Russia today

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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:54 pm

LITHUANIA’S STEP TOO FAR — BLOCKADE OF KALININGRAD DRAWS NO SUPPORT FROM US, UK, EU, NATO, AS RUSSIA PREPARES “PRACTICAL STEPS”, “NO DIPLOMACY”
By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with

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The action the Lithuanian government implemented over the weekend to stop Russian trains carrying sanctioned cargos into Kaliningrad is regarded in Moscow as a long anticipated move, prompted among Lithuanian officials by the British government. The initial Lithuanian embargo action has been followed by a second one this week extending the blockade to trucks and road transport. Neither action has been publicly announced by the Lithuanian government.

The first news came from Anton Alikhanov, the governor of the Russian oblast of Kaliningrad, following a notice sent to him by Lithuanian officials. That notice has not been published.

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda (lead image) has said nothing.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte announced through the British Broadcasting Corporation that the blockade was not a blockade because only some cargoes were halted, and because “Lithuania is complying with the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia for its aggression and war against Ukraine ” . She also told the British state radio “it was important not to overreact”.

She tweeted: “Any talk of a blockade of Kaliningrad is a lie. Lithuania is complying with the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia for its aggression and war against Ukraine. The sanctions were agreed by all the EU member states on March 15…. Passenger transit is also taking place, under a special agreement by the EU, RU, & LT. Steel and ferrous metal products account for only around 1% of the total rail freight to Kaliningrad via LT.”

In the three days which have followed the Lithuanian action, the US and British Governments, the European Union (EU), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have not supported the Lithuanian blockade.

The Russian Security Council met on Wednesday morning, but issued no statement on Lithuania. The Secretary of the Council, Nikolai Patrushev, who was in Kaliningrad on Tuesday, had announced there that the “consequences will have a serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania.”

Yesterday, at the same time as President Vladimir Putin was chairing the Security Council meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced it is delaying “concrete measures” in reaction: “The measures will not be diplomatic, but practical, they are now being worked out in an interdepartmental format, We are not talking about this not because we are hiding something, but because the process of their coordination and elaboration is underway. I would like to emphasize once again (the third time for today’s briefing): we have told the European Union and Lithuania about the need to change the steps they have taken. Perhaps something from that side will be changed, and, accordingly, our reaction will be different.”

Here is a compilation of the official documents.

The US State Department, June 21:

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Source: https://www.state.gov/

“QUESTION: (Inaudible) about the tensions around Kaliningrad. What do you make of the statements from Russia threatening of serious consequences and the train?

MR PRICE: Well, we aren’t going to speculate on how Russian saber-rattling or Russian bluster – don’t even want to give it additional airtime. We have been very clear over the course of Russia’s war against Ukraine, and in fact well before Russia began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, that our commitment to NATO and specifically our commitment to NATO’s Article 5, the premise that an attack on one would constitute at attack on all, that commitment on the part of the United States is ironclad. Not only have we made that clear rhetorically, but together with NATO and with our own announcements of troop posture adjustments, we have reinforced our commitment to the NATO Alliance. We have reinforced NATO’s eastern flank, especially those countries who have been at the forefront of Russian threats over the course, in many cases, of many years.

We, of course, appreciate the unprecedented economic measures that many countries around the world, dozens of countries across continents that our allies and our partners, including in this case Lithuania, have joined us in taking against Russia for its unprovoked war in Ukraine. Of course, would refer you to Lithuania regarding its enforcement of EU sanctions.

QUESTION: So you fully support Lithuanian enforcement of the sanctions and against any threat from Russia?

MR PRICE: Lithuania is a member of the NATO Alliance. We stand by the commitments that we have made to the NATO Alliance. That includes, of course, a commitment to Article 5 that is the bedrock of the NATO Alliance. This is a campaign that includes dozens of countries around the world, including blocs of countries, in this case the EU but also individual countries using their national authorities. Lithuania has been a stalwart partner in this. We stand by NATO. We stand by our NATO Allies, and we stand by Lithuania.”

The UK Government, June 20-21:
The British Government issued no official statement on Lithuania and Kaliningrad except through editorial comments published by the BBC. The Foreign Secretary, Elizabeth Truss, has issued these statements:

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Source: https://twitter.com/trussliz/

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Source: https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/

The European Union (EU) has been silent.

The EU President, Ursula von der Leyen, has issued these statements:

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June 22 -- https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/

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June 21 -- https://twitter.com/vonderleyen


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June 20 -- https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/

NATO has been silent.

A NATO summit meeting is scheduled in Madrid next week, June 28-30. There is no reference to Lithuania on the agenda. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has issued this statement:

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June 21 -- https://twitter.com/jensstoltenberg

Russian statements:

Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, June 20: “This decision is truly unprecedented. It is a violation of absolutely everything. We understand that this is due to the relevant decision of the European Union – to extend sanctions to transit. We also consider it illegal. The situation is really very serious, and it requires a very deep analysis before preparing any measures or any decisions. This thorough analysis will be carried out over the next few days. It’s an element of the blockade, of course. I repeat once again: we need a serious, in-depth analysis in order to hammer out response decisions.”

Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, in Kaliningrad on June 21. “Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions. Appropriate measures are being worked out in an interdepartmental format and will be taken in the near future. Their consequences will have a serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania.”

Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov – June 21.

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Source: https://www.spb.kp.ru/

“The Kaliningrad region was in a blockade due to the sanctions of Lithuania, which banned the transit of some goods from Kaliningrad to Russia and back. This decision affected building materials, metals, cement, oil, petroleum products, elite alcohol, caviar and other goods. But Kaliningrad does not despair. Now these and other cargoes will be redirected by the authorities of the region not via Lithuanian railways, but through the ports of St. Petersburg. KP-Petersburg learned the details personally from the Governor Anton Alikhanov.

– Today, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, arrived in Kaliningrad, at a meeting with whom you just discussed the sanctions imposed?

– Yes, during a personal meeting with Nikolai Platonovich, we discussed issues of energy, transport security of the region, as well as information security, including ensuring our stable connection with the main territory of the Russian Federation. Then the Security Council itself dealt with border policy, and we have discussed projects within the framework of cross-border cooperation programs that we had with the European Union until recently.

– Did you discuss that the situation is threatening? Or vice versa – is everything stable?

– I would not paint any picture of the disaster. In fact, within the framework of the same Security Council, we made decisions to strengthen the transport security of our region. And the decisions of those past years have given us the opportunity to feel confident enough now. We have additional transportation capacities that are already involved: these are four vessels that are already on the line. The fifth new vessel is coming into operation on Friday. And even taking into account the aggressive actions of our neighbours, we have full confidence that we will be able to redistribute traffic flows so that the sanctioned cargo that they do not allow through their territory will be directed to the sea lanes connecting our region with St. Petersburg. This, of course, is extremely unpleasant, inconvenient in some sense, but we do not see anything catastrophic in this. We were ready for such nastiness.

– Nikolai Patrushev says that we will respond harshly. What are the possible answers?

– Look. I think that it is not in my competence to voice the answers, but I assure you that there are a great many such options. And, unfortunately for the Baltic states, their transport complex is extremely dependent on cooperation with the Russian Federation, both in transit and cargo base issues. I think the answers can be extremely devastating in terms of the consequences. And I really hope that, taking into account this situation, taking into account the consequences that may arise for this industry, the decision of European countries will be changed; and that Kaliningrad transit will not be restricted as the [Lithuanians] have restricted it at the moment.

– Additional vessels from St. Petersburg: how many will there be, and when will they go?

– The first additional vessel Kholmogory will be released on Friday. This is a vessel of the Northern Shipping Company. This company is ready to put several more vessels on the route, depending on our needs. We are currently working with them, studying how much we need, because we will reorient some of the goods, some of the cargo that are not subject to sanctions, from the sea ferry crossing to the usual railway tracks. And in this way we will free up capacity for the transportation of sanctioned cargo on existing ferries. Therefore, it is quite difficult to say exactly the number of new vessels.

Nevertheless, the new vessel is already leaving the port of Bronka – from St. Petersburg to us in Kaliningrad. And over the next few weeks we will be bringing on line the new vessels. The maximum that we thought we may require is seven vessels. But I think that in reality the figure will be less, due to the fact that some of the sanctioned goods are already being carried by ferries, and some of the non-sanctioned ones will free up space. We need a maximum of seven vessels, but perhaps, in fact, we will need three or four.

– Will they all go from St. Petersburg and Leningrad region?

– Yes. These vessels will carry sanctioned cargo – coal, fuel, metal structures, metals, cement. These are the main gazetted cargoes, and the sanctions also cover the finished products which are exported from our region — these are automotive components, cars, trucks, dump trucks that we produce here, as well as the production of chemical products.

– Explain to ordinary people – is it more expensive to carry ships?

– You know, there are different ways for different cargoes. But our task, and we are currently working on this issue, is to ensure that the cost of sea transportation is similar to the tariffs that apply on the railway.

– That is, we used to pay to the European Union, and now we will pay to our ports?

– The wording is controversial for me personally, I will not confirm or deny it. But I can say that when the money stays in Russia and does not go to the Lithuanians, as it seems, it is good in any case.

– So we can also win?

– Yes, of course. As a result I think we won’t lose.

– Will the sanctions hit Lithuania harder or us?

– Listen, these sanctions have already hit Lithuania. The payment for rail transit for Lithuania, in general, the economy of Lithuanian railways is one of the cornerstones of their budget, so for them it is also such a boomerang. Not to mention the potential retaliatory steps of the Russian Federation in relation to the Lithuanian transport sector. Therefore, I am sure that they are not happy about what is happening.

– How much will they lose approximately?

– I’m not going to name it now, I’m afraid to be inaccurate. But yesterday I was talking about alcohol labeling — if, for example, we say that we refuse to take alcohol, which they label there. Supposing we allow it to be labeled only on our territory as part of an experiment that is being conducted on behalf of the president, then our estimates were such that this is about €300 million of turnover, which we can take from them and transfer to the Russian Federation. I believe that this money will be an additional source for equalizing the ferry costs.

– Have the Lithuanians themselves contacted you?

– No, God forbid, they have curtailed all types of contacts with us since 2012, unfortunately. That’s why they haven’t contacted me for a long time.

– Were you forbidden to carry only alcohol, truffles and caviar from the products?

– It is necessary to look at alcohol, they banned only luxury. It doesn’t mean all the alcohol. Relatively speaking, Italian and French wines continue to be supplied.

– Will it affect tourists?

– No. The sun is shining, tourists are walking around the city, we are waiting for everyone, you are welcome. Everything is fine with us, we live in a normal mode. This situation will not affect tourists at all.

– What is the percentage that these sanctions will be lifted?

– It’s like in the famous joke: “What percentage of the probability that you will meet a dinosaur on the street? 50-50, either you will meet or not.” It’s about the same with the Lithuanian authorities. Like with a dinosaur.”

Military options, June 20 – Moskovsky Komsomolets

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Source: https://www.mk.ru/

“The scenario of a military response to Lithuania for violation of transit to Kaliningrad is revealed — perhaps diplomatic and economic measures will be enough

Lithuania’s ban on transit through its territory of a large range of goods from Russia to the Kaliningrad region will affect supply of the troops deployed in the region, as well as the Baltic Fleet. Alexey Leonkov, a military analyst and editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, talked about whether this could fundamentally affect the combat capability of the Baltic Fleet, as well as whether Russia is ready for a military response to Lithuania.

In his opinion, Lithuania’s ban on land transit, in the near future, will not significantly affect the supply of goods to the Baltic Fleet.

‘After all, they do not block the sea route along the Baltic,’ says Leonkov. ‘And they are unlikely to take this step at all, since it would actually mean declaring war on Russia. The ban on supplies will have a greater impact on the development of the Kaliningrad region. As for our possible military response, a number of factors should be taken into account. Our Foreign Ministry has already decisively told the representatives of Lithuania and the EU that they violate the agreements that we had when Russia recognized Lithuania as an independent state. Then we were promised unhindered transit to the Kaliningrad region.’

According to the expert, a military response will be the last measure that Russia will be forced to use if diplomatic and economic levers do not work in relation to Lithuania.

‘And we still have a lot of such economic levers in relation to Lithuania,’ Leonkov clarifies. ‘Moreover, they should be applied not gradually, but immediately, so that this country would be shocked by our actions. If this does not help, then, of course, military measures will have to be applied, which will have to ensure unhindered passage to the Russian enclave.’

‘Many believe that in this case, Article 5 of the NATO collective security treaty will have to operate. This is interpreted as a mandatory entry into the war of the entire Alliance, if an attack is made on one or more NATO countries. In fact, the wording of this article is not as unambiguous as it seems to many. It does not speak of the automatic entry into the war of the entire NATO alliance because of a single country situation. Everything is stipulated by a number of conditions. And another big question is whether NATO countries are ready to get involved in a war with Russia for the interests of Lithuania, realizing that such a war is likely to lead to a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons.’

NATO TREATY ARTICLE FIVE

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Source: https://www.nato.int/

Alexei Leonkov believes that in the current situation, Europe is not inclined to aggravate the situation. Moreover, Lithuania claims that it has coordinated its actions with the EU. But so far, Vilnius’ statements have not been officially confirmed and the Lithuanian steps have not been supported. ‘I think,’ says Leonkov, ‘that Lithuania, which staged this provocation on the initiative of the UK, will still back down after we use diplomatic and economic levers. But if they do not lead to a result, then here, as they say, if you do not want to talk to Lavrov, then you will deal with [Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu. Ukraine has already understood this.’”.

Other Russian options, June 21 – RIA Novosti

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Source: https://ria.ru/

“MOSCOW, June 21 — RIA Novosti, Mikhail Katkov. Vilnius has actually blocked the land transport corridor connecting “mainland’ Russia with the Kaliningrad region. According to preliminary forecasts, supplies to the enclave may be reduced by four times, and the list of goods will be reduced by half. RIA Novosti has been looking into the situation.

Vilnius has banned the transit of sanctioned goods since June 18, stating that it has coordinated actions with the European Union. According to theGgovernor of the Kaliningrad region Anton Alikhanov, this is about 40 to 50 percent of transit cargoes, an embargo on which can lead to economic suffocation of the region.

According to Dmitry Chemakin, former vice-president of the Kaliningrad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the volume of supplies may fall four times. However, local authorities and businesses have been preparing for difficulties in advance, so they expect to avoid extremely negative scenarios. In the meantime, they plan to increase the number of ferries that will run between Ust-Luga and the Baltic. Four vessels are currently operating on the line, and another one will appear in September. In the event of a complete transport blockade of the Kaliningrad Region, about 20 vessels of different classes will be required, but even five will be enough to load the railway and ferry complex in Baltiysk by 100 percent. Spending on infrastructure development, according to Alikhanov’s preliminary estimate, will amount to about ten billion rubles.

However, the speed of construction depends not only on the source and amount of financing, but also on logistics — building materials are also under sanctions. In addition, as Dmitry Lyskov, the press secretary of the governor of the Kaliningrad Region, told RIA Novosti, coal will stop being imported through Lithuania in August, and other types of fuel will stop in December.
‘Since the beginning of the crisis, many enterprises have started switching to ferry services, realizing that sooner or later Lithuania would close its borders. But the ships sailing to us are completely clogged, while in Ust-Luga — empty. If the sea remains the only opportunity for transit, subsidies from the federal centre will be needed. Otherwise, prices for imported goods will be very high for consumers,’ says Svetlana Nizhegorodova, Business Ombudsman for the Kaliningrad Region. At the same time, the human rights activist is confident that with the right number of ferries and the financial support of the carrier, the impact of sanctions on the region will be minimized.

In 2021, 50 percent of cargo reached the region by rail, 40 percent by sea, and ten percent by cars and airplanes. The fifth package of European sanctions imposed against Russia in April 2022 affected cargo transportation, but Kaliningrad was the exception. It was believed that this was due to the agreements signed in the early 2000s, under which Lithuania pledged not to interfere with supplies to the Russian exclave in order to get into the European Union. Deputy Speaker of the upper house of Parliament Konstantin Kosachev said that Lithuania violated international legal pacts when it banned the transit of goods. In addition to the agreements between Russia and the EU, he mentioned the WTO agreement on tariffs and trade and international transport conventions. The politician did not rule out that in the future the West may also violate the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, thanks to which ships come to the Kaliningrad region through neutral waters. There is a possibility that Russia’s opponents will do the same with the airspace, the senator believes.

Federation Council member Andrey Klimov called the blockade a direct aggression and suggested resorting to self-defense. His colleague Andrey Klishas regarded the Lithuanian restrictions as an encroachment on Russia’s sovereignty and considered a ‘very tough’ response possible. ‘Let them look at Ukraine and think about what other methods can be adopted on our part,’ Senator Sergei Tsekov said. The Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded that the Lithuanian authorities immediately lift all restrictions imposed, which Moscow considers ‘openly hostile.’ Otherwise, Russia reserves the right to retaliate. At the same time, the ministry did not explain what kind of reaction there might be.

There is a popular version in the Western media that in the event of a blockade of the Kaliningrad region, Russia will break through the so-called Suwalki corridor from the territory of Belarus. Its length is about 65 kilometers direct or about 100 kilometers along the Polish-Lithuanian border. The route was named after the Polish city of Suwalki. However, experts consider the military scenario the least likely of all possible. Despite public statements, politicians and diplomats understand that an invasion of one of the NATO countries can lead to irreparable consequences, up to the outbreak of the Third World War.


‘Lithuania has blocked Kaliningrad on land, and we, with the support of Belarus, can respond in kind. Moreover, the entire Baltic States will suffer, local ports will be completely useless,’ explains Alexei Leonkov, editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine. Economist Leonid Khazanov agrees with him, but he suggests adding energy to the transport blockade. ‘There is a liquefied gas processing terminal in Klaipeda. Its capacity is four billion cubic meters. If Russia stops selling blue fuel to Lithuanians, not only this enterprise, but also the entire local industry will stop without a single shot,’ the expert points out.

