The political party "" (hereinafter - the Communist Party of the Russian Federation or the Communist Party of the Russian Federation) was created on a voluntary basis by citizens of the Russian Federation, united on the basis of common interests to implement its program and statutory goals.

Formed on the initiative of the communists, the primary organizations of the Communist Party of the RSFSR and the CPSU, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation continues the work of the RSDLP - RSDLP (b) - RCP (b) - All-Union Communist Party (b) - CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR, being their ideological successor. IN AND. Lenin dated the emergence of the Communist Party and Bolshevism “as a current of political thought and as a political party” from 1903, i.e. from the II Congress of the RSDLP.

The leaders, general (first) secretaries, and chairmen of the party over the 110-year period were: V.I.Lenin(until 1924), I.V.Stalin(until 1953), N.S. Khrushchev(1953-1964), L.I.Brezhnev(1964-1982), Yu.V.Andropov(1982-1983), K.U. Chernenko(1983-1984), M.S.Gorbachev(1984-1991), as well as in the Communist Party of the RSFSR - I.K.Polozkov(1990-1991), V.A.Kuptsov(1991), G.A.Zyuganov(from February 1993 - from the moment of re-establishment of the Communist Party of the RSFSR - Communist Party of the Russian Federation until the present).

The party operated underground and semi-legally from 1903 to February 1917. Legally - from March 1917. As the ruling party RSDLP(b) - RCP(b) - All-Union Communist Party (b) - CPSU and Communist Party of the RSFSR operated from November 7 (October 25 according to the old style) 1917 to August 23, 1991. Exercised executive power as part of a coalition government from November 1917 to July 1918 (coalition with the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party), as well as from September 1998 to May 1999. (coalition government of Primakov-Maslyukov).

Based on the Decrees of President B.N. Yeltsin in 1991-1992 and after the execution of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR in 1993 activities of the Communist Party in the Russian Federation was banned (suspended).

At the end of 1992, after the decision of the Constitutional Court of the RSFSR, which declared unconstitutional the provisions of the Decrees of President B.N. Yeltsin on the dissolution of the organizational structures of primary party organizations formed on a territorial principle, the party resumed its activities.

Another one an attempt to ban the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and arrest the leaders of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and communist deputies of the State Duma was undertaken in March 1996 after the State Duma denounced the Belovezhskaya Accords on the dissolution of the USSR.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is the continuation party RSDLP- RSDLP(b) - RCP(b) - All-Union Communist Party (b) - CPSU and Communist Party of the RSFSR registered with the authorities of the current Russian Federation since the Second Extraordinary Congress of Communists of Russia (February 13-14, 1993) as the restored Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

Current name - Political Party " COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION».

Communist Party of the Russian Federation - party of patriots, internationalists, party of friendship of peoples, defense of Russian, Russian civilization. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation, defending communist ideals, protects the interests of the working class, peasantry, intelligentsia, and all working people. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation builds its work on the basis of the Program and Charter.

On January 1, 2016 within the structure of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation are functioning 85 regional organization, 2,350 local and 14,151 primary branches. Since the previous congress of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, more than 60 thousand of our like-minded people have joined the ranks of communists HThe party's strength is 162,173 people.

More than half of Russian communists are people of working age and active age. Social composition of the party: 14% - workers, 13% - office workers, about 7% - unemployed, 6.6% - farmers, 4.3% - students, 4.2% - engineering and technical workers, 4% - representatives of the creative intelligentsia , 3% - entrepreneurs, 1.2% - business managers.

The average age of members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is 55.6 years.

If you are an adult citizen of the Russian Federation, are not a member of another party, share the Program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and recognize its Charter, are not indifferent to the fate of our Motherland and consider capitalism to be an unjust structure of society, if you want to fight for communist ideals - you can become a communist! Read more about how to join the Communist Party of the Russian Federation You can find out at relevant section. If you share the ideas of the Communist Party, are not indifferent to what is happening in Russia today and are ready to provide the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with all possible assistance, then You can become a supporter of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

ABOUT governing body structure parties You can find information in the section Governing body structure.

If you would like to familiarize yourself with the official documents of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, materials about the meetings of the Presidium, Plenums, Congresses, etc., you can find all this in the section Official documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

To get contact information or leave a donation to the party fund, you can find everything you need in the section of the same name Contact Information .

The banner of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is red.

The anthem of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is “International”.

The symbol of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a symbol of the union of urban, rural, scientific and cultural workers - a hammer, a sickle and a book.

The motto of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is “Russia, labor, democracy, socialism!”

