Countries of former Soviet Union: New movement developing.

Russian youth and workers march against corruption of capitalist regime. 

Sean O'Torain.

When the Stalinist states that comprised the old Soviet Union collapsed in the late 1980's early 1990's, contrary to the hopes and some forecasts of left minded people and groups, they were not replaced by democratic workers’ states and a democratic workers’ socialist federation. They were replaced by capitalist regimes.

There were a number of reasons for this. One is that there were no mass workers' parties that existed or were in formation in the countries of the former Soviet Union which could have enabled the working class to replace the Stalinist dictatorship with a workers' democracy.

Had this been the case, it would have been possible for the economies of these countries to have remained nationalized and planned------ not by a Stalinist dictatorship------but by democratic workers’ councils, and through these, by the democratic, collective brain of the working class.

Another reason the Stalinist regimes were replaced by capitalism was that Imperialism, led by US imperialism, intervened in the collapsing Soviet Union to ensure that capitalism was re- established there. Imperialism was helped in this by the Vatican and the Catholic Church with its huge resources. Once the backward religion of European feudalism, now the main church of capitalism, the Catholic Church and its various Popes and emissaries toured these countries and pushed and organized for their capitalist alternative.

Another factor in the collapsing Stalinist regimes going to capitalism were the pro capitalist policies and outlook of the mass traditional organizations of the working class in the West such as the social democratic and labor parties. They did not intervene to try and prevent capitalism from being restored. On the contrary, they intervened to help it be restored. Democratic workers' socialist societies in these countries would have threatened their own positions in their own capitalist countries their support for capitalism in their own countries.

These developments led to the collapse of the mass Stalinist/Communist parties world wide along with the regimes in which they had been rooted. They could offer no alternative as they had at all times supported the Stalinist regimes in the former countries of the Soviet Union. When these regimes collapsed, they had no alternative and no credibility.  They went down with the ship. 

The various groups in the west that claim the mantle of Trotskyism and that stood against Stalinism and for democratic workers' states, had, through a combination of sectarianism, ultra leftism and at times opportunism, been unable to build any significant base in the working class and so were unable to influence events to any serious degree. In the main, these groups did not have an orientation to the working class mostly seeking to find in the student movement and the petite bourgeois a substitute for the working class.

The result of the combination of these factors was that capitalism was restored in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

The Russian Revolution in 1917 ended capitalism and landlordism in Russia. But the Russian working class, under the blows of civil war, intervention by imperialist armies from the west, mass starvation, and being isolated in a capitalist world, were unable to hold on to political power and lost control over society to the Stalinist bureaucracy. The Stalinist bureaucracy maintained the nationalized and planned economy but ruthlessly took the power away from the working class and established a dictatorship. The Soviets, (workers’ Councils), that had replaced the capitalist state structure and played such an important role in creating the first workers’ state, at the time the most democratic system of government in the world, became empty shells and Soviets, workers councils,  in name only.

The Russian Revolution by ending capitalism and landlordism had been a step forward, not only for the Russian working class, but for the workers of the world. Human history had taken a step forward. But the rise of the Stalinist dictatorship by taking power out of the hands of the Russian working class then took history back a half step. Capitalism and landlordism were not restored, but the working class lost control over society.

In the late 1980's and early 1990's when Stalinism finally collapsed under the weight of its own monstrous dictatorship and inefficiency and contradictions, capitalism was restored in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. In doing so history took a full step back.

Most of the populations in these countries initially supported the change. They saw the end of the dictatorships. They saw more democratic rights in the main. If they had money they could travel. They could interact more with the countries and the peoples of the rest of the world.  However, things began to shape up in a way that the mass of the populations of these countries had not expected. A ruthless new capitalist class, rose out of sections of the old Stalinist bureaucracies and took charge. They looted the economies of these countries. Russia is now the most unequal country of all the larger countries in the world. The new capitalist classes that have arisen are corrupt to an extent seldom seen before. This is most clearly shown by the fact that Putin is now reputed to be the richest man in the world. While the mass of the population go into greater poverty under the new capitalist regimes, this massive inequality and corruption does not go unnoticed.

In order to protect the wealth they have looted from the population, these new capitalist classes have been taking away any democratic gains that had been won with the collapse of Stalinism. They also seek to make alliances with all the old and most reactionary forces in their countries. The Russian Orthodox Church works with Putin in Russia. The Catholic Church seeks to get into the saddle again in Poland. The corrupt leaders of the  Russian Orthodox Church has been given back much of the property it claims belongs to them and has been allowed to dictate many reactionary policies in relation to women's rights and gay peoples rights.

However and this is the main point of this article; a new period is opening up in these countries. Movements against corruption and for democratic rights are surging across the countries of the former Soviet Union. There was the recent march of mainly young people in many cities in Russia. There have been similar movements of mainly, but not exclusively, young people in Slovakia, Poland, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Hungary. A participant on one of the marches in Slovakia said, referring to the government: "They have all the power. They have all the money. But I will tell you one thing they fear, and that is students on the streets."

Many of these marches and demonstrations have been organized initially by a small number of people using the social media. It has not only been against corruption and attempts by the various governments to one way or another stay in power that the movements have taken in place. In Poland a magnificent movement of women threw back the extreme right wing government’s attempts to take away women's rights to choose.

Anti capitalist fighters must not be disheartened. A new movement is beginning in the countries of the former Soviet Union. At this stage it is mainly against corruption and for democratic and women's and gay rights as well as against corruption in general. But as these movements develop workers, youth and all marginalized groups will increasingly see that the problems originate from the new system, from capitalism and will be forced to confront it and the new capitalist class at its head.

In the early stages of the collapse of the bureaucracy there were sections of the working class that saw a genuine, democratic socialist society as the alternative, a “third way” as one East German worker described it. The intervention of all these forces described above cut across this.

Anti capitalist fighters must not be disheartened for other reasons. The whip of the counterrevolution in the USA as exampled by Trumpism, is laying the basis for movements against the system there. The women's marches, the tax marches, the defend science marches, the shouting down of political representatives at town hall meetings, the pro environment marches, the movements against racism, police brutality and sexism.  The rising opposition to environmental degradation and the poisoning of the drinking water of entire communities, these are all developing and will come together at some point.

Internationally, while there is the rise in some countries of the extreme right, the capitalist offensive is also evoking new movements of opposition. Consider the hundreds of thousands of British youth and workers who have moved to support Corbyn the new left wing leader of the Labor party. Consider also the near 20% of the vote for Melenchon the former Trotskyist in the first round of the French Presidential elections. Consider also the recent general strike in Brazil. And most of all consider the beginnings of workers' struggles in China. When the Chinese working class rises against their super exploitation this will shake the world and will give further impetus to the already existing movements of workers, especially women workers in South East Asia and India.

The world is at the beginning of a period of revolution and counterrevolution. With the collapse of Stalinism, with the pro capitalist policies of the world's trade union and labor leaders, with the lack of a base of the self styled revolutionary groups, counter revolution has got off to somewhat of a head start. But as the saying goes: "Sometimes the revolution needs the whip of the counter revolution." This is the situation that exists today.

Because the international working class does not have a mass revolutionary international socialist leadership it has and will suffer defeats. But the events mentioned above also show that it is fighting back. The task facing all anti capitalist fighters and all workers and youth, and all who want to prevent capitalism destroying life on earth as we know it, through climate change, nuclear war, pollution, starvation, drought, the task facing all these forces is to build an international revolutionary movement of tens and hundreds of millions. The task is to build a international revolutionary leadership in the working class, the progressive class of today.

The task is to put a cutting edge on this progressive class.