Nevertheless, experts believe that attempts to reach an agreement with the Lithuanians will lead to nothing. Any chance of success is possible only in negotiations with the European Union, where there are different views about relations with Moscow. In early April, Vilnius declared full gas independence from Moscow. However, experts do not rule out that we are talking about deliveries via pipeline, while liquefied natural gas, including Russian, was both transported and transported by sea. In addition, there are proposals to disconnect Lithuania from the single electric grid of BRELL, which also includes Russia, Belarus, Latvia and Estonia. The Baltic states were going to leave the energy system by 2025, but in this case [Russian disconnection of] Vilnius may be accelerating.”

THE BALTIC ELECTRICITY GRID, BRELL


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The Kremlin

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Source: http://en.kremlin.ru/

Russian Foreign Ministry

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Source: https://www.mid.ru/

At the Foreign Ministry briefing spokesman Maria Zakharova had this to say:

“Question: Do I understand correctly that there is no need to talk about concrete tough measures against Lithuania for blocking transit to the Kaliningrad region, that is, there are no concrete measures by and large.

Answer: As I said, they are being developed. This is an interdepartmental issue. Given that the measures will not be diplomatic, but practical, they are now being worked out in an interdepartmental format, we are not talking about this not because we are hiding something, but because the process of their coordination and elaboration is underway. I would like to emphasize once again (the third time for today’s briefing): we have told the European Union and Lithuania about the need to change the steps they have taken. Perhaps something from that side will be changed, and, accordingly, our reaction will be different.

I would like to draw your attention (it is unlikely that you will write about this, but I would like you to quote me) that it is illogical for the European Union, its individual members, on the one hand, to say that a threat to global food security is being created, and on the other hand, to block the delivery routes of goods directly to themselves or to your continent. Either we proceed from the fact that food security for the European Union, as they say, is of fundamental importance and they care about the fate of the world, but if so, then it is necessary, at least, to free up entire sectors of the economy, logistics, transport so that they have the opportunity to work for the benefit of that very food security. How many times do you not say the word ‘food’ until it reaches the consumer before he will fail to become full.

It’s the same story here. Food must be transferred, delivered. It must be paid for. If all this is blocked, and now also with such a specific point solution, then what are we talking about? This applies not only to food security, but fundamentally to the humanitarian sphere.

Question: When you talk about the practical plane, is it possible to understand that we are talking about the economic plane?

Answer: When I talk about the practical plane, I mean that we are not talking about measures of a diplomatic nature, but about practical steps. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to wait for the appropriate decision to be made.”

http://johnhelmer.net/lithuanias-step-t ... more-68817

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The Federation Council approved the law on parallel imports
06/22/2022
30 years of collapse

On Wednesday, June 22, the Federation Council approved the law on parallel imports, which allows goods to be imported into Russia without the permission of the copyright holder. It is assumed that the law will reduce the rise in prices for imported goods. In early May, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation published a list of 50 categories of goods that will be available for parallel imports.

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The large-scale deindustrialization that has taken place in Russia over the past 30 years has led to the need to import a significant amount of various goods, the production of which has either significantly decreased or has been completely lost. The production of almost all types of industrial goods has fallen, ranging from fabrics, clothing and footwear to aircraft. Everyone can assess the level of Russian production of industrial goods for himself, looking at the objects of his life: of them, Russian, at best, dishes, furniture and a refrigerator, and even several types of goods.

The announcement of sanctions against Russia jeopardized the functioning of the country's most important sectors of the economy, which are unable to function without imports. In various ways, the authorities are trying to get out of the current situation, but parallel imports are unlikely to save the situation. First, the West will begin retaliatory actions to block it. Secondly, due to the decline in oil and gas sales, revenue will fall, and the complication of operations for the import of goods will cause an increase in costs, which will lead to a rise in the cost of imported goods. Thirdly, the reduction in the supply of gas and oil from Russia to the West will lead to an industrial decline, which will cause a shortage of goods.

The announcement of sanctions against Russia jeopardized the functioning of the country's most important sectors of the economy, which are unable to function without imports. In various ways, the authorities are trying to get out of the current situation, but parallel imports are unlikely to save the situation. First, the West will begin retaliatory actions to block it. Secondly, due to the decline in oil and gas sales, revenue will fall, and the complication of operations for the import of goods will cause an increase in costs, which will lead to a rise in the cost of imported goods. Thirdly, the reduction in the supply of gas and oil from Russia to the West will lead to an industrial decline, which will cause a shortage of goods.

The only reliable way to solve problems with the shortage of imported goods is import substitution. However, it had to be started 10-15 years ago, and not in the form of declarations and slogans, but in reality. Now an example of such real import substitution and development is China, which has increased the production of microcircuits.

https://www.rotfront.su/sovet-federatsi ... n-o-paral/

Problems in the machine tool industry are forcing the use of equipment "pooling"
06/21/2022
The market will kill production faster than ensure the utilization of production capacities

The refusal of foreign suppliers of industrial equipment to cooperate with Russian companies prompted the owners of Transmashholding to the idea of ​​sharing (sharing) machine tools, RBC reports . The "age" of almost 50% of machine tools is more than 20 years, and businessmen hope that "collective operation" will help solve the problem of shortage of machine tools and keep it in working condition.

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TMH, together with Stankoremservis and five of the country's largest holdings in various industries, have proposed creating a platform that will allow the joint use of existing industrial plants and keep them in working order. And in the near future, also supply them with the necessary consumables and components, ”said Kirill Lipa , general director of Transmashholding .

He also complained about some foreign partners who, with the start of the special operation in Ukraine, began to refuse to transfer the equipment already paid for and delivered to Russia, breaking contracts and returning the advance payment.

The special envoy of the President of Russia for digital and technological development, Dmitry Peskov (in the style characteristic of current top managers), proposed a strategy of a “technological island”, implying full technological sovereignty. To do this, according to him, “ it is necessary to work out a “green” agenda, create our own techno-economic block, an export package of agricultural products, a new generation of transport logistics corridors between Russia and Asian countries .”

On the one hand, we have a shortage of machine tools. On the other hand, idle machines. Both are evidence of the "efficiency" of the market. The "new owners" of the enterprises adjusted the number of employees to the existing orders, dismissing the "superfluous" people without a twinge of conscience. The machines wore out, they saved on repairs, a significant part of the equipment was simply handed over for scrap. And when the “fried rooster pecked”, they got a situation where there was no one to do it and there was nothing to do.

Here is one of Rostec's subsidiaries that was "modernized" at the expense of the budget: buildings and structures were repaired, imported equipment was purchased. "Modernization" cost the treasury 600 million rubles.

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Multi-functional machining center has been "idle" for several years

For some time, quite complex parts were manufactured at the multifunctional machining center, but the need to purchase a large number of expensive special cutters to perform individual operations in the absence of large-scale orders put a bold cross on the prospects for using this high-tech equipment. And for lack of permanent work, trained specialists also left the plant. And there is nowhere else to take them. The machine has been idle for several years.

Even less "lucky" welding column. It was never launched at all. And they never use it again.

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Still not put into operation welding column

Now this equipment is a dead weight, performing the functions of a "museum exhibit", with which the management of the enterprise illustrates the "power" of the plant in front of potential customers and senior management.

It is clear that the machines should not be idle. But, unfortunately, the market kills production much more “efficiently” than it provides for the loading of existing production capacities and replenishes enterprises with qualified personnel.

https://www.rotfront.su/problemy-stanko ... zhdayut-i/

Google Translator

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Russia Asks Norway for Food Supply Guarantees for Spitsbergen

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Russian Embassy in Oslo requested Norway to ensure goods supplies to the Russian inhabitants in Spitsbergen. Jun. 21, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@AlfonsoAlfonsi2

Published 21 June 2022 (11 hours 21 minutes ago)

[/b]The Russian embassy called on Norway to guarantee food supplies for the Russian settlement of Spitsbergen Island.[/b]

Russia’s Consul General on Spitsbergen, Sergey Gushchin said that the Russian embassy to Norway has requested the country's authorities to guarantee the entry of goods to Spitsbergen Island, where some Russian settlements are located.

"We raised the issue with the governor of Spitsbergen at a meeting on May 18, the top managers of Arktikugol sent a message to him on May 25, asking to lift a ban on the road transit of Russian goods," said the Russian representative to Rossiya-24 TV channel.

He continued to say that "in addition, the Russian embassy sent a note to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, asking for an exception. It is currently under consideration at the Norwegian Foreign Ministry. We hope to get a positive response for the humanitarian purpose of ensuring stability in the Russian settlements."

The official said that since last April 30, two shipping containers are stumped on the Russian-Norwegian frontier. The containers include seven tonnes of food, as well as equipment for ships and cars. "All this is crucial for ensuring Russian presence on Spitsbergen, particularly amid preparations for the winter season," added the Consul.


The Russian embassy in Oslo has sent a letter to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which contains a request to release the goods from the transit ban to the Russian settlements in Svalbard. -TV channel Russia 24 - Consul Sergey Gushchin.

Gushchin highlighted the Russian residents are not facing any food crisis, despite the reduction of food availability, as Arktikugol is supplying goods to the Island from European countries.

However, Russia's Consul commented on his hopes to get a positive response for ensuring stability for the Russian settlements.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0018.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:14 pm

Russian hospitals will soon run out of shunts for surgeries
06/23/2022
Missing hernia meshes, cardiac surgery prostheses, sutures and more

Since the beginning of the special operation, many foreign manufacturers of shunt systems used to restore blood flow in blood vessels have left the Russian market. Stocks of shunts are running out, and doctors will have to fill out additional paperwork for each patient to receive medical devices. There are no “own” shunt systems in Russia that can fully satisfy the need for them.

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Doctors of the National Medical Research Center for Neurosurgery named after Burdenko in Moscow have already sent out a new protocol for obtaining shunt systems. Doctors will be forced to fill out a lot of paperwork before the patient receives help.

Shunt systems, according to doctors, play a significant role in operations. Russian counterparts are significantly inferior to foreign ones both in quality and reliability. When stocks run out, it looks like hospitals will have to resort to the help of charitable foundations or other organizations, that is, rely on "maybe".

The telegram channel Baza reports that hospitals are in short supply not only by shunts, but also meshes for hernias, cardiac surgical prostheses, suture materials and much more.

Among the consequences of the current situation is an increase in mortality among patients. In addition to the time of doctors, which is spent on filling out paperwork instead of treatment, the patient's time plays a significant role. Not everyone will be able to wait for the necessary imported equipment.

https://www.rotfront.su/rossijskie-boln ... stanutsya/

Workers of the Ural compressor plant will be paid wages
06/24/2022
Director's strange explanations

The director of the Ural Compressor Plant said that the problems with the payment of wages to workers are related to the ongoing special military operation. According to him, many customers owed the company, resulting in wage arrears. The director called on the striking workers to come to their senses and refused to apologize to them, comparing the current situation with the period of the Great Patriotic War, when, according to him, no one demanded wages.

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Meanwhile, the director of the plant is greatly mistaken, comparing the current situation with the Great Patriotic War. At that time, the wages of workers were paid within the statutory deadlines. At the same time, overtime work was paid at the rate of one and a half (and the overtime work itself should not exceed three hours a day). Holidays were canceled, while monetary compensation was paid for them. By itself, the delay in wages would have caused a corresponding reaction from the NKVD and the prosecutor's office. What do we see now? The enterprise has not paid wages to workers for several months (starting from autumn 2021), and the authorities cannot force the owners of the plant to pay wages. In addition, now Russia is not in a state of war, there was no mobilization of the Armed Forces, and its territory is not occupied by anyone, so such a comparison is all the more incorrect.

Meanwhile, the workers' strike nevertheless attracted the attention of the authorities, the deputy became interested in the situation, and the prosecutor's office opened a criminal case. Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region Vyacheslav Vegner said that all debts would be repaid by the end of June, and in the future, thanks to orders, the company would be able to ensure timely payment of salaries. On June 24 the workers stopped their strike.

Thus, the strike organized by the workers of the plant, even though it was partial, yielded a result, making it possible to achieve the payment of wage arrears. True, this strike was defensive; aimed at restoring the situation. To further improve their situation, workers need to start holding offensive strikes, seeking higher wages and better working conditions.

https://www.rotfront.su/rabochim-uralsk ... sornogo-z/

Yesterday's schoolchildren will be able to immediately conclude a military contract
06/26/2022
Utilization of "extra" people

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Andrei Kartapolov (United Russia) proposes to allow military contracts to be concluded with young people who have just graduated from school. After four months of service, they can already be sent to "hot spots". Corresponding amendments were submitted to the State Duma.

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According to the current legislation, graduates of universities and secondary professional institutions can now conclude a contract without passing the mandatory months of military service. Ordinary school graduates can become “contract servicemen” only after they have served as “conscripts” for three months. United Russia proposes to skip these three months.

After the start of the so-called "special operation", when it became clear that no quick successes could be expected, Russia began to lift the legislative restrictions that hinder the expansion of the contract service. In particular, in May , the age limit for concluding the first military contract was abolished. Previously, it was possible to conclude your first contract only up to 40 years old, now this age is not limited. Also, in many cities, a propaganda campaign was launched to call for contract service. For example, at the end of May in St. Petersburg , right on Palace Square , a mobile point for selection for contract service appeared. Those who wish to serve are promised a generous salary and a solution to life's problems with mortgages and loans.

Thus, contract service becomes the most attractive for the poorest strata of the Russian population, for those "superfluous" people who, by their existence, create social tension in the depressed Russian provinces. Through the contract service, the authorities not only carry out covert mobilization in the country, but also “utilize” people potentially dangerous to it in the Ukrainian conflict.

Will these "extra" people be enough to achieve the goals set by the Kremlin? Apparently, there is already an awareness that it will not be enough. Therefore, the government intends to use the Russian youth. Most likely, in this case, the most likely "victims" of contract service will be yesterday's schoolchildren from the outback, who have not received an adequate education and are doomed to a hopeless existence in conditions of devastation and unemployment.

https://www.rotfront.su/vcherashnie-shk ... srazu-zak/

In Khabarovsk, excellent students ride on a government yacht
06/27/2022
Non-material promotion of talents

The Governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Mikhail Degtyarev, on his VKontakte page, announced the start of a new tradition of non-material incentives for the best students of schools, technical schools, colleges and universities in the region. Those who distinguished themselves will ride on a government yacht along the Amur, conduct excursions and drink tea with the Governor. Mikhail Degtyarev himself called his personal communication with students “encouragement” and presented books with his autograph.

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Photo: Press Service of the Government of the Khabarovsk Territory

The first meeting of the Governor on board the yacht "Baron Korf" with the winners and finalists of the regional competition "The best graduate of secondary vocational education" took place last weekend, during the week of graduation parties. At the same time, Mikhail Degtyarev promised to make yacht trips a tradition of non-material incentives for the best pupils and students. The Governor did not cancel financial incentives.

“In my time, excellent students were not rolled on government yachts,” Mikhail Degtyarev.

The Vostok.Today news agency reported that at the end of the meeting, the Governor presented everyone with a book with his autograph as a keepsake, which one was not reported. It is known that two books came out from under the pen of Mikhail Degtyarev : “A Prophet in His Fatherland” (about Vladimir Zhirinovsky) and “From the autocracy of the individual to the autocracy of the emperor” (on how progress will inevitably lead to the Orthodox Autocrat).

The government yacht bears the name of Andrei Korf, the first governor-general of the Amur region. The ship is on the balance sheet of the regional government and its expensive maintenance is entrusted to the taxpayers. Mikhail Degtyarev, with his appointment, ordered that the yacht be left behind by the government for representative purposes, after the previous governor, Sergei Furgal, tried to sell it and remove it from the balance sheet.

Mikhail Degtyarev became governor of the Khabarovsk Territory in 2021, a year after his appointment as interim governor amid the arrest of Sergei Furgal and mass protests in support of the arrestee.

https://www.rotfront.su/v-habarovske-ot ... ut-na-pra/

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Russia: BRICS Partnership Aims for Multipolar World

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"The authority and influence of the BRICS on the world stage are constantly growing," Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his address at the XIV BRICS Summit. Jun. 23, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@KhayaJames

Published 23 June 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the BRICS partnership is part of the process of building a multipolar world.

The Russian president made his remarks on Thursday via video link on the occasion of the XIV BRICS Summit, which was also addressed by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

"The authority and influence of the BRICS on the world stage is constantly growing because it is connected with economic, political and human potential, and they are deepening interaction across the entire spectrum of issues on the global and regional agenda," Putin said.

The president also said that the BRICS countries could count on the support of many Asian, African, and Latin American nations that strive to pursue an independent policy respecting international law and the UN Charter's key principles.

As for the current global economic crisis, Putin said that through financial mechanisms, Western countries are transferring their own mistakes in macroeconomics to the world, thus leading to such a problematic scenario.


In addition, he said that Russia is willing to further develop close diversified cooperation with all the group's partners. Likewise, Putin said Russia seeks to enhance its role in international affairs, especially in the so-called "BRICS plus" format, including new emerging countries like Argentina.

The BRICS partnership comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These five countries account for 41 percent of the world's population and contribute 24 percent of world GDP and 18 percent of world trade.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0021.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:08 pm

New Law on Control of Foreign Agents Passed
June 29, 13:59

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The State Duma adopted a new law "On control over the activities of foreign agents." The law specifies issues related to the topic. who and for what to consider a foreign agent.

Who can be recognized as a foreign agent?

A foreign agent, in accordance with the law, is a person who has received support from abroad or is under foreign influence and is engaged in political activities in Russia, the targeted collection of information in the field of military, military-technical activities of the Russian Federation or the dissemination of messages and materials for an unlimited circle. persons.