The attitude of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to the national question

For a truly communist party, the principle of proletarian internationalism is at the forefront of all its activities, and this is expressed even in the main slogan of communists around the world -

“Workers of all countries, unite!”

Why is this the main slogan of the communists?

Yes, because only by uniting the proletariat of different countries and peoples can the world bourgeoisie be defeated!

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation views the national question completely differently. On the one hand, it seems to declare the friendship of peoples:

“The party is fighting... for the re-creation of the fraternal Union of Soviet peoples...” [see. Program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation], and on the other hand, states in the same Program that “the tasks of solving the Russian question and the struggle for socialism are essentially the same.”

These are the words of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and its actions are even more odious - the “Russian Lad” movement, initiated by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, unites in its ranks not workers and rural workers, but 130 bourgeois-patriotic, nationalist and Orthodox structures, such as “Holy Russia”, Cossack Foundation "For the Fatherland" and the International Slavic Academy! Those. terry monarchists, nationalists and religious figures, whose task is to promote in every possible way the prosperity of the ruling class in Russia today - the bourgeoisie, and, consequently, the unbridled oppression and exploitation of the working masses of our country!

Arguing in its Program about the fraternal Union of Soviet peoples, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation at the same time hates these peoples with fierce hatred, demanding legislative restrictions on the entry into Russia of migrants from Central Asia, who, generally speaking, are representatives of those very Soviet peoples who lived under Soviet socialism among themselves very amicably. Why did these peoples not please the Communist Party of the Russian Federation today? The fact that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation carries out the will of the national bourgeoisie of Russia and the Central Asian republics, which are simply engaged in dividing the market among themselves, including the labor market, without which profit and appropriation of other people's labor is impossible.

Which class benefits from the ardent nationalism of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation? Again, only and exclusively the bourgeoisie!!!

The classics of Marxism-Leninism have irrefutably proven that the transition from capitalism to socialism other than through a socialist revolution is IMPOSSIBLE. History has repeatedly confirmed their conclusion.

As for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, perhaps Zyuganov’s most famous phrase is the notorious “... Our country has exhausted the limit on revolutions and other upheavals...”, which says only one thing, that the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is not only an outright lackey of the bourgeois class, but also not a very smart person.

Revolutions cannot be banned. A revolution is a change in the socio-economic system, fundamental changes in all areas of society, during which the dominant class in society changes. Revolutions are required by life itself, the very development of productive forces, human society, science, and technology. Revolutions arise regardless of the wishes of any specific individuals; they are the result of the objective laws of the development of human society. And since the old ruling class never leaves voluntarily, in an amicable way, these changes are usually brought about by revolutionary uprisings. Such were, for example, all bourgeois revolutions, when the bourgeois class, which grew up in the depths of feudal society, overthrew the feudal class. All socialist revolutions were the same, when the oppressed class of proletarians overthrew their oppressors, the bourgeois class.

But the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and its leader Zyuganov categorically disagree with the laws of social development. They completely deny the socialist revolution, suggesting that the working people move towards socialism through political struggle in the bourgeois parliament. The fact that this path is completely unrealistic and unpromising does not bother them. Exactly the opposite, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is very happy with this - after all, this party lives very well, receiving huge money from the Russian bourgeois government for its supposed defense of the interests of the working people.

Would the bourgeoisie pay a lot of money to those who really want to overthrow it? Never! This means that the activities of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the form in which they are carried out are beneficial to the bourgeoisie!
What does the Communist Party of the Russian Federation think about the dictatorship of the proletariat?

If the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is afraid of revolutions like fire, then the mere mention of the dictatorship of the proletariat, on the principles of which every true communist party should stand, will immediately make it quake. We look at the Program, listen to the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Zyuganov and see that we were not mistaken - that’s how it is.

In the Program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, in Zyuganov’s speeches and in the official documents of the party there is not even a mention of the dictatorship of the proletariat!

But V.I. Lenin directly pointed out that anyone who denies the dictatorship of the proletariat is an enemy of the working class and an enemy of socialism, because without the dictatorship of the proletariat it is impossible to build a socialist society!

In a class society, where two main social classes - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat - participate in material production, only either the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie or the dictatorship of the proletariat is possible. There cannot be any other state, which the Communist Party of the Russian Federation constantly talks about, without indicating its class essence and calling it the “state of the working people”!

