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.
Both the UWF and Zaschita have 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 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
UFL 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 careerists from the CPRF, living off the
word "socialism," is by the
practical organization of the working class and by defending
the rights of all workers.
Stalinist 'Communist' parties, which tried to blame the CPRF for getting
away from Marxism met a
gruesome fate in the 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 crack police troops 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" (Arabic for the infidels--V.B.), 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 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.
Oleg Shein,
January, 2000.