The following can be recognized as foreign agents:

a Russian or foreign legal entity, regardless of its organizational and legal form;
a public association operating without the formation of a legal entity, another association of persons, a foreign structure without the formation of a legal entity;
an individual, regardless of his nationality.
What is foreign influence?

Foreign influence is considered to be “the provision of support by a foreign source to a person or the exertion of influence on a person, including through coercion, persuasion or other means.”

Support is understood as the provision to a person by a foreign source of funds or other property, as well as the provision of organizational, methodological, scientific, technical or other assistance. Clear criteria for what exactly will be considered foreign influence, including in other forms, will be established by the Ministry of Justice, Vasily Piskarev noted.

Foreign sources can be both foreign states and organizations - including international, structures without a legal entity - and citizens of other countries, as well as Russian legal entities and citizens already receiving foreign funding or support.

Who cannot be recognized as a foreign agent?

The law also provides for a list of persons who cannot be recognized as foreign agents. Among them:

public authorities of the Russian Federation, state companies and state corporations, as well as persons controlled by them;
religious organizations;
political parties;
associations of employers, chambers of commerce and industry.
Also, it will not be possible to recognize members of international organizations who have come to Russia to perform their official duties as a foreign agent.

What are the restrictions for foreign agents?

Foreign agents are obliged to inform their employees and public authorities, to which they apply, lobbying their interests, about the presence of such a status. They are also required to label the materials they produce.

In addition, foreign agents will not be able to:

carry out educational activities for minors or pedagogical activities in state and municipal educational organizations;
produce information products for minors;
take part in the procurement of goods, works and services to meet state and municipal needs;
receive state financial support, including in the implementation of creative activities;
carry out the operation of significant objects of critical information infrastructure and activities to ensure its security;
participate as an expert in the conduct of the state environmental review.
Foreign agents will not be able to work in the state or municipal service, be members of election commissions, or act as organizers of public events. Also, they will not be able to invest in strategic enterprises in Russia, use the simplified taxation system, and make donations to the election funds of candidates and political parties.

Where will information about foreign agents be kept?

The Ministry of Justice will maintain a unified register of foreign agents, as well as a unified register of individuals affiliated with them. Individuals affiliated with foreign agents are not subject to the requirements and restrictions established for foreign agents.

A person acquires the status of a foreign agent from the day following the day when information about such a person is posted on the official website of the Ministry of Justice in the register of foreign agents, and ceases from the day such information is excluded from the register.

What is the risk for violations?

In case of violations of the activities of a foreign agent, the authorized body will now be obliged to issue an order to eliminate them, and this should take at least a month. The requirements for the form and procedure for posting warnings about the dissemination of materials by foreign agents, according to the amendments, will be established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

In addition, violation of the legislation on foreign agents entails administrative, criminal and other liability in accordance with the established procedure.

What is the mechanism for exclusion from the register of foreign agents?

The law establishes the grounds for exclusion of a non-profit organization from the register of foreign agents. To do this, she must either stop receiving funds from foreign sources, or cease political activity, or fulfill both of these conditions at the same time. In such cases, the organization is excluded from the register.

For individuals included in the register for the first time, a simplified procedure for exiting it is provided. Such an individual has the right to submit an application in free form and attach documents confirming the termination of the circumstances that served as the basis for inclusion in the register. The decision on this application will be made by the Minister of Justice or his deputy.

http://duma.gov.ru/news/54760/ - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7708113.html

Polish flags disappeared in Katyn
June 29, 13:20

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The Russian Foreign Ministry has officially confirmed that Polish flags have been removed from the memorials in Katyn and Medny.
The official motivation is the hostile Russophobic policy of Poland.
In this way, circumstances will force the Goebbels version of Katyn to be abandoned.
And in general, there is reason to think about the elimination of these memorials in response to the demolition of monuments to Soviet soldiers in Poland.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7707828.html

Monument to Dzerzhinsky unveiled in Izhevsk
June 29, 11:43

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In Izhevsk, activists of the "General Assembly" movement erected a bust of F.E. Dzerzhinsky near the building where their office is located (216, Kommunarov Street).

Vladimir Nevostruev, Chairman of the State Council of Udmurtia, commented on the event: “It’s great that we remember this man, we remember our history, whatever it may be. At that stage, he was an iron man who did everything to ensure that our country got on its feet ".

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7707476.html

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A major manufacturer of metalwork tools has switched to a “reduction”
06/28/2022
“New industrialization” is accompanied by a drop in demand for tools

A sharp drop in demand for locksmith tools has caused the Novosibirsk Tool Plant (NIZ) to switch to a shorter working week, TASS reports . Andrey Goncharov , Minister of Industry and Trade of the region , is sure that the matter can be improved by changing the supply chains.

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“The tool factory has switched to a shorter working week due to a sharp decrease in demand for products. Three consumers of the instrument have now reduced orders. At the moment, we are in contact with the management of the enterprise. We will monitor the situation over the next week,” the official said.

His words that the restoration of "logistics chains" will lead to an increase in the workload of the enterprise are more like the absence of specific ways out of the current situation for the authorities.

Novosibirsk Tool Plant is one of the largest manufacturers of wrenches, socket heads, insulated and spark-proof tools.

In April of this year, it was reported that 148 enterprises of the Novosibirsk region , which employed 45.9 thousand people, filed notices of reductions.


We are constantly told that the imposition of sanctions “will give a powerful impetus to the development of Russian industry,” but in reality, the opposite picture is observed so far. It is not clear why, with the need to increase production, the demand for tools fell. Apparently, the decrease in the volume of orders and the lack of free funds are forcing the owners to purchase the instrument “on a residual basis”.

The market dictates to enterprises the work in the mode "today - dense, tomorrow - empty." And this in no way contributes to the development of the economy. No matter how factories have to use the experience of sharing machines and switch to “sharing” wrenches.

We really hope that the transition to the “abbreviated” is a temporary phenomenon. But the results of the work of the NIH in 2021, when the net profit amounted to 430 thousand rubles. with a total revenue of 369.5 million rubles (i.e., about 0.1% ), they do not add optimism, but rather indicate that the plant is following the path of its colleagues from Tyazhstankogidropress .

Employees of the enterprise should seriously think about their prospects and prepare for an organized collective struggle.

https://www.rotfront.su/krupnyj-proizvo ... arnogo-in/

On the prospects of the education system
06/28/2022
New old landmarks

Vladislav Volodin stated that the rejection of the Bologna system could not lead to the restoration of Soviet education. And so we must turn to the experience of tsarist Russia.
Let's turn.


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N.P. Bogdanov-Belsky "At the door of the school", 1897, fragment

The education system in Russia was class-based. For the common people, "elementary schools" were intended. The term of study in them lasted 3-4 years, and the training itself was reduced to arithmetic, reading and writing.

Secondary and higher education was paid. Already in 1845 , the tuition fee at the gymnasium was 30 rubles, at the university 40 rubles a year. Since 1857 , fees began to be charged for education at the district school. For the absolute mass of peasants, this was unbearable.

However, energetic people in cities where it was possible to earn some money, tried with all their might to educate their children. Their desires did not match the aspirations of the government.

In 1887 , Alexander III (father of Nicholas II ) adopted a circular "On the reduction of gymnasium education."

For admission to the gymnasium, it was necessary to pass exams, moreover, in subjects that were often not studied in elementary school. We needed tutors, who were simply not enough in an illiterate country. Therefore, preparatory classes were opened at the gymnasiums. Alexander III closed these classes.

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Painting of the Knight of the Order of the Holy Passion-Bearer of Tsar Nicholas II P. Ryzhenko “Alexander III on a fishing trip”

In a circular, the emperor wrote:

“It is necessary to explain to the authorities of gymnasiums and pro-gymnasiums that they accept in these educational institutions only such children who are in the care of persons who represent sufficient guarantee of proper home supervision over them and in providing them with the convenience necessary for study. Thus, with the steadfast observance of this rule, gymnasiums and pro-gymnasiums will be freed from the admission to them of the children of coachmen, lackeys, cooks, laundresses, small shopkeepers and similar people, whose children, with the exception of perhaps gifted with brilliant abilities, should not at all strive for the middle and higher education. At the same time, not finding it useful to facilitate the preparation of children at the gymnasium and pro-gymnasium using state funds, the meeting expressed that it would be necessary to close the preparatory classes with them, now stopping admission to them.

On the basis of this circular, Korney Chukovsky , who became a famous children's writer after the revolution, was expelled from the Odessa gymnasium .

In 1894 , the number of students at the gymnasium level was 224.1 thousand people, or only 1.9 students per 1 thousand inhabitants of the country.

The death of Alexander III brought no changes to the government policy. Nicholas II continued the work of his father.

At the beginning of the 20th century, all the tsar's resolutions were published in a special bulletin. This greatly facilitated the understanding by officials and the public of the foundations of state policy. Such collections contained a detailed list of the king's decisions aimed at slowing down the process of cultural development of his subjects.

So, opposite the mention that literacy is very low in the Tobolsk province, the emperor wrote: “ And thank God! "(by the beginning of the twentieth century, the proportion of literate people in the province did not exceed 11% ).

In 1900 , the leaders of two districts of the Yekaterinoslav province - Bakhmut and Slavyanoserbsky - decided to introduce universal education within 12 years. Nicholas II categorically forbade doing this, imposing a resolution: “ How many times I have said, there is nothing to rush into this! »

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I.E. Repin "Exam in a rural school", 1900

In Astrakhan, a frontier trading district, where there was an acute need for trained personnel, local authorities announced a “long overdue, and now even glaring need” for the opening of a second gymnasium. The emperor cut off: " In no case not a gymnasium, but perhaps a technical school ."

All resolutions of Nicholas II, we emphasize, were published in special codes. The king most frankly forbade the inhabitants of the country to become more literate.

However, the development of capitalism required an increasingly skilled workforce. Against the will of the court and the Holy Synod, new schools were opened, and the level of education grew. Among the residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg - 75% . Among the inhabitants of the Baltic states , it exceeded 90% . In general, it was about 25% . Among the recruits, however, the level of literacy was 67% , but this was due to the fact that they tried not to take completely illiterate people into the army.

In general, by 1914 , 51% of children attended elementary schools .

But what was this literacy? Of the students, 88% of boys and 92% of girls completed only three years of school. It contained five subjects: three church subjects, writing and arithmetic.

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Parish school students with mentors

Due to the poor level of teaching and the demand for work to feed the family, more than half of the children dropped out of even elementary schools. According to the census in the St. Petersburg metropolitan educational district, only 43% of enrolled students graduated from primary school. Obviously, the proportion in the outback was even worse.

In general, there were 66,000 schools in the country, of which only 2,500 provided training lasting six years or more, which made it possible to continue education. Of course, geographically such schools were far from everywhere.

In continuation of the story with the fact that the leadership of the Russian parliament proposes to revive.

Secondary education was absent in the vast majority of cities, and, as we noted above, had a clearly emphasized class character. Here is an indicative table for men's gymnasiums, which were attended by a total of 147,000 students (1914):

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From this table it is perfectly clear that the children of nobles, officials and big businessmen, who made up 2% of the population, had equal chances for education. The chance of a native of a bourgeois family to enter a gymnasium was nine times lower, and that of a son of peasants was 83 times lower.

The children of these families had no prospects other than endless hard work for the maturing children of upper class families.

Even worse was the case with higher education.

In the largest country in the world, there were 57 public universities, including 15 engineering, four pedagogical ( 894 students) and two medical ( 2592 students). In addition to the state ones, there were 54 more private institutes.

In total, 71,000 people received state higher education in 1914 , and the class character even intensified. The share of nobles, officials and priests, which was 38.5% in gymnasiums , increased to 46% in universities .

Another 52,000 people studied at private universities, including just over 1,200 students at pedagogical universities. In other words, teachers were not trained in the country either.

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Rural school students with teachers

Maybe it was like that everywhere? What was happening abroad at that time?

Laws on universal education were adopted in Prussia in 1717 and 1763 , in Austria in 1774 , in Denmark in 1814 , in Sweden in 1842 , in Norway in 1848 , in the USA in 1852-1900 , in Japan in 1872 , in Italy in 1877 , in Great Britain in 1880 , in France in 1882 .

According to the well-known pre-revolutionary researcher Nikolai Rubakin , for 100 people from the entire population of students, there were:

England - 17.1
Netherlands - 15.3
Serbia - 11.9
Germany - 17.0
Austria - 15.2
Finland - 11.1
Scotland - 16.9
France - 14.2
Bulgaria - 10.3
Hungary - 16.3
Sweden - 14.2
Greece - 9.0
Norway - 16.3
Denmark - 13.8
Italy - 8.0
Ireland - 16.0
Belgium - 12.3
Romania - 7.6
Spain - 11.9
Russia - 3.85

Pre-revolutionary statistics did not take into account private schools due to their extremely low quality of education, but even adjusted for them, the number of students is 9.65 million people. or 59 people per 1000 population. This is twice lower than in backward Spain, Serbia, one and a half times lower than Greece and even inferior to Romania.

As a result, the proportion of literates in Belgium was 99.8% , in Germany - 98% , in France - 93% , in Australia - 82% , in Austria-Hungary - about 60% , in Italy - 44%. In Russia, 23% of the population could read .

And one more thing: it was a different literacy.

In 1913 , the average number of years of adult education in Japan was 5.4 years, in Italy 4.8 , and in the USA 8.3 years . In Russia, these figures were equal: 1-1.2 years. Therefore, Japan won the war with Russia for Manchuria, and was able to make a technological breakthrough that brought it to the forefront in the world in the first half of the 20th century.

This is all you need to know about the opportunities for ordinary people to educate their children in the Russian Empire.

But what is even more important: there were simply not enough personnel for the industrial development of the country, because Nikolai Romanov and his government were afraid of educated people.

Oleg Shein

https://www.rotfront.su/o-perspektivah- ... azovaniya/

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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Sat Jul 02, 2022 2:37 pm

"Yeltsin Center" received money from the Ebert Foundation
July 1, 22:35

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"Yeltsin Center" received money from the Ebert Foundation

The Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg, which received money from the scandalous Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Germany), conducted excursions for the organization's students for 9,800 rubles. A source in law enforcement agencies told URA.RU about this. The Friedrich Ebert Foundation is considered to be the sponsor of the school of Yamal resident Nikolai Desyatnichenko, who was suspected of justifying nationalism.

“Representatives of the Yeltsin Center accepted money from the foundation for the tour. For 9,800 rubles for the presentation of the museum’s collection, ”said the agency’s interlocutor with reference to the document (available to URA.RU). He noted that the agreement, which caused a scandal, was signed at the end of 2021.

In addition, according to the insider, part of the agreements between the Yeltsin Center and the foundation have been classified and are not made public. The total amount of funds transferred to the museum from the Foundation, presumably amounted to more than 300 thousand rubles.

This money was linked to the festival, which was dedicated to local media and included participants who were foreign agents. However, official representatives of the museum denied their involvement in the event. According to them, commercial organizations can hold their own events at the Yeltsin Center.

The source said that in 2017, the foundation sponsored the scientific work of schoolboy Nikolai Desyatnichenko, who expressed sympathy for the Germans who died during the Great Patriotic War. The words of the student caused a resonance in the media.

URA.RU contacted the press service of the Yeltsin Center. They replied that they do not comment on the rumors. The agency sent a request to the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, but no response has been received at the time of publication.

The scandal with the performance of Nikolai Desyatnichenko occurred when a schoolboy expressed the opinion that many German soldiers did not want to fight in the Great Patriotic War, and called them "innocently dead." Representatives of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation stated that they had nothing to do with the performance of the teenager.

https://m.ura.news/news/1052566200 - zinc

No one knew that they were related.
The Yeltsin Center must be closed on Russian territory. The closure of the Gogol Center, the arrest of Mau, the flight of Chubais abroad, the resignation of Yumashev "for health reasons", etc. etc. gives reason to believe that today it is no longer as incredible as before the start of the NWO. The final break with the West also entails a break with the 1990s at the intra-elite level.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7713376.html

How the decree on Sakhalin-2 works
July 1, 15:30

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How the decree on Sakhalin-2 works

How exactly will yesterday's decree on Sakhalin-2 work.

The government will create a special LLC - a new project operator. All rights and obligations of the old operator in relations with contractors are transferred to him.

The property of the old operator is divided into two categories. The property that was created as part of the implementation of the PSA becomes the property of Russia and is transferred to the free use of the new LLC. The rest of the property of the old shop is transferred to the new one.

And the most interesting thing will be with the shares in the authorized capital of this LLC. The principle is that they will be transferred to the shareholders of the old operator in proportion to their shareholdings. But there are nuances.

The domestic shareholder, Gazprom's subsidiary, will receive its share automatically. Foreigners must first submit to the government a notice of consent to accept their shares. The government, at its discretion, may give the foreign shareholder consent to this transfer or refuse it.

If a foreign shareholder submits this notification within a month and receives consent to it, nothing changes for him - he lives as he lived and works as he worked. If he didn’t apply, or if he applied and was refused, the fun begins for him.

The share of such a shareholder in the new LLC is subject to evaluation and sale to a Russian legal entity that meets the criteria to be additionally established by the government. The proceeds from this share are credited to the investor on a special account.

At the same time, the government conducts a "financial, environmental, technological and other" audit of the activities of this investor and his staff. Sets the amount of damage caused to them. And writes off this amount from the special account, leaving at the disposal of the shareholder the difference between the value of the share and the amount of everything that he did harm. Disputes are resolved by the Arbitration Court of the city of Moscow.

https://t.me/politadequate/6535 - zinc

Thus, the Russian Federation can kick out any foreign shareholder from Sakhalin-2 at will, if he does not meet the new criteria.
On any "investment attractiveness" can now be put with the device. The Japanese are already on edge.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7712310.html

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Massive failure: a quarter of 9th grade graduates fail the math exam
06/14/2021
Who is guilty?