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation proposes that Russian workers go not to the scientific socialism of Marx and Lenin, but to a kind of “socialism of the 21st century,” “new socialism” (“neo-socialism”), in which labor and capital will somehow coexist peacefully. Can a wolf and a sheep, a man and a tick feeding on his blood, live together peacefully? This is completely out of the question! One of them must give way to the other. And historical practice shows that whenever there is talk about the “peaceful coexistence of labor and capital,” in reality it turns out that this only means the complete subordination of labor to capital. This is exactly what happens with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

Let’s see what the Communist Party’s “socialism of the 21st century” consists of and what its main features are.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation sees its main task as:

“the establishment of the democratic power of the working people, broad popular patriotic forces led by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.” [Cm. Program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation].

This party is going to:

“actively revive and develop direct democracy...” [See. Program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation].

What is “democracy”?

This is something that can never happen, and something that the bourgeoisie always shouts about, covering their interest with talk about the people in general.

Why can't there be democracy?

But because it makes no sense for the people to rule over themselves. They always rule OVER SOMEONE else! Over someone who needs to be forced to do your will. In a class society, it is not the people who always rule, but a part of the people – the class. In a classless society, i.e. with full communism, there is no need to rule over anyone at all - people will become so conscious and educated that communist society will function on the basis of self-government, high self-awareness of all citizens who will not require any coercion.

Communists openly say that under socialism the proletariat will rule. Who will he rule over? Over the bourgeoisie and bourgeois elements, its fragments, so that they cannot again become oppressors and exploiters. Under socialism, the vast majority of the people rule over a tiny minority.

And only the bourgeoisie, which always constitutes a obviously small part of the people of the country, covers up its dominance over the majority with words about the power of the entire people. And this is not at all accidental, the bourgeoisie needs this deception, because otherwise the majority simply will not obey it! This is the true meaning of “democracy”, which the Communist Party of the Russian Federation calls for!

What will happen in the end? And the same thing that exists now - everything under the Communist Party of the Russian Federation “renewed socialism” will be decided by the bourgeoisie. And it is she who, amid talk of “real democracy”, will again be the ruling class! It directly follows from this that the “neo-socialism” of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is typical capitalism, exactly the same as what we have today!

It may be objected that the Program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation says a lot about specific measures to improve the social situation of workers and even raises the question of nationalization.

Yes, there are such provisions in the Communist Party Program.

But what do they really mean in practice in conditions when everything is controlled by the bourgeoisie, when private ownership of the means of social production is allowed in the country?

And the fact that any social benefits for workers will be temporary, it is difficult to wrest them from the bourgeoisie, but they very easily and quickly take them back. During perestroika, how much we talked about “Swedish socialism”, about “welfarist states”! And where are they now? Not at all! European workers lived relatively well while the USSR was alive. Then the European bourgeoisie needed to smooth out the social contradictions in their society so that the proletarian masses, looking at the USSR, would not strive for socialism. But after the destruction of Soviet socialism, the European bourgeoisie no longer had any need to spend huge material resources on a “decent” life for their hired workers. Social guarantees for employees in Europe began to rapidly wind down. And today all that remains of them are “horns and legs.”

The situation is similar with nationalization, which Zyuganov often talks about and which most fans of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation really like. Nationalization of nationalization is discord.

What is nationalization?

This is the transfer of means of production from private ownership to state ownership. And here the key point is the state, which becomes the new owner of the means of production, its essence.

If this state is socialist, i.e. dictatorship of the proletariat, then nationalization is, of course, a progressive and necessary measure, capable of fundamentally improving the social and economic situation of all the working masses in the country.

But if we are talking about a bourgeois state, such as our Russia, for example, then the position of the working people from the transfer of the means of production from private hands to the ownership of such a state WILL NOT CHANGE at all!

Yes, because the bourgeois state (the state of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie) is a kind of committee for managing the affairs of the entire bourgeois class in the country, something like hired managers. In fact, the means of production both belonged to the bourgeoisie (a specific private individual or several individuals), so they will belong to private individuals, only a slightly larger number of them, but still a negligible part of the country’s population. And just as private individuals (large capital) received all the profits from these means of production, so they will receive them, only now this profit will be divided not into units, but into tens or hundreds of people who are part of the bourgeois class and have access to the state trough .

In understanding the essence of the bourgeois state lies the root of the issue of corruption in our country, about which Zyuganov talks a lot, cursing it and branding it. As long as capitalism exists in Russia, corruption will bloom in full bloom. And all for the same reason - the state funds coming into the treasury of the Russian state from our taxes and payments are received by the bourgeois class (big bourgeoisie) with their personal funds!

