Report of the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation G.A. ZYUGANOV at the October plenum of the Central Committee of the party.

This is a machine translation of an address given by Gennady Zyuganov earlier this month. You can read the original piece on the KPRF site

Dear comrades! Participants of the plenum!

A year and a half ago, at the International Anti-Fascist Forum in Minsk, we declared a firm “No!” to war and reaction, neo-fascism and oppression. Together with our comrades from the countries of Asia, America, Africa and Europe, we proclaimed: “ The red flag over the Reichstag in May 1945 is not only a special fact of the past. The meaning and significance of the Great Victory over fascism are directed to the future. They sound like an alarm, calling to the hearts of new generations . ”Know. Understand. Act.

Yesterday, today and forever our hearts are full of pride for the Victory over Hitler’s fascism and Japanese militarism . This noble feeling coexists today with acute anxiety for the future of humanity. In May of this year, the plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is emphasized in its resolution: “ Modern imperialism is once again “pregnant” with fascism. The deep socio-economic crisis in Western countries is spurring the growth of reactionary tendencies, the curtailment of democratic norms, and an attack on the rights of the working class. Ultra-right movements are gaining strength. The ideology and practice of neo-Nazism is once again receiving the patronage of oligarchic circles. In a number of countries, the glorification of Nazism is reaching the level of state policy. The history of World War II is being rewritten. The crimes of Hitlerism are being hushed up.” 

The situation continues to escalate day by day. The global oligarchy has decided a lot for itself and is acting more and more cynically. Big capital does not hesitate to call neo-Nazis to its service. The topic of the anti-fascist struggle has again become the most important for communists. It is closely linked to the issues of social-class and national liberation struggle. Understanding the degree of the threat, we cannot get by with a one-time appeal to this problem. 

To the credit of the CPRF, we are fighting neo-Nazism consistently and firmly. The party’s demand for recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics was ultimately supported by both the State Duma and the President of Russia. This decision paved the way for holding a referendum and returning the DPR and LPR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions to Russia.

The heroic struggle of the masses of Donbass has received our confident support from the first days . Political work, 130 convoys of humanitarian aid, the program “Children of Russia – to the children of Donbass”, the courage of communists and Komsomol members in the ranks of the SVO fighters – all these are already written pages of the modern fight against neo-fascism by the party. Ahead is the II International Anti-Fascist Forum in Minsk . Preparations for it are in full swing. 

Fascism is a phenomenon towards which a communist cannot help but feel righteous class hatred . We base our work on a resolute rejection of the evil of Nazism with all our hearts. But not only that. We conduct a tireless analysis of the nature of this threat, assess the dynamics of events, determine our approaches and plan specific actions. 

In May of last year, the 6th joint plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control and Auditing Commission examined in detail the question: “ On the tasks of the CPRF in the fight against fascism and the patriotic education of the younger generation . ” A year later, the 9th plenum examined the question: “ On the tasks of the CPRF in uniting anti-fascist forces in the fight against imperialism, reaction and the military threat .” 

The anatomy of capitalism and its offspring – Nazism – is studied by us in the most thorough manner. We did this at the party congresses. These problems are in the focus of attention of the newspapers Pravda, Sovetskaya Rossiya and other party media. You can read about this on the pages of my works: Globalization and the Fate of Mankind, The Russian World on Two Axes, Lenin. Stalin. Victory . Our comrades raise these questions when discussing a single history textbook. The party managed to achieve an accurate assessment of the celebration of September 3 as Victory Day over militarist Japan and the end of World War II .

Today, the focus of our attention is once again on the tasks of the anti-fascist struggle . There are all the grounds for this. Alas, despite the tragic experience of World War II, not all the lessons have been learned. We must clearly see the main nerve of the historical moment and fully understand the nature of the threat. There are no trifles here. Accurate conclusions are needed in everything: from assessing global trends to identifying dangerous flaws in the budget policy of the Russian authorities or problems in the education and upbringing system.

Victory over reaction, fascism and neocolonialism, elimination of military threats is possible only by consistently changing the balance of power on the planet . The activities of BRICS, SCO and a number of other international organizations are of great importance for solving this task . It deserves support in our parliamentary, informational and other political work.

Recent years have been marked by the intensification of Russia’s relations with countries with which the Soviet Union established strong ties . These are China, Vietnam, the DPRK, South Africa, Serbia, Laos, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Syria, Angola and other countries. Much is being done for integration in the former USSR space. The CPRF has always insisted on this. We have been persistently working to preserve friendship with our traditional allies even in the darkest years of Yeltsin’s betrayal.

In any large, complex, multi-layered struggle, it is extremely important to be able to “outsmart the enemy.” V.I. Lenin defeated the hydra of multi-headed intervention not only with the courage of the Red Army he created. I.V. Stalin smashed the Europe united by Hitler not only with advanced weapons and national heroism. In order for our Soviet Motherland to be able to win while in the minority, its leadership needed a deep understanding of economics, immersion in the intricacies of diplomacy, skillful planning of military operations, and managerial mastery in everything. Ahead of our victories on the labor and military fronts, there was truly outstanding intellectual work .

It is in this work that modern Russia demonstrates one of its greatest shortcomings. The authorities, who seriously demanded that Russian education “ raise a qualified consumer ,” have now fallen captive to these guidelines. Such guidelines are completely at odds with the needs of a well-educated, morally pure and spiritually rich society. 

To justify one’s personal passion for consumption is to behave unworthily. And to put forward consumerism as a sacred model for the behavior of an entire nation is simply criminal. Any people who accept such attitudes will be bled dry, and the government in their country will degenerate. The state will have fewer and fewer opportunities to recruit people into management circles who are capable of making large-scale, deeply verified, victorious decisions.

In agreement with the members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, soon after the start of the SVO, I sent out a document to the members of the Security Council and the government, and to the heads of regions, entitled: “ The experience of denazification of Germany and other European countries after the Second World War .” On the one hand, we received grateful responses for it from M.V. Mishustin, V.I. Matviyenko, S.V. Lavrov, S.E. Naryshkin and others. At the same time, it became clear that the “vertical of power” as a whole has too general an idea of ​​how the tasks of denazification of Ukraine can be solved. It has not studied historical experience, there is no well-established goal-setting, and it does not see a connection between Banderaism and a specific political and economic foundation. In such conditions, it is extremely difficult to outsmart a dangerous enemy and win.

Even this example clearly shows what a titanic work the creative forces of Russian society have to do. The most important function of the state is prognostic. Correct conclusions for the future are determined by knowledge of historical facts, honesty and depth of their assessment. Only in this way can one act carefully and effectively. Without this, wandering in the dark is guaranteed. On a personal level, this most often turns into personal ignorance. Where it concerns an entire nation, it is a question of its choice of its path, its fate, and sometimes even its right to the future.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is the leading opposition force, a party with a solid theoretical foundation and a long anti-fascist history. An Indian proverb says , “Whoever keeps silent while knowing the truth is like a false witness.” And Chinese President Xi Jinping persistently repeats the idea he expressed in 2011 at the 18th Congress of the CPC when he took office as General Secretary: “ To neglect the history of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Communist Party, to neglect Lenin and Stalin, to neglect everything else is tantamount to historical nihilism .”

The Communist Party of Russia is the keeper of a great tradition, the main meanings of great victories. We have our own special mission. We must carry our truth confidently and with dignity. For this reason, today we again turn to the topic of the fight against Nazism .

The core of the world battle 

The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries became a turning point in the long history of capitalism. By the beginning of the last century, the world was divided into colonies between Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and the USA . Free competition gave way to the dominance of monopolies.