In the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, there was a massive failure in the delivery of ninth grade graduates of the OGE in mathematics. About a quarter of students failed to pass the final exam in mathematics, but the performance of some schools is even worse: up to 50% of students did not pass mathematics there. This situation is developing not only in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, but throughout the country.

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Social media across the country is buzzing with outrage. Parents blame teachers for the failure, and teachers, without remaining in debt, place the responsibility on parents and children. In addition, there are accusations against the authorities: the control and measuring materials contained many errors, the verification system itself made mistakes. So, one schoolboy from Nizhny Novgorod solved more tasks correctly, but the correct answers for some reason were not credited, and the graduate received an unsatisfactory score instead of a well-deserved “four”.

We can already see the results of reforms and optimizations over the past 30 years. Failure massively on exams is a complex problem. More than once, the reformed and optimized education system provides an extremely low level of knowledge, poorly prepares children for their future profession. On the one hand, the optimization pursued the goal of reducing education costs, so the schools themselves have now ceased to provide full-fledged knowledge. Those who want to improve their level should go to a tutor, spending additional financial resources on this. On the other hand, the goal of optimization, which is associated with the first, was just to reduce the educational level of the overwhelming majority of the country's population - the working people. It is easier to manage poorly educated people, it is easier to impose on them a false way of thinking, false ideas. It turns out that the teachers themselves became hostages of the created system.

Parents are no more to blame for poor academic performance than teachers. Forced to constantly earn extra money and rework in order to somehow make ends meet, they are not able to pay due attention to the upbringing of their children, to help them in their studies, to explain the importance of education. As a result, children, left to themselves, begin to learn somehow, without assimilating the material.

Thus, the most important cause of all ills in the education system, as well as in the health care system, is the market mechanism: the pursuit of profits while reducing costs. We have yet to reap the benefits of these reforms. The result is already visible - a low level of knowledge, mass illiteracy. The market leads to an increase in inequality, the growth of inequality results in aggression, hatred, and an increase in crime. The events of recent days in Kazan demonstrate what our schools have become in recent years. The problem can be solved by dismantling a system in which profit is more important than the future of millions of children.

https://www.rotfront.su/massovyj-proval ... ypuskniko/

Google Translator

Bolding added.

Could be talking about the US too. Of course, the Russian oligarchy is just trying to catch up, erasing the high Soviet standards of the past.

Ambulance drivers protest low wages
06/29/2022
Fight for life

More than 200 drivers of the Moscow ambulance service demand to increase their salaries. Now the salary of drivers is from 44 to 49 thousand rubles, and this is the amount before income tax. For Moscow, such a patch is clearly insufficient. With a request for help, the drivers turned to the president of the "Confederation of Labor of Russia". Earlier in Magnitogorsk, 300 ambulance workers signed a demand to raise their wages.

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Ambulance drivers are in a rather difficult position in terms of protecting their interests. It is extremely difficult for them to go on strike, since their actions can cause damage to the life and health of people, lead to death, which can entail, among other things, criminal prosecution. In addition, it is difficult to go on such a strike, and for understandable moral reasons.

Obviously, the authorities take advantage of this situation of drivers and save on their salaries, realizing that it is extremely difficult for workers to decide on a direct protest. The authorities have such an attitude not only to drivers, but to all ambulance workers. For several years now, both medical staff and technical staff have been talking about the difficult working conditions. Many do not stand up and quit, go to another job. Together with the massive reduction of ambulance stations, this led to a significant decrease in the efficiency and availability of medical care, which resulted in a massive increase in mortality during the pandemic.

The ambulance workers are fighting not only in their own interests, but also in the interests of all workers, since the improvement of their situation will improve the provision of emergency care to the sick, which is in the interests of all workers.

https://old.rotfront.org/voditeli-skoro ... otestuyut/

Google Translator

I notice that rotfront.org is 'oldrotfront.org and I have not been able to connect with rotfront.org for unknown reason,. What gives?
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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blindpig
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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Wed Jul 13, 2022 2:17 pm

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Russians support the idea of relaunching Soviet-era brands
Originally published: Prensa Latina English on July 10, 2022 by Luis Linares Petrov (more by Prensa Latina English) | (Posted Jul 13, 2022)

The Center applied the survey at the beginning of this month among five thousand people throughout Russia.

“83 percent of Russians consider it necessary to revitalize Soviet brands amid the withdrawal of foreign companies (…) About 12 percent hold the opposite opinion and the remaining five percent found it difficult to answer,” summarizes the study, which was published by the Sputnik agency.

The study indicates that supporters of recovering the brands see the initiative as an effective way to boost the economy with import substitution (36%), support national companies (29%), prevent shortages (22%) and offer quality products at affordable prices (13%).

Likewise, in terms of which sectors to promote, the respondents suggest reviving the old brands of automobiles (26 percent), food products and beverages (21%), clothing and footwear (15%), perfumery and cleaning products (8.0%), appliances and electronics (6.0%) and aircraft (3.0%). Meanwhile, 9% of the respondents proposed extending the initiative to all branches of the national economy.

On the other hand, the study showed that, within the opponents’ camp, 48 percent stated that the brands of the past will not be able to compete in quality with those of today; and 24 percent felt it was more convenient to launch new brands rather than resurrect those that have not stood the test of time. Moreover, 17 percent claimed to have had unpleasant experiences with products from the Soviet period; and 11 percent felt that the idea will not go from words to actions.

The institution also stated that articles made in the Soviet Union evoke positive associations for 62 percent of Russians, most of whom claim their affordable price and durability, although 30 percent specified having neutral associations and the remaining eight assured that their experiences are negative.

https://mronline.org/2022/07/13/russian ... ra-brands/

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NATIONAL CHAMPION OR NATIONAL CHUMP – OLEG DERIPASKA AND VLADIMIR POTANIN TRY THE RUSAL-NORILSK NICKEL MERGERt

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By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with

In wars like the present one, politics on the home front cannot be permitted to give aid and comfort to the enemy. In the US and NATO campaign, the Russian oligarchs and their businesses are targets and also weapons of the plan for regime change in the Kremlin. What role they will play personally in the future of the Russian war economy, and how their assets, cashflows, profits and investments will be managed, are bound to be closely held secrets.

So when the aluminium oligarch Oleg Deripaska (lead images, left left, right left) and the nickel oligarch Vladimir Potanin (left right, right left) appeared to agree to announce publicly on July 4 that they are negotiating a merger of their companies Rusal and Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) into a single national mining and metals champion, they may be telling the truth; or they may be running a disinformation operation against each other; or they may be flying a trial balloon over the Kremlin to see what President Vladimir Putin will decide.

Potanin spoke first; he has detested Deripaska in the past. For the time being Deripaska has said nothing. The spokesmen for their companies are saying nothing on the record.

Potanin may have intended to sandbag Deripaska before the latter expected it. Last Monday they both knew that what Potanin said would immediately boost Rusal’s share price and damage Norilsk Nickel’s, and that is what happened, making the merger proposal appear to be Deripaska’s initiative, not Potanin’s.

The last three times Deripaska tried a hostile takeover against Potanin – in 2008, 2010, and 2015 — Putin refused to allow it. That the president is the one to decide again is too obvious to be a state secret now. That the Rusal-Nornickel merger is a much greater test of the war economy plan than the Central Bank’s rouble and interest rate policies, or the government’s capital export controls is also no secret. Whether Putin has made up his mind this time, and what he will decide remain secret. So is the fight to persuade him to say yes or no.

These wartime stakes and the secrecy also mean that for the first time in the twenty-six years of Russian oligarch history, nothing published in the western press can be true – least of all, the New York propaganda agencies Reuters, Bloomberg, and Wall Street Journal, and the Japanese mouth organ in London, Financial Times.

To follow the history of the Deripaska raids, click to read the 2008 chapter here and here. For the Putin’s nyet in 2010, click again. And for Deripaska’s Mrs Potanin divorce ploy of 2015, read this.

On July 4, Potanin revealed in a videotaped interview with Moscow business medium RBC he is likely to have paid for: “we have received a proposal from the management of Rusal to discuss the merger with Norilsk Nickel as an alternative to extending the shareholder agreement [expiring at the end of 2022]…I sent a letter in which I confirmed our agreement to start the process of discussing a merger with Rusal.” He also said the deal would create “a national champion”.

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Original interview and RBC report in Russian.

The full text of what Potanin told RBC has not been quoted in the western press. “I believe”, Potanin said after discussing several other topics, “it is time to move to normal corporate governance from 2023, which we plan to move to. I think it will be in the interests of all the shareholders. As for the dialogue with UC Rusal, then, you know, again, as they say, it’s a long story [лыко в строку]. I have already said that the erosion of strong management in our country is a negative trend that we must fight against. And it is widely known that with Oleg Deripaska we have different approaches to business processes. But he is a strong leader. And in 2018, when he resigned from the leadership of UC Rusal, it weakened UC Rusal. And I see this just by my own concrete experience. There was no one there to talk to after he left. And the consequence, albeit complicated and difficult to perceive — but there it was. And now he’s gone. And this began to be expressed in the fact that UC Rusal began to allow itself such things that, let’s say, the company did not allow itself under the founder: refusal of certain obligations, a certain inconsistency, and so on. And this once again makes me say that we must fight so that we have strong people who are able to lead teams, so that they are not diluted out of management. And this is also one of the reasons why cooperation with UC Rusal under the previous agreement potentially carries risks and could potentially harm Norilsk Nickel and all its shareholders.”

“But the latest offer we have received from the new management of UC Rusal is to discuss a merger between Norilsk Nickel and UC Rusal as an alternative to extending the [shareholders] agreement [of December 2012-December 2022 ]. We have reconsidered [the idea of merger]. And I have today (the interview was conducted on July 4 — RBC) sent a letter confirming our consent to start the process of discussing a merger with UC Rusal. Because it allows you to create a national champion. This makes it possible to further diversify the shareholder base. And if earlier the same ideas had been floating about for a long time, about the potential merger of UC Rusal and Norilsk Nickel, in a sense, UC Rusal does not say so directly, but the acquisition of 25% of one large industrial company in another is always a step towards a merger (meaning the buyout in 2007 by the company when Russian Aluminium bought 25% plus one share of Norilsk Nickel from Mikhail Prokhorov’s holding — RBC). Because there are different kinds of mergers — friendly or unfriendly, acquisitions or non-acquisitions. But when one large industrial company buys a large stake in another industrial company, it is usually an invitation to merge. We have always had a negative attitude towards such mergers, because we have not seen and still do not see any production synergies. That is, we have different competitive advantages. Therefore, we have not seen any production synergy between them.”

“But now other factors have appeared; because of them I am ready to discuss the merger of UC Rusal and Norilsk Nickel. This includes sustainability, this is the so-called green agenda. UC Rusal is the company which produces the most ‘green’ aluminium compared to all other companies. Norilsk Nickel is also making great efforts in this direction and produces nickel and palladium for batteries for the future green economy, too. Plus, there is a need to diversify the shareholders’ composition, and to build up additional resistance to sanctions; and if required, to receive state support for the companies’ projects in Russia. All this made us return to this UC Rusal proposal.”

On July 6, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that the merger is “a corporate matter”. If Peskov had said nothing at all, the meaning would be the same; that’s to say, the opposite of the words which came out of his mouth.

This is only the most recent of see-through veils which have been tried before. In 2011, Putin and Igor Sechin, then deputy in Putin’s prime ministry, announced: “Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who supervises the resource concessions and controls the oligarchs, answered questions from the Wall Street Journal about the oligarch conflict on the Norilsk Nickel board by saying: ‘The government does not intervene in corporate practices….The shareholders should take the appropriate decisions, most importantly that they [should be] civilized, in the framework of the existing legislation.’ That veil meant Putin was in favour of preserving the status quo – it also meant no to Deripaska.

Last Wednesday, July 6, Reuters reported “two sources with direct knowledge of the matter” as claiming “a merger will not happen while Potanin remains boss of and a major shareholder in Nornickel.”

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Source: https://www.reuters.com/

Of the two bylined reporters, Clara Denina is English and employed by Reuters in London to report on mining; the second reporter Pratima Desai, also based at the Reuters bureau in London, covers metals. Neither of them has any Russian business experience. The three editors who worked on the piece have never worked in Moscow; their links are to Anglo-American banks and companies and PR agents in the London market. To illustrate their report, the editors retrieved the most hostile Potanin close-up they could find in their files; this one dated from December 12, 2017. The available evidence suggests the likelihood that Deripaska authorized the placement of his reaction through go-betweens. If they took payment, they were violating the current US and EU sanctions.

The two Reuters reporters and three editors identified in the publication knew they were concealing that their sources were linked to Rusal; the response they report confirms that Deripaska had moved first in private, and that Potanin had decided to pre-empt and go public. “‘Until he bites the bullet, steps down as CEO and sells down his stake to become a minority shareholder, no deal is possible,’” Reuters claimed one of the anonymous direct-knowledge sources added, signaling that Deripaska remains as personally hostile to Potanin as ever. Reuters then added fresh Deripaska rancor. “A third source with direct knowledge of the matter said they were unaware of any talks taking place and that Potanin’s interview comments represented posturing ahead of negotiations to replace a dividend payment agreement due to expire this year. ‘This is a manoeuvre. It is not a proposal of a deal,’ a fourth source said.”

Reuters omitted to report that Potanin is proposing to cut the cash dividend Nornickel will pay to Rusal; this cash-conservation measure has been calculated by Moscow analysts as reducing the payout to roughly one-third of its pre-war 2021 level; the formula is being adopted by most major Russian metals companies in the war conditions. However, Deripaska and the sources he authorized to speak to Reuters want to prevent Potanin’s cut and keep Nornickel’s profits flowing through Rusal into Deripaska’s pocket.

The Reuters innuendo is Deripaska’s, blaming Potanin for the move Deripaska initiated himself for a motive he is trying to disguise until he is confident he has Putin’s support. For the time being, no Russian will say so.


The only Russian analyst to talk to a western publication by name told Bloomberg he doubted the likelihood of the merger. “Despite Potanin’s latest comments, the merger still seems unlikely, according to Kirill Chuiko (right), an analyst at BCS Global Markets. ‘The national champion idea may be seen as an additional guarantee against the sanctions, but still it is not possible to be fully safeguarded this way,’ he said. ‘The parties have long and extremely difficult history of relations, while businesswise the merger still makes no sense.’” No reporter for this story has been identified.

Finam, a Moscow asset manager and brokerage, has published a conventional analysis of the balance-sheets of the two companies, with calculations of the impact of the merger on their revenues, earnings, dividends, debt, and share prices. The Finam report cites no anonymous sources from either camp; publishes no innuendoes; takes no sides; and says nothing about the politics of the deal.

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Source: https://www.finam.ru/
Finam analyst Vasily Danilov composed the report.

“We believe”, wrote Danilov, “that Rusal’s stake in Norilsk Nickel (26.2%) can be distributed among Rusal’s current shareholders (0.2655 shares of Norilsk Nickel per 100 shares of Rusal). Rusal’s shareholders will also receive a certain number of Norilsk Nickel securities issued by the company specifically for takeover purposes. It is also possible to assume the takeover of Norilsk Nickel by Rusal (that Rusal already has 26.2% of Norilsk Nickel hints at such a possibility), however, we believe this option is less likely….”

“The consolidation of the business will lead to an increase in its importance for individual regions and the country as a whole, as a result of which the authorities will listen more sensitively to the opinion of the company and be more willing to provide support, including in the field of key investment projects. In our opinion, the main benefit directly for Vladimir Potanin may be the dilution of the shares of the current shareholders of Norilsk Nickel, as a result of which the En+ package (indirectly owning Norilsk Nickel through 56.9% of Rusal) may fall below the blocking 25%, but this will depend on the parameters of the merger. Vladimir Potanin’s share (35.6% of Norilsk Nickel) in the combined company will also be smaller, but it will still remain blocking and may become the sole blocking stake. At the same time, the advantages of the merger are not so obvious for the minority shareholders of Norilsk Nickel. The combined company will become larger in revenue, but profitability will suffer. According to our calculations, Norilsk Nickel’s EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization] margin in 2022 should be 61% versus 42% in the case of a merger with Rusal. Also, despite the increase in the scale of the business, the current shares of Norilsk Nickel shareholders will be blurred….”

“With the current debt load, Norilsk Nickel distributes 60% of EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization] to dividends. The company’s management and Interros [Potanin’s holding] have repeatedly talked about the need to link payments to free cash flow, which, on the one hand, will lead to a decrease in the volume of dividends, but on the other hand will avoid increasing the debt burden. A moderate debt burden allows the company to pay 75% of FCFF [free cash flow] to shareholders. According to our calculations, in this case the total dividend for 2022 will be $20.3 per share (1,285 rubles. per share at the current exchange rate with a yield of 7.8%). However, there is a risk that in the new [Potanin] version of the dividend policy, the payout ratio will be fixed at 50% FCFF (as was done with payments for 2020), as a result of which the dividend for 2022 will decrease to $13.6 per share (857 rubles. per share with a yield of 5.2%). In both scenarios, the sum of the [dividend] payments will be significantly lower than the level of 2021 ($36.5 per share) – that is what Vladimir Potanin is proposing. Too, there is uncertainty about the dividend policy in the event of a merger between Norilsk Nickel and Rusal. However, we believe that it will also be tied to free cash flow.”

SHARE PRICE TRAJECTORY OF RUSAL AND NORNICKEL, YEAR TO DATE

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Key: black=Nornickel; yellow=Rusal. Source: https://markets.ft.com/
Nornickel’s current market capitalization is Rb2.6 trillion; Rusal’s market cap is Rb839.5 billion.