The Russian treasury is the common treasury of the bourgeois class. This money is for them, and not for you and me, not for the common people, not for the working masses.

That is why in Russia, spending on social guarantees for the population is constantly being reduced, new fines and payments are being introduced, tariffs are increasing, prices are rising, everything is being privatized, etc. Our Russian capital wants to get fatter even more! And he simply cannot do otherwise - otherwise he will not withstand competition with foreign capital and it will simply devour him.

What is the conclusion from all this?

As we see, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation does not meet any of the main criteria of a true communist party!!!
Conclusion:

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is NOT a communist party.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a purely bourgeois party. It reflects the interests of the class of the middle and petty bourgeoisie of Russia.

The goal of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is not socialism, but the preservation of capitalism.

The method of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is to fool the working masses with beautiful words about “democracy” and “new socialism”.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is the main support of the bourgeois regime existing in the country, because it fetters the revolutionary energy of the masses, directing their legitimate and fair protest against the existing system onto a path where it is IMPOSSIBLE to defeat the bourgeoisie and capitalism!

Original taken from itsitizen in XY is "comrade" Zyuganov and your party?

If you read the inscription “buffalo” on an elephant’s cage, don’t believe your eyes.
Kozma Prutkov

Many times in polemics with my “left”, “right” and “center” opponents, I never tire of repeating - pay attention to the CONTENT of people’s actions, look at the ESSENCE of things. Don’t reflect on form like monkeys, relying only on external phenomena. Form is deceiving. A phenomenon, without understanding the cause-and-effect relationships (essence) causing this phenomenon, is simply an unreasonable fact.
We saw red flags with the symbols of the USSR and people with red scarves carrying them, heard communist rhetoric, and, like a trained bonobo chimpanzee, the reaction - ABOUT! Communists!
Although there are only symbols from the communists. But in the essence of things - the purest and meanest bourgeoisie, imitating communists.

I came across some excellent material, a qualitative analysis, exactly on this matter. I'm sharing.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

Why the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is not a communist party

Watching disputes on the Internet between supporters and opponents of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, one is often surprised at how far supporters of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation are from understanding communism and the essence of the communist idea. Briefly, their position can probably be described as follows: “we are for everything good and against everything bad.” They can’t even imagine what a communist party should be and what it should do! They are quite happy that the name of their party contains the word “communist”; this, in their understanding, is quite enough to reflect the true essence of the political organization. They are not aware of the difference between form and content and do not want to be aware of it. Sad but true!

And unfortunately, the roots of this phenomenon lie in the post-Stalin USSR, when faith in the Communist Party was simply limitless, which was actually taken advantage of by those who wanted to return capitalism. It is this blind faith in the infallibility of the CPSU that did not allow the Soviet communists to organize the masses of Soviet workers in the fight against the advancing counter-revolution, and yet the Soviet people did not at all strive for capitalism.

I remember that the well-known A. Yakovlev, the “gray eminence of perestroika,” after the destruction of the USSR and the destruction of Soviet socialism, admitted that the enemies of socialism did this using the power of the party itself. But even such recognition of an outright enemy did not at all alert the Soviet party inhabitants (there were such a class of Soviet people in the USSR, who were to a large extent responsible for everything that happened to our country at the end of the 20th century), did not make them think about what is political party and what are its goals and objectives and analyze in the most serious way all the activities of the CPSU and the essence of the newly-minted Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

When talking about the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, it is often necessary to point out that The main support of the existing capitalist system in Russia is not the ruling party “United Russia”, as many people think, but namely the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Some comrades are very surprised by this. But this is how it really is.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation, being truly the heir of the late CPSU, which actively helped the destruction of socialism in our country, and now continues its policies, fettering the revolutionary energy of the party masses and a significant part of non-party workers who are extremely dissatisfied with capitalism. Accustomed not to think, not to take on any responsibility and to meekly obey all the instructions of the party authorities, a significant part of the former members of the CPSU, who are now in the ranks of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, actually found themselves completely neutralized from any active political activity. Instead of real politics, they were offered the illusion of politics and, without going into the essence of the matter, they grabbed onto it with their hands and feet, since such activity was completely safe for them and fully corresponded to their philistine understanding. After all, to be a real revolutionary, like the Bolsheviks were, to risk oneself and make sacrifices was no longer required - Zyuganov “cancelled” the class struggle and revolutions, what else is needed? Slowly, they say, if we try and vote correctly in elections, we will come to socialism through peaceful parliamentary means.

