands lately but are the Russian youth like this???? Or is it just the older people??? Comments please.

It never went out of fashion. in 2002 or so, when russia finally decriminalized the communist party, it grew very large.

[3A CCCP]

It never went out of fashion. in 2002 or so, when russia finally decriminalized the communist party, it grew very large.

You've got your dates a bit out of whack. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was banned by Yeltsin in late 1991 and all its property was confiscated. The justification for this was the formation of the ГКЧП/GKChP (Государственный Комитет Чрезвычайного Положения)/State Committee of Extreme Situation) by Kryuchkov to try to save the country.

By late 1992 Zyuganov had legally registered the Communist Party of the Russian Federation which is recognized as the legal successor the the CPSU. I met Zyuganov and participated in demonstrations with the CPRF in 1993, 1994, and 1995.

I remember on November 7, 1993 I was near the head of the column of the march celebrating the Great October near some students. As we approached the Kameny Most/Каменный Мост (literally: Stone Bridge) someone yelled to look back. I turned and from the height going onto the bridge I saw an endless sea of humanity and red banners and flags stretching as far as the eye could see down the wide Leninsky Prospekt. It was mind boggling!

As we crossed the bridge the contingent of students looked toward the Kremlin and began chanting in accented English, "Fuck you, Yetsin. Fuck you, Yeltsin." A Russian worker looked at me quizzically and asked me what they were saying. When I explained he turned toward the Kremlin as we walked and started chanting in really heavily accented English, "Fuck you, Yeltsin."

The first demonstration I participated in was by accident on Nov. 7, 1992 when everything was virtually outlawed, including demonstrations and newspapers. I went to Red Square to just hang out and saw about 100 or so old people lined up in front of Lenin's Mausoleum. I walked up to find out what was going on and wound up carrying a pole with a Soviet Flag!

Yeltsin's goons and gendarmes didn't touch us probably because it would have looked pretty bad beating up a bunch of senior citizens and me in the new, "democratic" Russia!

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[Kwisatz Haderach]

Oh shit. How the fuck does that happen????? Don't they remember that the Nazis tried invading Russia and taking it over??? And that if the Nazis had succeeded, they probably would have killed all of them????

Any other info on how this could have started????
What were the conditions in Germany that caused the rise of Nazism? The country had recently suffered a major, humiliating defeat against the West (in World War 1). A significant proportion of the population blamed this defeat on internal saboteurs and traitors. Germany's economy was weak, unstable, crippled by its reliance on the West, and suffered a major crash in 1929. The communists failed to provide a credible alternative to the status quo, so the far right moved in and gathered working class support.

What are the conditions in Russia today? The country has recently suffered a major, humiliating defeat against the West (in the Cold War). A significant proportion of the population blames this defeat on internal saboteurs and traitors. Russia's economy is weak, unstable, crippled by its reliance on the West, and suffered a major crash in 1997. The communists are failing to provide a credible alternative to the status quo, so the far right is moving in and gathering working class support.

Material conditions, comrade, material conditions...

[Forward Union]

Oh shit. How the fuck does that happen????? Don't they remember that the Nazis tried invading Russia and taking it over??? And that if the Nazis had succeeded, they probably would have killed all of them????

Any other info on how this could have started????

It's called poverty.

And yes, the far right in russia is a MASSIVE problem, the far right far outweighs the left.

[Forward Union]

Things have really deteriorated since I left in 1996. I knew it was bad, but those videos made me want to puke.

How an Eastern Slav can espouse this crap is beyond me. It's insane! The fascists killed over 25 million of us!!

The one thing I will say is that the Moscow Patriarchate denounced this fascist garbage and the Russian Orthodox symbolism in the videos is a propaganda ploy. The priests pictured are either defrocked or just phonies dressed up to play out a role.

I can assure you that you won't find this shit in Belarus!

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

Actually, you can find this shit in Belarus, I've heard similar acounts, but it's not quite on the scale of Russia. Main reason beign that Belarus' state is authorotarian enough to attract most of the far right into the ranks of the army and police.

Poland has a similar issue.

But yes, the videos are fucking crap. The murder ones are worse though.