The concentration of production and capital grew. Corporations seized the main resources of society and increased the oppression of workers. In the thirst for total influence on people, capital sought ways to manipulate consciousness, strengthened control over ideology and information. 

V.I. Lenin made a fundamental conclusion about the transition of ” developed capitalism into imperialism .” He emphasized that the magnates of financial capital subordinate the apparatus of the bourgeois state to themselves, concentrating in their hands the levers of domination in all spheres of the economy and politics. The omnipotence of the oligarchy from the group of the most developed countries outgrew national borders. An international network of interconnections of financial capital arose. 

Violence has always been the basis of capitalist expansion . Resources were seized and held. In the 20th century, the dictate of force became all-encompassing . Firstly, scientific and technological progress gave the bourgeoisie previously unseen deadly weapons. Secondly, capital gained powerful means of disseminating information, which helped influence the consciousness of the masses. Alexander Blok subtly noted this in his poem “ Retribution ”:

The nineteenth century, the iron century,

Truly a cruel century!

With you into the darkness of the night, starless

A careless man abandoned!..

The Age of Bourgeois Wealth

(Growing invisible evil!).

Under the sign of equality and brotherhood

Dark deeds were brewing here…

The twentieth century… Even more homeless,

Even more terrible than life is the darkness

(Even blacker and bigger

Shadow of Lucifer’s Wing)…

And the relentless roar of the machine,

Forging destruction day and night…

Promises us, swelling our veins,

All destroying the boundaries,

Unheard of changes,

Unprecedented riots…

Capitalism was equipped with “technological armor” . It waged a struggle for territory, for markets and sources of raw materials. International politics, in the words of Lenin , was reduced to “a struggle of great powers for the economic and political division of the world “. 

At the same time, as Arnold Toynbee wrote , the West gave birth to a state “ with a diabolical ability to enslave souls,” which “could be envied by tyrants of all times and nations .” The British historian recorded: “ The extent of the moral wretchedness and degradation of modern humanity is fully visible on the pages of the “yellow press.” In its perversion, one could see the desire to keep the bulk of people “ at the lowest possible level of spirituality .”

The transition to imperialism gave impetus to two processes. The general crisis of capitalism entered its “final stage”. Lenin assessed imperialism as monopolistic, parasitic and dying capitalism, which began to slow down progress. At the same time, monopoly leads to the socialization of the economy, the creation of gigantic networks of production, trade and finance. Imperialism becomes the eve of the breakthrough to socialism . 

The history of the 20th century has confirmed this. The Great October Socialist Revolution opened a new era in the life of humanity. As Vladimir Mayakovsky wrote :

– We –

                  the voice
                  of the will below,

working bottom

                      all over the world.

Long live
               the party,

                                     building communism!

Long live

                        Uprising
            for Soviet power! 

The example of the workers and peasants of Soviet Russia inspired the oppressed masses of the whole world. Millions of workers in China, Vietnam, and Cuba took the path of socialism. The peoples of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and African countries threw off the colonial yoke. Capital suffered a powerful blow. Socialism grew into the core form of social progress. 

But the bourgeoisie desperately fights for its dominance. When the pressure is on, capital gives in, mimics, shares profits, creates a “social state,” promotes convergence theories, or uses other mechanisms to retain power, including openly fascist ones. 

During the Second World War, the fascist regimes were defeated and discredited. The successes of the world socialist system forced capital to resort to handouts. But by the 1980s, the oligarchy had grown bolder and decided to take revenge. The West was swept by a neoliberal wave . Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher entered the arena. The infamous “Chicago boys” with their inhuman dogmas broke entire countries and the destinies of millions of people over their knees. Later, representatives of these “economic killers” sat down to write “confessions” about their unseemly deeds.

Neoliberalism has become the harbinger of a new reaction . It is similar in nature to what happened after the First World War. The emergence of the Soviet Union and its growing power, the “great depression” and other events became symptoms of the incurable disease of capitalism. They forced bourgeois alchemists to prepare a poisonous “mixture of fascism”. They set themselves the goal of burning out the enemies of capital, starting with the communists, with a hot iron . 

Today we are witnessing similar trends. The capitalist world is once again in a fever. The feverish temperature of the patient is raised by the rapid development of China, Vietnam and other socialist countries. The successes of left forces in other countries of Asia and Latin America are evident. The workers of the planet do not want to silently accept the blows of the club of neoliberal reforms. The strike movement is becoming wider. Mass strikes have swept across the USA, France and Great Britain. 

In such conditions, the big bourgeoisie resorts to old vile methods. It takes dusty xenophobic, chauvinistic concepts out of the closets. Various variations of fascism are used. The threat of a new big war is growing significantly. Western capital has already modeled a military conflict in Ukraine, bloodshed in the lands of Syria, Palestine and Lebanon, escalation of the situation around Iran, dangerous games around Taiwan. Words about the use of nuclear weapons are heard more and more often. These processes pose a mortal danger to humanity . 

The very situation on the planet demands that capitalism be “written off as scrap”. Only in this way will the peoples of the world put an end to the acute crises that are generated by an inhumane, outlived system. 

Historical experience proves that only convinced and united supporters of socialism can clearly formulate and solve the tasks of the struggle against imperialism . Every communist should remember this, regardless of the national conditions of the political struggle. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation proceeds from this in its work. 

Dictatorship of finance capital

Dear comrades! Associates! 

Human development is again at a crossroads. The masses strive for peaceful development, social justice, freedom from oligarchic dictate. Meanwhile, the magnates of capitalism are trying to strengthen their hegemony. They are strengthening political reaction. These are the conditions in which communists work. 

Carefully verified tactics of struggle are the most important task of the party. That is why today’s plenum continues to analyze the tasks in the conditions of the growth of a severe danger for our movement and for all of humanity. This threat is called succinctly and clearly: fascism!

The attempts of Western ideologists to present fascism as a “dislocation” of history and an anomaly are well known. But Nazism is a natural consequence of the evolution of capitalism . The emergence of fascism is the result of a comprehensive crisis of bourgeois society. Imperialism carries it in its womb, spewing it out into the world when the need arises to suppress revolutionary forces. Then the bourgeoisie does not disdain the crudest methods, puts on brown uniforms and black shirts.

The characterization of fascism given at the 13th Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Comintern and the 7th World Congress of the Communist International in 1935 remains fully relevant . Having assessed fascism as an open terrorist dictatorship of “ the most reactionary, most chauvinistic, most imperialistic elements of finance capital ,” Georgi Dimitrov added: “ fascism is not a supra-class power and not the power of the petty bourgeoisie or the lumpen proletariat over finance capital. Fascism is the power of finance capital itself. It is the organization of terrorist reprisals against the working class and the revolutionary part of the peasantry and intelligentsia. Fascism in foreign policy is chauvinism of the crudest form, cultivating a zoological hatred against other peoples.” 

Dimitrov also emphasized that “German fascism acts as the shock fist of the international counterrevolution, as the main instigator of the imperialist war, as the instigator of the crusade against the Soviet Union, the great fatherland of the workers of the entire world .”

For you and me, the ancestral connection between fascism and capitalism means a direct conclusion: only consistently leftist organizations can wage an effective anti-fascist struggle. Bourgeois democrats, having felt the threat of Nazism for themselves, are capable, at best, of only slowing down the spread of the “disease.” But by suppressing the symptoms, they do not cure the disease. Communists understand well that a poisonous weed can only be destroyed by uprooting it . This has been proven by the history of the 20th century. 