In explaining why the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is not a communist party, we will not analyze each of the numerous statements of its leader G.A. Zyuganov, to bring footcloths of quotes from the program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - this has been done more than once, and there is no point in repeating it. We will look deep into the problem, covering it in general and as a whole, we will show the very essence of this party, comparing it with a truly communist one. And let the reader decide for himself whether he agrees with our arguments or not, whether they are false or true.

First, about the criteria with which we will approach the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, i.e. About, what is a political party, and what is a real communist party.

The article exceeds the volume that can be inserted into LJ. Therefore, I am forced to provide a LINK to the full text. I strongly recommend that you read the full text, where it is shown in detail, methodically, point by point, why exactly what is presented below in the conclusions (taken from the same place) takes place.

Conclusions:

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is NOT a communist party.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a purely bourgeois party. It reflects the interests of the class of the middle and petty bourgeoisie of Russia.

The goal of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is not socialism, but the preservation of capitalism.

The method of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is to fool the working masses with beautiful words about “democracy” and “new socialism”.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is the main support of the bourgeois regime existing in the country, because it fetters the revolutionary energy of the masses, directing their legitimate and fair protest against the existing system onto a path where it is IMPOSSIBLE to defeat the bourgeoisie and capitalism!

_ ________________________

Things are heading towards elections. It is quite obvious that, looking at the objective reality with its wild capitalism and the tireless chatter of the ruling comprador oligarchs and their faithful public poodles about “caring for the aspirations of the people,” communist sentiments are growing in society. A lot of lies have poured out over these years against the Bolsheviks, the Soviet system, Stalin, Lenin, Marx, the USSR, socialism, communism and continues to pour out. They are and will continue to beat Lenin against Marx, then Lenin against Stalin, then Stalin against Lenin and Marx, inventing all sorts of fables. Such is the need of bourgeois propaganda to deceive people and turn them away from communism. To do this, all sorts of “leavened patriots” Kolya Starikovs, Fursovs, etc. are launched into the information space, telling blatant lies and posing as “historian-publicists”, traveling around the country with “lectures”, “meetings with readers”, releasing videos on the Internet in industrial scale, etc.
But those who had the chance are still alive live let in late Soviet socialism, when in essence, there were already its remnants, which the newly born bourgeoisie did not manage to finish off Stalin’s backlog, but even with all this, there is something to compare with.
Today's steady deterioration in the standard of living of the vast majority of the population and the shifting of all "social services" to the already meager budget of the working people FORCES people to look to the recent past and compare.
It is clear that during this process, right away, the “fiery Zyuganovites” began to sharply gain momentum in propaganda, trying to catch the “mainstream” and ride it. 450 thousand salary and the same quarterly bonus from the bourgeois anti-people government in the warm seats of the State Duma and at the expense of the same workers, you see, “there is something to fight for.”
Well, communist rhetoric is just a TOOL.

Be carefull. Of the “Orthodox communists” who “cannot find differences between the Moral Code of the Builders of Communism and the Sermon on the Mount”, who advocate for an economy with “various forms of ownership”, are the same communists as Tsiskaridze of me...

The epic with the election of the governor of Primorye is notable not only in terms of the behavior of the Central Election Commission and the candidate from the party in power Andrei Tarasenko, but also the actions of his main opponent Andrei Ishchenko and the entire Communist Party of the Russian Federation. At first, Ishchenko went on a hunger strike, but less than 24 hours later he broke it off, after in Moscow Gennady Zyuganov began sending urgent signals to the Kremlin, ranging from requests to threats to hold a protest rally. The Primorsky candidate liked the “notes of interaction” that he heard in the words of Ella Pamfilova, but when the elections were eventually canceled altogether, Ishchenko announced his intention to go to court and challenge this decision. He did not even hide his sincere conviction that it was enough to recognize his victory - and falsified votes could simply not be taken into account.

The current situation of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - taking into account all the events of the last year - is best described by the word “piquant”. On the one hand, protests against pension reform and the disgusting behavior of the authorities in elections only play into the hands of the left: you can actually “take power” or, at least, declare your ambitions. On the other hand, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is in no hurry to do this: the potential risks from a direct conflict with both United Russia and the Kremlin somewhat cool revolutionary sentiments in the minds of party members. True, from the outside one inevitably gets the impression that the party is resting its feet on the ground in front of the armored car that circumstances are pushing it towards, but the communists themselves are confident that they are doing everything right: waiting for their victory in the legal field is much more convenient than fighting, fighting and fighting again without a guaranteed result.