[Red October]

What were the conditions in Germany that caused the rise of Nazism? The country had recently suffered a major, humiliating defeat against the West (in World War 1). A significant proportion of the population blamed this defeat on internal saboteurs and traitors. Germany's economy was weak, unstable, crippled by its reliance on the West, and suffered a major crash in 1929. The communists failed to provide a credible alternative to the status quo, so the far right moved in and gathered working class support.

What are the conditions in Russia today? The country has recently suffered a major, humiliating defeat against the West (in the Cold War). A significant proportion of the population blames this defeat on internal saboteurs and traitors. Russia's economy is weak, unstable, crippled by its reliance on the West, and suffered a major crash in 1997. The communists are failing to provide a credible alternative to the status quo, so the far right is moving in and gathering working class support.

Material conditions, comrade, material conditions...

That's a good analysis, and sadly it's true. Luckily things are not this bad in the west.

[3A CCCP]

Actually, you can find this shit in Belarus, I've heard similar acounts, but it's not quite on the scale of Russia. Main reason beign that Belarus' state is authorotarian enough to attract most of the far right into the ranks of the army and police.

Poland has a similar issue.

But yes, the videos are fucking crap. The murder ones are worse though.

Actually, Belarus is one of the only states in Eastern Europe that really fights fascism, neo-nazis, and skinheads. You statement regarding the police and army recruiting these types is nonsense and parrots western propaganda or the propaganda of the Byelorussian "opposition" (which is the same thing since they are financed and directed by the West).

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[3A CCCP]

What were the conditions in Germany that caused the rise of Nazism? The country had recently suffered a major, humiliating defeat against the West (in World War 1). A significant proportion of the population blamed this defeat on internal saboteurs and traitors. Germany's economy was weak, unstable, crippled by its reliance on the West, and suffered a major crash in 1929. The communists failed to provide a credible alternative to the status quo, so the far right moved in and gathered working class support.

What are the conditions in Russia today? The country has recently suffered a major, humiliating defeat against the West (in the Cold War). A significant proportion of the population blames this defeat on internal saboteurs and traitors. Russia's economy is weak, unstable, crippled by its reliance on the West, and suffered a major crash in 1997. The communists are failing to provide a credible alternative to the status quo, so the far right is moving in and gathering working class support.

Material conditions, comrade, material conditions...

This is a good analysis. I would add that the CPRF had a chance to provide a viable alternative, but did not take it.

Their peak in support was probably reached in 1995 during the 50th Anniversary of the Victory celebrations. Over 250,000 from all over the former Soviet Union marched in the Communist Party's alternative Victory Day Parade down ulitsa Gorkovo/улица имени Горького and made Yeltsin's show look like a joke. It dwarfed anything I have ever seen. The November 7, 1993 march I wrote about in a previous post was huge and probably numbered around 100,000. But, this was off the charts!

In any case, the CPRF never made a genuine move to try to wrest power from Yeltsin, and once Putin took over their support has been slowly going down. The Party just started to participate in the bourgeois government structure and lost the will to really resist in the streets.

Another advantage the fascists have is that it doesn't take much of a brain to understand their program! Communist theory is more difficult to convey. But the main problem is, as you said, that the Communists are not providing a credible alternative.

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[Dean]

The first demonstration I participated in was by accident on Nov. 7, 1992 when everything was virtually outlawed, including demonstrations and newspapers. I went to Red Square to just hang out and saw about 100 or so old people lined up in front of Lenin's Mausoleum. I walked up to find out what was going on and wound up carrying a pole with a Soviet Flag!

Yeltsin's goons and gendarmes didn't touch us probably because it would have looked pretty bad beating up a bunch of senior citizens and me in the new, "democratic" Russia!

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

Well, I know that some kind of communist party was banned that was unbanned around 2002 or so. What the natur eof that party was, and the nature of the banning, may be completely different though :)

[Spasiba]

I guess it's nice to see people sympathetic to communism, but they can hope for so much more if they weren't longing for the USSR but real communism.

Those far right groups also scare me a lot. I mean they'll probably end up destroying themselves since thats pretty much built in to that kind of theory, but still, thats disgusting. Not good.


You've got your dates a bit out of whack. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was banned by Yeltsin in late 1991 and all its property was confiscated. The justification for this was the formation of the ГКЧП/GKChP (Государственный Комитет Чрезвычайного Положения)/State Committee of Extreme Situation) by Kryuchkov to try to save the country.

