Fw: [Iskra] Interview, Oleg Shein,only elected revolutionary Deputy toRussia

[Michael Pugliese <debsian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: SMye5@xxxxxxx <SMye5@xxxxxxx>
> To: SMye5@xxxxxxx <SMye5@xxxxxxx>
> Date: Wednesday, February 09, 2000 8:12 AM
> Subject: Fwd: [Iskra] Interview, Oleg Shein, only elected
> revolutionaryDeputy to Russia
>
>
>
> FOREWARD  by Steve Myers:
>
> Oleg Shein is the only elected revolutionary Marxist in the new State Duma
> of
> Russia. He is apparently one of these characters who seems to work
non-stop
> around the clock - seven days every week.
>
> The interview was distributed on ISKRA, the internet discussion list (ask
> for
> details at SMye5@xxxxxxx), last week. Before the interview, I would like
to
> first clarify a few points for readers.
>
> Zaschita: This is the only national militant union in Russia - and is
backed
> by a wide range of political forces to the left of the official Communist
> Party - most of whom would describe themselves as anti-Stalinist. This
> network has been built in and through the upsurge of workers struggles
> witnessed in Russia over the last two years - of which it has been at the
> centre.
>
> The Movement for a Workers Party (MWP): was formed last August from 31
> organisations - several small revolutionary Marxist groups and trade union
> branches connected with many of the struggles - including most Zaschita
> regions. The latest to join the MWP is the Committee for a Workers
> International (Taaffee's section). It is still growing - and now has it
own
> Deputy in the Duma, Oleg Shein.
>
> The MWP was set up on a minimum but clearly revolutionary Marxist basis;
on
> dialectical materialism, removal of alienation from society, dictatorship
of
> the proletariat, international revolution. It intervenes in the struggles
of
> the day, including against the new anti-Labour Code that President Putin
is
> pushing through the Duma. It allows full and public freedom of criticism
> (each tendency can keep their own publications) - not dissimilar to Lenin'
s
> old Iskra paper. Further it is progressive in that it champions the
> oppressed: is for women's liberation, sexual freedoms; is against racism
and
> antisemitism; against patriotism, ultra-nationalism and fascism. Basically
> it
> embraces the Marxist-bloc tactic.
>
> The "other Stalinist 'Communist' parties" Shein criticises in Q.3 below,
is
> reference to Ti-ulkin's RKRP (who got 2.5% in the elections), and Viktor
> Anpilov's Stalinist-bloc with Stalin's grandson (who got 0.5%).
>
> -------------------------------------
>
>
> THE INTERVIEW
> January 2000
>
> 1.  Steve Myers: Tell me about the work of the Union 'Zaschita' or
Defense,
> and to what you owe your success in the election in Astrakhan?
>
> Oleg Shein: In the Astrakhan region, there are two organizations of the
> working class. There is the United Workers Front, which is the political
> wing
> of the working class organization, and the Union called Zaschita or
Defense,
> which leads the predominantly economic struggle of the class. The UWF is a
> Marxist organization founded in 1989, and in 1995 Zaschita was formed from
> its organizational base. The UWF is based on internationalism, and calls
for
> the nationalization of large and median scale capital, and the
establishment
> of workers' power.
>
> Together the UWF and Zaschita combine many years of experience in the
fight
> for the rights of working people. Our organization has conducted dozens of
> strikes, including occupations, hundreds of legal actions against the
> bosses,
> blockades of roads, mass meetings. Over the years we have won the payment
of
> wage arrears, the raising of wages, the re-instatement of workers
illegally
> fired, and have successfully resisted attempts by bosses to simply evict
> workers from company housing onto the street.
>
> In 1998 we organized a tent city under the windows of the Regional
Governor
> with the demand to pay wage arrears, halting the bankruptcy of factories
and
> forcing the dismissal of the local public prosecutor. It was our
> organization
> that helped to defend the rights of small street vendors, Chechen
refugees,
> and mothers, who have not received proper assistance from the government.
>
> Understandably, this fight was not easy. For example, the public
prosecutor
> repeatedly tried to instigate suits against myself and my comrades for our
> so
> called 'illegal' strikes, eight of our comrades have been physically
> attacked, and one especially talented organizer, Oleg Maksakov was killed
by
> a gunshot in the back in the spring of 1999.
>
> The bourgeois press has dumped buckets of insults on us, as of course have
> the official Russian "communists," from the party of Ziuganov, who serve
the
> bourgeoisie. The election victory confirmed the high standing of the UWF
and
> Zaschita among Astrakhaners. It is also telling that we won outright in
> areas
> dominated by the working class, and the results of this election confirmed
> the class nature of our organization.
>
> 2. Myers: How do you intend to use your position as a member of the State
> Duma to advance the cause of the working class?
>
> Shein: It's hard to talk about it in great detail. It's hard right now for
> me
> to judge what is possible for a Duma Deputy to accomplish, though I do
have
> five years of experience as a representative in the local government in
> Astrakhan. From my point of view, the principle work of a deputy is not to
> sit in that warm meeting hall and press the voting buttons, but to use my
> position to:
>
> 1. Support struggling collectives fighting for their rights.
> 2. Organize contact between workers groups from all areas of the country.
