THE DEEPENING world economic imperialist crisis is leading to a much worsening of working class conditions in all parts of the globe.
Both capitalist ruling classes and the Stalinist bureaucracy where they hold power are united in their attempts to move all the consequences of the crisis onto the shoulders of the proletariat.
The countries of the USSR are not an exception to this general situation.
Using different methods, Stalinist bureaucratic elites in these states are attempting to avoid a further wave of working class uprisings, as a result of their extensive and continuing attacks on the living conditions of the working class.
The counter-revolutionary nature of the Stalinist bureaucracy becomes more and more clear to the widest masses of the workers in the Soviet Union.
Despite the apparent monolithic nature of the Russian ruling Putin-Medvedev elite, the actions of the working class are quite strong this autumn.
In particular, the working class in Siberia and the Urals is showing its strength.
On November 3rd 2009 the workers of Lesosibirsk wood-chemical plant, led by our comrades – the members of the Workers Revolutionary League of the Soviet Union – Soviet section of International Committee of the Fourth International, blocked off navigation traffic on the Enisey River for two days, demanding full payment of a three-month salary debt as well as the re-employment at the works of three trade union activists, who were fired shortly before the action.
Being afraid of widening the action, the plant’s administration was forced to fully satisfy the demands of the protesters.
Also the workers of the Western Ural crane plant, three times (in late September, October and the beginning of November) blocked off the traffic on the Solikamsk-Kungur road, also protesting against non-payment of salaries as well as massive sackings. This fight is continuing.
The culmination of this protest wave were Revolution Day rallies on November 7th in different parts of Russia.
The ruling Stalinist bureaucracy tried to minimise these rallies. In particular, Red Square in Moscow was closed for the protesters.
However, masses participated in Revolution Day action, especially in Moscow and Leningrad, confirming that the movement is growing.
WRL comrades in Moscow, Leningrad and other places where we have branches intervened actively in the events. The WRL, as the section of ICFI sees its task in providing the revolutionary leadership and revolutionary program – the program of ICFI – to the workers movement for political revolution in the Soviet Union as part of the world proletarian socialist revolution.
The living conditions of the working class in the Ukraine are even worse than in Russia.
This is explained by the fact that for about five years openly counter-revolutionary, pro-US ‘orange’ forces led by the president Viktor Yushchenko and prime-minister, the ‘gas princess’ Yuliya Tymoshenko, have been in power.
Their course of extending privatisation and joining NATO has led to the most serious resistance from the Ukrainian proletariat.
In connection with the aforesaid it was expected that the protest actions would be even stronger than in neighbouring Russia.
But, correspondingly, the forms and methods of the struggle against the working class from the side of ‘orange’ rulers are even more cynical and flagrant than those used by Putin-Medvedev or Lukashenko.
The president and government created the massive hysteria regarding the ‘flu pandemic’.
The state-controlled media are reporting thousands dead and hundreds of thousands of persons afflicted by the flu, as well as an absence of any effective medicines against a ‘new, mutation of the flu virus’.
Under the conditions of a provoked panic, the government has ordered the closure of the kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities as well as the prohibition of any mass events, including meetings, rallies and demos.
Using this tactic of intimidation, ‘orange’ forces are trying to achieve their goals: first of all, to impede the workers’ mobilisation against the attacks on their living standards, and to cancel or at least postpone the presidential election, which should take place in January 2010 with the aim to keep Yushchenko and Tymoshenko in their positions.
In addition to this, the placement of state orders to purchase medicines for the Ukraine from some big Western pharmaceutical concerns brought the ‘orangeists’ a lot of ‘black cash’ money from these concerns.
By this tactic ‘orange’ forces are strenuously fighting for more power and control inside their own camp.
The current political struggle in the Ukraine is taking the form of preparation for the next presidential election due in January 2010.
‘Orange’ forces are represented by five main candidates – president Viktor Yushchenko, prime-minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, former parliament speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk and former minister of defence Anatoliy Grytsenko.
Oleg Tyagnybok, known for his racist, anti-Russian and anti-Semitic views, is the far right candidate for the presidency. The traditional opponent to ‘orangeists’ is the leader of the Party of the Regions, Viktor Yanukovych.
He is considered by a lot of analysts as one of the main challengers for the presidential position.
The leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine – at the moment a non-parliamentary party – is trying to present it as the alternative both to ‘orange’ forces and Yanukovych.
In the present situation the WRL is calling for critical support to the leader of the Block of Left Forces – the coalition between the CP, United Social Democratic Party and some smaller left-centrist parties – Union of Left Forces and “Spravedlyvist” (Justice).
The Block of Left Forces and its leader, the chairman of the CP, Petro Symonenko is trying to present itself as modern ‘European-type’ left-centrist party, like the Left Party (Die Linke) in Germany or even the Democrats of the Left in Italy.
The Byelorussian president Alexnder Lukashenko, despite his reputation as an anti-Western politician, continues to cooperate with imperialism.
It is not an accident that both European Union officials and the US administration welcome Byelorussia’s ‘first steps toward democracy and human rights’ and call for the development of these steps on the way to building a ‘civil society’.
This civil society means for the Byelorussian working class an unprecedented unemployment rate and a growth of prices, with wages, salaries and pensions ‘frozen’, despite inflation.
During the meeting between Alexnder Lukashenko and the ‘orange’ Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, which took place on November 5th 2009, both sides ascertained a ‘unity of views regarding almost all points of discussion’.
The main feature of the present situation in Moldova is the fact that the CP, which was in power in Moldova for the last eight years (the CP had absolute majority in the parliament and CP leader Vladimir Voronin occupied the presidential post), became the opposition.
It happened because at the parliamentary election, which took place this July, the CP received only 48 seats; while openly pro-imperialist coalition of ‘democratic forces’ won 53.
Vladimir Voronin resigned from the presidential post this September; and at the moment all key positions are occupied by right-wing representatives of the ‘democratic coalition’ – the government is led by the chairman of the Liberal-Democratic party, Vlad Filat, and the leader of Liberal party, Mihai Ghimpu, is the parliamentary speaker and temporary acting president.
The representatives of the ‘democratic coalition’ are conducting negotiations with some CP members for the support of their candidate, the leader of Democratic party, Marian Lupu, at the upcoming presidential elections (the president in Moldova is elected by the parliament; and, according to the constitution, it is necessary to have at least 61 votes to be elected). The defeat of the CP to a considerable degree is explained by the fact that, while in power, the CP conducted a policy of ‘integration with the European Union’ and privatisation.
Naturally, it was accompanied with mass dismissals at the privatised and ‘restructured’ enterprises and, correspondingly, huge unemployment, poverty and massive migration of Moldavian workers abroad.
Despite the different situations in the Soviet states, the main common feature is the further development of the cooperation of the ruling Stalinist bureaucracy with imperialism, and the attempts of this bureaucracy to continue their way towards capitalist restoration and, as a result, with growing attacks on the working class.
The only way for the workers is through the political revolution in the Soviet Union as a part of the world socialist proletarian revolution.
And for the realising of this revolution we, the WRL as the Soviet section of ICFI, will provide revolutionary leadership for the working class.
Long live the world party of the proletarian revolution – the International Committee of the Fourth International.