Waiting for a revolutionary situation

The government itself gave the communists a great psychological advantage in their political struggle, which “crossed the line with the pension reform,” says Vadim Kumin, a former candidate for mayor of Moscow from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. “The Communist Party of the Russian Federation has taken a consistent position: we do not support the reform and generally do not support the initiatives of the liberal government,” he told Novaya. — In my opinion, the only way out for the authorities now is the creation of a coalition government. People are already expressing distrust [of the current government] by holding a protest vote.”

At the same time, Kumin believes that in no case can the Communist Party of the Russian Federation be accused of inaction: it was the communists who wanted to initiate a referendum on pension reform, they also brought people to squares in Moscow with posters “All power to the workers” and “Down with capitalist ministers” ( in July, 12 thousand people came out under the banner of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, in early September - 9 thousand. — V.P.). “The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is advancing, fighting,” declares the Moscow communist.

The authorities, however, suppress these attempts at an “offensive” quite easily: the topic of the referendum was eventually “stuck”, and the rallies in Moscow were agreed upon, so initially they did not foresee any problems. It seems that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation does not commit bolder actions, such as the mass withdrawal of supporters into squares without the consent of the authorities, and simply does not go into open conflict in the regions with government proxies (the same Ishchenko, at the very beginning of the election scandal, said that he supports Putin’s policies, although dissociated himself from United Russia). Cobblestones, of course, have long been “not our method,” but the same Communist Party of the Russian Federation could, as a sudden feint, unite with Navalny: he offered his participation in protests related to Primorye. But the Communist Party of the Russian Federation once again decisively distanced itself from any services of the oppositionist: Navalny “wants to ride into heaven on someone else’s hump,” said Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Vasily Kashin.

Communists prefer to work in the legal field, since any move beyond it is convenient for the authorities: they can uncover their clubs, says former presidential candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Pavel Grudinin. On the territory of the law, the communists have important victories: the same Gennady Zyuganov did not ask, but “demanded” from Putin, as the guarantor of the Constitution, to deal with falsifications - and this eventually happened. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation continues to be the main legal opposition association and, in fact, alone opposes the party in power. Communists are the only ones who have an ideology (which, according to Grudinin, neither the LDPR, nor SR, nor even Navalny has), and it is easy to go into battle with it, since “the foundations of the state are destroyed, the authorities have neither honor nor conscience ", says the ex-presidential candidate. In the end, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation also has ambitions to become the main political force in the country.

But again: in order to change the state ideology, a “revolutionary situation” must arise - as in Armenia, where people took to the square, and the government changed, because the police and the army sided with the people.

Russia is also close to a “revolutionary situation”, since “negative selection” has been going on in power for many years. But it definitely won’t be like in Armenia.

“If you take riot police from Chechnya and send them to disperse protests in Vladivostok, then the police, apparently, will not take the side of the population. Just a civil war will begin,” states Grudinin. But this does not mean that the struggle is pointless: the task of taking power legally has not gone away, but no one said that it would be easy.

Photo: RIA Novosti

We're sitting well

The strength and motives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation should not be overestimated, since it is quite comfortable in the role of the main opposition party in the current system of power. “The Communist Party of the Russian Federation maintains good relations with the Kremlin, sometimes quite sincerely - as in matters of foreign policy - agreeing with it. At the same time, the communists have greater autonomy compared to the LDPR and SR, and the party understands that the Kremlin will not make special efforts to support its functioning, says political scientist Grigory Golosov. “Therefore, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation uses “diversified strategies” so as, on the one hand, not to cause great irritation in the Kremlin, and on the other, to strengthen its electoral base.” The pension reform has just become a testing ground for such strategies: the Communists will propagate people who are dissatisfied with the increase in the retirement age to join the party, but they will not take to the streets again, so that the inhabitants of the Kremlin towers do not get too nervous.

The new electoral potential that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation formed as a result of the pension reform and the September 9 elections makes sense to transform not into a momentary conflict with the Kremlin, but into an element of bargaining on some sensitive issues for the party, political scientist Rostislav Turovsky suggests the logic of the communists. Although the party’s strength in the regions of Russia has not increased so much that one can talk about its total dominance, it is still enough to solve local problems.

“In the current political system, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is building its strategy with an eye to the upcoming Duma elections,” says Turovsky. — Bargaining with the federal authorities regarding each position is inevitable: although there are more opportunities, the room for maneuver is still limited. This is a positional game: for example, this year it was important for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to secure Klychkov in the Oryol region, and a consensus on it with the Kremlin and with the support of United Russia was reached. But in Primorye there is simply no need for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to go all-in, because an open conflict could be fraught with consequences in other regions.” The Communist Party of the Russian Federation does not have the ability to overcome the party in power nationwide, purely physically, so it remains to negotiate. “Sometimes losing an election with a good result is even more profitable for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation than winning, because the “red governors” can always come into conflict with the center, and this will backfire on the party,” states Turovsky.