The Finam report is written as if there is no war, and as if there is consensus in Moscow over how to manage the war economy plans of the major corporations. In this debate there is no mentioning the president by name. Codewords are used instead – for Putin’s decision-making over whether rouble and bank interest rates should be set high or low, and capital controls fixed tightly or loosely, the codeword is Nabiullina, the name of the Central Bank governor reappointed by Putin on March 18; follow that policy debate here. For the bitter contest over mobilization of resources, labour and investment between nationalization, central planning and state socialism on the one hand, and the oligarch capitalism of the past twenty-two years on the other hand, read this.

In public the oligarchs also use codewords.


On July 6, the state news agency Tass reported Potanin backing the special military operation and Russia’s endurance against the US sanctions war. “Westerners are screaming even louder than we are. Their pain threshold is lower than ours, they are not used to inconveniences and discomfort. In this sense, they are not competitors to us. We can stand it longer than they. I am one hundred percent sure of it. In situations of standoff the winner is the one who is ready to endure pain longer -- who has a stronger and trusted leader. The mandate of our president is more powerful than the mandate of any politician in the West. For this reason, I look into the future with cautious optimism. We have time and we know how to be patient, while among our opponents we observe mainly loud shouting and groundless hopes that we will break down under the pressure of sanctions. This is definitely not going to happen.”

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Source: https://www.rferl.org/

On his Telegram channel, Deripaska has been repeatedly critical of the objectives of the special military operation. In his latest Telegram post on July 6, Deripaska declared himself in favour of “recogniz[ing] that the future sustainable development of Russia is possible only on the basis of a private, market, competitive and open economy. It is necessary to release from custody all the accused under economic articles [of the Criminal Code], with authorization of bail. Amend articles 159 and 160 [fraud] so that suspicions of economic crimes do not lead to senseless holding of entrepreneurs as hostages…Decriminalization of the business sphere solves several important tasks at once: it expands freedoms and prevents unfair competition, and as a result it will return billions of euros withdrawn from circulation back to the Russian Federation. Only in such conditions should we count on the growth of entrepreneurial activity, which will bring with it the stabilization of the Russian economy, increased investment, an increase in the number of new jobs (because many old ones will not be saved), an increase in labour productivity, and much more. There is a similar story with state capitalism. We need to forget about it, as about collective farms, unless this mould will have completely rotted Russia. Its dominance provokes stagnation, preventing entire industries from truly developing, hindering competition and increasing costs for everyone. State capitalism is a senseless dead-end path of development, which must be completely forgotten during this crucial period in the history of our country.” For more background on the oligarchs’ policy plans, read this.

Last week, when Deripaska proposed his merger and Potanin responded, they made public for the first time that they are asking Putin to decide whether the stringencies of war require his choosing between the oligarchy he has directed for the past 22 years, or nationalization of their assets and profits.

Before that decision, each of the investment bank analysts listed (approved) by Rusal and Nornickel as experts on the two companies was asked how they interpret the merger proposal. There are seventeen for Rusal; nine for Nornickel; five overlap, covering both companies. They were asked: 1. Do they interpret the proposed merger as intended to stop nationalization? 2. Do they interpret Potanin’s announcement as a manoeuvre, according to the Reuters report, and not a genuine deal negotiation? 3. Do they agree that the Kremlin must approve such a transaction creating a national champion?

The responses requested by telephone and email over two days produced either a point-blank refusal to answer or the evasion of requesting an email and then not replying. No analyst refusing to answer the questions would give a reason except for the analyst at Alphavalue in Paris – “we provide comprehensive, unconflicted research-only” — who said his firm replies only to questions asked by Reuters, Bloomberg or the Financial Times; and then only on condition the name of the firm is advertised.

The two leading domestic advocates for removing Nabiullina and changing Central Bank policy, as well as for nationalization and central planning of the war economy, are Sergei Glazyev, a former Kremlin economic policy adviser and currently the Kremlin appointee as minister for integration and macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC, aka EAEU ), the bloc of former Soviet states coordinating customs, central banking, trade and fiscal management policies; and Mikhail Delyagin, a parliamentary deputy and chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy. Together, they are members of the Anti-crisis Expert Council. The ten members of the council are listed here.

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To date, only Delyagin of the ten has written a commentary on the Rusal-Nornickel merger. If the others are opposed, they have yet to say so.

Writing on his blog on July 6, here is Delyagin’s commentary in full: “A mega-concern is to be created in Russia capable of dictating its will to the state. The plans for the merger of Norilsk Nickel and Rusal look very suspicious; the two oligarchs seem to be up to something unkind, anti-Russian. The alliance does not promise any economic benefits, the companies are too different. However, the billionaires are attracted to each other. The response to such a threat should be the prompt nationalization of both oligarchic structures, which have been causing great harm to Russia for many years.

“Norilsk Nickel still does not see any production synergies with UC Rusal. However, the merger of the two companies will create a ‘national champion’. It will be easier for the unified company to receive state support for projects in Russia, if need be, says Vladimir Potanin, the president and largest shareholder of Norilsk Nickel. Translating that into Russian – the huge company will be able to dictate its conditions to the authorities, and they will be forced to follow the lead of its owners. Potanin himself has a reputation as a ‘silent man’; he seems to be friends with the Kremlin and is always ready for a dialogue with the authorities. But this is nothing more than a mask, a comfortable spot to occupy, in some ways even a prudent one. However, what lies behind it, we do not know. Nothing good, that’s for sure. On the contrary, the owner of Rusal is in the outspoken opposition. ‘The iron curtain has already come down. I am being asked not to say this, but I am for peace,’ Oleg Deripaska said shortly after the start of the special operation.

“‘The Iron Curtain’ is, of course, good, or it’s bad, depending on how you view it. But you need to know the history, otherwise such statements will look stupid. If you look at our recent history, then it was not us who lowered this precise ‘curtain’ during the Soviet years. And now it’s exactly the same situation. Russia seems to be open, but they don’t let us go abroad, they don’t want to trade with us or communicate with us in general.

“Nevertheless, the position of the billionaire [Deripaska] is quite understandable — he is clearly on the side of the West and, as you might guess, he considers the Russian Federation nothing more than a ‘cash cow’. Pump out more funds, withdraw them anywhere – and then [leaving in Russia] nothing more. However, Norilsk Nickel has exactly the same policy – don’t give a damn about anything, both the people and the environment. The recent monumental ecological disaster at Norilsk is a clear confirmation of this.

“Most of the products of both concerns are exported; the Russian market is basically not interesting enough for the oligarchs. At the same time, imported aluminium profiles and other aluminium supplies from foreign manufacturers are in the stores. Because the sale prices for the Russian Federation are simply prohibitive! Considering that Rusal is the largest manufacturer of this special metal, I consider this pure sabotage.

“However, in the event of the emergence of a mega-concern, everything will become even worse. Under the threat of unrest likely to be caused by the possibility of closing factories (all over the country!), the rich will begin to twist the arms of the authorities. For those who can’t be bought. More precisely, it won’t be exactly this way — almost everyone will be bought, and the few who are not for sale will be intimidated by the threat of ‘growth of social tension’. And that’s it, finished! [хана] — do whatever you want.

“There can be only one answer to such a threat – nationalization. And it should be comprehensive. Start, yes, with these two corporations, but do not stop there… the metallurgy sector, both non-ferrous and ferrous; the oil and gas sector; the coal industry; energy, mechanical engineering (or more precisely, what’s left of it), the military-industrial complex, the aviation industry, the chemical industry, and so on. If all Russian manufacturing companies begin to receive the products of these industries at cost, this will be an excellent tool for a powerful economic breakthrough.

“Undoubtedly, this control is needed. The skeptics have repeatedly said that the officials themselves, primarily the minister-level ones, can become the new oligarchs. Yes, they can be that in many ways already now, hiding away from all the issues being decided by some rich Ivan Ivanych. Often he remains only the screen behind which the ‘special princeling’ rules — the governor or the city mayor. Accordingly, not any kind of central control is necessary, but PEOPLE’S control is required…And Gosplan, yes, it is necessary to revive it, together with the Soviet system of sectoral ministries, because what exists now is in no position to manage anything effectively. This has been discussed more than once – for example, last summer when the chairman of the Just Russia-For Truth party, Sergei Mironov, proposed reviving the Ministry of Geology… Russia does not need the current Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is not responsible for anything. But ministries of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, for instance, are very much needed. Moreover, due to modern means of communication, collection and processing of information, their staff can be kept to a minimum, and there is no need to set up analogues of the Soviet structures (which, by the way, were quite effective). Applications from enterprises come to the order bureau of the ministry, for example, for a particular range of rolled products, with addresses for the recipients and other details. And an electronic system would then allocate them among the manufacturing plants. This means confiscating [steel oligarchs] Mordashov [Severstal], Abramovich [Evraz], Lisin [NLMK], Rashnikov [MMK], and others like them. The model, of course, is extremely simplified, but in general it is something like this.

“Undoubtedly, there will be glitches, and the intervention of both ministerial figures and people’s controllers will be required. But such a system of resource distribution can be brought to optimization very quickly. Stable low prices, the absence of speculation and all kinds of man-made ‘crises’, confidence in the future. This is what is needed for the economic development of the country. What remains is only to make the decisions and get down to business.”

http://johnhelmer.net/national-champion ... el-merger/

Hmm, sounds like back door socialism to me. Which I would normally disparage, but given Russia's specific condition and history might work.

As we can see from the statements of Mr Deripaska the 'teaching' of the Chicago Boys has stuck on those most benefiting by it.

****************************

( I am keenly missing rotfront.org as a resource for this thread and a counter-balance to the nationalism which is sometimes unavoidable in providing the alternative account of events in Ukraine. I suspect they have been taken down for their opposition to the special operation but don't really know.

I have no love for Putin or the oligarchy, but I do have great feeling for the people of Donbass, who would not have suffered so these past eight years had Russia acted in 2014 , with considerably less resources and virtually no coherent opposition. But Putin was still pursuing 'joining the West', and it was only after the potentially friendlier Trump regime was stymied in it's half-assed rapprochement by it's establishment that the Kremlin realized it was nothing but a target, prey.)
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Thu Jul 14, 2022 10:45 pm

For public appeals directed against the security of the Russian Federation - up to 7 years in prison
July 14, 14:35

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Interesting news for blog commentators.

For public appeals directed against the security of the Russian Federation - up to 7 years in prison

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law supplementing the Criminal Code with an article on public calls for activities directed against the country's security. The document was published on the official Internet portal of legal information.
Thus, criminal liability threatens persons who publicly call for activities directed against the security of Russia, as well as those who prevent the authorities from exercising their powers to ensure this security. The maximum penalty is up to four years in prison.
It will be clarified that the use of one's official position, as well as the media or the Internet, increases the maximum sentence to six years in prison, and when these actions are committed by an organized group of persons, up to seven years.

Thus, the Criminal Code is supplemented with the article "Repeated propaganda or public demonstration of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols, or paraphernalia or symbols of extremist organizations, or other paraphernalia or symbols, the promotion or public display of which is prohibited by federal laws", providing for a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison.

https://ria.ru/20220714/zakon-1802411286.html - zinc
http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Documen ... angeSize=1 - text of the signed law

In general, think what you write , because in the current realities, writing on the Internet that falls under the law can easily turn into a deadline.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7737842.html

Out-of-court blocking of the media for fakes about SVO
July 14, 16:46

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And more news of the legislation in wartime.
Putin signed a law that amends the law on blocking the media.
Now, for fakes about the SVO and calls for participation in unauthorized actions, the media can be blocked extrajudicially.

From other innovations.

1. The law on torture has been tightened. Now for the use of torture, including by representatives of the authorities, you can fly in for up to 15 years. Echo of history with a mop in the ass.
2. Now information about the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves is being classified as classified. Previously, a law aimed at protecting gray import schemes has already been adopted.
3. A law was signed on a mirror response to any blocking of Russian media abroad. In fact, this is just a formalization of an already existing practice.
4. Turnover fines of up to 20% of the total turnover on the Russian market are officially introduced for foreign companies that ignore the law "on landing".
5. Increased penalties for providers that do not comply with the requirements of the law on the passage of traffic through the means of countering security threats.
6. A federal bank of extremist materials will be created, where data collected by various departments will be entered.
7. Civilians participating in the SVO will be equated with combat veterans. This is the correct and necessary law. We are waiting for a similar one for the military DPR and LPR.
8. Switching to the side of the enemy in the conditions of hostilities with the participation of Russia is equated to high treason. Up to 20 years in prison.

In general, the expected tightening of the screws continues.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7738246.html

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The rotfront site has re-appeared but the last post was June 29 and it now appears as old.rotfront.org. Wish someone would clue me in...
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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Sat Jul 16, 2022 2:28 pm

Electronics for rubles
July 16, 10:30

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Hong Kong electronics suppliers start accepting Russian rubles

We are talking about large orders from large companies
Nikita Kazarinov, CEO of Shuttle Logistics, said that electronics suppliers from Hong Kong have recently begun accepting payments from Russian companies in rubles.
He clarified that this simplifies the purchase of products for parallel imports, which mainly go through third countries, since experts recommend making all payments for it in the national currencies of the buyer or seller. This way, you can definitely avoid problems with blocking payments in dollars or euros.

The Moscow Times clarifies that with small customers, Hong Kong electronics suppliers have been able to make payments in rubles before. Now we are talking about large orders from large companies.
Hong Kong electronics suppliers began to accept Russian rubles
“For several years now we have been buying iPhone, iPad and other Apple products on order through three individual entrepreneurs - and this was within 20,000 pieces a year - but now we see that competition from other Russian buyers is sharply increased - only our supplier in June-July shipped about 100,000 units to other individual entrepreneurs from Russia. We know that large Russian retailers are now making purchases through them, ”said an employee of the importing company.
What should Hong Kong suppliers do with rubles? The source says that there are no problems with this, for example, they can be sold to companies in mainland China that buy raw materials or products from Russia.
Maxim Kuznetsov, vice president of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, explained that Hong Kong is a priority place for purchasing, for example, smartphones for parallel imports, since it is a free customs port with no customs duties. In addition, it is possible to import goods into a third country through Hong Kong companies without having to physically bring them into that city. It was from there that a lot of “gray” iPhones came to Russia before the imposition of sanctions.

https://www.ixbt.com/news/2022/07/15/ro ... oniki.html - zinc


For those who were worried that smartphones and components would disappear due to sanctions .

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7740534.html

Rogozin leaves Roskosmos
July 15, 15:20

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Dmitry Rogozin resigned as head of Roskosmos.
Now, instead of him, the Russian space industry will be led by former Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who was replaced by Manturov just now.
Rogozin himself, according to published rumors, may go to work in Putin's administration. One way or another, a whole era in the development of Roscosmos has come to an end. In addition to various "ridiculous jokes" about trampolines, Mask and other PR statements that Rogozin became famous for, the main objective achievement of Roskosmos in recent years has been a long series of accident-free launches, where it was possible to approach Soviet indicators in launch reliability + bringing the Angara to perfection. On the other hand, there were several offensive emergencies already in orbit, a gradual lag behind competitors in terms of the number of launches, long-term problems with the completion of the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome, and, as we see now, we have insufficient constellation of military satellites in orbit. Not everything here is the fault of Rogozin specifically,

As it appears. the future of the Russian space industry lies in strengthening the military component (more reconnaissance satellites are needed) + strengthening cooperation with China, where an agreement has already been concluded to create a lunar station after 2030 and where there is a proposal to work together on a Chinese space station instead of the ISS.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7739667.html


Russia must move away from market industrial policy
July 15, 12:50

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From the statements of the new Deputy Prime Minister Manturov.

1. The production of modern UAVs and the latest weapons will become a priority for the military-industrial complex.
2. Russia must move away from the market industrial policy. The market did not decide.
3. Russia will have to revive the electronic engineering industry.

In fact, we are talking about returning to the path of development of our military-industrial complex, where we foolishly stopped 30 years ago. A non-market and more self-sufficient military industry focused on the creation of high-tech weapons, which made it possible to maintain military-technological parity with the United States until the very end of the last Cold War. The guidelines are good - it remains to implement all this in practice.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7739581.html

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Concerning the AWOL (old.)rotfront.org:

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nginx

damn.....
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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:07 pm

NOVICHOK INVESTIGATION COLLAPSES IN LONDON COURT — ADAM CHAPMAN, LAWYER APPOINTED TO REPRESENT SERGEI & YULIA SKRIPAL, DOESN’T

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By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with

The public inquiry by Lord Anthony Hughes into the British government’s narrative of Russian chemical warfare in the UK and the alleged Novichok death of Dawn Sturgess on July 8, 2018, collapsed into secrecy, mishap, and farce in a London courtroom on Friday.

The sound system failed, leaving only one microphone to be moved from one speaker to another. The judge was invisible off camera and inaudible for the entire proceeding. A court official told the press “I personally apologies [sic] for the ongoing technical issues…The Cloud video platform equipment was tested beforehand and all was thought to be well. However there have been ongoing issues with equipment today.”

A government lawyer acknowledged that the “preliminary” security check of documents in the case is requiring reviews and approvals by five unnamed government agencies, and taking five months before the documents can be released to Hughes and to the lawyers in the case. Police and intelligence service applications to the judge to keep evidence and witness identities secret will be heard in secret. A closed-door hearing for this was expected to follow the public one on Friday, but the timing of this is a state secret the judge has not revealed.

Michael Mansfield QC, a lawyer representing the Sturgess family, said in court that four years ago, a “jigsaw of intelligence” was already available when British government officials announced the Novichok story and then charged Russian agents with the Novichok attacks. Mansfield said the delays for secrecy reviews had left the Sturgess family’s “patience [wearing] extremely thin.” He hinted that if the evidence for the Russian Novichok attack had been solid enough for public statements by Prime Minister Theresa May, her Cabinet Secretary and security advisor Sir Mark Sedwill, and then-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, followed by announcement of criminal charges, the Sturgess family was exasperated by four years of postponement in releasing the evidence to the public inquiry.