Only the USSR, in alliance with the communist resistance of other countries, was able to defeat German Nazism. In China, the Communist Party also took on the struggle to liberate the Motherland from the Japanese militarists. The bourgeois forces in both the West and the East took an extremely conciliatory position. They allowed the fascists and militarists to gather forces, seize power and destroy millions of lives. 

The victories of the fascist dictatorships began in Italy. The First World War had caused it enormous damage. In 1920, the country plunged into a severe crisis. Leftist ideas were spreading rapidly. The Socialist Party became the largest in parliament. The General Confederation of Labor was gaining strength. Factory councils were being formed on the wave of strikes . Capitalists began to close factories, but workers in Northern Italy did not accept this. They began to occupy factories, establish production, and create the Red Guard. The left wing of the socialists, led by Antonio Gramsci , played an important role here . 

The leadership of the Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labor refused to develop a revolutionary movement. The price was extremely high. Big capital went on the offensive, betting on the fascists. Right-wing youths unleashed terror against labor activists and the Italian Communist Party, created in 1921.  

In the autumn of 1922, the Blackshirts staged a “march on Rome”. As a result, Benito Mussolini received the post of Prime Minister . All bourgeois parties voted for confidence in his government. Moreover, representatives of the liberals and the conservative People’s Party joined it. The establishment of the new government was welcomed by large property owners. 

Despite the “anti-bourgeois” slogans, the fascists established a “most favoured nation” regime for business. Strikes were banned in Italy. Taxes for corporations were reduced and for workers they were increased. Wages were reduced. 

The Western powers provided assistance to the fascist regime. As researcher Leilon Wayne Jordan notes , ” from 1922 to 1935, relations between the United States and Italy were unusually cordial . “ The ties continued later. In June 1939, the Export-Import Bank of the United States provided Italy with over $1.5 million in credit. Numerous loans were used, among other things, to re-equip the Italian army.

Given the ideological closeness of the fascists and liberals, there is nothing surprising. They fiercely hated the USSR and the communists. On November 1, 1922, a group of armed fascists raided the Trade Department of the RSFSR Mission in Italy. One of the employees was shot. 

At first, Mussolini’s position was unstable. The Communists put forward the idea of ​​a general political strike. But it was not supported by the People’s, Republican and Socialist parties. As a result, in 1925, Mussolini formed his one-party government . Soon he banned all organizations except fascist ones. The leadership of the Communist Party and other opponents of the regime were thrown into prison. 

Despite the repressions, the Communists remained the only party that continued the anti-fascist struggle. During the Second World War, the Communist Party of Italy became the leading force of the partisan movement. It was the Communists who carried out the just sentence against Mussolini and his accomplices in 1945.

In Germany, after the defeat in the First World War and the overthrow of the monarchy, the ruling class was also frightened by the growth of the workers’ movement. The scale of the struggle was such that the socialist revolution seemed close. In January–April 1919, Soviet republics were proclaimed in Bavaria, Bremen, Braunschweig and Cuxhaven . General strikes shook Germany. 

Capital decided to save itself by planting nationalism and chauvinism . The “moneybags” financed Hitler, turning the Nazi party into a shock fist against the communists and the labor movement.

In our ideological struggle, it is important to uncover the myth-covered topic of contradictions between the Social Democrats and Communists in Germany . It has been “hyped” for decades by Western pseudo-historians and propagandists. The blame for the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship was shifted to the KPD. Allegedly, “under pressure from Stalin,” it renounced the alliance with the SPD and thus opened the way for the Nazis. In reality, it was the liberal camp, including the Social Democrats, that paved the “red carpet” to power for the Nazis. 

After the November Revolution, Ebert, Scheidemann, Noske and other leaders of the Social Democracy came to power in Germany. These opportunists went on to strangle the revolutionary movement, suppressing workers’ uprisings. The blood of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg is on their hands. The rise of the Nazi Party is on their conscience. It was they who considered fascism to be the “lesser evil.” 

In 1925, the Social Democrats rejected the KPD’s offer to participate jointly in elections. In 1930, they supported the Brüning government, and the suppression of workers became more brutal. In 1932, the SPD helped elect Hindenburg as president, who appointed Hitler as Reich Chancellor. The leaders of the Social Democrats ignored the Communists’ calls for decisive resistance to the Nazi coup . 

The lies about the events of that time were generously disseminated by Gorbachev and Yakovlev. Their ideological garbage caused a lot of harm. Today we must speak frankly: the blame for the breakdown of the anti-fascist alliance lies with the SPD . A special page is the “bloody May” of 1929. The Social Democratic government of Berlin banned May Day demonstrations. The demonstrators were met with police fire. 33 people died, hundreds were injured. Many SPD leaders loudly demanded that the Communist Party be banned. 

Capitalists from the USA, Great Britain, and France were also among the “godfathers” of fascism. By helping the Nazis, they hoped to push Germany and the USSR into conflict. Great Britain was the main supplier of copper, nickel, and other raw materials to the Third Reich. The USA sold aircraft engines, oil, and other products to Berlin. 

The “Munich Betrayal” was not the first in a chain of agreements. In 1933, Germany, Italy, France and England signed the “Four Pact”. In 1935, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement appeared. In the West, it is customary not to remember this.

Japanese militarism also made full use of the fruits of this policy. The ruling circles of the USA and other countries pursued a “policy of appeasement” of Tokyo, wanting to set it against the Soviet Union. They clearly turned a blind eye to the occupation of Chinese territories. The government of Chiang Kai-shek, dependent on Western capital, also behaved treacherously. 

In 1931, Japanese troops occupied northeastern China . The puppet state of Manchukuo was established . The Kuomintang forces then surrendered Rehe Province and part of Hebei Province to the occupiers. 

Instead of resisting the aggressor, Chiang Kai-shek launched an offensive against the Soviet regions of China controlled by the Communist Party. German advisers from the Third Reich played a special role in the Kuomintang troops. They were the ones who developed plans for military campaigns against the Red Army of China.

History has proven more than once: for the bourgeoisie, an external enemy is often much closer than fellow working people . It is ready to come to an agreement with foreign capital. But its own workers and peasants are good for it only when they are ready to bend their backs for the master without complaint. 

Taking advantage of the concessions of the Chinese bourgeoisie, the Japanese continued their aggression. In 1937-1938, they captured Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan and other regions, subjugating the eastern part of China. The governments of the United States and Great Britain weakly condemned Tokyo, but continued to supply Japan. 

The USSR and the Communist Party of China were another matter. The CPC made every effort to create a united anti-Japanese front and received broad popular support . Under growing pressure from below, the Kuomintang agreed to cooperate in 1937. Units of the Red Army were reorganized into the 8th Army of China and began fighting the invaders. Later, the 4th Army was formed from partisan units led by the CPC in Central China. In the Japanese rear, the communists created liberated areas – strongholds for partisan warfare. By April 1945, China already had 19 liberated areas with a population of almost 100 million people. 

The Soviet Union was the only power that helped China repel the enemy . On August 21, 1937, our countries signed a non-aggression pact. China received two large loans. Moscow supplied modern weapons. Soviet volunteer pilots fought in China. 

It was the communists who were always the uncompromising enemies of fascism. The bourgeoisie, acting under different flags – conservative, liberal, social democratic – often played along with the ultra-right .

To destroy evil 

In the 20th century, the Soviet Union and its friendly forces stood in the way of fascism . The USSR provided active assistance to anti-fascists in other countries. Successes in building socialism, historic victories on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War inspired the peoples of the entire planet. 

Already in the early 1920s, when fascism was just raising its head, Lenin sagaciously warned of its danger . He demanded a thorough development of methods of anti-fascist struggle and emphasized that only by leading the proletariat would the communists stop fascism. 