And the party simply turned out to be conceptually unprepared for the voter who came to it as a result of all the mistakes of the authorities. “This is an undeserved voter: he came, but the Communist Party of the Russian Federation does not know what to do with him,” says political strategist Vitaly Shklyarov. “The party is used to getting its percentages in the Duma and is not ready to change anything - which is a pity.” Everything can still change, since the Communist Party of the Russian Federation will sooner or later expect a renewal in its leadership (the party’s current strategy is a direct consequence of Gennady Zyuganov’s position, Shklyarov believes), and then strengthening the party for the communists who replaced their leader is very beneficial: they may develop ambitions more serious than the current ones.

However, not everything depends only on the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. “It is a fact that the presidential administration has no plans to strengthen the parliamentary opposition. The presence of legal force to absorb protest votes is considered dangerous, from their point of view,” Shklyarov is sure. The communists, who have extensive experience in interacting with the Kremlin even in 1996, when they made the first big compromise, understand this; and in 2004, when the Kremlin almost caused a split in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, showing the party members their place. Therefore, if the current protest potential, which has come into the hands of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, is “drained” by the party itself, this will cause disappointment, but certainly will not cause surprise. It’s more familiar and safer - can you really blame us for that?

The “Communists of Russia,” using the example of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation congress that preceded their plenum, decided to show the difference between the Bolshevik and Menshevik camps (members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation include Zyuganov’s fellow party members as the latter). “Limousines with pot-bellied people will roll up to the luxurious building of Zyuganov’s congress every five minutes, and discreetly dressed, lean party members will walk briskly from the nearest metro station to the modest building of the budget “Cosmos” (we are talking about a hotel on Mira Avenue),” the message said. . The building of the Izmailovo concert hall, where the leadership of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation gathered on Saturday, can hardly be called luxurious, and no limousines could be found in the immediate radius.

The “Communists of Russia”, who position themselves as Bolsheviks, however, turned out to be right in another way: “not a word against the churchmen” was heard at the congress. The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has long made no secret of the fact that he follows Orthodox traditions (for example, in 2011 he visited a temple to venerate the belt of the Virgin Mary), and his fellow party member in the fall headed the committee on affairs of public associations and religious organizations. Before entering the Izmailovo conservatory, the communists were greeted by a tent with “delicious pies from the monastery,” as the sign said. A couple of hours after the start of the event, there were no more of them left.

Some mongrels

During his speech at the congress, Gennady Zyuganov hit out at the rival communists only once, and then only in passing: when talking about the results of the Duma elections, he mentioned a certain spoiler party that was delaying the votes of his wards. This is what he repeatedly called the party. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation even tried to force the “Communists of Russia” to change its name through the court, insisting on the excessive similarity of the name and symbols. The arbitration court refused to consider the claim.

Suraikin is sure that the “Communists of Russia” and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation have little in common: his party lives on self-financing, as the Bolsheviks should, while the parliamentary communists are showing off. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation, in addition, spoils the life of the “Communists of Russia” by “telling all sorts of things” about competitors to foreign colleagues. Political strategists working for Zyuganov are portraying the Communists of Russia as a spoiler party, Suraikin believes. In this regard, he called on fellow party members to be more careful in choosing allies. “Some microscopic organizations, having received registration from the hands of the authorities, simply become mongrels in the hands of Zyuganov’s Mensheviks,” Suraikin figuratively put it. However, he did not rule out that in extreme cases it is possible to cooperate with ordinary members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation who have justified their trust, and he is sure that there are “thousands of them left” among Gennady Zyuganov’s followers.

Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich / RIA Novosti

Zyuganov, speaking at his party's congress on Saturday, focused on his usual opponents. “It is impossible to hide the face of the party of oligarchs and officials. she was never able to refuse the role of an appendage of the party in power. It performs the same function on the other side,” he listed. The communist did not create any sensations by talking about the “orange” revolutionaries, who, in his opinion, “use anti-corruption rhetoric to return the country to the times of Yeltsin and Gaidar.”

