Communists set up new movement to counter ‘Western oppression’
The Russian Communist party, KPRF, has created a new patriotic movement called Russian Order with the goal to unite people and preserve the “Russian civilization.”
On Sunday, at the constituent congress of the Russian Order (Russkiy Lad), Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov was elected the chairman of the organization’s Supreme Council. It is planned that Russian Order – dubbed “a constructive movement” by its founders – will unite over 300 patriotic and religious organizations as well as artists and lawmakers. Speaking at the gathering, Zyuganov stated that Russian civilization has been one of the “most brilliant” inventions of the Russian people, cited KPRF press-service. That civilization managed to bring together 190 peoples – with their own languages, cultures and religions – and create a huge state that lived and developed on a territory between three oceans. The preservation of Russia’s identity amid globalization is one of the core goals of the Russian Order. It is also set to unite and “mobilize” Russians and other indigenous peoples in order to protect the Russian language – the basis of unity and creativity in the country. “We’re going to unify our people through love to our history, land and pride for ancestors’ rather than through hatred to other peoples,” said the head of the movement’s coordination council, Communist MP Vladimir Nikitin. He called the participants of Sunday’s congress “true heroes” as they managed to resist in a new harsh war. That, according to Nikitin, is the war launched by speculative capital longing for world supremacy and aimed against the Russian civilization. In the 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian population has decreased by several million and the country has lost over 70 thousand factories, the Communists stated, blaming “the so-called reforms” for all the problems.“Alien” form of government, economy and culture have been imposed in the country, while everything “originally Russian” has been ridiculed, the communist MP stated. According to Nikitin, Russia is under “western oppression” and the nation should unite to oppose the “occupiers.”The protest movement has lately been on the rise in Russia, he noted, adding that “a storm will soon break out.” The politician referred to mass riots that swept through the country following last year’s parliamentary poll. It is important not to allow “enemies” to use these moods to destroy Russia, Nikitin pointed out. A chaos in the country would give foes a pretext to use “NATO peacekeepers” to counter “imaginary Russian Nazi,” he stated. The Russian Order should prevent such a development of a scenario, Communists believe.Meanwhile, the ruling United Russia party is confident that the true reason behind the initiative is a crisis within the KPRF. “In panic,” Zyuganov supporters are trying to “formalize at least some public structure” around them, Aleksey Chesnakov, senior United Russia member commented, cites the party’s official website. He also criticized the name for the new movement as “too sluggish.”The Russian Order is the Communists’ alternative to Vladimir Putin’s Popular Front movement. Launched in the parliamentary election year 2011, the movement was claimed to be beyond any parties. It united a range of people and organizations with different political views who shared the same goal – to develop Russia. After the creation of the Popular Front, Putin stepped down as United Russia leader and promoted Dmitry Medvedev as a replacement. According to Chesnakov, the move was aimed at further development of the party, while the KPRF simply tries to survive. "Even when copying United Russia’s actions, the Communists yet again demonstrate their intellectual, organizational and personnel hunger,” the MP concluded.
