BRICS share our commitment to socialism, says Russian Federation Communist Party General Secretary
"Look how effectively international organizations such as BRICS and the SCO work... And they not only share our commitment to socialism. They most actively support Russia's fair foreign policy. They are on our side on the issue of Crimea and assistance to the Donetsk and Lugansk republics."
The beginning of 2019 was marked by dramatic and alarming events that indicate an intensification of crisis processes both within Russia and in foreign policy. Citizens are faced with a new price hike. The liberal lobby persistently calls on the authorities for radical “reforms” that threaten even more rapid mass impoverishment. In Magnitogorsk and Shakhty, terrible accidents with human casualties occurred in residential buildings, indicating a dangerous increase in problems in the housing and communal services sector. Sociologists have recorded a record drop in the level of public trust in government and an unprecedented increase in social discontent. A new crisis has also occurred in Russia’s relations with the West. The State Duma opposed the resumption of the work of the Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Our country’s final break with one of the most influential political institutions of the European Union is becoming increasingly likely.
Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, head of the Communist Party faction in the State Duma G.A. Zyuganov analyzes these events and proposes specific measures to solve the problems facing the country and society.
The ghost of the 1990s is stalking Russia
Our lives today take place against the backdrop of constant accidents. The New Year began with a serious accident in the industrial and household sector - a tragedy in Magnitogorsk, where dozens of people died due to a gas explosion in a residential building. A few days later, a similar disaster, but with fewer victims, happened in Shakhty, Rostov region. But we have accidents both in domestic politics and in international relations.
The recent Gaidar Forum, which became the main political platform for oligarchic business and liberals from the corridors of power, once again confirmed: those who strangled the country in the 1990s do not let up. Here again absolutely murderous recommendations and cannibalistic proposals were made. Their main danger is that they are not only announced by adherents of the ideology of shock “reforms,” but also form the basis of many government decisions that hurt our citizens.
At two previous forums, the former Minister of Finance and now the head of the Accounts Chamber, Mr. Kudrin, actively convinced the authorities of the need to carry out pension “reform.” And the new pension law, according to which citizens are forced to work 5 years longer, turned out to be based precisely on his proposals. Kudrin himself, like the other creators of this law, does not want to be responsible for its dire consequences and pay attention to the mass protest of citizens. Instead, at the current Gaidar Forum, he called for taking new destructive steps: returning to wholesale privatization in the spirit of the 1990s, selling off the last state property. Insisting on the need to transfer state corporations, state and municipal unitary enterprises into private hands, Kudrin once again repeats the liberal mantra, which has already cost Russia and our people colossal losses: supposedly only private capital, only the complete transfer of control into the hands of the oligarchy, will save us.
Meanwhile, the oligarchs themselves do not invest anything in the development of the country. But in the past year, while citizens’ incomes continued to fall, the nouveau riche increased their capital by more than 10 percent. The three most “lucky” oligarchs in 2018 became richer by another 840 billion rubles. This is almost 200 billion more than the budget of the state program for the development of science and almost 100 billion more than the budget of the state program for the development of education. And we are talking about the budget of programs designed not for one year, but for five.
An equally cannibalistic proposal was made by Mr. Chubais at the last Gaidar Forum. Arguing that Russian consumers allegedly pay half as much for electricity as the rest of the world, he calls for a sharp increase in energy tariffs. Realizing that his statement, as usual, would cause outrage in society, Chubais chose to make a reservation: the new tariffs should not be extended to the poor. But it is absolutely obvious that if his proposals are implemented, this will push millions of people into the pit of poverty who have not yet managed to completely fall into it and have not yet been officially recognized as poor.
I hoped that the state media would give a reasoned and tough response to the adventurous proposals of the champions of neoliberal robbery. Nothing like this! They began to actively promote the ideas voiced at the Gaidar Forum, carefully filtering out any alternative opinions and programs. They do not want to discuss the five-year program proposed by the governor of the Irkutsk region, Sergei Levchenko. There is not a word about a qualitatively new course for interaction with municipalities by the Governor of the Oryol Region, Andrei Klychkov. They say nothing about the initiatives of the people's government of the new young leader of Khakassia, Valentin Konovalov. They are silent about the most interesting program for the development of science and the social sphere, which was proposed by the mayor of Novosibirsk Anatoly Lokot. The reason for this is obvious: the state media do not want to admit that the most promising proposals that truly meet the interests of the majority are made by representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and our allies.
