[hollowman]

(I haven't extensively searched the forum’s archives on this topic, so forgive my lethargy!)

Noam Chomsky noted that before the 1991 collapse, the USSR was an economic "second-world" nation/empire. After the collapse, the republics (maybe parts of Russia, too) went "back to the third world they came from" (i.e., before Stalin).

Probably the non-Russian CIS republics are in (much) worse shape after collapse up to current. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!) But Russia, after 2004, seems "better".

Questions:

Did the majority of people in Russia (i.e., "middle class") notice an overall improvement in "quality of life" or "living standards" after the collapse of the USSR -- due to "capitalism" and/or political freedom? (I realize this is a very open, broad and subjective question.) I think that up 'till about 2004, things got pretty rough, apart from a few rich elites.

How is the current economic crisis affecting the majority of the Russian population? Specifically, if the crisis continues and/or worsens, are the majority of Russians bound to end up in much worse shape than before the time the economy grew (the rough period 1991 - 2004)?

Apologies again for the generalities of this questions. My only excuse is that I'm an ignorant American!

[TheRussianLord]

To summ it up, nobody gained anything from the collapse. There is no real middle class in Russia, generally the population is notably worse off. After about 1998, Russia began to improve, and this improvement lasted until early 2008, when Russia started running into some problems. Over this time period life improved compared to the period from 1992-1998 which was particularly bad, but on the whole was still worse then before the collapse of the USSR. Generally a large chunk of the population is in poverty, jobs are hard to come by, corruption is more rampant then ever and the bureaucracy actually grew in size since the collapse of the USSR.

2004 is just when the growth in internal stability and the economy within Russia got to the point where Russian leadership began to use our new economic muscle on the international stage. Hence why that might seem a significant date. The current crisis is hitting Russia very very hard. The government is trying to float the economy on a pillow of money, but that plan doesn't seem very likely to work if the crisis lasts in the long term. The problem of course is that the Russian economy is largely export oriented, with a heavy bias towards raw resources. The manufacturing heavy industry sector which started to emerge from it's stupor around 2002-2003 is likely to be bailed out by the government as it's strategically important. However if money runs out, or if it comes down to saving Gazprom, or saving domestic industry, the question will be an easy one.

In short capitalism has accomplished very little, and has not largely managed to restore quality of life to even the 1988 level.

[Fellow Comrade]

TRL: Do you think the situation in Russia now has a real chance of leading to another Socialist revolution? The "Left" over there seems to be a more organised than in most Western countries.

[TheRussianLord]

I do think so. Especially if this crisis hits a little harder. The party in power realizes this well, and if you pay attention closely, you will notice that they have intensified spending on heavy anti-riot gear, and have opted to not reduce the size of the MVD troops as originally planned. Given the huge structure of the force agencies in Russia (MVD, FSB, Militia, MChS) and formation of new ones, like the Gazprom private army, it's likely to be messy. But it's definetly possible.

[thekraken]

The Russian communist party is pretty strong and has a lot of influence over there. They've finished 2nd in all the presidential elections since the fall of the Soviet Union.

[TheRussianLord]

The CPRF is not communist nor capable of any revolutionary change. It's not the party of the future. It's the party of the past. They get votes by associating themselves with the USSR, and are generally representative of older people in general. The revolutionary forces in Russia lie in youth movements, such as the AKM or NBP, as well as in spontaneous popular dissent.

[Mabool]

Why NBP? I thought you were opposed to nationalism?

[4.Nov1923]

Quote:

The CPRF is not communist nor capable of any revolutionary change. It's not the party of the future. It's the party of the past. They get votes by associating themselves with the USSR, and are generally representative of older people in general. The revolutionary forces in Russia lie in youth movements, such as the AKM or NBP, as well as in spontaneous popular dissent.

This is not an fact. The last congress of CPRF was an very good congress, clearing away some ideological confusion etc. CPRF with its new programme and last congress have come out stronger than ever before, more revolutionary, ready to lead the working-class and rebuild socialism in Russia. Together with other revolutionary forces, the CPRF, can and will triumph.

The usual slander as you have posted avout being just for old people, not revolutionary enough etc is aimed at discredeting the leading revolutionary force in Russia, split the working-class etc.

The youth movement is an part of the rev. movement - a rev. movement who must be class-based and the youth is not a class in itself as many new-revolutionarys claimed after the counter-revolution. Spontanious pop. dissent must be lead by the working-class and communist party, organised, to assimilate the forces in a way that serves the overall interest of the working-class, for socialism and communism.