In his “ Letter to the German Communists ” in 1921, Lenin quotes the resolution of the Third Congress of the Comintern: “ Communism will become a mass force in Italy if the Communist Party of Italy, fighting continuously and unyieldingly against opportunist policies ,” is able to “ link up with the masses of the proletariat in trade unions, in strikes, in battles against the counter-revolutionary organizations of the fascists ” and transforms workers’ actions “ into carefully prepared battles .” 

Lenin gives important advice to his German comrades: ” We have an army of communists all over the world. It is still poorly trained, poorly organized… This army must be organized in a businesslike manner, with the greatest caution… properly, tested in all sorts of maneuvers, in various battles, in offensive and retreat operations. Without this long and difficult schooling it is impossible to win .”

Thus, the communists acted without delay in the fight against the fascist threat. Already in 1921, the Third Congress of the Comintern developed the tactics of a united workers’ front . Its importance was confirmed by the Fourth Congress in 1922. The Comintern recognized resistance to fascism as one of the main tasks of the communist parties.  

In March 1923, a conference of revolutionary workers was held in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It elected the International Committee of Action against the War Danger and Fascism . Its leaders were Clara Zetkin, Fritz Heckert and Henri Barbusse . 

An important milestone in the anti-fascist struggle was the 3rd Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Comintern in June 1923. Clara Zetkin’s report ” The Fight Against Fascism ” noted: ” The bourgeoisie has taken fascism into its service and pay… The bourgeoisie needs to use aggressive force to defend its interests in the fight against the working class. The old, supposedly “apolitical” apparatus of bourgeois-state violence does not provide it sufficiently. It is beginning to create its own special class combat units to fight against the proletariat .” 

Zetkin’s report highlighted the main features of fascism . It was emphasized that it combines terror ” with pseudo-revolutionary phraseology, demagogically speculating on the demands and moods of the broad working masses .” In Italy, with the passivity of the socialist party and trade union leaders, revolutionary phrases helped the fascists recruit part of the proletariat. The result of the victory of fascism was the suppression of the workers’ movement: ” The victory of fascism in Italy incites the bourgeoisie of other countries to organize the suppression of the proletariat in the same way .” 

In 1928, at the 6th Congress of the Comintern, a commission was created to lead the international anti-fascist campaign . In March 1929, it held the Anti-Fascist Congress in Berlin . Despite attempts by the authorities to disrupt it, more than 250 people from 24 countries participated. The resolution of the congress called for fighting fascism by all means, including the overthrow of the social system that gave birth to it. It was decided to create an International Bureau for the Fight against Fascism .

After the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Executive Committee of the Comintern issued an appeal to workers of all countries, calling for the organization of a united anti-fascist front. However, the Socialist International sabotaged joint actions. 

In June 1933, the European Anti-Fascist Workers’ Congress was held in Paris . Over 3,000 delegates adopted the Manifesto to the Workers of Europe and a resolution against the threat of imperialist war, and elected the Central Committee of the Anti-Fascist Workers’ Union of Europe . A call was made to fight against the provocations of fascism and the preparation of intervention against the USSR. It was decided to create the International Fund for Anti-Fascist Struggle and publish the newspaper ” Anti-Fascist Front “. 

Georgi Dimitrov’s speech at the Leipzig Trials in 1933 and the campaign in his defense played a major role in mobilizing anti-fascists . Dimitrov turned the fascist court into an arena of struggle. He refuted the false accusations and proved that the Nazis themselves were guilty of setting the Reichstag on fire. Under pressure from protests around the world, the court acquitted Dimitrov and other communists. This was a major moral blow to fascism. 

The best representatives of the intelligentsia joined the fight against the “brown plague”. Among them were Henri Barbusse, Romain Rolland, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Herbert Wells, Louis Aragon, Pablo Picasso . Many of them participated in the anti-fascist International Congress of Writers for the Defense of Culture in Paris  in 1935 .

The 7th Congress of the Comintern placed the fight against fascism at the center of the activities of the Communist Parties and developed the tactics of a united workers’ and anti-fascist people’s front . Georgiy Dimitrov delivered a report entitled ” On the offensive of fascism and the tasks of the Communist International .  “

An example of the implementation of the Comintern’s tactics were the events in France . Having united, the anti-fascist forces thwarted the attempted putsch. In 1935, the Popular Front was created with the participation of leftist organizations.

A bright page of the struggle was the national revolutionary war of the people of Spain . To defend the republic, workers from 54 countries united into international brigades. The Soviet Union provided the greatest assistance. It supported the Republicans with finances and weapons. From the USSR, Spain received about 400 tanks, 800 planes, one and a half thousand artillery pieces, 15 thousand machine guns. About 3 thousand of our advisers, tankmen, pilots, and sailors fought on the side of the Republicans. Thousands of Spanish children found shelter in the country of the Soviets. 

The USSR firmly defended the interests of the Spanish people in the League of Nations. At the same time, the authorities of Western countries turned a blind eye to the intervention of Germany and Italy in the conflict. The “bourgeois democracies” sabotaged the provision of assistance to the republican forces of Spain. 

An outstanding page in the history of the 1930s was the Soviet state’s struggle for peace in the diplomatic arena. Our country resolutely advocated for curbing the aggressors. The Bolshevik government headed by I.V. Stalin insisted on the creation of a system of collective security and tirelessly put forward peace initiatives . The Soviet Union actively exposed the fascists from the rostrum of the League of Nations. 

The Soviet government worked tirelessly to counter the military threat. In 1933, the USSR drafted a convention on the definition of “aggression.” It was possible to get the document signed by most European countries. 

The USSR was the only power to condemn Germany’s seizure of Austria. In its statement, the Soviet government insisted that all states take a ” firm, unambiguous position on the problem of collective salvation of the world .” Instead, Western capitals allowed Hitler to profit from Czechoslovakia as well. 

Today in Russia there is much talk about patriotic education, the fight against falsifications and honest textbooks. It is extremely important to ensure that the facts of the pre-war past are well known to current and future generations. To do this, we should fully utilize the intellectual and political potential of the party . An important place in this work belongs to our ideological services, the media, comrades working in RUSO and the entire party activists. We welcome the fact that the CPRF TV channel “Red Line” has prepared a whole series of documentaries on this topic. Among them: ” Taming the Blitzkrieg”, “United Europe against the USSR”, “These ” and a number of others. It will be right to continue this work on the way to the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War . At the same time, the movement for the return of the great citadel on the Volga with the sacred name of Stalingrad should be expanded .

There was a possibility of slapping the Reich on the wrist . The USSR constantly reminded us of this. Moscow and Paris had mutual assistance agreements with Prague. But the French refused to coordinate plans for joint operations. Under pressure from Britain and France, the authorities of Poland and Romania took a position of sabotage. No consent was received to allow Soviet troops to help Czechoslovakia. 

This ended with the shameful deal between Britain and France and the Nazis in Munich . Together with Hitler’s Germany, they declared their intention to ” never again wage war against each other ” and to resolve differences through consultations. In fact, these were non-aggression pacts. They were concluded a year earlier than the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which the USSR is so fond of blaming.

The vile line of London and Paris was supported by Washington . The US Ambassador to England, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, declared to the German envoy, Herbert von Dirksen, in June 1938 that in the East and South-East, “ in economic matters, Germany must have a free hand .” 

The course of the Western powers untied the hands of fascism . In the spring of 1939, England and France began negotiations with the USSR on mutual military assistance and the prevention of German aggression. However, reaching agreements was delayed. Hitler continued his conquests. The West allowed fascist Germany to deal with Poland. 