The authorities still do not want to take these proposals into account. As a result, we are witnessing a real emergency situation in the socio-economic sphere.
Rosstat “reports”:
— Inflation at the end of 2018 averaged 4.3%. At the same time, its growth rate turned out to be twice as high as in 2017.
— The increase in prices for the most important food products last year ranged from 10 to 30%. Meat, potatoes and onions rose in price by 10%, cabbage - by 20%, tomatoes - by 22%, chicken eggs - by 26%, granulated sugar - by 28%, cucumbers - by 37%.
— Gasoline prices increased by 9.5% over the year. Tickets for long-distance trains have become 12% more expensive.
— The ruble lost 20% against the dollar over the year.
Detailed data from Rosstat regarding the rise in prices for goods and services and the devaluation of the ruble cast doubt on the average inflation indicator that Rosstat insists on. It is obvious that real inflation is significantly higher.
The Central Bank presents the results of its survey: according to citizens' estimates, average inflation in the past year was more than 10%.
The analytical department of Loko-Invest predicts that January inflation will be at least 1.3%. In the future, prices may rise by an average of 1.5% every month. As a result, real inflation in 2019 may approach 20%.
The Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Food Products "Rusprodsoyuz" made an official statement in the media: due to the increase in VAT, food prices will increase in the first quarter by at least 8%. And some of them will rise in price by at least 12% in the first quarter alone.
It is not surprising that sociological surveys show that no more than a quarter of citizens expect their incomes to increase in the coming year. Real incomes fell for the fifth year in a row. It cannot be otherwise when the small nominal increase in wages clearly lags behind the much more rapid rise in prices.
How can people survive in such conditions, how can they prevent themselves from finally sliding into poverty, in which, according to official data alone, 20 million Russians already live? For many, the last straw is loans. If it were not for them, even the official statistics regarding impoverishment would be even more unsightly. But loans are a direct path to debt bondage. A temporary solution to problems that ultimately only makes them worse.
Here are the data from VTsIOM:
— 57% of citizens have outstanding debts to banks. Every second person has a debt to two or more credit institutions.
— The total debt of Russians to creditors jumped by 22% in 2018 and reached 16 trillion rubles. This is 28% of the total annual income of all citizens of the country.
Over the past year, the government has argued that it will be easier for Russians to solve their housing problems as mortgages become more affordable. But as soon as the New Year holidays ended, Sberbank and VTB announced that they were raising mortgage rates from the previous 9-10% per annum to 11-12%.
Global forecasts that directly affect Russia are also disappointing.
Bank of America predicts that average global GDP in 2019 will slow from 3.5% to 2%. This will lead to a collapse in oil prices to $35 per barrel.
Public trust in the authorities is steadily declining, and protest sentiments are growing. Society is increasingly vocal about the inconsistency of the results that resulted from the abandonment of socialism, and about the need to change course. The first sociological studies of 2019 show:
— More than half of those surveyed — 53% — are in favor of the resignation of the government. And among the workers and among the intelligentsia, supporters of a change of government make up the absolute majority.
— The main complaints of citizens against the government are its inability to cope with rising prices and falling incomes (57%), unwillingness to provide people with work (46%), lack of concern for the social protection of citizens (43%).
— Only 7% said that they have no complaints against the government.
— 54% are outraged by the actions of the Russian authorities over the past month.
— The respondents are most proud of the outstanding feats of the Soviet era: victory in the Great Patriotic War, space exploration, enormous scientific achievements.
— In response to the question of what they are most ashamed of, citizens first of all name poverty, the destruction of the USSR, the results of perestroika and Russia’s lag behind the West.
All this is indisputable evidence of the bankruptcy of the current socio-economic course and the steady approach of an emergency situation in relations between society and government.
