#11
Novye Izvestia
January 22, 2002
SILENCE OF THE COMMUNISTS
Analysis of the latest congress of the Russian Communist Party
Author: Rustem Falyakhov
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
AN EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESS OF THE RUSSIAN COMMUNISTS HAS BEEN HELD BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. THE COMMUNISTS DID NOT SAY ANYTHING NEW AT ALL, AND GENNADI ZYUGANOV WAS RE-ELECTED AS LEADER. THE KREMLIN'S POLITICAL CONSULTANTS ARE DOING ALL THEY CAN TO SPLIT THE LEFT MOVEMENT NOWADAYS.
An extraordinary congress of the Russian Communists has been held behind closed doors. This privacy was the only intriguing aspect of it.
After delivering his report to the congress, Communist leader Gennadi Zyuganov revealed its major themes right after the congress. The Communists have two main complaints against the government.
Firstly, President Putin "is giving up all geopolitical territory of a state which is a thousand years old". Secondly, he is pursuing a "policy of genocide".
In other words, the Communists did not say anything new at all.
Delegates to the congress appraised the communist ranks as well. According to the party statisticians, 34 regional leaders support Communist ideas. According to unofficial reports, only five "red governors" turned up at the congress - from Tula, Kursk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Kamchatka.
Even these five regional leaders did not always agree with the Communist Party in absolutely everything. Mikhail Mashkovtsev from Kamchatka urged his comrades to cooperate with the federal government, only moving into opposition to the regime on key issues.
Duma Speaker Gennadi Seleznev frowned when he heard the term "policy of genocide" from Zyuganov. Seleznev said that the term sounded fine but was not exactly correct. In fact, Seleznev was actually late for the beginning. He turned up after Zyuganov's program speech.
Petty discord did not prevent the communist leader's re-election. Only five delegates voted against Zyuganov.
The Kremlin's political consultants are doing all they can to split the left movement nowadays. Young party functionaries want their chance to be in the driver's seat too. The inaugural congress of the Russian Labour Party took place the other day. Oleg Shein, its leader and a Duma deputy, is convinced that the new party will be able to win some votes from the Communists.
The Communists do not plan to change the party name. The statement about its acronym not being subject to change is probably an echo of a recent incident. There are rumors that TV journalist Sergei Dorenko suggested the acronym for the conservative party. LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky took up the joke and said CPRF would be a fine acronym for the merged Unity and Fatherland party.
It seems that even President Putin recognizes the closeness of the Communists and the pro-government party. He sent his congratulations to the congress advocating consolidation of all creative forces.
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