National resistance to the fascist hordes

The USSR was left alone with a strong and merciless enemy. The non-aggression pact with Germany was a forced step. Moreover, it should not be viewed as a concession to the enemy, but as an important stage in the fight against fascism. The pact allowed time to be gained to prepare a rebuff to aggression. The time has come for such an extremely clear assessment. Other approaches should be recognized as unacceptable. 

The economic potential and defense power of the USSR rapidly strengthened. During the three years of the pre-war five-year plan, the gross industrial output grew by 45%, including mechanical engineering by 76%. Three thousand new industrial enterprises were put into operation. A second coal and metallurgical base was created in the east of the country. The work of industry and transport was restructured taking into account the military threat. Only a socialist economy was capable of carrying out work of such a scale. Its strength lay in the public ownership of the means of production and scientifically based planning. The current Russian authorities have not learned this lesson.

Stalin’s government launched the production of new types of weapons . In 1940, serial production of Yak-1, MiG-3, LaGG-3 fighters, Pe-2 bombers, and Il-2 attack aircraft began. In 1940 and the first half of 1941, 3,719 new aircraft were produced. Over the same period, more than 1,800 new tanks were produced: the medium T-34 and the heavy KV. They were superior in quality to the German ones. 

Artillery guns, combat ships, and small arms were produced at an accelerated pace. In 1940 alone, the fleet received more than 100 combat ships. Another 269 ships were under construction. 

The number of armed forces increased sharply – from 1.5 million at the beginning of 1938 to 4.2 million by the beginning of 1941. The rate of training of military specialists accelerated. In 1938, there were 75 military schools and 14 military academies in the USSR, in 1941 – already 203 and 19. 

Total military expenditures, which in 1939 constituted 25.6% of the state budget, rose to 43.4% in 1941. And this was despite the significantly increased budget volumes. Stalin’s economists in the ministries did not, like today’s economists, hover around 1-2% of dubious growth.

In developing the country, the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) firmly followed Lenin’s precepts on the defense of the socialist fatherland. ” We have ended one period of wars ,” he emphasized, ” we must prepare for the second; but when it will come, we do not know, and we must do so that when it does come, we can be at our best .” Agree that the foresight of this approach is especially clearly visible today. Yeltsin’s attacks on the army, which escalated into Serdyukov’s pogrom, cost the country dearly. Our people are paying a high price for them! 

The movement of the USSR’s borders to the west was of great importance for strengthening security . Without this step, it is scary to even imagine the fate of Leningrad. None other than Finnish President Urho Kekkonen admitted in 1963: “In light of the Hitlerite attack, the concern that the USSR felt and had to feel about its security at the end of the 1930s becomes understandable .” 

First of all, our country was morally and politically ready for a deadly fight with fascism. The most important factor of success was the national policy of the Soviet government . Representatives of all nations stood shoulder to shoulder in defense of the common Motherland, where there was no place for mistrust or oppression on the basis of nationality. On the eve of the war, the national composition of the Red Army looked like this: Russians – 56%, Ukrainians – 20%, Belarusians – 4.4%, peoples of Central Asia – 5.3%, Transcaucasia – 3.7%. Everyone was united by the Russian language, our great culture and knowledge of the main milestones of common history. On this basis, invincible Soviet patriotism grew. 

Preserving the great traditions, the CPRF is doing a great job of preserving the historical and cultural heritage . We are assisted in this by the “Russian Way” movement, the Lenin Komsomol, the All-Russian Women’s Union “Hope of Russia”, the Movement in Support of the Army and the Union of Soviet Officers . Among the laureates of the Lenin Prize of the Central Committee of the CPRF are outstanding groups and masters of the arts:  N.N. Gubenko, D.S. Dmitrienko , the State Academic Russian Folk Choir named after M.E. Pyatnitsky .

The Soviet people faced a military machine that history had never seen . The fascists had the resources of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, and almost all of Europe at their service. The armies of Italy, Finland, Hungary, Romania, and units from France, Spain , and other countries fought on the side of the Reich . 8.5 million Germans were put under arms. Most of them were sent to the East. 

Plans were developed for the enslavement and extermination of the peoples of the USSR . The General Plan “Ost” envisaged the liquidation of 30 million people. Mass deportation to Siberia, other regions, even Africa was planned. The remaining population was to become a slave force for the “supermen”. Contrary to a number of modern speculations, no exceptions were made in the matter of genocide for Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians. All of them were second-class citizens for the fascists. And together they stood up to fight the enemy.

Highlighting the sources of our victory, I.V. Stalin noted the strength of the brotherhood of the Soviet peoples: “ Soviet patriotism harmoniously combines the national traditions of the peoples and the common vital interests of all workers of the Soviet Union. Soviet patriotism does not separate, but, on the contrary, unites all the nations and peoples of our country into a single fraternal family. In this we must see the foundations of the unbreakable and ever-strengthening friendship of the peoples of the Soviet Union. At the same time, the peoples of the USSR strive to be friends with their neighbors, “respect the rights and independence” of others, and in this we must “see the basis of the growing and strengthening ties of our state with freedom-loving peoples.”

Among the malicious myths is the “unwillingness” of the USSR leadership to admit the military danger and unpreparedness for an enemy attack. But wasn’t the economy being restructured for war? Didn’t the General Staff, the headquarters of the military districts and fleets develop a new defense plan in the spring of 1941? Wasn’t a training camp started in early June, under which 755 thousand people of the assigned personnel were called up to the army and navy? Didn’t the advance of troops from the internal districts to the west begin in May and June? Didn’t the border districts receive orders to speed up the construction of fortified areas? Were not the fronts and armies ordered to withdraw their command to field points on June 14-19? 

Despite the enemy’s initial superiority in personnel and equipment, Soviet troops put up stubborn resistance from the first hours. The objectives of the Barbarossa plan – to reach the Arkhangelsk-Kazan-Stalingrad-Astrakhan line in 6-8 weeks – were failed. The blitzkrieg was thwarted by the heroism of the defenders of the Brest Fortress, Minsk, Kyiv, Mogilev, Odessa, Leningrad, Sevastopol, Moscow, Stalingrad, and thousands of other cities and villages.

The Soviet government put the country on a war footing in record time. On June 23, a mobilization plan for the production of ammunition was put into effect. On June 24, the Evacuation Council was formed. On June 30, the State Defense Committee was formed under the chairmanship of I.V. Stalin . 

In July–November 1941, 1,523 industrial enterprises and 1.5 million freight cars were relocated to the rear. A people’s militia was created. A partisan movement was developed. Universal military training was introduced. Repulsing the enemy became a truly national cause. 

Before the invasion, the German industrial base was twice as large as the Soviet one. After the occupation of the western regions of the USSR, this difference reached 4 times. But under the leadership of the Stalinist government, the economy quickly recovered from the blow. In 1943, the gross industrial output grew by 17% compared to the previous year. Even more successful was 1944. It may seem incredible, but the state budget was then balanced without a deficit! This was achieved thanks to the planned nature of the socialist economy. 

Despite all the hardships, uninterrupted supplies to the front and the vital needs of the population were ensured . And after all, up to 80 million residents were on rationed supplies! This is also a direct result of the policy of the Soviet government. This fact also contains the answer to the fundamental question of the need for collectivization of agriculture . We have also heard a lot of different slander on this account. 

Allied supplies during the Great Patriotic War gave the USSR 7% of tanks, 2% of anti-aircraft guns, 13% of aircraft. Only motor transport supplies were more significant. This allows us to emphasize once again: the victory over Nazi aggression was ensured by the Soviet national economy. 

