Informal talk with soldiers, although most of transcript is classified. Meeting with soldiers recovering at special medical facility. Rehab pool at Vishnevsky Hospital. Putin started right in on the first day of Russia’s Presidency of BRICS+ with an
"And not promising too much" is an excellent observation. Russia's doing what it's doing according to plan is another way of stating that, but few want to say the "according to plan" part. But it's actually true, although the SMO wasn't part of the plan. During the Cold War, the West vilified USSR of its 5 year plans, and it continues to do so with China and again with Russia. Why? Because there's no constructive planning of a similar sort that's done within the West; so, to rectify their clear shortcoming, the West has always tried to portray planned economies as wrong. Let's look at the results of planned economies since 2000--China and Russia are growing while all the Neoliberal based national economies are in the dumpster. And the gap between them continues to widen.
After a century of debate over the question -a difference of opinion in which millions of lives were turned upside down, many died and the socialist movement was shattered into worthless shards- we are noe seeing the resolution of the underlying question of whether it is possible to build socialism in one country.
And the answer, for the 'socialism' in the question merely meant an independent economy, suggests that, for all his faults Stalin was right. It can be done. In a country with eleven time zones it is not close to being impossible. And in a country closely allied with its immediate neighbours to the east, one of which is one of the few countries which can also aspire to economic independence it is almost easy.
Putin is not building socialism in Russia but he is laying the foundations for it.
I find Putin, et al's efforts to be very close to what Hudson advocates but isn't able to see clearly what's happening for Russia is doing what Marx advocated in using Industrial capitalism to destroy feudalism. I deliberately describe the top Russian Corporate conglomerates as public utilities because they are. Look at what Russia's MIC as a public utility can do versus NATO's Neoliberal version. And the same goes for the entire system. And for China too. Both nations are building Socialism with their own national characteristics, as I've been writing for several years now. That's why 3+ dozen nations want to join BRICS+ in some capacity. Some see where the future lies, and that some is growing.
Part of the problem has been (and remains) that most of the people who call themselves 'marxists' are unable to understand dialiectical materialism, except as an elegant intellectual abstraction helpful for picking up dreamy young women. Faced with real political problems they dissolve back into their origins as liberal idealists and start calling each other names.
The reasons why the Russian revolution did not proceed to the building of a classless society have always been crystal clear: deserted by the international working class movement the Bolsheviks were surrounded by imperialist armies, which even after being beaten off remained mobilised waiting for the opportunity to pounce again. That was the first reason but even more fundamental was the fact that-Lenin's protestations notwithstanding- the economies of the Soviet Union were well behind those of the advanced capitalist countries.
Job One, after the Civil War was to reconstruct the bases of capitalism and then to build an economy of the kind that capitalism, turbocharged by imperialism, had built in the West.
Finally, complicating these simple but superhuman tasks, was, the lingering doubt, within the Communist movement, that the western proletariats would not suddenly be galvanised into action and march to Moscow's assistance, bringing machine tools, technical expertise and tens of thousands of agricultural and industrial machines with them- together with Mr and Mrs Webb, Bernard Shaw and scholarships to the LSE.
Hence the tragi-comedy of Soviet diplomacy under Litvinov, Maisky and Chicherin- the constant approaches to London, Paris and Wall St, offering concessions, tons of gold, and millions of cheap biddable labourers- all for a little respect and recognition, membership of the most immoral club on the surface of the planet.
Hence too the missed opportunities in the east, the ineffectualness of a Comintern that was constantly being hobbled by the politburo's attempts to ally itself with enemies, such as Chiang and the KMT, and compromise with the Colonial powers. Instead of leading a full blooded assault on imperialism, under the Hammer and Sickle, the Soviet Union pursued a serpentine course, offending and puzzling its friends and always failing to confuse the enemies who, beneath their diplomatic manners and their formal dress, feared and hated them and all that socialism represented. Even after the last minute course correction of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact the fruit of both the diplomacy and the Comintern agitation was the utterly predictable, well advertised, inevitable Operation Barbarossa.
Now matters have changed: the Russian economy is quite capable of matching anything the west can throw at it. It won't be long before living standards begin to exceed those in the EU and north America, which are quickly declining. The material basis of socialism is now within the realm of possibility in Russia, as it is in China. All that is needed is to cut off the heads of the snakes attempting to parlay economic into political power.
In the meantime pursuing BRI style policies of development allied with BRICS respectfulness for sovereignty and social self rule, obviating the imperialist homogenisation agenda of 'western' development programmes, based on cultural genocides and the transformation of 'inferior' races into clones of the submissive multitudes in the imperial metropolitan centres- black Parisians, south Asian Americans, muslims for MI5- the material and social basis for real democracy is being laid.
Anyone listening to the old vinyl 78s of Trotsky and Stalin cannot be paying attention.
Agreed. The best Soviet institutions were those built by mostly non-elite Russians who were given an opportunity to show what their minds could do, thus the steadfastness of Soviet/Russian education, science and mostly military forms of application since insuring security was always in the vanguard policy-wise. As we've seen, Putin's team has taken full advantage of those legacy institutions, expanded and built further upon them while keeping the socialist ethos of giving opportunity to all, which is the #1 key to advancing any society.
While the American Commander in Chief is vacationing the Virgin Islands the Russian Supreme Commander is straight out the gate on day one.
