Translated “Avante!” article by Luís Carapinha, Member of the PCP International Department

The United Russia dominated the elections for the Duma, on September18th, achieving 343 of the 450 seats in the Russian parliament’s Low Chamber. The “party in power” calls upon the greatest victory ever, in a moment of economic recession in Russia, the second, since 2009. The conjoint importance of the remaining three parties’ of the “parliamentary arch”, in which the CPRF is included, was reduced, although Jirinovski liberal-democrats increased, the iron forehead of populism and anti-communism. Russia passes from an absolute unto a qualified majority, over 2/3 of the Duma.Ever so many seats were acjieved.The return to an electoral mixed system that existed,till2003, in which the Duma was elected by party lists through the proportional method and the remaining into 225 uninominal majority circles, worked out as a distortion element , widely benefiting from the party, presided by Medvedev, the prime-minister. In reality, although the major factor regarding Putin’s high popularity, United Russia looses round 15million votes regarding 2007 and almost four million regarding 2011. The absolute outcome, considering the abstention, which increased 52%, resulting in but 26% of the votes.

There are no reasons to rejoice and the Kremlin knows it. Putin, having received in audience, the four parliamentarian parties,upon the elections, indulged in the seeking of consensus. It is almost certain that the parliamentarian commissions distribution direction is to be maintained between the government party and the opposition. During the conjoint meeting, Ziuganov, first-secretary of the CPRF central committee, called upon “the society stability and cohesion” promising all the support concerning the “state patriotic direction” carried out by Putin, at the same time reaffirming the critics towards the liberal policy,at the economic and financial levels. The CPRF has demanded Medvedev’s stepping down from the government, but none of the four parties above the 5% representation barrier, jeopardizes Vladimir Putin’s performance.

Russia is before complex times both at home and external levels. The effects of 2015 economic and social degradation, are visible and the GDP restrained 4%. The unfavourable trends and structural constraints revealed by the economy, are more and more visible,with oil price fall and the sanction regime imposed by the Triad powers, the USA as leader. Within a crisis framework, the government has promoted the return to measures, enrolled in the “shock therapies” pattern, in the 90’s – along with economic mis-regulation, privatizations and social cuts. Naturally, it is not for these reasons that imperialism launches grotesque diabolizing campaigns on “Putin’s regime”. For the USA and the EU, Russia’s democratic paradigm carries on to be Ieltsin and the Supreme Soviet bombardment, in 1993. Although the liberal parties and Gaidar’s followers remain,in great measure unpopular, the “ pro-western”5th column continues to hold powerful resources, and the capital blood-flight, remains.

Above all, Russia is in shock with the USA and NATO’s implacable pressure and militarist escalade. Russia position’s evolution within the international arena corresponds to this reality. In Moscow, high officers assume that the USA ought to weaken Russia to the most and plunder its natural resources, with the purpose of the country’s disintegration. It ought to be an other world force correlation not holding the Russian strategic dissuasion, targeted by the USA anti-missile system, the role of an external sovereign and cooperation policy with the great economic growing power, China. Within the explosive confrontation, in progress,Russian capitalism cannot afford loosing the soviet époque legacy. But contradictions between Russia’s home and external policies, an expression of class struggle complexity, carry on, dangerously, to threat the country of the XIX century, October Revolution.