“Unless it’s an empty barrel”, Mansfield added. This is the first suggestion the Sturgess family has made publicly that they suspect government officials may have been lying.

Since July 8, 2018, when Sturgess was pronounced dead at Salisbury District Hospital, the government in London has replaced two coroners running the inquest into the cause of her death. Hughes, a former UK Court of Appeal judge, began hearing the case in March after the government stopped the inquest from continuing; the reason was that according to the Coroners and Justice Act of 2006, evidence and witnesses in coroner’s court must be open to cross-examination in public. Instead, the officials established what they are calling a public inquiry, according to the Inquiries Act of 2005.

The difference is a government deception operation – what is public is to be kept secret.

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Georgina Wolfe counsel for the Home Office leading the government’s presentations, told Friday’s hearing the secrecy was required in order to protect the intelligence and military information securing British lives from what she called is the threat of Russian attack. To substantiate her claim, Wolfe referred to “the Danish investigation of the MH17 attack”. She appeared to be referring to the Dutch investigation and the ongoing Dutch court trial on the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which occurred on July 17, 2014.

Wolfe’s mistake conceals the secret orders which have been issued in London to stop county coroner’s inquests into the deaths of British passengers who were killed on MH17; the county coroners say they have been told to delay until the Dutch trial is over. Read more here.

Jason Beer QC, the lawyer representing the Thames Valley Police in charge of the Novichok investigation, told the court that one of the priorities in the hearing will be “victim accounts” and “management of victims”. The judge then asked Adam Chapman (lead image), who was seated in court behind the police lawyer, if he had anything to say on behalf of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. They are alleged by the British government to have been the targets of the attack in a town square in Salisbury on March 4, 2018. The Skripals are the principal victims to have survived; in March Hughes announced they will be represented by Chapman.

The Skripals have not confirmed this. Chapman himself has refused to acknowledge that he has met or communicated with the Skripals, or knows them to have been alive when he was appointed to represent them. On his first public appearance in court, Chapman told the judge he had nothing to say.

Before the hearing Chapman had been asked by telephone and email if he would attend in person on Friday. He replied: “I do not in fact appear to have received an email from you. If you could resend it to me I will review it and then respond.” He then refused to answer.

On Friday morning, with the camera trained on the court, and Chapman visible at the far left in the rear of the room, he was asked by email: “are you present at the desk of the third row of the hearing room at the Inquiry now?” Chapman did not reply.

The Hughes Inquiry can be followed on the official website here.

This is a proceeding aimed at keeping secret the evidence for the Novichok allegations, and also the names and other details of witnesses from the police, ambulance service, intelligence agency MI6, the chemical warfare laboratory at Porton Down, and the pathologists who conducted the post-mortems on Sturgess.

On the one hand, the government’s first order to Hughes is “to conduct an investigation into the death of Dawn Sturgess in order to: (a) ascertain, in accordance with section 5(1) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 who the deceased was; how; when and where she came by her death; and the particulars (if any) required by the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 to be registered concerning the death”.

The government’s second order to Hughes is to “(b) identify, so far as consistent with section 2 of the Inquiries Act 2005, where responsibility for the death lies”.

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Right, source: https://www.dawnsturgess.independent-inquiry.uk/ and left, Lord Anthony Hughes, a member of the Athenaeum Club in London.

Between (a) and (b), between a legal coroner’s inquest and a legal inquiry, the secrets of British warfighting against Russia can be preserved so that even that intention can be kept secret. As Hughes and the lawyers struggled to be heard at Friday’s hearing, the secret secret was exposed by Mansfield as an “empty barrel.”

Because of the microphone and audio recording failures on Friday, the stenographic record of the hearing has been delayed in release. There is no explanation for the continuing delay in publication of the written submissions which were read out by the lawyers present. The story of Hughes’ replacement of Dame Heather Hallett as the coroner investigating the cause of Sturgess’s death can be read here.

For the full story of how British officials have tampered with the evidence of Sturgess’s death, concealed the post-mortem reports and body release and cremation certificates, and silenced testimony from the Salisbury District Hospital doctors who treated Sturgess on June 30, 2018, and the two pathologists who conducted the autopsy tests, read the book.

Chapman was on sabbatical leave from his London law firm Kingsley Napley – motto, “when it matters most” – at the same time that he was appointed by Hughes just after the last hearing on March 25.

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Source: https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/

Whether Chapman had made any contact himself with the Skripals, and how, were in doubt at the time. Chapman and two of his assistants, Jo Dorling and Katie Baker, did not respond to emails. Chapman, the assistants, and a spokesman for the Kingsley Napley firm, Michael Rosen, refused to confirm that Chapman had met with the Skripals or communicated with them in any fashion. The lawyers did not verify that either Sergei Skripal or Yulia Skripal or both of them want Chapman as their representative in the Hughes investigation; for more on the March 25 hearing, click.

Sergei Skripal has not been seen in public since the day of the first alleged Novichok attack, March 4, 2018. He has not been heard on the telephone by family members since June 26, 2019. Yulia Skripal was last seen in a British and US-directed interview at a US bomber base in May 2018; her last telephone call was heard on November 20, 2020.

The text of Hughes’s order identifying the legal representatives of the “core participants” in the inquiry lists two lawyers for each – counsel (barrister) to speak at hearings, either in public or behind closed doors; and solicitor to conduct interviews, gather evidence, prepare papers, and instruct the counsel.

The official record released on April 4 shows that an exception has been made for the Skripals. They will not be represented by a barrister. This indicates that unlike any of the others involved in the Novichok investigation, Sergei and Yulia Skripal will not testify in public themselves, nor through a lawyer.

Hughes was asked through his staff solicitor Martin Smith: “The Skripals are the only core participants to lack counsel. What is the reason for that?” “We understand that the Skripals have not yet appointed counsel,” Smith replied, “and there is no requirement for any core participant to do so.”

Hallett and her predecessor, Wiltshire County Coroner David Ridley, did not explain why they or the police working for them had not contacted or questioned the Skripals in their inquest investigations. Hughes’s public appointment of Chapman has continued the secrecy. Chapman was asked last week to say if he has communicated with the Skripals face to face, and if he and the Kingsley Napley firm have billed the Hughes Inquiry for fees for their services representing the Skripals. He and the firm have not replied. There is no independent evidence that the Skripals are alive and capable of making free judgements; there is no independent evidence of their wish to be represented by Chapman at the public inquiry.

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An enlarged screen shot last Friday is evidence that despite his refusal to respond to press questions, Chapman was present at the hearing. Court rules do not allow press camera or audio recording during the proceeding. A half-dozen reporters registered for the video and audio feed. The press office of the inquiry released a seating plan identifying the principal participants attending in person, including Chapman. One of the solicitors for the Sturgess family texted during the hearing: “although the family are noted as being present they have had 4 attempts and now cannot participate. They are my clients and the court should know.”

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Beer for the Thames Valley Police told the hearing that a report has been compiled by the police of the timeline of events, evidence, and witnesses in the alleged attacks on the Skripals and Sturgess, and submitted to Hughes on June 24. It had been vetted by the government for release to the judge and his staff, but the report remains secret from the public. The lawyers for the Sturgess family appear not to have seen it.

A BBC reporter Tom Symonds attended the hearing by video link. In the BBC report published, he repeated the allegations of Russian involvement, and defended the government’s secrecy to substantiate them. “Lawyers for the Government and police said there were ‘special sensitivities’ which presented ‘significant challenges’ to evidence being provided. The identity and whereabouts of the suspects and the current political landscape were factors which had added to these challenges, the lawyers said.” No British publication has reported the appointment of Chapman to represent the Skripals, or verified how they instructed the lawyer to act on their behalf.

Hughes and the state lawyers agreed at Friday’s hearing there will be more open and closed-door preliminary sessions of the public inquiry, before the first public public hearing will be held. That isn’t likely for another year, they told each other.

http://johnhelmer.net/novichok-investig ... more-68875
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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Sat Jul 30, 2022 3:54 pm

The essence of „Putin’s regime“ — capitalism of the imperialistic epoch

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Translated by Petr Yakovlev

All really key laws and state regulation measures can satisfy the interests and needs of either the oligarchy, that is, the richest monopolist tycoons, or the people, represented mainly by wage workers. This fact is objectively dictated by the economic basis of society, the nature of production relations.

And it doesn’t matter that some laws and policies do not directly serve the oligarchy. And it doesn’t matter that there are some intermediate layers of the bourgeoisie who are extremely disaffected with monopoly. The only important thing is whether the dominance of private oligarchic property is maintained and strengthened, or whether laws and state measures serve the real socialization of production for the benefit of the whole society, especially the working people. Historical practice has proved that the last-mentioned is possible only under the leadership of the Communist Party, in line with the implementation of the dictatorship of the working class, that is, with the closest reliance on the masses.

In our case, the legal system of the Russian Federation is the will of the bourgeois class elevated into law, the objective core of which is monopolist magnates who rely not on workers, but on entrepreneurs. It serves the rule of capitalism.

Look at the composition of the government. The Medvedev government, the government of millionaires, has resigned; it has been replaced by the new government of Mishustin, the government of millionaires. Almost all ministers and their deputies are recruited from the bourgeoisie, the power apparatus is permeated by the rich. The whole bureaucracy is connected with a business by a thousand threads, this can be seen even with a cursory examination of official declarations of senior officials. All major officials have a private interest under the guise of assets of wives, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, drivers, friends, not to mention offshore companies. Everything is covered in the darkness of „trade secrets“, but everywhere the banal insides of entrepreneurs are visible.

„Patriots“ sing the hosanna to „patriotic“ wealthy officials. They are convinced that they, so to speak, will build good capitalism, are opposed to American imperialism, i.e., against the collapse and destruction of the country. Yes, a group of such bureaucratic capital has formed around Putin, oligarchs, and officials who are striving to make Russia their strong patrimony as opposed to foreign capital. This is a natural process of rivalry between different bourgeois forces. Every capitalist dream of becoming a master of the world, therefore he is forced to collect popular sympathies under his banners. But the essence will remain the same: the laws of capital cannot be repealed. The rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer. Parasites — to measure yachts and football clubs, and workers — to count pennies.

Modern monopoly capitalism is the capitalism of the undivided rule of financial magnates. It is they who set monopoly prices for literally everything, hold all economic leverage through finance and dictate their political will to the whole of society. It is financial tycoons (giant corporations) who appoint governments and promote their people as presidents, shoot or drown in incriminating disagreeable officials and deputies. In all bourgeois countries they are closely intertwined with the highest bureaucracy.

However, the specifics of bourgeois Russia is that this capitalism was formed on the fragments of the socialist USSR, and the former Soviet people acted as the proletariat. The period of semi-colonial humiliation, the destruction of the state and the dominance of American and European capital in ten years gave way to the period of the formation of bourgeois sovereignty and the growth of the power of local oligarchs. The US tycoons were dizzy with the success of the victory over the USSR and while slowly chewing their prey, the young bourgeois class of the Russian Federation fed up to a competitive scale. Seven pro-Western bankers of the 1990s gave way first to two dozen billionaires of the 2000s, and then to nearly a hundred billionaires of the 2010s. The consolidating force of the Russian oligarchy was, in fact, Putin, who pacified the proletarian mass and formed at the expense of state orders the nucleus of the oligarchs from his friends.

It is important to note that Putin is characterized by Bonapartism. He seems to be maneuvering between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, striving for some kind of compromise. Putin considers himself a historical figure of the level of Peter the Great, therefore, he pretty much breaks away directly from the ruling class. Today, oligarchs are not involved in making a number of political decisions. Putin acts as a sort of arbiter in confronting various bureaucratic-oligarchic groups, a guarantor of maintaining equilibrium in the class balance of power.

In this situation, as a matter of fact, there is nothing unique, it happens quite often under certain historical conditions. Since the oligarchs do not have much opposition to Putin, his policies generally suit them. And most importantly, it does not and cannot go beyond the dominance of market relations and private oligarchic property.

Putin describes his power in this way:

„The sovereignty of our people must be unconditional. We have done a lot for this: we restored the unity of the country, put an end to the situation when some state and power functions were usurped by the oligarchic clans, as a matter of fact, Russia returned to international politics as a country that we began to reckon with“.

This statement reveals the truth that state-monopoly capitalism has formed in the Russian Federation with the well-known specifics of Bonapartism, but it is obscured that state power objectively serves the dominance of financial capital, i.e. oligarchies, therefore, there can be no talk of any sovereignty of the people. All institutions of power are occupied by capitalists, connected by a thousand threads to the largest oligarchy.

The essence of „Putin regime“ — capitalism of the imperialistic epoch.

Should we agitate against Putin as against Tsar Nikolai?
Lenin demanded that the Party members begin active agitation against the tsarist regime, demanded to expose economic and political order, down to the smallest detail, in short, as the bourgeois patriots would say today, demanded to „rock the boat“ by all forces and assets. The Marxists of the beginning of the 20th century devoted a substantial part of their work to arousing the democratic consciousness of the working people, to the effort of all resistance to tsarism in the struggle for the bourgeois-democratic revolution. Tsarist Russia faced the historical task of casting off the Tsar and destroying feudal survivals, clearing the way for the development of capitalism.

But this is half the trouble. The revolutionary movement in the Russian Empire was driven underground, the government unleashed monstrous terror concerning to all democracy, and the cowardly bourgeoisie entered into an alliance with the feudal aristocracy and the Tsar. Political freedom is a fundamental condition for conducting communist work, in the absence of the possibility of relatively free work, all forces should automatically be thrown into the struggle for the legality of communist activity. From the underground, it is extremely difficult to establish a strong connection with the masses and establish effective propaganda and agitation. Therefore, Lenin and other Bolsheviks in their works paid so much attention to democracy and denunciation of Tsarism, officials, factory, military, bureaucratic orders of the Tsarist terrorist regime. Before the February Revolution, the Bolsheviks were less important about the readiness of the working class to seize power than the overthrow of the Tsarist regime. But, already in April 1917, in conditions of complete legality, Lenin in two months managed to organize the work of the Party so effectively that in July Kerensky carried out a coup and attempted to suppress the Bolshevik Party. But the masses had already awakened, tasted political freedom, and therefore the persecutions were unsuccessful, and the Bolsheviks, despite all the bourgeois-democratic illusions, managed to convince Russia of the need for Communism.

One must be very eager to copy the experience of the Bolsheviks so as not to see the difference in conditions. First, in modern Russia, state-monopoly capitalism is developing, that is, the material preparation of Communism is evident. Secondly, Putin’s political regime is democratic and does not threaten the communist movement at this stage of its existence. Marxism, Communism are completely legal; there is a relatively wide scope for the revolutionary movement. There is freedom of communist propaganda, agitation, all the conditions that the Bolsheviks could not even dream of. The Internet and affordable printing remove a number of technical problems in the development of propaganda and agitation. Thirdly, modern proletarians are literate compared to the beginning of the 20th century and have free time (the proletariat, which does not abuse processing, has almost 60% of its life free from wage labour). Moreover, there is no huge mass of the petty-bourgeois peasantry and the intermediate petty-bourgeois strata; there is no peasant question of land.

Consequently, there is no reason for the working class to engage in instigating protest moods in the form of a struggle against the established political regime without preliminary preparation for the seizure of power by the working class. The Putin regime is quite happy with us since it makes it possible in relatively calm conditions to expand propaganda, form an avant-garde party and organize the proletariat into the working class.

For taking power, the support of millions and the active actions of tens of thousands are needed, but to maintain it, you need competent party cadres. Lenin, even in those harsh conditions, had such a party.

For now, we only have to forge the cadre core of the party. Therefore, there is no point in wasting energy on campaigning against the regime, on conviction and protest activity.

Besides, the whole content of the accusatory agitation of the left, right and liberals, by and large, is known in advance even to the widest masses of the population. There is no secret where the oligarchs derive their wealth, that all high officials are rich and thieves, that laws are passed primarily in the interests of the rich and so on. This is a worker at the beginning of the XX century, a former peasant without education, did not understand that he was being exploited. Today is an open secret. Therefore, all incriminating agitation against the regime does not cause any particular reaction among the masses, they already know that entrepreneurs and their officials are parasites and bastards. The oligarchs openly demonstrate their wealth, and officials and deputies publish in their declarations hundreds of millions and billions of rubles of income per year, car parks, apartments, villas, and yachts. This is all well known and does not require any agitation; the bourgeois press itself writes about this almost every day. When left-wingers arm themselves with all these facts and conduct an agitation campaign, the question involuntarily arises: are they sane?

Meanwhile, we must clearly understand that support for the struggle against the Putin regime today is support for strengthening pro-Western forces. The „Westerners“ in power, firstly, will begin to destroy state-monopoly capitalism, and secondly, they will unleash repressions against the Communists, like the Ukrainian ones. Therefore, an open confrontation with the regime should be initiated when there is a party and a working-class is formed around it that can take and maintain power. Of course, life can put before us other layouts that will have to be resolved objectively, based on the class balance of power.

But as long as there is no time pressure, it is necessary to correctly put the work under current conditions and not to go astray on playing along to the Navalnyists and other liberals or nationalists.

On the ratio of the two main bourgeois „parties“ in Russia
If we express very briefly and succinctly the principles of the policy of the dominant oligarchic group, which is held together by the Putin team („patriots“), then we are talking about 1) complete freedom for monopoly capital in relation to non-monopoly medium and small capital. Freedom, first of all, absorption, ruin, destruction. 2. On the regrouping of capital at the expense of the state banking sector and state order. 3. The strengthening of state power, protectionism and external economic expansion at this expense. 4. The calming down of the proletarian movement through budgeting for jobs, social policy, and economic regulation. In general, this policy is a policy in favor of the oligarchy.