Enemy of my enemy

The leaders of the conflicting communists agreed in their assessments of the liberals. According to Maxim Suraikin, “the liberal right-wing alternative, personified by Kudrin and Navalny,” is more dangerous than the current government. Both sides have a lot of complaints about the party in power - United Russia. Against the backdrop of the centenary of the October Revolution, they are especially outraged by the behavior of the former prosecutor of Crimea, State Duma deputy, who initiated an audit of the film “Matilda”. “Such lawlessness has not happened before and could not have happened,” the deputy chairman of the Communists of Russia, Sergei Malinkovich, was indignant, dubbing Poklonskaya a “fanatical monarchist.” Gennady Zyuganov was indignant at Poklonskaya’s words that Lenin could be put on a par with Hitler. True, if the Communist Party of the Russian Federation saw Poklonskaya’s actions as a shortcoming of United Russia, then the Communists of Russia considered it an action of the House of Romanov.

The approval of the leader of the White movement during the Civil War, Kolchak, causes an equally violent reaction among communists of both parties. Participants in the March plenum of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation applauded the story about the PR campaign with the rubber doll Kolchak, and in the ranks of the “Communists of Russia”, due to a misunderstanding, things almost came to assault. “I don’t understand, are you for Kolchak?” - one of the participants in the meeting of “Communists of Russia” shouted menacingly, interrupting the speech of the party leadership. However, the conflict between the delegates was quickly resolved.

There were points of agreement in the statements of the leaders of the two communist parties on socio-economic policy. Gennady Zyuganov used figures about a decrease in the cost of living, Maxim Suraikin - about increased wage arrears in the regions of Russia. There was another common thought in their words: protests are needed, but within the legal framework.

Youth policy

In the best traditions of the proletariat, youth must be involved in protests, said the 71-year-old leader of the parliamentary communists. “The blockade of information about the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is one of the factors that pushes young people into the arms of the “orange” leaders,” Zyuganov said, clearly hinting at the rallies against corruption that took place in March. How to attract young people to the communist side? None of the communist leaders can give a clear answer to this question. Zyuganov complains that schoolchildren know nothing about the leaders of the revolution, but at the same time he is sure: if you tell them how everything happened, they will come first to the Komsomol, and then to the party. However, Gennady Zyuganov does not hide his distrust of modern youth, who “have no experience of life in the USSR”: “They often vaguely imagine this victorious time. Bourgeois and petty-bourgeois psychology is characterized by intrigue, careerism, and a readiness to compromise with the authorities. This requires attention when recruiting to the party, in personnel work in general.”

Competing parties will apparently have to compete for young personnel. The "Communists of Russia" plans are not so ambitious, but the goals are planned for the very near future: Maxim Suraikin called on fellow party members to attract as many new personnel as possible to the World Festival of Youth and Students, so that they, in turn, would conduct propaganda among their peers who were not imbued with the ideals of communism . The Communist Party of the Russian Federation has large-scale plans for renewal, as evidenced by even personnel changes: the deputy chairman of the party's Central Committee was replaced by , who had been in charge of youth policy for a long time.

Elections are no child's business

Their leaders called on both the members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Communists of Russia to focus on the upcoming elections. Zyuganov advised to follow fellow party members who have achieved leadership positions in the regions, in particular, the mayor of Novosibirsk and the governor of the Irkutsk region. Maxim Suraikin advised his colleagues to participate in municipal elections whenever possible. Already, the KPKR has achieved enormous success, Suraikin is sure: “The party has strengthened its position as the fifth political force in the country” - after United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democrats and the Right Russia.

Both parties are still speaking in general terms about the 2018 presidential campaign. Once again answering the question about his readiness to go to the polls, Gennady Zyuganov said: “I am the leader of the largest party, if I am not ready, then there is nothing to do here.” However, he stressed that the candidate will be selected only after consultations with all interested parties. The only thing you can be sure of is that there will be no women on this list. “I treat women very well, but in conditions of war, sanctions, a severe systemic crisis, I would still feel sorry for women, because this post requires work seven days a week, at least 15 hours a day,” Zyuganov said, explaining the refusal nominate a woman for president. Despite the best intentions, the leader of the parliamentary party was then criticized, including by female deputies.

Maxim Suraikin would be happy to nominate a woman for the first post in the country, he assured in a conversation with Lenta.ru, but there are no candidates with sufficient political experience and level of recognition in his party yet. And among men, besides Suraikin himself, no one is particularly ready to run for presidential elections. “There are no other candidates yet,” he admitted. “And I am ready to carry out any order of the party.” A preliminary decision on his candidacy was made at the plenum, and both the Communists of Russia and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation will make the final verdict in December.