Decisiveness and wisdom are the key to foreign policy success
There is also an accident in foreign policy. On January 17, the State Duma opposed the return to work in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the resumption of Russia's contribution to the Council of Europe. This position is dictated, in essence, by the treacherous attitude of PACE towards the Russian national delegation. Since 2015, she has been effectively deprived of the right to vote in the Assembly. And recently I received a cynical proposal from the PACE leadership: to vote only on the issue of the candidacy of its leader, and to remain silent on other issues.
I agree that we should not participate in the work of those international structures where our real rights are violated. And there is no need to transfer money to these structures. But I have always insisted and continue to insist: we must pursue the most active foreign policy, which will allow us to be adequately represented everywhere and successfully defend the state and national interests of Russia.
I would like to draw special attention to what is happening in Europe, 47 of which are members of the aforementioned PACE. The European Union, home to 508 million people, is our main trading partner. Until recently, Russia’s trade turnover with the EU was approaching $400 billion. But in recent years it has decreased by almost a third. In 2018, the situation partially improved. But overall the prospects are not encouraging.
At one time, speaking at the Council of Europe and speaking about the problems of Europe against the backdrop of the challenges of the 21st century, I emphasized: close interaction between our great country and the European Union is an objective necessity that cannot be avoided. And the more active such interaction is, the greater the economic and social effect both sides will receive. This is also important for maintaining international security. In the first half of the 20th century, Europe received two powerful vaccinations against wars, which swept through it in the most merciless way. And they would have destroyed it if not for the Soviet Union. By combining the potentials of our country and Europe, we can solve any problem.
At the same time, we are a Eurasian power. Today, the most energetic economic and financial processes are taking place in Asia. Here China shows the wonders of truly creative reforms. It became a great industrial power, essentially the workshop of the world. And at the same time - a space giant. He showed what path our country could have taken if socialism had not been destroyed, but had been strengthened and developed on the basis of large-scale modernization and a social state.
Today we could serve as a vital bridge between Europe and Asia. The New Silk Road, the Northern Sea Route, and the reconstructed BAM would make it possible to increase China’s already very close trade and economic ties with both our country and the European Union. In terms of trade turnover with the EU, amounting to more than $650 billion, China ranks second after the United States.
Meanwhile, the influential pro-American lobby that exists in Russia and represents a secret but united party of liberal revenge not only continues to determine the socio-economic course, but also seeks to turn the country’s foreign policy into the channel of treacherous capitulation. It is no coincidence that the issue of the possible transfer of the Kuril Islands to Japan as a condition for signing a peace treaty with this country, the main ally of the United States in the Pacific region, was again on the agenda.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation insists that it is unacceptable to even seriously discuss such a prospect. Any surrender of territory is not only the separation of its lands from the country, but also a very dangerous precedent, which creates the ground for new territorial claims against us. And there are many people in the world who want to make such claims.
A principled foreign policy position is extremely important. But it is very important, when defending your position, not to slam the door, not to go into irrevocable isolation, but to make maximum use of the already accumulated experience of international relations.
If we return to the history of our activities in the same PACE, then this history as a whole is very interesting and extremely fruitful. Russia was admitted to the Council of Europe on February 28, 1996. Since then, my colleagues and I - Melnikov, Kashin, Afonin, Novikov, Kalashnikov, Kharitonov, Pletnyova, Taisaev, Kolomeitsev - have done a lot to strengthen international relations in general. It should be noted that the PACE platform is different in that representatives of the two chambers of the Russian parliament - the Federation Council and the Duma - work there as one team. We have 18 places there, just like the largest European countries - Germany, France, Italy. We created an international faction of the united left in PACE, which actively supported and defended all our most important initiatives.
Today, in international institutions - including PACE - two main trends have clearly emerged. One is related to active interaction with Russia and our parliamentarians. We continue to be consistently supported by the united left. Quite often socialists are on our side. And many countries such as Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal. They almost never vote against Russia. In most cases, Germany and France take a fairly balanced position.
Another trend is openly hostile towards us. It is mainly personified by the Anglo-Saxons, the leaders of the Atlanticist world. In the same PACE, the American ambassador and delegates from Britain are primarily against Russia. They are the ones who actively provoke scandals and opposition to us in any endeavor. And they always attacked us for every reason. Because we fought terrorists in Chechnya. For supporting brotherly Serbia, opposing the NATO aggression to which it was subjected. Our American and British opponents and their Baltic henchmen mocked Belarus in every possible way when we persistently defended its fair and peaceful position.
It must be emphasized: in these difficult times, it is extremely important to continue to support fraternal Belarus, and not present new bills and demands to it. Because Belarus plays an exceptional stabilizing role in Europe. This is a country that refused to follow the neoliberal path and ultimately achieved excellent socio-economic results. She showed an example of a democratic solution to many problems, including the introduction of bilingualism, the harmonious coexistence of the Russian and Belarusian languages in one state. This is a country that cherishes the best traditions, maintains dignity and actively fights against Nazism and Banderaism, which captured Ukraine to destroy the unity of the Slavic peoples.
Opponents have always attacked us for Russia’s principled, balanced position on the Middle East and Syria. At one time, at the request of PACE, I traveled to this region and met with the leaders of Middle Eastern states. With Saddam Hussein in Iraq, with Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, with Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. This made it possible to make informed decisions and contributed to a settlement in this long-suffering region.
Today, the same Atlanticist forces take an absolutely irreconcilable position in connection with the opposition that we provide to the Nazi-Bandera clique that seized power in Ukraine. They don’t like that the will of the residents of Crimea to reunite with Russia has come true. I don’t like that we are preventing the outbreak of a civil war in Donbass. It is all the more important for us to actively work with foreign politicians who are able to behave responsibly and productively. Including with the delegations represented in PACE. This kind of work always brings positive results.
At the same time, we insist: it is necessary to officially recognize the DPR and LPR and freely provide Russian citizenship to all residents of these republics who wish to receive it.
The wear and tear of liberal ideas and the need for new policies
It is obvious that Europe is experiencing a serious crisis of governance. This leads to political turbulence that threatens to develop into a real earthquake.
In Britain, Theresa May and her government find themselves in a stalemate over Brexit. The position of the majority of citizens was expressed in the referendum: they voted for the country to leave the EU. But the authorities do not know how to implement this solution. And the liberal lobby is ready to overstep the law and simply turn a blind eye to the will of citizens, ignore the referendum, or force society to vote again. In our country, the same lobby criminally crossed out the results of the referendum held in March 1991, when the absolute majority spoke in favor of preserving the USSR. And now they want to prevent the British from breaking out from under the control of the neoliberal bureaucracy that runs the European Union, imposing a foreign policy on it to please the United States and NATO and provoking an extremely dangerous migration crisis.
In France, President Macron, who adopted the same liberal policies, turned the entire country against himself. And the “yellow vests” are just the beginning of the inevitable large-scale protest against his course.
In Germany, Angela Merkel is increasingly looking like a lame duck. And, realizing his inevitable imminent departure from big politics, he is trying to impose on the country successors who will inherit the principles of its government, which are precisely what cause the greatest discontent in society.
These crisis processes are growing in leading European countries. And today it is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. In this situation, we must not isolate ourselves from each other, exacerbating explosive trends, but conduct balanced negotiations and look for solutions that meet the interests of each party. By working competently with everyone, clearly justifying our position, and demonstrating a peaceful foreign policy, we can achieve decent results in this direction. But an indispensable condition for this is the implementation of genuine social reforms that will strengthen internal unity in the country. And at the same time they will contribute to the strengthening of Russia’s influence in all international institutions, the growth of our authority in the world, which is increasingly demanding an alternative to the dead-end neoliberal ideology.
Look how effectively international organizations such as BRICS and the SCO work. How vigorously our relations with China, India, and Vietnam are developing. How friendly and brotherly we are greeted in Venezuela and Cuba. How actively left-wing patriotic forces around the world support us. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Great October Revolution and the 100th anniversary of the Komsomol, 132 delegations from all over the planet came to us. And they not only share our commitment to socialism. They most actively support Russia's fair foreign policy. They are on our side on the issue of Crimea and assistance to the Donetsk and Lugansk republics.
The Russian authorities must take this experience into account, generalize it and draw appropriate conclusions. But what actually happens? A real information bacchanalia on the leading channels - in the worst traditions of the 1990s. It seems that the entire company, which more than 20 years ago published the false newspaper “God Forbid!”, has now migrated to some divisions of the presidential administration and to federal television channels. They continue to replace honest coverage of events with deceptive propaganda, and civilized elections with dirty PR and massacres. And thereby they contribute to civil division, and not to the unity of society, without which it is impossible to overcome the crisis and take the path of successful development.
The President in his addresses and Patriarch Kirill in his sermons call for unity and cohesion, for caring for every person. And at the same time we see a completely shameless and dishonest policy towards the left in our country.
An example of this is the absolutely unfair decision in the case of our comrade Vladimir Bessonov. His persecution on trumped-up charges has continued for seven years. A conscientious, honest patriot was sentenced to three years only because he faithfully served the working people. We have filed an appeal in this regard and will vigorously fight to have the unfair charges against him dropped.
Another example is the open persecution of Pavel Grudinin, a brilliant business executive and head of the Lenin state farm, an enterprise that recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and is recognized as one of the best in the country. There are amazing schools, excellent kindergartens, and the highest level of social protection for workers and veterans. There is ultra-modern production there. But instead of introducing Grudinin’s experience throughout the country, telling the whole of Russia about it, official propaganda is trying in every possible way to discredit it. And he continues to admire the experience of other countries, fighting with the best managers of Russia. Those who shape the socio-economic course today prefer not to support public enterprises, not to actively work with them, but to continue to patronize the oligarchy, intoxicated by impunity and fabulous profits obtained at the cost of mass impoverishment and degradation of the domestic economy.
I recently saw Posner's late-night program in which he raved about Finnish schools. But on Grudinin’s farm, the school is much better than the Finnish ones! We worked together to create this unique educational institution, summarizing Soviet and world experience. We are praised for foreign achievements, but films about Grudinin’s amazing achievements cannot make it to Russian television channels. This is an absolutely irresponsible and frankly anti-patriotic position. The same applies to the unique Levchenko Five-Year Plan program. And the experience of forming regional policy by Klychkov’s team in the Oryol region. And the convincing first steps of the young governor of Khakassia Konovalov.
I am convinced that such a shameless information policy brings harm to the entire society, Russia as a whole. If we want to jointly solve problems within the country and internationally, if we are going to use the unique thousand-year experience of our country, then we must remember: without justice, without friendship of peoples, without respect for the working person and care for every worker, children, women, the elderly we will not get out of a severe systemic crisis. It is impossible to overcome the sanctions that our opponents have imposed on the country, seeking to bring Russia to its knees and sow chaos in it.
I mentioned the crisis of governance in Europe. But we cannot help but say that the personnel shortage, the personnel crisis, is a gigantic problem that our country faces today. If personnel does not correspond to historical challenges, this is fraught with great danger for the state. And until this problem is resolved, the country and society remain hostage to managerial helplessness and irresponsibility.
What is happening in Russia and in the world allows us to draw a confident conclusion: both in the economy and in politics, the wear and tear of liberal ideas and the fruits that they gave has reached its limit. The collapse of this bankrupt ideology occurs against the backdrop of the breakdown of the entire international security system that has been formed over the past 50 years. Hence the main conclusion: new ideas, new policies, a new course and a new team are needed. All this is offered in our program “10 steps to a decent life.” The effectiveness of this program has already been proven by the concrete experience of its implementation by people's enterprises, showing that it is they, based on the principles of renewed socialism, who most successfully resist crisis and collapse.
We have always fought and will continue to fight for the successful development of our country. And we believe that an important guideline in this sense is the President’s Address, which outlines the goal: to reach global growth rates and enter the top five leading economies on the planet. But for this, wishes alone are not enough. What is needed is a strong team, a qualitatively new policy, a fundamentally different socio-economic course and a decent attitude towards those who offer a clear program for its implementation.
Gennady Zyuganov,
Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
Source: https://kprfrzn.ru/news/informatsiya-ck/g-a-zyuganov-liberalizm-smertonosen-dlya-rossii