On November 6, 1944, in honor of the anniversary of the Great October, a ceremonial meeting of the Moscow Council of Workers’ Deputies with party and public organizations of Moscow was held. In his report, I.V. Stalin noted: ” The economic basis of the Soviet state turned out to be incomparably more viable than the economy of enemy states. The socialist system generated by the October Revolution gave our people and our army great and invincible strength… Now the Red Army has tanks, guns, and aircraft no less, but more than the German army. As for the quality of our military equipment, in this regard it is far superior to the enemy’s weapons… The unprecedented difficulties of the current war have not broken, but have further tempered the iron will and courageous spirit of the Soviet people.” 

The Communist Party is the organizer and inspirer of victories 

In the battles of Moscow and Stalingrad, on the Oryol-Kursk Bulge, liberating Ukraine and Belarus, the USSR defended its independence and the very right to life. Soviet socialism was the gravedigger of the fascist vermin. It became a great value that helped to win, inspired military and labor feats. The Leninist banner was carried high by the Communist Party. 

It is not just unfounded, but also downright vile to claim that the war was won in defiance of Soviet power, the socialist system and the Communist Party. Their role was decisive both in preparing for the war and in organizing the defense . Members and candidates for membership in the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) accounted for almost 13% of the Red Army personnel, and another 40% were Komsomol members. Almost 80% of the command staff were communists and Komsomol members. 

The All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) became a force organizing the masses everywhere – on a national scale, in every front-line unit, in every collective farm and factory shop. It is dishonest and unworthy to “forget” what contribution the party made to the Victory . In the first six months of the war alone, over 1.1 million communists joined the ranks of the Red Army and Navy. By the end of the year, there were 1.3 million communists and 1.7 million Komsomol members in the armed forces. In total, during the war, party organizations in the army and navy accepted about 4 million soldiers into their ranks .

Despite the enormous human losses, the number of communists in the USSR increased from 1.3 to 3.3 million by the end of the war. 60% of the members of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) fought at the front. 3 million communists died. By 1945, for every 100 fighters there were 25 communists and 20 Komsomol members. 

“ The tragic lessons of the past must be well known and always remembered! ” – this is what we declared at the 1st International Anti-Fascist Forum in Minsk . The price of getting rid of Nazism was enormous. In the fight against it, soldiers and officers of the Red Army, warriors of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition, fighters of the People’s Liberation Army of China, representatives of the French and Italian Resistance, participants of the German anti-fascist underground, Yugoslav and Korean partisans, Polish and Czechoslovak patriots, all who could not come to terms with the world evil covered themselves with unfading glory.

The Soviet Union made a decisive contribution to the defeat of both Nazi Germany and militarist Japan . Although the United States and Great Britain inflicted heavy losses on Japan’s air force and navy, the enemy retained enormous ground forces. In Manchuria alone, Tokyo had 49 divisions and 27 brigades totaling over 1 million men. And that’s not counting the local collaborators. It seemed that the Japanese had turned the region into an impregnable bridgehead. The fortified areas contained 8,000 permanent fire fortifications. 

Fulfilling its obligations to the allies, on August 8, 1945, the Soviet government declared war on Japan. The Red Army began an offensive on a 4,000-kilometer front. In less than two weeks, the Kwantung Army was completely routed. Soviet troops liberated Manchuria, North Korea, South Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. 

As a result, on September 2, Japan signed an act of unconditional surrender . The commander of the US Air Forces in China, General Claire Lee Chennault , stated that the Soviet Union’s actions against Japan were ” the decisive factor in hastening the end of the war in the Pacific .” He noted that the use of atomic bombs was not the determining factor.

The USSR bore the brunt of the war . In the spring of 1942, 182 German divisions out of 237 were operating on the Soviet-German front. By April 15, 1945, after the opening of the second front, 214 divisions and 14 brigades were operating against the Red Army. Only 60 divisions confronted the Anglo-American troops. In the east, Hitler lost 607 divisions, and in the west – 176. Three quarters of his destroyed aviation, 10 out of 13.6 million killed, wounded and captured – all this was the Soviet-German front. 

The heroism of the Soviet people and its Red Army led to the collapse of the Nazi state and its military machine. Our country suffered the heaviest losses. While Great Britain lost 286,000 people and 93,000 civilians on the battlefield, the USSR’s total losses reached 27 million lives. More than half of them were civilians. 

China also suffered colossal losses. The Chinese people paid a huge price for the Japanese occupation. Historical science in the USSR cited the following losses: about 18 million civilians and almost 4 million killed and wounded in military units. The latest Chinese data shows 35 million total losses, including killed and wounded in the armed forces and dead civilians. 

The victories of the USSR brought freedom from foreign rule to the peoples of China, Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia . ” The Red Army came to help the Chinese people drive out the aggressors. There has never been such an example in the history of China. The influence of this event is invaluable ,” wrote Mao Zedong . 

The Soviet command handed over the captured weapons of the Kwantung Army to the People’s Liberation Army of China. This accelerated the victory of the communists and the establishment of the PRC. We have just celebrated 75 years since the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the USSR and the PRC . The CPRF is true to the traditions laid down by its predecessors. Our party today makes a significant contribution to strengthening the friendship between the peoples of China and Russia. We are actively developing ties with our friends in Cuba , the DPRK, Vietnam, Laos, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Today, our plenum once again expresses words of solidarity and support to all progressive forces fighting imperialism and reaction, for genuine sovereignty!  

Raise the banner of the anti-fascist struggle

Despite the defeat of the fascist regimes in Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania and a number of other countries, the evil has not disappeared. As long as capitalism is alive, it retains special “anti-crisis tools” in its arsenal. After World War II, many leaders of the Third Reich went to serve the new masters . They took up positions in NATO, the CIA, and the security forces of West Germany. The far-right regimes of Franco in Spain and Salazar in Portugal “fitted in” with Western politics. The fascists were actively used in the fight against the USSR and the communist movement. A number of neo-fascist organizations received legal status. Among them were the Italian Social Movement, the National Democratic Party of Germany, the Austrian Freedom Party and others. 

Global capital supported the regime of the “black colonels” in Greece, the anti-communist terror of the “Grey Wolves” in Turkey, and pro-fascist juntas in Latin America. Repressions against leftist forces and the labor movement were used in different parts of the planet. Even Pinochet, who overthrew the legally elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende, under US leadership, had Nazis who had fled Europe in his entourage. 

The fascist remnants raised their heads high after the destruction of the USSR. Criminals began to be elevated to heroes. This happened with the Ustasha in Croatia, the Horthy regime in Hungary, Mussolini in Italy. Today, there are forces in power in these countries that consider themselves the successors of the previous pro-fascist and fascist regimes. The influence of the ultra-right, advocating for rewriting history and whitewashing fascism, is growing. This is the Alternative for Germany, the Austrian Freedom Party, the Spanish Vox, the Portuguese Chega. The caveman anti-communism characteristic of fascism is increasingly visible in the political life of the USA .

The revenge of the fascist forces took place in the Baltics and Ukraine. Shouting about “national revival”, their ruling circles doomed their countries to the position of pawns of Western capital. Neo-fascists actively distract workers from the essence of the problems. They propose to see the enemy not in the bourgeoisie, but in communists or immigrants, Russians or Chinese. 

In his historical report, Georgi Dimitrov warned: “ Fascism not only inflames deep-rooted prejudices in the masses, but it also plays on the best feelings of the masses, on their sense of justice and sometimes even on their revolutionary traditions… They seek to exploit the faith in revolution, the desire for socialism, which live in the hearts of the broad working masses of Germany .”