I have faith in the russian comrades, including the CPRF!

[TheRussianLord]

Mabool the NBP is very different from what it used to be, and from what it's name would imply. I don't understand their long-term plans or goals, but in the immediate they tend to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people.

4.Nov1923 I'm not sure whether you pay attention to internal Russian politics or not, but if you do you would realize that there is no democracy. Only a bureaucratic oligarchy with a certain clan running the power structure. The biggest incriminator of the CPRF is the fact that it's allowed to exist. What does our government do to NBP and AKM activists? Jail, beatings, attacks, illegal dispersion of rallies, and even murder. Why? Because we are dangerous. The CPRF on the other hand is typically far less active in the streets and far less radical. The fact that they exist on the ballot is simply a way to allow those nostalgic of the USSR to vent by voting for a party that will never be allowed to rise to power, doesn't have the leadership, muscle, or organization to make a strong showing, and distract them from the fact that the elections are a farce. I welcome any CPRF members and delegates who choose to participate in street protests and demonstrations side by side with us, but as an organization, as a whole, it is not revolutionary. If it was interested in revolution it wouldn't be busy running election campaigns.

[Che Burashka]

Wouldn't an alliance between the AKM and the youth of the CPRF work?
The CPRF has some street presence, specially since the crisis started, but AKM would really raise attention and provide more activity.
And AKM could get funds from the CPRF and some social approval. 20% of an electorate is not a something to disregard.
There is no single road to socialism. The ballot box is as legitimate way as street violence (which AKM seems to be proud of).

[TheRussianLord]

We do cooperate fairly regularly. Like I said I welcome any CPRF members who want to be active and stand for what they say. In my opinion the organization as a whole is not interested in a revolution. Or in socialism for that matter.

[hollowman]

Thx for eveyone's comments.

A few more Q's:

With respect to necessities -- agriculture, oil, raw materials -- I assume USSR was fairly self-sufficient before the collapse. But I'm not sure if this was entirely by human design (i.e., not because of its size/land-mass, geography, abundance of natural resources on the territory). In any case, and specifically before Gorbachev, was self-sufficiency an important goal for the USSR?

Which of the former Soviet republics is currently most self-sufficient? So, for example, one of the stan's -- that may have a low GDP/GNP -- might, nevertheless, be robust because more of its citizens "live off the land".

What are good sources for images/photos/videos/info of Russian neighborhoods/communities that honestly show/depict the life of the majority of Russians? Mainstream media seems to show mostly "affluence" -- e.g., Moscow streets with imported cars.

Aljazeera English had this recent report on the current Russian econ. crisis. Usually, Aljazeera-english is better than most other major news-media sources. But in this report, I see mostly the "upper" class. Only during a brief segment (06:00 - 08:00) in Part 2 of the report does one seem to get a hint of how the majority live.

[TheRussianLord]

I don't know of any good sources, but if you have any specific questions you can ask me and I'll try to answer. Some Russian movies tend to depict things fairly accurately. Брат (Brother) is a good one. Четыре (Four) is another good one.

[thekraken]

So what is the AKM anyways?

[Misuzu]

Quote:

So what is the AKM anyways?

A Marxist-Leninist youth group that essentially holds that the dissolution of the USSR was illegal and has done nothing for the Soviet People. They fight the Putinist Government. The only place I know of where they operate is Russia. I don't know if there are any other cells in the FSU (I.E. Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Lithuania).

[TheRussianLord]

We operate in a lot of the FSU, including Kazakhstan and Belarus. I'm not sure what other FSU countries we operate in, but I'll find out for you.

[TheFern]

Here's a common joke from Russia in the 1990s that sums it up I think:

"What did Capitalism accomplish in 1 year that Communism couldn't accomplish in 70 years?"

----------"It made Communism look good."



(source: Michael Parenti: Blackshirts and Reds)

[Mabool]

And what exactly does the AKM do? Rallies? Agitation? Assassinations?

[hollowman]

Quote:

Here's a common joke from Russia in the 1990s that sums it up I think:
"What did Capitalism accomplish in 1 year that Communism couldn't accomplish in 70 years?"
----------"It made Communism look good."

Is there any good scholarly research that proves this -- say longitudinal studies from leading universities?
Speaking of which, does the current Russian govt. actively surpress or distort this type of research in academia?

[TheRussianLord]

We do protests, we help people act against illegal actions by the government and by local companies. Illegal construction sites are a big target. Rallies. Typically not assasinations (as far as I know). But there are quite a few confrontations with the police.