A holiday for Putin is when he gets to remove his tie!
Very impressive. He tries to get close to the people. And always clear answers, no exaggerations and not promising too much.
Thanks for the insight!
"And not promising too much" is an excellent observation. Russia's doing what it's doing according to plan is another way of stating that, but few want to say the "according to plan" part. But it's actually true, although the SMO wasn't part of the plan. During the Cold War, the West vilified USSR of its 5 year plans, and it continues to do so with China and again with Russia. Why? Because there's no constructive planning of a similar sort that's done within the West; so, to rectify their clear shortcoming, the West has always tried to portray planned economies as wrong. Let's look at the results of planned economies since 2000--China and Russia are growing while all the Neoliberal based national economies are in the dumpster. And the gap between them continues to widen.
After a century of debate over the question -a difference of opinion in which millions of lives were turned upside down, many died and the socialist movement was shattered into worthless shards- we are noe seeing the resolution of the underlying question of whether it is possible to build socialism in one country.
And the answer, for the 'socialism' in the question merely meant an independent economy, suggests that, for all his faults Stalin was right. It can be done. In a country with eleven time zones it is not close to being impossible. And in a country closely allied with its immediate neighbours to the east, one of which is one of the few countries which can also aspire to economic independence it is almost easy.
Putin is not building socialism in Russia but he is laying the foundations for it.
I find Putin, et al's efforts to be very close to what Hudson advocates but isn't able to see clearly what's happening for Russia is doing what Marx advocated in using Industrial capitalism to destroy feudalism. I deliberately describe the top Russian Corporate conglomerates as public utilities because they are. Look at what Russia's MIC as a public utility can do versus NATO's Neoliberal version. And the same goes for the entire system. And for China too. Both nations are building Socialism with their own national characteristics, as I've been writing for several years now. That's why 3+ dozen nations want to join BRICS+ in some capacity. Some see where the future lies, and that some is growing.
Soul~full❤️🇷🇺💙🐈⬛❤️
Part of the problem has been (and remains) that most of the people who call themselves 'marxists' are unable to understand dialiectical materialism, except as an elegant intellectual abstraction helpful for picking up dreamy young women. Faced with real political problems they dissolve back into their origins as liberal idealists and start calling each other names.
The reasons why the Russian revolution did not proceed to the building of a classless society have always been crystal clear: deserted by the international working class movement the Bolsheviks were surrounded by imperialist armies, which even after being beaten off remained mobilised waiting for the opportunity to pounce again. That was the first reason but even more fundamental was the fact that-Lenin's protestations notwithstanding- the economies of the Soviet Union were well behind those of the advanced capitalist countries.
Job One, after the Civil War was to reconstruct the bases of capitalism and then to build an economy of the kind that capitalism, turbocharged by imperialism, had built in the West.
Finally, complicating these simple but superhuman tasks, was, the lingering doubt, within the Communist movement, that the western proletariats would not suddenly be galvanised into action and march to Moscow's assistance, bringing machine tools, technical expertise and tens of thousands of agricultural and industrial machines with them- together with Mr and Mrs Webb, Bernard Shaw and scholarships to the LSE.
Hence the tragi-comedy of Soviet diplomacy under Litvinov, Maisky and Chicherin- the constant approaches to London, Paris and Wall St, offering concessions, tons of gold, and millions of cheap biddable labourers- all for a little respect and recognition, membership of the most immoral club on the surface of the planet.
Hence too the missed opportunities in the east, the ineffectualness of a Comintern that was constantly being hobbled by the politburo's attempts to ally itself with enemies, such as Chiang and the KMT, and compromise with the Colonial powers. Instead of leading a full blooded assault on imperialism, under the Hammer and Sickle, the Soviet Union pursued a serpentine course, offending and puzzling its friends and always failing to confuse the enemies who, beneath their diplomatic manners and their formal dress, feared and hated them and all that socialism represented. Even after the last minute course correction of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact the fruit of both the diplomacy and the Comintern agitation was the utterly predictable, well advertised, inevitable Operation Barbarossa.
Now matters have changed: the Russian economy is quite capable of matching anything the west can throw at it. It won't be long before living standards begin to exceed those in the EU and north America, which are quickly declining. The material basis of socialism is now within the realm of possibility in Russia, as it is in China. All that is needed is to cut off the heads of the snakes attempting to parlay economic into political power.
In the meantime pursuing BRI style policies of development allied with BRICS respectfulness for sovereignty and social self rule, obviating the imperialist homogenisation agenda of 'western' development programmes, based on cultural genocides and the transformation of 'inferior' races into clones of the submissive multitudes in the imperial metropolitan centres- black Parisians, south Asian Americans, muslims for MI5- the material and social basis for real democracy is being laid.
Anyone listening to the old vinyl 78s of Trotsky and Stalin cannot be paying attention.
Agreed. The best Soviet institutions were those built by mostly non-elite Russians who were given an opportunity to show what their minds could do, thus the steadfastness of Soviet/Russian education, science and mostly military forms of application since insuring security was always in the vanguard policy-wise. As we've seen, Putin's team has taken full advantage of those legacy institutions, expanded and built further upon them while keeping the socialist ethos of giving opportunity to all, which is the #1 key to advancing any society.