> 3. Publicly oppose anti-worker legislation.
> 4. Politicize the worker's movement in Russia and to facilitate the
> formation
> of a Russian Worker's Party.
>
> The first steps towards that goal have been taken. The Union Zaschita is
an
> organization that spans the whole country and has members and locals not
> only
> in Astrakhan, but in Komi, the Federal Atomic Center, in all regions of
> European Russia and in the Urals. Not long ago the Siberian Federation of
> Labor joined with us.
>
> From 1994 to 1999 we have been involved together with a whole spectrum of
> left parties in a fight with the Government against their attempts to
> liquidate progressive labor laws. In August of 1999 in Moscow there was
the
> founding conference of the Movement for a Worker's Party, in which
> representatives from 31 organizations in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan
> participated. Now the possibilities for the growth of this work have
> significantly widened.
>
> 3.  Myers: How do you propose to unmask the character of Zyuganov's
> 'reformism'?
>
> Shein: The best way to expose the careerist officials of the CPRF, who
live
> off the word "socialism," is by the practical organization of the working
> class and by defending the rights of all workers. The other Stalinist
> 'Communist' parties, who  blamed the CPRF for moving away from Marxism met
a
> gruesome fate in these last elections. People in Russia need deeds, not
mere
> words.
>
> Neither the CPRF, nor the other parties in Russia express the interests of
> the working class. The general logic of each is simply to state (to the
> people) "Give us power!". These parties fight for their own power, not
that
> of working people, which is something that people very clearly understand.
>
> It's not surprising then that the Communist Party based its election
> campaign
> on public nostalgia for the social benefits that people fondly remember
from
> the days of the Soviet Union. If one looks at the statements of Putin,
> Ziuganov or even of Barkashov, the leader of the Russian Fascists, there
is
> no visible difference between them.
>
> Each of them speaks of patriotism, Russia's great power status,
> strengthening
> the state, strong power, of limiting the appetites of individual
capitalists
> for the sake of the stability of the system. Ziuganov and his party do not
> speak of the power of the working people nor do they speak of the
> nationalization of the banks. Today, their slogans have been totally
stolen
> by Putin, while the so called "red" Governors and directors merged with
big
> business and help it to smother the worker's movement, even sending in
> special militias to crush workers demonstrations and strikes.
>
> Yet, voters do not know that the CPRF's elected Deputies vote in favor of
> all
> government budgets, for any candidates for the post of prime-minister, for
> the passage of anti-worker legislation. It's absolutely necessary to tell
> the
> people about this.
>
> 4.  Myers: To what developments in Russia do you owe the growth of Russian
> nationalism?
>
> Shein: Russian nationalism has more of a shade of wounded pride than it
does
> a racist tone. The election results prove this out. Parties who won seats
> did
> so on the issue of strengthening the state, not on open chauvinism. Over
the
> past ten years Russia has existed in the state of national humiliation.
>
> It is necessary to mention that the anti-Chechen mood has been warmed up
for
> quite some time, since 1992-93, because the authorities needed some
> lightning
> rod.
>
> The Chechen state itself gave enough reasons for this mood. Racism in
> relation to the Russian-speaking population, the multi-million financial
> stints, kidnappings, slavery, the stealing of cattle, executions and
> tortures, constant threats to "liberate" the Northern Caucuses from
"kafirs"
> [infidels], the intervention into Dagestan by the Wahhabites - created a
> very
> negative attitude to what was going on in Chechnya.
>
> It is quite telling that at the start of the war in August it were the
> peoples of Dagestan, ethnically close to the Chechens, who were most
opposed
> to the Chechen leadership and Wahhabism. Dagestan is the only territory in
> Russia, where Wahhabism and Islamic extremism are prohibited by law. Then,
> after some residential buildings had been blown up, public defense
> detachments were formed in practically all large cities in Russia. They
> guarded residential neighborhoods around the clock. Finally, on the
pretext
> of struggle with the "Caucasians," the businessmen of other nationalities
> solved their own problems, pushing their competitors from the market.
>
> One has to keep in mind that the war of 1994-96 has sharply increased kin
> ("teip") divisions in Chechen society. Practically all industries have
been
> destroyed. Large sections of agricultural land remained mined. This is
> another reason why the Chechen economy became reduced to one of
consumption
> and Chechen society lost stability.
>
> Maskhadov [Chechen Premier] simply could not stop Islamic extremists. It
> should be noted that all prominent politicians - who demonstrated their
> "patriotism" - became discredited for various reasons. This is why the
> "small
> victorious campaign" has served as a spring-board for the presidential
> promotion of Putin, until then an unknown officer of special services from
> Yeltsin's circle.
>
> Except for his role in this war, Putin did not do anything to prove
himself
> in the eyes of Russian society. This is why the current failures of
Russian
> army in Chechnya weaken him before the presidential election. In the
future,
> Russia will hardly be able to control the territory where, as the result
of
> two wars, every family experienced death and mutilation. The economy has
> been
> totally destroyed. And there is simply no money to rebuild it. This hardly
> bothers the Kremlin.
>
> Essentially, this war has been conducted for the elections. This is a
> political war.  END
>
> translation by Steve Kerr - with help from Willi Firth and V.Bilenkin.
>