If we can concisely express the principle of the proposals of all liberal opposition politicians („Westerners“), then we are talking about the weakening of the bourgeois state by all means and means in order to knock out the soil of their organization from under the feet of the Russian oligarchs. The purpose of all these reforms, Maidan, swamp „uprisings“ is to increase the competitiveness of Western capital, in particular the US oligarchy. This is the standard imperialist policy that the United States pays in all countries of the world — liberalization, the „freedom of trade“ and the „freedom of capital flows“. And the kudrins, navalnys, and khodorkovskys, in this case, are just agents of American and European imperialism. The meaning of all this fuss is completely trivial — to weaken the competition.

However, what kudrins and navalnys offer and fight for will lead not only to weaken the Russian oligarchy and strengthen the western oligarchy but also to social disasters a la the 90s.

Therefore, if under Putin we see so called ordinary capitalist „fascism“, that is, proletarians pressed by poverty, multiplying the fortunes of oligarchs, sitting on the thrones of monopoly corporations; then with conventional navalnyis we will see liberal fascism, a hundred times more frenzied, more anti-people.

Some will say, the weaker the bourgeois political regime, the more profitable for the cause of Communism. And this is quite correct when it comes to the fact that the Communists have something to oppose the bourgeoisie. When the working class has its own sovereign political position, expressed by a strong Marxist party associated with the masses.

But if we go through the initial stage of staffing, if the proletariat is not organized into the working class, if there is no headquarters, then we must reckon with what we have. But we have a bourgeois regime relatively loyal to Marxists, relatively comfortable conditions for propaganda and organizational work. Therefore, one should not only confuse Putin and Navalny as two liberals, bourgeois politicians, anti-Communists but also find out their role in relation to the conditions of development of the labor movement and the conditions of the Communist struggle. So, if the liberals topple Putin, then we are waiting for an open anti-Communist pogrom, the final curtailment of social programs and the destruction of state-monopoly capitalism. Only a provocateur will call this an improvement in the conditions for Communism.

https://prorivists.org/eng_the-essence- ... in-regime/
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Re: Russia today

Post by blindpig » Tue Aug 02, 2022 2:39 pm

On the attitude of the left to the special operation of the Russian Federation
No. 6/70.VI.2022

The aggravation of contradictions between Russian and Western capital is a natural and objective process that comes from the very nature of capitalism, which began not even in 2014, but in 2008. It cannot be directly canceled by waving flags on the street. And Ukraine is just a harbinger of a whole series of conflicts around the world.

And these exacerbations, which will lead to a massive collapse in the standard of living of the population of all countries (or rather, this collapse would have occurred without any war, which is used only as a pretext to explain the hyperinflation caused by the world economic crisis of overproduction), will lead to the strengthening of the police in all countries.

Moreover, we are seeing with our own eyes how liberal propaganda is gradually being reduced to zero (at the same time, the Russian authorities are commendably clearing the liberal field, which they themselves have traditionally nurtured, which can only please the communists), with the help of which the bourgeoisie has famously washed the heads of the working people for the past thirty years with calls to "work harder, get richer and enjoy!". It is already high time for the majority not to think about pleasure, but about simple survival. Under such conditions, it will be both more difficult and easier for the communists to carry out propaganda. More difficult - as the probability of an individual flight will increase. Simply put, in fact, today, before our eyes, the cozy little petty-bourgeois hamster world is being destroyed, on which many superficial arguments of the communists have crumbled. The world in which the townsfolk lived comfortably all these years, and all the negative phenomena around were attributed to the wrong private losers and loafers. Now that this has directly affected the overwhelming majority, it is no longer possible to ignore these phenomena. And if before communist propaganda was simply lazily brushed aside, today they either hiss with anger with threats of reprisal, or ... silently and attentively listen.

And we must not forget what is the uniqueness of the modern social context as a whole. The material condition of the working people today, due to the development of the productive forces, differs from the material condition of the working people of the beginning of the 20th century. For example, in the post-Soviet space, thanks to Soviet power, the issue of individual housing is not so acute, the proletarians no longer have to rub their butts with neighbors in a factory barracks or rent a bed for two with a neighbor. The working people still have some of the social guarantees that were won by their great-grandfathers and the communists 100 years ago. The bourgeoisie has learned to manipulate the workers and small shopkeepers, leaving them a "reward" for their work, which is more and more difficult to get until the next wage, but obligingly offering the open doors of credit organizations. The bourgeoisie has learned to take a significant part of the working people's income not through a clumsy system of fines at the enterprise, as was the case in the 1900s, but through a graceful increase in taxes and excises on fuel, goods, and the cost of housing and communal services. The petty-bourgeois bellies stuffed with cheap food and credit cars next to high-rise buildings completely discouraged the desire of the working people to solidarize with anyone in class. Now socially-oriented slogans have been adopted by almost all bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties and politicians, the masses are drowning in promises to improve their well-being and are accustomed to disappointment after another deception. Thus, the material situation of the working people plays a much smaller role in the objective potential for the growth and development of the proletarian movement than in the past. And the more painful is the collision with the reality of crisis impoverishment.

The situation that is taking shape in the world is creating favorable conditions for the communists to increase the efficiency of their propaganda among the working people, from among whom it is necessary to bring up the most capable people who can master Marxism qualitatively. Engage in the forging of potential communist cadres, on the basis of which it will be possible to begin party building, covering all the former Soviet republics.

And here, there is a divergence of views on tactics between the communists and the leftists, in particular regarding the military conflict.

What do the leftists offer?

Instead of a thoughtful analysis of the situation, they suggest copying Lenin of the 1914-1915 model, with his call "No to the imperialist war!" In the person of their most odious representatives, Rudovoy, Batov and Semin, they did not come up with anything better than to put an identity sign between WWI and the Ukrainian conflict, completely ignoring the Marxist requirement for a COMPREHENSIVE analysis of any phenomenon, not to enumerate suitable historical analogies, but to explore the phenomenon from all sides , in all relationships with other objects and consider it in dynamics.

OK then. The paucity of thinking allows you to use only historical analogies. So analogies take at least correctly.

Why do you take the position of Lenin 1914-1915 and vulgarly cut it off, ignoring the most important conditions put forward by Ilyich:

“A SIMULTANEOUS demand by the Social Democrats, in all the belligerent countries, to their governments to end the war?

THE SAME degree of reaction of both belligerents?

THE PRESENCE of a powerful working-class movement in all the warring countries, on which the communists could rely in their synchronized actions?


Why don't you consider the later position of Lenin in the summer of 1917 in other conditions, when he put forward the thesis:

“We will fight, we are fighting Kornilov, just like Kerensky's troops, but we do not support Kerensky, but expose his weakness. This is the difference. This difference is quite subtle, but essential and should not be forgotten.

What is the change in our tactics after the Kornilov uprising?

In that we are changing the form of our struggle against Kerensky. Not one iota lessening our enmity towards him, without taking back a word spoken against him, without abandoning the task of overthrowing Kerensky, we say: we must take into account the moment, we will not overthrow Kerensky now ...

It would be wrong to think that we have moved further away from the task of conquest of power by the proletariat. No. We came extremely close to it, but not directly, but from the side. And it is necessary to agitate this minute not so much directly against Kerensky, but indirectly, against him, but indirectly, precisely: demanding an active and most active, truly revolutionary war against Kornilov ... ".


Why don't you consider the position of the Chinese Communists, who came out together with the "white" Chinese (Kuomintang) against the Japanese invaders?

Even such sacrifices are not required from you, because the real strength of the communists and the labor movement in the post-Soviet space today is zero.

You are not required to support the Putin regime. It is enough just not to interfere with him doing for you, your work in essence. If the Reds were in power in Russia today, the issue of a more reactionary bourgeois Ukraine would be resolved even more decisively and categorically, no matter what pacifist cries of the liberal public were heard from abroad.

You cannot fail to understand that this conflict is between the Russian bourgeois class and the much more powerful American imperialism, whose interests are represented by bourgeois Ukraine. What would be the benefit to the cause of the restoration of Soviet power if the modern "Russian Whites" stopped the fighting or, even worse, were defeated?

What prevents modern leftists today from using the objective interests of the Russian bourgeoisie, which has played with its Western partners and striving for survival, and the jingoistic frenzy of the townsfolk to strengthen communist propaganda and increase the chances of restoring Soviet power tomorrow?

Leftists courageously reject such an approach, calling such a method the position of social chauvinists and red Putinists.

So, Batov, who left the RKRP, released a video “Special operation. Who is to blame and what to do". He says:

“The conflict in the Donbass is a consequence of the destruction of the USSR, and within the framework of capitalism, this and other conflicts have no solution. The role of the United States and its allies in inciting nationalism in Ukraine and organizing the coup d'état in 2014, which accelerated the policy of the country's nazification. The role of the Russian Federation in the absence of consistent work in Ukraine to build political and organized social forces that could resist the growing Ukrainian nationalism and the coup d'état. Reduction of the interests of the Russian bourgeoisie only to the politics of profit.

It is difficult to disagree with this introductory part of his speech about the causes of the conflict as a whole. I can only add that the Russian bourgeoisie itself has been intensively creating problems for itself throughout the zero years and has pursued a natural for it, exactly the same mercenary policy in the Baltics, actively flirting with local political national democratic parties, trying to buy their loyalty by developing mutually beneficial business. And to all the desperate attempts of the local Russian-speaking Balts to stop the process of de-Russification - the slow but steady translation of school education into the Latvian language - she scornfully shouted at the hungry activists with the words: “Don't fool your head with your Russian language. Learn Latvian, go into politics and help build a business.” The result is known: for thirty years profukano and time, and allocated funds for local so-called pro-Russian parties, consisting of businessmen and liberal idealists, the result of which is practically nil. Walking near the Ministry of Education with banners and chants of "The Minister of Education to the soap!" didn't bring anything as expected. A reactionary police force reigns in the country with the suppression of all dissidents, militaristic hysteria is growing and military drums are beating with calls “Putin will not pass!” with threats to demolish the monument to the Liberators in Riga, around which for ten years every May 9th there is a center of attraction for disloyal residents, whose number leads local authorities to a state of nervous hysteria. But as mentioned above, these masses are unorganized, which means that they are essentially harmless.

Further he says:

“If the bourgeoisie of the Russian Federation really wanted the denazification of Ukraine, then the issue could have been resolved in 2014, when the power in Ukraine after the coup was still weak. The Russian Federation stopped the rapid growth of the ideas of socialism in the Donbass and Soviet patriotism. A threat to popular power without oligarchs.

Practice shows that “the rapid growth of the ideas of socialism in the Donbass” is some exaggeration. Red flags in the hands of the working people are not the same as the ideology of communism. People rather associate the red flag with social justice, which they yearned for for thirty years. But how to achieve this justice, they have a very vague idea.

The Russian bourgeois state, most likely, initially did not plan the withdrawal of Donbass from Ukraine. The situation in eastern Ukraine, apparently, was swayed as a distraction in order to quickly resolve the most important Crimean issue for them - the issue of control over the Sevastopol naval base. And when the situation, as usual, got out of control, the spontaneous human factor intervened and the population reared up, the bleeding Donbass was left like a thorn in the body of respected Ukrainian partners in order to suspend the situation for an indefinite time and protect itself from surprises of Ukraine's entry in NATO. Therefore, I believe that Batov in this moment is wishful thinking. There was no conscious mass pro-communist movement in the Donbass, since it is impossible without a broad class consciousness among the population and without the Communist Party,

But there were naive idealistic illusions about “the Russian world built according to conscience”, about Novorossiya with “the Russian idea of ​​life without oligarchs”.

Where is socialism in the understanding of Marxist science? What content Batov brings to the expressions "people's republics", "truly people's power", "bring the people to power", "live without oligarchs" is completely unclear. This is ordinary democratic talk. When some patriot-idealist with a warm heart talks about this, I can still understand. Idealists have their own invented world in their heads with a rainbow and pink ponies, where a wolf and sheep grazing on a meadow peacefully coexist. But Batov, after all, could have been critical of these populist phrases, knowing full well that without eliminating the causes of the emergence of the oligarchy, namely capitalist market relations, which create the conditions for the growth of the oligarchy, there can be no question of people's power: without control over the main means of production, without their socialization, without control over the financial sector, without the creation of local Soviets, without the creation of the Red Army, law enforcement agencies, subordinate to one communist center. Does Batov's "Gulyai-Pole" also represent people's power? The original development of Marxism, you will not say anything.

We read in the diaries at Mozgovoy:

“What is Crimea? Apple of discord. Crimea quarreled our peoples. They beckoned the Russians of Donbass to Russia with Crimea and did not accept them. Crimea gave the criminals a legal basis to send an army to the Donbass against the “Russian aggressors”. Crimea is good for Russia. But Russia without Ukraine is worse than Russia without Crimea. To leave 40 million people, a huge part of their homeland, just to snatch a piece - this is non-Russian policy. I do not recognize in this act the policy of the Great State. It's more like a local swindle. The Kremlin pretends to be out of business, modestly silent about its role in the Ukrainian events. However, they did everything to make this war flare up. They did not prevent the coup, referring to the fact that this is an internal affair of Ukraine. But they forgot about it when they took the Crimea. They did not send troops to protect the population of Donbass. But they sent armed detachments to Slavyansk, Lugansk and Donetsk. They promised military assistance. But they spit in such a way that it was impossible to win. In August, finally, troops were brought in, but they were not allowed to advance. They proclaimed Novorossia from Lugansk to Odessa, but only two regions were allowed to be retained. But even half of them was left to the enemy, and the remaining stump was divided into the DPR and LPR, so that the Russians could not unite here and become an independent force.

From trips to the Center every time an ambivalent feeling. There were people who wanted to help us, but, apparently, they, like us, were used blindly. In the detachment, even from Lisichansk, there were also employees from the locals, the former KGB. These were their own, they kept in touch with Moscow. From there they helped, but always dosed and precisely with some kind of calculation. When I began to travel to Russia more often, I realized with what. We were “helped” not to stop this war, but on the contrary, they kindled it. Slowly fed our resources, not allowing us to win or lose. It was the same with Strelkov. I am sure that this is the case in the Ukrainian army. They, apparently, are also kept on a leash, otherwise they would have broken through the front long ago and buried us ... You can’t say a lot out loud. Our hands are tied. We depend on military supplies from Russia, our people are starving. Even ideologically, we are dependent on false propaganda,


We see a description of the same policy of half-measures on the part of the Russian state, whose task is not some idealistic naive abstractions like “world of justice”, “elevation of the Russian spirit”, “Orthodox people in conscience”, but such a normal “materialistic” vulgar the mercenary approach that naive Russians in the Baltics heard from the Russian ambassador Kalyuzhny back in 2007 (see more here ).

The policy of the Russian state in all post-Soviet republics is largely determined by the interests of Russian capital, and it can be characterized by the phrase that a resident of Ukraine wrote to me about the policy of the Russian authorities in Ukraine during the 2000s:

“The Russian bourgeoisie, for its part, did nothing. They solved issues with big capital and that's it. And the "Western partners" worked with the population. We worked in all directions."

The result is now obvious - a significant part of the population of Ukraine is mired in pseudo-patriotism and Westernization, has become cannon fodder on the strategic maps of the NATO military and American politicians.

The Russian bourgeoisie (as well as any other bourgeoisie) had, has and will always have only one enduring interest - business. Therefore, Mozgovoy was right when he saw behind this strange policy of half-measures the philosophy of rapacity, but he completely misjudged its nature - not as a class one, as it is in fact, but reducing it to the theme of the conspiracy of the world Jewish kahal, so dearly loved by all national patriots. Trying to solve this problem not through the class struggle, but through the construction of idealistic structures for the unity of the "great Russian spirit and conscience."

A small remark from a resident of Donetsk regarding Batov's statement that it would be possible to achieve an end to the shelling of the city as early as 2016-2021.

“As for the idea to immediately suppress the firing points around the Donbass, this is impossible. Volnovakha/Mariupol - it is necessary to erase entire cities. By the way, in Luhansk, where there were no such fortified areas in close proximity to Luhansk, the front line was pushed back decently. Donetsk has many satellite towns where ukry have been concreted. Therefore, the progress is creaking. Roughly speaking, near Lugansk, Lisichansk-Severodonetsk-Ribizhne is a stumbling block, there is a large territory of small settlements, from which the ukrov were knocked out quite briskly. Donetsk is another development. That's why it's hard to move forward. And the shelling intensified precisely with heavy ones, because everything else is already over. They don’t bring in a new one, they shoot with what’s left. Including from the understanding that there is less and less time left. And immediately with regard to "they did not ask us to release." I don't know about other areas I know for sure about the Donbass: they were waiting for liberation. Of course, there is a percentage of those who did not want to. But the vast majority were waiting to return to the Donbass. Very superficial lighting.

Batov correctly writes that "the problems of both Ukraine and Donbass do not have a final solution within the framework of capitalism." But then he falls into a completely vulgar simplification and puts an equal sign between the degree of reaction in the Russian Federation and in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, we are witnessing a real, open fascist terror against dissidents, who did not shun the destruction or suppression of people in peacetime, and even in wartime - the process was simply put on the conveyor. Not only the communist, but any other point of view, different from the official one, cannot be broadcast on the air without risk to life.

At the same time, the regime in Russia is still softer than even in the same ... Baltic States, where they very famously began to tighten the notorious nuts and sculpt criminal sentences for ... comments on social networks, not to mention the closure of all Russian channels and websites, the introduction of censorship. There is no question of conducting communist propaganda in the Baltics, since it has been officially banned for thirty years. For such a video that Batov issued, he would already be in the Riga central with accusations of treason.

