Celebration with Tears in Eyes

The CPRF 10th anniversary. Post-festival remarks

February 13, 2003, Communist Party of the Russian Federation celebrated a good round figure – its 10th anniversary. Many people probably still remember what was the situation in the country, when the party was founded.

February 1993 – the Yeltsin anti-popular regime is near to its climax. In several months, “Black October” of 1993 came, when we all could see the regime savage grin. As for Communist Party of the Soviet Union, by that moment only debris of it remained. Most of Russians felt disappointment, terror, despair. While the authority, repressing everybody and everything, the “democratic” minority supported by aggressive police-staff and criminal business structures gave a victory ball on the destroyed hopes of millions people. This was especially obvious in Moscow, for main events usually happen in capitals.

People, who possessed power or at least enjoyed popularity among Russian citizens and tried to say “No!” to the “reforms” were simply made keep silent with different methods, including the most extreme.

And in these circumstances of total information war, or cruel political pressure, a party was created. Most of its members felt nearly outcasts in their own country, though fresh force joining the party was all the more important for its leadership. These were real communists, who knew for what they were entering the party. “Forbidden by Yeltsin, swindled by democrats, deprived of its property, money, governing bodies, split into several platforms and fractions, the party is deciding its fate,” – the opposition newspaper Dyen wrote the day before the constituent congress of the party. – “It has to publish its ideology, which is free of recent tenets and understandable for most of Russians. It has to elect its leaders, who are able to rule a left-wing party at the time of cruel social crisis. It has to fight for the Russia unification.”

So the party was created, oriented for national interests, which promised to become a real political force in the nearest future. The first strength test it went through was the Yeltsin 1400th decree “About Gradual Constitution Reform” and his Appeal to Russian Citizens from September 21, 1993. Russian Constitutional Court in turn said about coup d’etat in Russia and declared Yeltsin to be outlawed. The latter was protected by the parliament. As a result of this opposition, a bloody battle broke out. And what did then the new communist leader, Gennady Zyuganov? Zyuganov literally dissolved, retreated into the shadow, saying it was necessary for him and his party to prepare for coming parliamentary election. According to him, it was necessary to penetrate to the power, for the party was not powerful enough to assume the power. At that time, people believed in what Zyuganov said. Indeed, there was a grain of common sense in his words. Seats in first convocation State Duma were conquered. Though, what happened then? CPRF leaded by the same leader Zyuganov turned into a part of state bureauctratic machine, grew together with the power system and occupied a monopoly place in the market of opposition. At the same time, it turned into a kind of stock company, a manger for party functionaries and that ones who serviced this manger.

Within the time CPRF participated in State Duma work, between 1994 and 2003, the party accepted all budgets offered by the government. Even when communists had a majority in the Duma, they did not rejected any candidacy for the government head, while by that time prime ministers dismissals became a kind of hard paranoia of the Kremlin. Everybody remembers the 1996 presidential election, when the CPRF leader, who really won a victory over Yeltsin as for the vote number, practically “presented” to him a new presidential period, by refusing to appeal against the election results. He was said to be afraid of the possible responsibility.

A symbolic thick line under this decade of the KPRF defeatism policy was drawn with the postulate about the “exhausted quota of revolutions” and with footsie with capitalist Berezovsky. Communist Party of the Russian Federation, its leadership, is not ready to assume the power, it simply does not know what to do with the victory, in case it is won. While it is only (or already?) 10 years old! At the same time, it is obvious that on the threshold of next parliament election, Communist Party, according to different polls, shares first places in popularity ratings with the pro-Kremlin party Unity (or United Russia). While this high rating position is supported not only by conservative pensioners. In contrast to the United Russia, which, from understandable reasons, must avoid taking sides and speak evasively and which does not possess a definite political platform, communists offer a concrete national idea. The idea of justice this party presents (communal agriculture, education which is available for everybody etc.) deeply corresponds with Russian soul. Apropos, this is the reason, why the CPRF opponents, the right-wing parties, like Yabloko and Unit of Right Forces will never gain wide support of people, for they propagate principles which cannot be popular in “this country.” Moreover, their idea of private property is deeply opposite to the soul of earth toiler and to Russian soul in general.

But, let me ask a traditional Russian question: What to do? Just to wait until the party rows “refreshment” and “rejuvenation,” of which Mr Zyuganov and his deputy Mr Melnikov take care, touches the party leadership? Though, it cannot happen suddenly, all the more that there is no time to wait, even Russian scientists, philosophers and historians warn about it. The question is “whether there will be or not Russia itself, whether Russian nation remains or not in world history” (I.Froyanov) and that “in about two years, Russia will fall to pieces” (L.Ivashov), that “the country degradation could last until it disappears from the Earth surface” (A.Zinovyev).

Sergei Stefanov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: https://www.pravda.ru/sport/36579-zuganov/