30 years later, 63% of Russians regret the dissolution of the Soviet Union

IN DEFENSE OF COMMUNISM | December 29, 2021

Thirty years since the victory of the counterrevolution and the overthrow of socialism in the Soviet Union, the supposed “heaven” that capitalism would bring in Russia has been proved nothing more than a deception.

The deeply anti-worker policies of the bourgeois governments, from Boris Yeltsin to the current administration of Vladimir Putin, leads more and more Russians to consider what they lost after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Huge social achievements were abolished, the rich became richer and the poor became poorer, while the income for the working class families shrinks year by year. Capitalism has shown its real, repulsive, barbaric face to the working people of Russia. 

Many interesting developments in Russia

The Saker | July 22, 2021

The Sukhoi Su-75

The past week has been quite intense in Russia – lots of interesting developments took place, and today I will mention three:

1. Putin wrote a very interesting essay on the history of Russia and the Ukraine, which he followed up with a very interesting interview.
2. Russia just concluded final tests for truly formidable weapons systems like the S-500 and the Mach 8 hypersonic missile Zircon.
3. In its yearly aviation salon MAKS, Russia has just presented a 5th generation, single engine light multi-functional fighter the Su-75 “Checkmate” (shown here)

These are all truly huge developments for Russia which we need to look into separately.

Navalny Protests to Resume Later in the Year; Recent Opinion Polls Show No Significant Increase in Dissatisfaction Among Russians, Putin Retains 64% Approval Rating

POLITICS IN RUSSIA

Natylie Baldwin

TELEGENIC CROOK—Navalny: already a witting tool of Western intel agencies, part of the new wave of “dissidents” the West is peddling in its hypocritical effort to demonise Russia.

An associate of Navalny has announced that further protests will be postponed until the runup to the Duma elections in the summer. According to an RT report:

Lithuania-based Leonid Volkov, once the anti-corruption campaigner’s chief of staff, has been one of the leading organizers of the demonstrations held in a number of cities throughout the country over the past fortnight. However, in a video posted to the Navalny Live YouTube channel on Thursday evening, he said there would not be a repeat of the marches this week.

Is Russia Waking Up?

POLITICS AND IMPERIALIST INTERVENTION IN RUSSIA 

Aleksandr Buzgalin

MR Online | February 01, 2021

The following text was translated from Russian by Renfrey Clarke and has been edited for clarity. —Eds.

This text is being written in the heat of events immediately following the mass protests that occurred in most regions of Russia on 23 and 31 January 2021. The total number of protestors throughout the country on 23 January was put by the authorities at fewer than 10,000, but by the opposition much more. The largest of the demonstrations was, as usual, the one in Moscow, where according to the official count 4,000 people came onto the streets, while unofficial figures put much bigger number. Similar numbers took part in the protests on 31 January, but this time the clashes were much more fierce, and according to various accounts between 2000 and 4000 people were detained.

Paul Craig Roberts: Is Neoliberalism Killing Russia? (Plus: American Gangsterism around the globe)

Russia is experiencing capital outflows due to the Russian private sector’s repayment of loans to Western creditors. Russia has experienced over $25 billion a year of capital outflows since the early 1990s, accumulating to over a trillion dollars. This money could have been invested in Russia itself to raise the productivity and living standards of its citizens. The outflow puts the ruble under pressure, and the interest payments draw money out of the country away from Russian uses.  If it were not for these outflows, the value of the ruble and Russian wages would be higher.

Putin Asserts: World Imperialism Faces Difficult Times

by Farooque Chowdhury

Countercurrents.org | June 07, 2018

Putin’s latest assertion signals that the world imperialism is going to face tough days in future.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said: “Either Russia is a sovereign country, or there is no Russia.”

The world imperialism is not habituated to listen to such assertions. It’s also a tough message to hirelings of the world imperialism. The masters and their lackeys have to review self-positions, both strategic and tactical, in light of Putin’s latest assertion: Not at the cost of sovereignty.

Russia’s youth are turning to the Communists, not Putin

by Ben Chacko

Morning Star | March 27, 2018

Young Communist Party supporters, both from the Russian town of Lipetsk, Vadim Putintsev, 21, and Olga Bykovskikh, 23, speak to each other during a rally protesting the alleged vote rigging in Russia’s elections. | Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

For those watching abroad, Russia’s presidential election last weekend was unexciting. Vladimir Putin, who has ruled the country for 18 years, won easily, just as he was predicted to.

His 76 percent vote share—up 13 points on 2012’s—is evidence of either his enduring popularity as the leader of a resurgent Russia or the crooked nature of the election itself, depending on who you talk to.

Russia marks 75 years since the nazi surrender at Stalingrad

by Ben Chacko

Morning Star | February 03, 2018

RUSSIANS marked the 75th anniversary of the Red Army’s victory at the Battle of Stalingrad yesterday, attending a military parade and laying wreaths to honour the soldiers who died defending the city.

Protests in Major Russian Cities, Hundreds Arrested

A Journal of People report

Thousands of opposition supporters rallied across Russia against government corruption on March 26, 2017. The protests may be the biggest anti-Kremlin protest since 2012. A number of these protests were approved by authorities while a few were not approved.

Media reports said:

Unsanctioned rallies in several cities including Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Vladivostok sprung up after anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny published allegations that prime minister Dmitry Medvedev had accumulated a massive fortune surpassing his official salary.

Authorities arrested hundreds of demonstrators, including Navalny, who plans to run against president Vladimir Putin in the 2018 election, and Guardian reporter Alec Luhn, who was covering the protests. Luhn was released without any charges immediately after it was established that he was a journalist.

Life After the USSR: Buying the Dream, Living the Nightmare

by Eric Draitser

telesur | 25 December, 2016

Standing in front of the Berlin Wall in June 1987, then President Reagan famously proclaimed:

There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace … General Gorbachev, if you seek peace – if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe – if you seek liberalization: come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

Despite the neoliberal talking points about “freedom,” “democracy,” and “peace,” the reality of life in post-Soviet Eastern Europe is not at all what was promised. Consider the abstractions employed by people like Reagan who framed the end of the Soviet Union as an event that would usher in “peace” and “prosperity.” And then consider the fact that neither peace nor prosperity has come to fruition in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc.