Events in Georgia and communists’ respon

Events in Georgia and communists’ response

The confrontation between Russia and Georgia, which continues for 17 years, is developed into armed conflict. Russia has invaded into Georgia in defiance of even bourgeois standards of democracy, hypocritically named this aggression “coercion Georgia into peace” (young communists joked well in Internet, that the next operation will be “the coercion Ukraine into friendship”). The entry of Georgian troops into South Ossetia served as a casus belli. Russian bourgeoisie alleges without adducing any proof, that South Ossetia demands the independence from Georgia. Then the surge of anti-Georgian hysteria in Russian mass media took place, which overshadowed the rest news, even from Olympic Games.

We, conscious proletarians, understand perfectly, that for Russian imperialism with its “administrative resource”, which allowed it to juggle the wills of tens of millions voters at the last election, which alleged, that 99% of Chechens vote for Putin, it’s no trouble at all to juggle the will of South Ossetia’s population, the more so as it amounts only 100,000. We understand perfectly, that the tears of Russian imperialists about South Ossetia’s “women and children” are crocodile tears: how many proletarian women and children in Russia suffer from malnutrition, from the absence of primary sanitary code, how many proletarian women and children are tortured in police stations, how many women and children are martyred by Russian troops at North Caucasus?

What is the cause of Russian aggression and hysterical cries of Russian bourgeoisie?

Today it is no secret that the cause is oil and gas pipelines, which the West has built through Georgia at last years. It becomes possible to transport oil and gas through these pipelines from Central Asia, Caspian Sea and Afghanistan to the West bypassing Russia, i.e. Russian oligarchy lose the part of superprofits, which is gained from the plunder of Central Asian and Caspian oil and gas. Incidentally, 10 years ago, when there are no these oil and gas pipelines, and Georgia demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops, Russia simply has stopped gas supply to Georgia, and Georgia was compelled to resign the claim. Today Russia already can’t act so “liberally”, so it uses force.

All progressive people condemned Russia. Western imperialisms condemned it too, however, naturally, not from principle position, but from competitor’s one.

The aggression against Georgia is in fact the first step of new president. We see, that the hopes of many liberals (and even some communists), that Medvedev will be more democratic than Putin, that Medvedev is “intellectual” as distinct from “tyrant” Putin, turned out naïve illusion: “son” has copied from “dad” not only the gait and the intonation, but pig-headed police brutality too. “Intelligent boy” turned out “obedient boy”.

What is the position of Russian communists and of the opposition in general?

Far right wing of them – Limonov, Zyuganov and lately “turned his coat” to oppositionist Yeltsin’s ex-adviser Delyagin, naturally, hiss at Georgia and even if they criticize Russia, they do it for Russia still hasn’t “bumped off” Georgian independence. Limonov has even written the open letter to government, where he gives it advices! Even 150 years ago, when liberal revolutionary Herzen has written the letter to tsar in connection with the abolition of serfdom, all revolutionaries turned away from him with disdain, but to repeat that absurd Herzen’s act today means to kiss the government in public.

  Delyagin is outraged: communists, such fools, support Georgia instead supporting Russia in the conflict with USA for Georgia. Then he argued as usual, that communists don’t understand Lenin; that Russia is not empire, but the poor country as Somali; that one should advocate not Russia’s defeat, but, on the contrary, its “liberation”.

         It is funny! The official communist leader Zyuganov, on the contrary, supports Russia against Georgia. 90% Russians, according to official public opinion poll, support Russia against Georgia too.

As we see, bourgeois Delyagin have blabbed out in a fit of hysterics, that Russian proletariat, which voice is suppressed both by authorities and opportunists, advocates Russia’s defeat in the conflict with USA, advocates the independence and territorial integrity of Georgia (because communists express the interests of the broad stratum of society; communists’s views emerged not from nowhere, but crystallized from spontaneous aspirations of lower masses of people).

It pleases, that today such extreme chauvinism has minority vote, no matter how mass media try. It is the considerable progress in this respect for the last years. Today even many extreme chauvinists hesitate to express their chauvinism openly, and mask it by internationalist phrase, because they understand, that Russian proletarians don’t support barefaced chauvinism today. For example, there is an article of Michael Molotov “The response to the article of Michael Delyagin “About left supporters of “Georgian Hitler””” at the site of RKSMB, where Molotov criticizes Delyagin from the position of allegedly revolutionary defeatism, however, he writes:



“Let Delyagin points out concrete Lefts, who approve of genocide, if he states this”   



As we see, for Molotov “the genocide of South Ossetian people”, which is mentioned by Russian mass media 100 times a day, is the obvious fact, which doesn’t need any proof.   

Then Molotov writes, that “Russian government is subjected to large capital”, which is “international absolutely”, and perform only the role in its world staging”. According to Molotov, “our government don’t represent national bourgeoisie”.

It is similar to the false Kautsky’s theory of ultra-imperialism, which denies the competition of national imperialisms in the struggle for world domination; which represents competitive contradictions between imperialist powers along with the probability of world wars as a thing of the past. Modern Russian reactionary professors (Plimak and the like) along with opportunist bosses add that theory to their arsenal today in order to represent Russia as subjected to America; in order to conciliate the contradiction between Russian proletariat and Russian national (not “international”, sir Molotov!) bourgeoisie. It is evident from above mentioned words, that Molotov is indignant over the fact, that Russian authorities represent the interests of international bourgeoisie (Molotov and the like understand by this term American bourgeoisie, naturally) instead of the interests of their own, national, bourgeoisie. What ever distinguishes Molotov from Delyagin? Nothing unless the fact, that Delyagin is straighter, more frank.

As a matter of fact, it is funny, that Molotov overlooks the obvious – the repeating of “Cold War” between Russia and the West at last years, all the more at such moment, when this “Cold War” is within a hair’s breadth of “hot” one.

Now let’s examine the statement of the Bureau of Central Committee of RKSMB “On imperialist war in South Ossetia”. It starts from the words about Georgian (not Russian!) aggression. Russian government is condemned for the fact, that “when from the beginning of August during a week there are exchanges of fire from other sides”, it “even don’t thought about the protection of Russian citizens”; and also for the fact, that it haven’t profited by powerful economic instruments, which allow to influence Georgia strongly” (instruments are broken, sirs from RKSMB!)



“We respect the right of the people of South Ossetia of self-determination”   



Indeed! Social-chauvinists suddenly recollect the right of self-determination! But, unfortunately, they do it inappropriately, out of place. As Lenin correctly emphasized, this right is not the absolute for Marxists, it is subjected to the interests of proletariat; one should consider this right in connection with definite historical circumstances.

“We respect the right of the people of South Ossetia of self-determination”… It is as good as if American communists said in 2003: “We respect the right of Iraq’s Kurds of self-determination”. Or it is as good as to say: “We respect the right of the people of Rybinsk (town in Russia – A. G.) of self-determination” (incidentally, the latter for all that absurdity is less absurd, than “the self-determination of South Ossetia”, because the population of Rybinsk is 2.4 times larger than the population of South Ossetia. Our communists somehow forgot that Marxists always opposed the feudal disunity, they advocated large states; that Marxists said about self-determination only in that case, when there is inequality in the level of economic development, which inevitably produces oppression.

But is there that inequality between Georgia and South Ossetia? No. Both of them are under-developed regions. Is the friction between Georgians and South Ossetins (if it really exists) really stronger than the friction between Caucasians in whole and Russia? Are South Ossetins in Russia really less tormented by police and labor aristocracy in the persons of skinheads, than Georgians?

But our “communists”, such nihilists in national question, equate the aspiration of oppressed Georgian nation to the unity (which is overcoming feudal disunity) with the aspiration of oppressor Russian nation to colonial conquests.

Yes, Saakashvili is the puppet of the West, like Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro are the puppets of Russia and China, but in this case the will of USA coincides with the will of Georgian people (Russian mass media blab out, that the opposition to Saakashvili’s regime and Georgian people are much more oppose Russia and advocate united Georgia than Saakashvili himself). If American communist stresses overly the fairness of Georgia’s aspiration of to the unity, then we should naturally suspect that he is American chauvinist, who wishes the victory of America over Russia in this region. But we as Russian communists must emphasize the progressiveness of Georgia’s unity, otherwise we should be not communists, but the puppets of Gazprom, Lukoil and KamAZ (Russian corporations – A. G.).

It is impossible to act in politics without compromises. Georgian people compromise with the West like Soviet Russia compromised with Germany, concluding Brest peace treaty. I shall give another example from the history. During World War II Subhas Chandra Bose, the fighter for the freedom of India from England, who didn’t share fascist ideology, has formed an army out of Indians with the help of Germany, then Japan in order to fight against English oppression. In 1945 England captured this army and decided to try its members by the military tribunal, which provided for severe punishments (exactly as Russia, which already opens criminal cases for the “crimes”, which committed at Georgia’s territory!). All Indian people – both Indian National Congress headed by Gandhi, Muslim Congress and all other progressive organizations together supported Subhas Chandra Bose despite the contradictions among them. This event served as a motive for the national liberation revolution in India.

All Indian people supported Subhas Chandra Bose except… Indian communist party, which acted by order of Moscow. “Subhas Chandra Bose and his army are Nazis, so they must be convicted” – Indian “communists” said, thereby in fact supported English imperialism.

Fortunately, Indian people didn’t follow the advice of “communists”.

Let us return to RKSMB.



“RKSMB condemns the aggressive actions of Georgian authorities in unleashing new, possibly, protracted conflict in Caucasus”



“Aren’t Russian authorities should be condemned?” – Russian proletarian would ask severely these “proletariat’s servants”. RKSMB, anticipating this, slips out cunningly:



“Russian authorities are responsible for this war too”

                                                       

We shall not discuss all confusion – wild chauvinism in some sentences and coward internationalism in others. We shall discuss only the slogans, which are italicized at the end of the statement:



“Down with imperialist war!

No support to Georgian and Russian authorities in the war at South Ossetia!

No to aggression and militarism of Georgian ruling regime!

Down with capitalism – permanent source of wars!”



From the 1st sentence one can conclude that Georgia is the same empire as Russia.

At the 2nd sentence Russia is modestly moved away by Russian communists to the 2nd place after Georgia.

At the 3rd  sentence it is more logically to expect the word “Russian” from communists – from communists, but not from RKSMB.

The 4th sentence is non-committal general phrase of the sort “Volga flows into Caspian sea”. Opportunists constantly dismiss by this phrase the consideration of contradiction between oppressor and oppressed nations, the consideration of the point, which war is progressive and which is not.

As a matter of fact, Engels called Russia “permanent source of wars” (see his work “Foreign policy of Russian tsarism”). One can object: “Russia is not unique source of wars”. I agree with that completely. But we are Russian communists, and we work not with abstract proletariat, but with Russian proletariat, which is still under the influence of Russian bourgeoisie in many respects. So, we must condemn first of all “our own”, Russian, imperialism, not in the least justifying at the same time Western one.

Now let’s consider “The Statement of Left Front”, which was received from the left opportunist Udaltsov. We shall not consider all statement (it is similar to the statement of RKSMB in many respects), but only one point:



“Against the background of hostilities (military operations) it is possible easily and with impunity to go further on the way of decline in living standards of population, beginning from price increase and ending by limitation of civil liberties. And it is possible to represent opposition by the efforts of salaried talker-propagandists nearly as the “national traitors”… We demand the immediate cease-fire and the entering into negotiations from all sides. We advocate real peace” 



So, we see that the sense of this phrase comes to the following: “war reduces living standards, sharpens class contradictions, class struggle, but we have something, and we don’t want to lose it, therefore, we are afraid of it, we, oppositionists, who always serve loyally to  Russian nation, are afraid to be accused of “national treason”, therefore we advocate peace”.

We, Marxists-Leninists, respond to this pacifist-populist (-narodnik) whining: USA with Russia begin world war? Very good! Let them break their necks in that fight! Living standards are reduced? Fine! It will free people from reformist illusions! Freedoms are abolished, bayonet come on the agenda? Excellent! It breaks those who are blinded of their pacifist illusions! Bourgeoisie will accuse us of “national treason” (as Lenin wrote, there are two nations – bourgeoisie and proletariat - within every nation)? Very well! All the more sure that proletarians will support us, because such “negative” publicity from the bourgeois side will be the best publicity in the opinion of proletariat and even of many labor aristocrats, who will be embittered by the decline of living standards and by cutting of freedoms. In fact, Lenin didn’t slip into pacifism for fear of the accusation him as a “German spy”!

P. S. Incidentally, 3 years ago I wrote, that it will be better for the peoples of poor nations to refrain for the time being from military operations until “counter-terrorist” (counter-revolutionary de facto) coalition collapsed, until wolves tear up each other. We see that today, when the alliance of imperialists crumbles, oppressed nations make the best use of this moment:

At North Caucasus almost every week there are killings of policemen, recently Office of Public Prosecutor was fired. 1,500 policemen put in an application for retirement, fearing for themselves.

In Afghanistan recently several French soldiers was killed. Sarkozee, who don’t differ from Medvedev in the police stupidity, calls his soldiers to fight “till final victory” – we have heard already that phrase in 1917 from Provisional Government in Russia.

In Algeria several days running explosions of police stations occurred; several tens of policemen were killed. The struggle in Algeria continues from 1992, when radical Islamists have won an election, but military, which is supported by imperialists (Russia, USA, France), perpetrated coup d’etat and revoked results of the election.

Thus, it is no reason for us, proletarians of the rich nations, to lose heart and to sob: “Oh, when will revolution occur?”. We coolly, with patience (although our fists are clenched through the impudence of “our” cops and military, through chauvinist cries of “our” bourgeoisie, through the evasiveness of “our” opportunists) will carry on propaganda in proletariat, not reckoning on momentary success, but preparing solid, deep success.       



August 22nd, 2008

Gachikus