Dimitrov warned that, in its effort to oppress the masses without restraint, fascism approaches them with skillful demagogy, “exploiting the workers’ deep hatred of the predatory bourgeoisie, of the banks, trusts and financial magnates .” It ” hypocritically rages against corruption ” and impresses the masses with ” the harshness of its attacks on bourgeois governments .” Fascism adapts its demagogy to the national characteristics of each country, ” and the masses of the petty bourgeoisie, even some of the workers, driven to despair by need, … become victims of social and chauvinistic demagogy .”

All this is typical for right-wing parties today . What did Trump promise when he came to power? ” Drain the Washington swamp ” and remember the workers from the “Rust Belt”. But what did we see? Wall Street magnates in big positions in the White House, tax cuts for corporations, increased military spending, attacks on China and Iran, the murder of General Soleimani, an attempted coup in Venezuela and military aid to Kiev. There are no progressive candidates in the choice between D. Trump and K. Harris. The battle is between two groups of US imperialists. As we know, one is as bad as the other. 

In European countries, the right talks about the ” dominance of Euro-bureaucracy ” and the ” intolerant situation of workers .” But when they come to power, they implement neoliberal programs, curtail the rights of workers and trade unions, and continue an aggressive foreign policy. Just like a hundred years ago, the rhetoric of nationalists hides the mug of capital. 

As long as capitalism exists in Russia, our country is under threat. The alarming symptoms are well known. Among them are monuments to Kolchak, justification of Krasnov and Shkuro, praise of Solzhenitsyn and Shmelev, renaming of Soviet streets and squares, whitewashing of various accomplices of fascism. Such facts are numerous and not accidental. The fight against these phenomena is our duty, and the CPRF has mass popular sentiments on its side. Sociology consistently records the unchanging respect of Russian citizens for the Soviet past . 

Relying on deep popular anti-fascism, you and I have driven into a distant corner those who dared to raise Vlasov and his ROA on a shield. The horde of those who paved the way for fascism with their actions is covered with an eternal curse: from Novodvorskaya and Rezun-Suvorov to Borovoy and Chubais. But everywhere and always behind the back of big capital the threat of reaction and fascism looms . 

The creation and promotion of fake films like “ Bastards ” or “ Penal Battalion ” is not a harmless thing. They serve as a smokescreen behind which Lenin’s Mausoleum is boarded up with plywood on May 9 and an attempt is made to open a branch of the Yeltsin Center in Moscow. And the role of anti-Sovietism in the destruction of the USSR is well known. Today, it goes hand in hand with the blackest Russophobia. We cannot turn a blind eye to the activities of neo-Nazi groups. It is impossible to put up with all this. It is well known that all big problems begin with small evils. For any country with a capitalist order, Julius Fucik’s call sounds like an alarm: “ People, be vigilant .”  

Following the example of the Western right-wing forces, their like-minded people in Russia are one-sidedly promoting the topic of migration from the post-Soviet republics . They are eager to exploit the real problems that have accumulated here. However, they are silent about the role of big business in attracting foreign workers. A number of media outlets are zealously molding the image of an enemy out of migrants. This conceals the role of big capital and its servants – the main culprits of Russia’s modern problems – from economic degradation to demographic catastrophe. 

Experience shows that the spread of nationalist sentiments and views becomes a breeding ground for Nazi ideas. From this point of view, we must also look at the issues of migration policy from both sides. Members of the CPRF faction in the State Duma are actively working in the Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Compatriots Affairs , and participate in the activities of parliamentary friendship groups. A special role belongs to the SKP-CPSU . The divisions of the CPRF Central Committee and the party committees at the local level, together with the Department of National Policy, need to expand and improve work with national-cultural associations. It is necessary to strengthen the front in the fight against any manifestations of nationalism, Russophobia and anti-Sovietism . 

The party is closely studying the experience of regulating migration processes . Evidence of this is the new film of the CPRF TV channel “ Red Line ” about the practice of Belarus. It is important for us to show that establishing order in this area is an absolutely solvable issue. It is no less important to reveal what ideological motivation our Belarusian brothers are pushing off from, achieving noticeable successes in migration policy. Since the times of the USSR, they have preserved the ideas and values ​​of internationalism. The principle of friendship of peoples on Belarusian soil proves not only its attractiveness, but also its practicality.

Together with its comrades in the SKP-CPSU, the CPRF proposes a decisive strengthening of the economic, political and cultural ties of the peoples of the former USSR . Moving forward, relying on the common Soviet past, respecting and complementing each other, we will find a solution to any problems. Successful joint development of our countries will strengthen our economic potential and provide citizens with decent work. It will make chaotic mass migration redundant, but will help in matters of economic cooperation, will ensure the mutual enrichment of our cultures.

“Workers of the world, unite!” – this historical slogan of our party is filled with deep meaning even today. The solidarity of workers and the friendship of nations, their struggle for a just world and socialism is the basis for victory in the battle against imperialism, reaction, fascist leprosy and the threat of global war! This is our main idea, with which we call our friends and comrades to the II International Anti-Fascist Forum.

The key to our victory

Dear comrades! The party’s anti-fascist position is well known to the country. People see that the CPRF’s word does not diverge from its deeds. 102 communists gave the most precious thing – their lives – for the sake of the Motherland . Our new comrades are taking their place. This year alone, participants in the battles against Bandera have been accepted into the party’s ranks in Dagestan , Karachay-Cherkessia and Yakutia, the Transbaikal , Perm and Stavropol Territories, the Kaliningrad , Kirov, Kursk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod , Novgorod , Penza and Ulyanovsk Regions. 

The fighters and commanders from the DPR and LPR , Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, who recently joined the ranks of the CPRF, are honorably fulfilling their military duty . Two Omsk primary branches of the party, “Reconnaissance Brigade-175” and “Storm-217”, are fighting bravely . 30 communists from Yakutia are fearlessly beating the militants of the Kiev junta . 

Our party team from Chelyabinsk, headed by Igor Egorov, constantly transfers bulletproof vests, drones, and generators to the sponsored units in the SVO zone. The life feat of Chelyabinsk communist Gennady Fedorovich Belyakov deserves special words. At the age of 76, he went to fight. He served as a mortarman, driver, and shooter in the Separate Special Purpose Brigade “Troy”. He was awarded. He returned home and again assumed the duties of secretary of the Kalininsky District Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in Chelyabinsk. 

In the Oryol region, thanks to the efforts of Governor Andrey Klychkov and the regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, a broad patriotic public movement has been launched. Every week, convoys are sent to the front lines. Comprehensive support is provided to the fighters and their families. In the Ulyanovsk region, the Charity Fund “FOR VICTORY!” has been created. Its work is coordinated by Governor Alexey Russkikh with the active assistance of Alexey Kurinny and Airat Gibatdinov . Humanitarian supplies are regularly sent to the front lines from Khakassia , where the head of the republic, Valentin Konovalov , heads the Communist Party of the Russian Federation . 

In the Belgorod region, communists and Komsomol members Alexander Kurchevsky, Ekaterina Dolgova, Denis Pshenichny, Artem Malykhin, and  Andrei Chebotayev are showing an example of active participation in the anti-fascist struggle .

In the Perm region, the Osinsky branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation opened a workshop for sewing military uniforms, and the communists of Solikamsk hold concerts, with the proceeds of which they buy medicines, quadcopters, and thermal imagers for soldiers. 

In Furmanov , Ivanovo Region, our district committee became a point for weaving camouflage nets and sewing uniforms. A group of 150 volunteers was formed. In the Gribanovsky district committee of the CPRF in Voronezh Region, volunteers led by Olga Yurina made more than a thousand camouflage nets for the front. In the Timoshevsky district committee of Krasnodar Region, such work was launched under the leadership of Marina Kokareva. 