By late 1992 Zyuganov had legally registered the Communist Party of the Russian Federation which is recognized as the legal successor the the CPSU. I met Zyuganov and participated in demonstrations with the CPRF in 1993, 1994, and 1995.

I remember on November 7, 1993 I was near the head of the column of the march celebrating the Great October near some students. As we approached the Kameny Most/Каменный Мост (literally: Stone Bridge) someone yelled to look back. I turned and from the height going onto the bridge I saw an endless sea of humanity and red banners and flags stretching as far as the eye could see down the wide Leninsky Prospekt. It was mind boggling!

As we crossed the bridge the contingent of students looked toward the Kremlin and began chanting in accented English, "Fuck you, Yetsin. Fuck you, Yeltsin." A Russian worker looked at me quizzically and asked me what they were saying. When I explained he turned toward the Kremlin as we walked and started chanting in really heavily accented English, "Fuck you, Yeltsin."

The first demonstration I participated in was by accident on Nov. 7, 1992 when everything was virtually outlawed, including demonstrations and newspapers. I went to Red Square to just hang out and saw about 100 or so old people lined up in front of Lenin's Mausoleum. I walked up to find out what was going on and wound up carrying a pole with a Soviet Flag!

Yeltsin's goons and gendarmes didn't touch us probably because it would have looked pretty bad beating up a bunch of senior citizens and me in the new, "democratic" Russia!

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

Now that is awesome.:D

[redarmyfaction38]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vYM5Yrrlk&feature=related

Anyone with any extra info on this??? Any comments, opinions????? I know the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has taken very racist stands lately but are the Russian youth like this???? Or is it just the older people??? Comments please.

despite what the western media tells, most ordinary russians have seen their living standards fall, their health and public services disappear and are not overly impressed with the "new" capitalist russia.
they have lost their sense of national identity, they see drug dealers, gangstersand corrupt politicians all doing well, their youth lack direction etc.
in fact they are are black mirror image of the new world they were promised.
in the face of all that, the old stalinist communist party, with all its racism and fear, seems a much better optionthan capitalist "democracy"

[BIG BROTHER]

well I find it positive that russians are coming to accept their past and the soviet union. Hopefully, this will lead them to study marxism, and hopefully this would lead them to seek not another soviet union, but a more legimate socialist country.

I wish the russian communist party was an actual communist party seeking the overthrow of communism, and not lvingout of the nostalgia of the soviet past.

i find it kinda depresing, that who ever made the video, wanted to dismiss communism by throwing in the so called "human nature" bull shit.

[3A CCCP]

despite what the western media tells, most ordinary russians have seen their living standards fall, their health and public services disappear and are not overly impressed with the "new" capitalist russia.
they have lost their sense of national identity, they see drug dealers, gangstersand corrupt politicians all doing well, their youth lack direction etc.
in fact they are are black mirror image of the new world they were promised.
in the face of all that, the old stalinist communist party, with all its racism and fear, seems a much better optionthan capitalist "democracy"

You can't imagine how black the "mirror image" became. I recall when my wife's uncle on her mother's side had a stroke in his apartment in 1995 in Moscow. I left work and grabbed a cab to get there to make sure he was alright. When I arrived the ambulance had just pulled up and we went in together.

The two "EMTs" gave him a percursory examination and then went to the side and had a brief conversation. I overheard one of them say, "Don't bother taking him. He's old and is going to die anyway."

I felt like killing both of them on the spot. They left and I called my son's pediatrician who was also a family friend. He came down right away and performed an examination and got him admitted to a hospital.

In Soviet times they would have whisked him off to a hospital without batting an eye and he would have got immediate treatment. Yeltsin's scumbag government was going over to "pay for treatment" medical care and I guess they figured my wife's uncle couldn't foot the bill!

In the new "humane," "democratic" Russia no one cared that he was a Red Army soldier, veteran of the Great Patriotic War, and fought the Nazis up to Czechoslovakia where his unit was ordered to remain. To them he was just an old man that didn't appear to be able to afford treatment.

3A CCCP!
Mikhail

[al8]

Thats brutal.