Everyday life of a police state: the Latvian police reported that from February 24 to April 14, 26 criminal proceedings were initiated in Latvia in connection with the Russian military operation in Ukraine. This is in addition to the 15 criminal cases that the State Security Service (SSS) is conducting. Total - 41 processes for today. Is it a lot or a little? A lot in such a short period. It is as if in the Russian Federation, whose population is 80 times larger, more than 3,000 criminal cases were initiated on the same Ukrainian topic. I do not like such comparisons, but just for the convenience of information perception. The State Security Service investigates “verbal” crimes. As a rule, these are posts on social networks, the authors of which spoke positively about the actions of Russia or were critical of Ukraine. They are charged with “justifying Russian war crimes” and “inciting hatred towards Ukrainians.” Most of the cases filed by the state police - about tearing down or stealing Ukrainian flags (of which there are now more than Latvian flags in Riga). Plus, several cases of damage to cars with Ukrainian numbers. Thus, the State Security Service openly persecutes for political views, and the state police inflate minor administrative violations to the level of criminal cases that threaten with imprisonment. The time has come for complete legal nihilism.

In the Russian Federation, all and sundry are actively chatting on the leftist topic. Only the unique ones fall under the pressure of the punitive state machine, who manage to substitute themselves either for provocateurs or for their own stupidity, who have the combed itch of barricade activity in the style of “let's do something urgently, otherwise the station is leaving!”, without taking into account the current moment and forces.

This relative softness of the Russian bourgeois state does not mean that the Russian bourgeoisie is progressive or that it cannot persuade the state to the Ukrainian format. It only says that today this regime is more beneficial for the communists to work among the population. In essence, it does not yet interfere with the work of the communists, and some goals even temporarily coincide.

And what are those goals? The commonality of goals consists in twisting the head of the Ukrainian regime and in confrontation with NATO partners.

The communists themselves would be happy to roll out the Ukrainian regime and NATO, since for a communist an armed nationalist is a mortal enemy, which must be addressed today and immediately. Even worse is the American and European imperialist. But in the absence of forces and opportunities, why not prevent whites from doing this, even if they do not cause any illusions? So the Russian bourgeois state is doing the work for you, fooling around - "Batovs with Semins" - and here you are in an idiotic pose of pacifism. Let him do it. And this does not mean absolutely support for the Putin regime, which, unwittingly, creates the conditions for the communists to eventually come to power. Moreover, the Russian people and some part of the Ukrainian people are more than loyal to the military operation and have warm feelings for the USSR.

The confrontation with Western imperialism has a slightly different content between "your nobles" and the communists. For them, this confrontation is temporary, forced; a confrontation that they have been striving to avoid for 20 years and which, in essence, weighs them down. Hence all these constant pauses, hints at compromises and agreements, a step forward and two steps back when making political decisions, constant probing and hesitation.

The communists, in their practice, naturally also did not shy away from temporary concessions in particulars to the Western bourgeoisie. But in matters of principle, they always kept to the main thing - when between the proletarian state and the rest of the bourgeois world [the outer and inner petty-bourgeois strata] there can be only one state: a long, stubborn, desperate struggle not to the stomach, but to the death - a struggle that requires colossal endurance, discipline, firmness, inflexibility and unity of will. The external form of these relationships, depending on the changing conditions and the course of the struggle, may change; a state of open warfare may give way to some form of contractual relationship that allows for a certain peaceful interaction. But these contractual forms are not able to change the basic nature of the relationship.

One can agree with Batov's position that for the workers of both Russia and Ukraine, the victory of the Russian Federation will not radically change anything in the quality of their life. However, in Ukraine there will be an opportunity to study in Russian in schools, oppression on the basis of cultural and linguistic principles will end. Moreover, there are no signs that there will be any clamps on Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian language. Favorable conditions will arise for the Ukrainian communists to carry on their work, and terror will end. Another positive moment: maybe a frank fashion will be hanged in Donetsk or Mariupol, about which I won’t grieve at all, since for any adequate communist a dead Nazi is an axiom. But I completely disagree with Batov that the communists should take a pacifist position here.

In addition, in the process of hostilities, reality itself raises topics that are very difficult for “your nobles” to consistently explain to the population, but which the communists can perfectly use in their propaganda.

1 . This is a question about the massive use of the red banner in the troops and in the liberated territories and about the class essence of this banner, when the worst kind of abomination is to be indignant at the sight of the desecration of the Soviet flag by Ukrainian nationalists, being anti-Soviet.

Where the red flag is not one of the symbols of the “Russian world” or the “Russian empire in a red uniform”, which, on a whim, when it suits you, you can take out of the shelf as a souvenir. This is the banner of the Soviet state, the first state of workers and peasants, the banner of the international labor movement and communism. In the post-Soviet space, it always goes along with communist ideology and Marxist-Leninist theory. Under the red banner, the Soviet people not only defeated fascist Germany and its allies, with this banner the fighters of the Red Army drove the interventionists and the White Guard bastard out of the country, with this banner the Bolsheviks and the Soviet people carried out an educational program, created collective farms, built factories and factories, conquered space.

2. This is a question about the bourgeois concept of defending the Motherland “in general”, within the framework of which it is simply impossible to explain why Ukrainians should not defend their Fatherland, even if it is such a ghoul as it really is - with all its flying death squads that pacify the disloyal, with all executions and disregard for the civilian population and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And if, during disputes with the communists, the Russian bourgeois-patriots foam at the mouth prove that the Motherland is always alone and that any one must defend it, regardless of the political regime, then why do they refuse this to the Ukrainian soldiers? Why, in this case, do they not condemn the mass surrender of Ukrainian servicemen and their statements on camera that they do not want to fight the Russians for one reason or another? After all, according to their "logic", they are the real Ukrainian Vlasovites, aren't they, citizens of "your honor"? Or is the question of the Motherland still a question primarily of class? That this is not just love for your birches, sunflowers, pines or palm trees, this is not just an uncritical attitude towards the place where you were born, where your childhood and youth passed.

The motherland is the organization of the life of society, this is what class the power in the country belongs to, this is the standard of living and social guarantees for the entire (!) People, taking into account the level of development of the productive forces.

The homeland is, first of all, the people among whom you live, with their specific material interests, entering into certain production and economic relations among themselves, on which their and your fate, the future of them and your children, the quality of the society in which you live and with whom you are in contact every day.

Where yours is not the one who speaks the same language with you, lives in the same house or “honors the ancestors,” such were the Vlasovites with the white bandits. The one who denies the principle of “devour your neighbor for the sake of personal profit”, who hates the parasitism of some people on others, respects work, and not the appropriation of the results of someone else's work.

If you do not know how to distinguish one from the other, then sooner or later there will be an identification between the German anti-fascist Telman and the Russian Vlasov, the Hitlerite General Model and the Soviet General Zhukov.

The one who consciously or unconsciously tries to reduce everything to abstract birches, poplars, pines, the memory of ancestors, that is, reducing everything to idealism and only emotions, ignoring materialism, ignoring socio-economic relations between people, and therefore, the materialistic future of him, his family, children, people, society in which he and his descendants will live - sooner or later he will be on the side of capital, on the side of punishers. Sooner or later he will be in the form of Kappel regiments, in the form of brown attack aircraft of some Einsatz team or national battalions, in the form of a speculator-dealer who profits from the difficulties of those around him, or in the form of a “defender” of the Fatherland, beating his own civilians with guns or hiding behind them as a shield.

Thus, Motherland is a class concept. Who, voluntarily or involuntarily, tries to make it a universal concept that allegedly stands above society, outside society, in isolation from society, and therefore, above the socio-economic relations that exist in a given society and, accordingly, form the entire ideological, cultural, social, legal superstructure over it, it consciously or unconsciously promotes bourgeois patriotism, which means that it stands on the side of the bourgeoisie, on the side of big capital and acts in its interests, regardless of which capitalist country we are talking about. Remaining on the bourgeois understanding of what a “motherland” is, the Ukrainian worker, voluntarily or involuntarily, is forced to defend the content, those socio-economic relations that exist in such a society: that is, in addition to sunflowers, family, at home, he also defends the social structure in which he and his family live - in the economy, in politics, in ideology, supports the morality and morality that dominates society. And this automatically means that he unwittingly, perhaps being himself against, but supports the fascists, who arePART of the state ideological machine, they are covered and fed by the resources of this machine. And since ANY state is primarily an instrument of suppression, violence and protection of the ruling class, then in bourgeois society it protects the interests of the capitalist class, in this case Ukrainian.

At the same time, the attention of society, which is rightly indignant at the way Ukrainian nationalists are trampling on the red flag, should be paid attention to, that one should not forget about the manifestations of anti-Sovietism among some of the so-called anti-fascists - white "your nobles" - whose rejection of Soviet power is in no way less than the hatred shown by Ukrainian Nazis:

“... I condemn Nazism from the point of view of basic human principles ... Nazism is disgusting to me ... For example, I am a staunch anti-communist and do not put a penny on the Soviet government ... so I am a bourgeois and for my right to“ suck labor blood ”, as well as for their own private ownership of their own means of production - I will tear anyone.

3 . When working with Ukrainians, this is a question about fascism and an appeal to the common Soviet past, where the question inevitably arises automatically for BOTH sides of the conflict: it is clear, AGAINST what you propose to fight, but it is not clear, WHAT should the fight be for? Why exactly are both sides making such sacrifices? Where, on closer examination, it turns out that the Russian world, the Ukrainian world or the world of "Western democracy" are essentially no different from each other. For workers on both sides of the confrontation, only the “Soviet world” makes sense. A world without the exploitation of man by man, a world of internationalism and real friendship of peoples, which is based on PUBLICownership of the means of production. And our enemies are not Russophobes, but anti-Soviet. And our Kazakh Moldogulova, and our Ukrainian Kovpak, and Krasnov, and Kolchak, and hundreds of thousands of others like them are enemies, albeit Russians. It is important which class a person is on the side of, and not his nationality and what language he speaks. Either he is for communism, or he is for fifty shades of white. And there can be nothing third.

And absolutely unacceptable are such statements as that of the military commissar Poddubny, that “...Ukrainianism is equal to Nazism. And he was grafted on this Russian land for centuries. On this basis, do you want to drag millions of vacillating and suggestible people in Ukraine, for whom Ukrainian is their native language, to your side? Are you serious about this? It is necessary to distinguish Ukrainian nationalism from Ukrainian nationality. It is necessary to understand the reasons for Ukrainian or any other nationalism, from which no one is immune, including the denazifiers themselves. You have to understand that the Bolsheviks created SOVIET Ukraine. That for the Bolsheviks bourgeois Ukraine is just the same class enemy as any other.

It must be understood that this is precisely why the Bolsheviks posed the class question as the basis of their policy of unification, since otherwise it would be impossible to assemble the rapidly disintegrating tsarist empire into national-bourgeois territories with local oligarch princes. If they had raised a chauvinistic slogan like the one issued by Poddubny, they would have received such deafening resistance throughout the country that they would have failed miserably, as “your nobility” Poddubny of the last century failed.

You cannot hang the Red Flag with one hand and say with the other that the Bolsheviks have deceived the workers. You are either for the Reds, which means you are for communism, or you are for the Whites, which means you are for capitalism. And there can be nothing third.

Any “third” is a manifestation of the small-kulak innards, which wants to preserve both the individual market and the pleasant feeling of emotional communion with the victory of the Second World War. No, dear, it doesn't.

Or a market - and then you get up in the ranks of Drozdovites, kulaks, Bandera, legionnaires and Vlasovites. Or victory in the Second World War - and then you stand in the ranks of the Red Army soldiers who stormed the icy Sivash, build Magnitka and climb machine guns near Moscow.

And if you chose the first, then you should clearly understand that now you are in another trench, and the Reds will again storm their new Perekop.

4 . This is a question of the real viability of the bourgeois system for a long confrontation with Western partners, which the communists have always warned about, anxiously observing the deindustrialization of the country with its "inefficient" industry, "capable only of producing galoshes." What have “your honors” come to now, when their illusory world of a community of equal capitalist states is finally crumbling before everyone’s eyes and we are witnessing a story so familiar to all of us from the 90s with bloodthirsty gangster groups ready for mutual destruction for the sake of market share? Maybe it was worth studying Marxism-Leninism more carefully in Soviet times, so as not to be surprised today, gentlemen, former members of the CPSU?

There are many such topics, and all of them can and should be used in our propaganda, since they really excite huge masses of people today, and communists who offer an alternative, exactly what they will listen to. And this is a guarantee that tomorrow these people will start asking questions: what to do?

But this question will be answered by communists organized in a party where the question of party building is not only ripe, but also overripe beyond measure. A party in which the communists should work out and offer people a clear political and economic alternative to today's madhouse, taking into account the Soviet and post-Soviet experience. And this is already a serious theoretical front of work. The Communists only need time to organize and seriously accumulate forces. Therefore, it is in their interest that these Whites hold out as long as possible. In the event of the defeat of these whites earlier, the communists will definitely fall under the open terror of the "Western democracies" and the work will be much more difficult.

At the same time, the following point is also important here: to stop the attempts of bourgeois propaganda to manipulate Soviet symbols for political purposes. They can theoretically at the peak moment try to maintain control over the situation by raising a red flag, and climb the Mausoleum with the same or slightly updated staff, trying to create a “scoop” WITHOUT socialism, organize the return of the “Soviet” form WITHOUT Soviet content. Such things must be mercilessly suppressed, simultaneously delegitimizing the official opportunists in the person of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

But you need to understand: fundamentally, there is no form in isolation from content, and content is always formalized. Therefore, every step of the obscene exploitation of the communist past by the bourgeoisie has consequences, prepares and pushes the people to "seditious conclusions."

Maybe it's time to stop playing Marxism, and really study it, first of all, pulling up the knowledge of dialectical materialism? The left-wing public gives the impression that it generally poorly understands the words that it utters, and its representatives themselves are a vivid illustration of how people with metaphysical thinking reason, in which the world around them consists of only three primary colors RGB - either - yes, yes, or no no; what is more than that is from the evil one.

The leftists continue to babble quotations and call themselves firm Leninist-Stalinists, having nothing in their souls, but relying on the economism and solidarity of the workers. They want to be even more firm in their own eyes than Lenin and Stalin put together. Only this "firmness" is called in Marxism somewhat differently - Trotskyism. Where Trotskyism is not about for or against the “liberation struggle”, as the Nazis vulgarly understand this question. Trotskyism is a kind of revisionism in Marxism, the characteristic features of which are ultra-revolutionaryism without regard to political conditions, forces and times, ostentatious devotion to Marxism, excessive quotation out of place or out of place, dogmatism, inconsistency in reasoning - shying from side to side, which inevitably leads sooner or later to defeat.

Leftists still cannot understand the simplest things from diamat. There are no categorical imperatives in political matters. The search for once and for all established positions in tactics and strategy is, in principle, flawed. Trotsky accused the Leninists of being "for the peasant, that is, the private owner", then he accused Stalin of being "for the Nepman", then he accused him of being "for Chiang Kai-shek", then after the pact he said that Stalin for Hitler. Hearing from him that "Stalin for Churchill" prevented only an ice ax.

Do they understand the difference between "support" and "take advantage"? Not an agreement with the captain Lemke, but DO NOT STOP Lemke from unscrewing Esaul's head. What fate then awaited the White Guard Lemke, who was then dragged by the Chekist Shilov - read in the documents of that era.

It is necessary to study Marxism first of all in peacetime, while there is more or less such an opportunity. During the hot phase of the struggle for Soviet power, your knowledge will be tested in practical work.

Those who studied poorly in peacetime will make mistakes in wartime. If he makes mistakes, there will be problems, sometimes turning into tragedies. There will be tragedies, which means there will be personal ones responsible for them, with all the sad consequences for such half-educated people.

To fight for Soviet power, first of all, smart, trained cadres are needed. And smart people are, first of all, people who have competent Marxist knowledge and are able to think correctly. This quality is achieved only by systematic, persistent, independent theoretical work and self-education, verified daily in practice.

And the left trails behind the working people, unwittingly grouping with the liberals on the topic of pacifism, instead of ideologically intercepting the moods of the masses and directing them in the direction necessary for the communists.

The communists, on the other hand, need to use the situation in which the merchants have driven themselves and others to improve the quality of public consciousness on issues in which Russian bourgeois propaganda is extremely unstable and falls into an obvious logical contradiction.

Communists today, exactly what they will listen to. And this is a guarantee that tomorrow these people will start asking questions: what to do?

But this question can be answered by the communists organized in the scientific Bolshevik party, at a time when the question of party building is not only overdue, but also overripe beyond measure. A party in which the communists should work out and offer people a clear political and economic alternative to the market, taking into account the Soviet and post-Soviet experience. And this is already a serious theoretical front of work. The Reds need time to organize and seriously build up strength. Therefore, they are interested in the whites holding out as long as possible in their confrontation with Western partners, during which both sides of the conflict will inevitably weaken. And it is absolutely not necessary to solidarize with them, slipping into Kurginyanism with priesthood. This is a normal calculation.

In the event that the whites capitulate ahead of time, the communists will definitely fall under open terror, the country will collapse under the supervision of Western democracies, and the work will be much more difficult.

At the same time, leftists love to complain and tell that the political regime in the Russian Federation is slipping into the same police force as in the countries of Western democracy. Yes, it rolls, of course. But you call yourself dialecticians, don't you? It is necessary to distinguish between the dynamics of rolling and the quality of the police. No one bothers you to conduct communist propaganda in Russia, unlike, for example, the same democratic Baltic countries, where communists are outlawed and Russian television channels and websites are banned under the threat of fines.

And for ordinary posts and comments that do not coincide with the official position of the authorities on the events in Ukraine, you can easily fall under a criminal case. So get down to business, and do not complain ahead of time. And it is not at all a fact that the Russian government will openly ban communist propaganda, given how strong pro-Soviet sentiments are in society. Opening another front inside the country at a time when there is a tough confrontation with partners is idiocy.

I. Ivanov
21/06/2022

https://prorivists.org/70_specmiloper/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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