On October 10, from the site of the V. I. Lenin State Farm, we sent the 130th convoy of humanitarian aid to Novorossiya . Communists from Moscow and the Moscow Region, the North Caucasian republics and Stavropol Krai, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Rostov, Ryazan, Tver, Tula Regions and other regions took part in its formation .

In August, the country was shaken by the invasion of Bandera formations on Kursk land, destruction and shootings, mockery of women and old people. Almost 200 thousand citizens left their homes. The population of 9 border regions was evacuated. The Kursk regional committee of the CPRF under the leadership of Nikolai Ivanov was transferred to a round-the-clock mode of operation, constantly maintaining contact with communists and Komsomol members of the border territories. Glushkovsky , Bolshesoldatsky , Lgovsky district committees of the party act courageously. Many committees of the CPRF send aid to Kursk. On a regular basis, this is done by the following branches: Karachay-Cherkessia, Crimea , Voronezh , Kaluga , Lipetsk , Novosibirsk , Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk , Moscow city. 

On September 21, the plenum of the Kursk regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation summed up the interim results of the reporting and election campaign at the local level. In a military situation, conferences and meetings were held in all local and primary branches. There are 121 party organizers operating in the region. It is extremely important that the institution of party organizers has not been forgotten by Kursk communists, and this is a good example for others.

The reporting and election campaign in the party is an important synchronization of watches . It is called upon to help find reserves for strengthening party departments in all areas of work: ideological and theoretical, organizational, agitation and propaganda, protest, information. 

The single voting day in September confirmed that those who cherish and use the experience of the past, while responding to the demands of the time, improve their performance. In the Republic of Tyva, the growth of the party branch following the election campaign amounted to almost 5% of its membership. In the Tambov Region, a special result of the work during the elections was the creation of two new primary branches. There are similar examples in local branches of the Astrakhan Region and other regions. 

In the face of the growing fascist threat, the duty of communists is to actively acquire supporters and strengthen the front of left-patriotic forces . Our special concern is the formation of strong anti-fascist convictions in society . This can only be achieved in close connection with the education of citizenship, patriotism, and the desire for social justice. These qualities are the most important condition for political activity, integrity, readiness to fight for the rights of workers, loyalty to the people and one’s comrades. 

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation continues to fight for historical truth and the preservation of the heritage of the victorious Soviet era . The Communists of the Kirov Region have launched a fight against the renaming of Revolution Square and the Fighters of the Revolution Park . The role of provocateurs here is played by representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. They demand that Kirov be renamed and that the names of outstanding Soviet statesmen be removed from the city map. Against the backdrop of serious social problems and neglected city services, this causes particularly acute indignation among residents. The vandalism of local authorities has been stopped. 

Persistent struggle yields results. Let us recall how, through the joint efforts of the Central Committee of the Party and the Yaroslavl communists, we stopped attempts to rename the city of Tutayev , named in honor of the heroic Red Army soldier. 

Now in the city of Revda in the Sverdlovsk region, our comrades, led by Alexander Ivachev, are defending the monument to V.I. Lenin . The local administration intends to remove it from the city center. Against the backdrop of the demolition of Soviet monuments by Banderites, this is direct aiding the enemy and the liberal “fifth column.” It was not enough for the authorities in the region that the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg continues to emanate angrily.

Preservation of Lenin memorials is a fundamental issue . It is both a political and a moral issue. It is a question of preserving historical truth and national memory. Consequently, we are talking about preserving the people themselves, their national identity . The issue of protecting Lenin museums is under constant control of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. In particular, we count on timely and high-quality completion of the reconstruction work of the Lenin memorial in Ulyanovsk . 

At our insistence, the memorial in honor of the Battle of Volochaevsk in the Jewish Region has already been restored . It was here in 1922, in battles with invaders from Japan, the United States and other countries, that the historical question of whether the Russian Far East would remain part of our country was decided. 

Dear participants of the Plenum! It is time for everyone in our country to admit the complete failure of attempts to crawl along the rut of capitalism. Look at the degradation in Europe. Look at the civil conflict inside the USA. Just yesterday, big capital used these countries to subjugate the rest of the world. Now the very citadels of capitalism are tottering. 

It is impossible to move forward while maintaining an absolutely vicious system and at the same time hope for great victories! But the Russian oligarchy clings to the old with a death grip. It is eager to continue to grow fat at the expense of our people’s resources and the plunder of workers. And this is in conditions when the country has entered into a harsh battle for its right to a future. We must put an end to this blatant injustice. It not only cruelly strangles our citizens. Capitalism has degenerated into a national threat to our country.

With the help of the communists, the peoples of the world must realize the full depth of the problems generated by imperialist reaction. The danger of a world war using nuclear weapons is a threat to all humanity, to all life on our planet. Capitalism is dangerous and must be put an end to!

The CPRF has proven more than once: Russia has everything it needs for successful development! When considering the country’s budget for 2025, we once again reminded both our supporters and our opponents of this. Our Victory Program grows from this knowledge. We remind you of its key requirements :

– A fundamental increase in the federal budget, its transformation into a development budget.

– Return of strategic sectors of the economy and systemically important banks to state ownership.

– Cancellation of pension reform and lowering of the retirement age.

– Increasing the minimum wage and subsistence minimum in accordance with real inflation.

– State regulation of prices for essential food products and medicines.

– Limiting housing and communal services tariffs to no more than 10% of family income.

– Support for young and large families, including an interest-free installment plan for the purchase of the first apartment for a family for a period of 20 years.

– Immediate adoption of the Federal Law “On Children of War” with measures of state support for the elderly.

– Implementation of the state program of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation “Education for All” and guarantees for receiving free and high-quality education.

– Free provision of medical care to residents of all populated areas.

– Ban on privatization of state and municipal enterprises.

– Introduction of a normal tax on any income of the rich and exemption from taxes for low-income citizens. 

– Democratization of public life and fair elections based on the Electoral Code developed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

These days, our struggle for the party’s program guidelines is closely linked to the discussion of the draft budget of Russia for the coming three-year period. Timid steps to improve financial policy are not what the country needs against the backdrop of military battles. Russia needs a Victory Budget! I. I. Melnikov and VI Kashin, Yu. V. Afonin and DG Novikov, NM Kharitonov and NV Kolomeitsev, LI Kalashnikov and NV Arefyev, NA Ostanina and ON Smolin, SE Savitskaya and VI Sobolev, KK Taisaev and NI Osadchiy, SA Gavrilov and MV Shchapov, and our other comrades are actively advocating for this. The rightness of the party is demonstrated by the successes of PN Grudinin, II Kazankov, IA Sumarokov, VI Taranina and the teams of their people’s enterprises.  

Yes, the full implementation of our Victory Program presupposes a confident change in the socio-economic system in the country. But this is exactly how we pose the question. Its fundamental solution lies in the socialist revival of our Motherland! In this we see the main condition for victory over Banderaism and all other forms of neo-Nazism.

Ahead are 80 years of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, 80 years of the defeat of German Nazism and Japanese militarism. Today, the CPRF declares: Russia needs a new great victory! It is needed both at the front and in the struggle for sovereignty, for economic genuine and social development. Such a victory can only be achieved by relying on the ideology of justice and social equality. In this struggle, we extend a hand of friendship and solidarity to all who are ready to revive our country and build a new, just world!Fascism will be destroyed! Capitalism will be consigned to the dustbin of history! Socialism will win!