Zyuganov sees 'road of democracy' toward new union

May 19, 1996

 

Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, who is running against Boris Yeltsin in the June 16 presidential election, was interviewed in Moscow by Washington Times special correspondent Yuri Karash.

 

Question: If you become president, will it mean a return to totalitarianism in politics and an administrative-command economic system such as existed in the Soviet Union?

Answer: I am sure that Russia has thrown off the shackles of totalitarianism and an administration-command system once and for all. There is a wide national patriotic coalition from which I have emerged as a candidate for the post of president of Russia in order that Russia can set off down the road of democracy - that is to say, power to the people, truth and political pluralism. We are for a pluralist economy where state, collective and private property are equally protected. State must take care of the fundamental science, the military-industrial complex, railroads and aviation. I must point out that we are not for the liquidation of private property, but we want all people to be private property owners, and without that we cannot have a fair economy nor can we have democracy itself. If I am chosen as president, I guarantee that Russia will not fall by the wayside of peaceful civilization.

Q: When Communists first came to power in Russia and in Eastern Europe, they started purges against their opponents. How can we be sure the same thing won't happen if you become president?

A: Do not always believe what you hear. Yes, in the history of communism there have been dark periods. But have other ideologies not had dark periods, too? Did the Catholics not crush their opponents with the Inquisition? And did the Protestants not do the same with their opponents? Nobody cares to bring up these matters with modern-day Catholics or Protestants, so it should be with the Communists today. With all our doings in the past few years in our battle for a new Russia, the Communists have proved that they reject dictatorship, force and arbitrary rule. The Communists have consistently stood by the principles of constitutional and parliamentary democracy. Did the Communists start the fraternicidal war in Chechnya? Did the Communists allow an alarming rise in the level of crime and corruption? No. The Communists decisively spurn all of these evils. In the battle against these social malaises, success will not just be that of the Communists but to all people who are for a general long-term reformation of Russia itself. It is for this reason that the Communist Party strove to unify this national patriotic coalition into the widest-ranging spectrum of society - workers, business owners, farmers, scientists, teachers, doctors and the young and old alike. That coalition now exists. It is destined for power, and the victory of its candidate will permit Russia to come out of a state of crisis, facilitate peace, order, safety and growth. Russia reached the limits of its revolutionary experiment. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation stands firmly in opposition to the mistakes of the past.

Q: You advocate the restoration of the Soviet Union. How will this come about? Do you totally reject violence during its restoration?

A: The disintegration of the Soviet Union brought a lot of grief and suffering to the whole of the people, caused tremendous damage to the economy of the former Soviet republics. Five years of this shame have proven that nobody will get themselves out of a crisis alone. The restoration of the renovated union, of our great motherland, is an imperative of our time. This does not mean that somebody somewhere will force someone else to join or even eat away at their sovereignty. It does mean, however, that the reunification will be done exclusively by the people themselves. We will take all the necessary measures to be sure that the brotherly links are voluntarily restored between Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. That is the first step on the road to a voluntary restoration of the union.

Q: Western businessmen who invested in Russia's economy are concerned about their investments if you win the election. Will there be any guarantees that they will not lose their money?

A: The national patriotic coalition, of which I am leader, will do all it can in order that Russia becomes a reliable and predictable partner in the world community. We are a civilized people. Having come to power, we will respect the rules, not break them. We understand that our honesty will not only assure our neighbors but it will also ensure our very own survival. Our coalition seeks power in order to give and not to take. All those who respect the law can rest assured - there is no need for worry.

Q: Do you plan to invite Western investment in the Russian economy? If so, how?

A: It goes without saying that we plan to attract investment. We realize that Russia cannot isolate itself from the world financial trade and industrial markets because it is an integral part of them. We do not intend to sacrifice the independence of our nation and nor do we intend to beg. Firstly, we are interested in the growth of national production and in the maintenance of Russia as a post-industrial power. We will concentrate on stimulating investment in the production and development of new technologies. For this, tax incentives will be used and other well-known market-oriented economic stimuli which are not to the detriment of national enterprises. It is a given that solid state and legal guarantees will be provided. Unlike the present leadership in Russia, ours will stop the crime wave dead in its tracks and will provide real stability in the country. Western investors know perfectly well that their investments in Russia will be profitable. I am sure that people will be queueing up to get in.

Q: What are the main differences between you and the Communist rulers of the Soviet Union - Brezhnev, Chernenko, Gorbachev?

A: They were leaders of a single-party system where the Communist Party had a monopoly on power and ideology and the corrupted leadership was becoming further and further from the people. Such a system and such a party are history.I am the leader of a new Communist Party which operates in dramatically new conditions in Russia of competitive democracy, legal, democratic and social state. Communists consider a person, his rights and freedoms, political and ideological pluralism, multi-party system as supreme values. The KPRF is struggling for a society where these values will be not just written in the statute books but will be a practical part of everyday life. I cannot imagine the future of Russia without these values ruling in the country.

Q: Many people think of you more as a Social Democrat than an orthodox Communist. But if you become president, could hard liners take over the Communist Party and remove you from power?

A: In Russia there are several Communist parties. There are differences among them - ideological ones in particular. As for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - the party that I lead, I categorically state that it has no powers to return Russia to totalitarian rule. It is not an empty promise. In the matter of strengthening democratic principles, the rule of law and the separation of powers, I will rely on all constructive forces of society - Communists, patriots and democrats alike. In this case, the president of Russia will under no circumstance ever become a dictator, a tyrant or a hostage of his so-called "circle of advisers."

Q: It is well known that you are against NATO extension to the Russian borders. If it happens, how would you react as president?

A: The intention of certain politicians to bring NATO troops to the Russian borders is an ill-considered and dangerous step. In the past 1,000 years, Russia has been invaded over 500 times, not to mention the two world wars, which cost the lives of almost 50 million Soviet citizens. Every time, the neighboring countries of Russia were used as springboards for these attacks. Despite the many assurances of the Western leaders, NATO has a very clear anti-Russian side. The expansion of this organization to the Russian borders presents a threat to the country.

Q: What should the Russian president do under these circumstances? Remember the reaction of [President John F.] Kennedy to the installation of Russian missiles near U.S. territory in 1962? Does Russia have less right to feel safe than the U.S.A. did then? However, I would like to believe that the world learned a valuable lesson from the Cuban missile crisis and will not let history repeat itself near Russian borders. European and world security cannot be assured if the security interests of the biggest Eurasian state are not taken into consideration.

A: Everybody is happy about the end of the Cold War and the arms race that were exhausting the two states. The threat of nuclear apocalypse has passed into history forever, I hope. It's an unquestionable achievement in Russian-American relations that needs to be preserved. Unfortunately the short-sighted foreign policy conducted by then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Andrei Kozyrev over the last few years caused serious damage to these relations. I will not disclose a secret if I say that Russians have significantly changed their attitude toward the United States. They attribute the economic decline and the drop in living standards to the actions of foreign (especially American) economic advisers. The standing of the U.S.A. is falling in the eyes of the average Russian. However, we do not want to take advantage of this. We are ready to develop a business partnership with the U.S.A. in many area based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit, primarily in the fields of economy and new technologies such as aerospace related machinery. Constructive cooperation is possible only if the interests of neither side involved are compromised. History and the present situation show that both euphoria and unfriendly relations can be equally damaging for our countries and for the world as a whole.

Q: Do you admit the possibility of military-political cooperation between Russia and the West?

A: Such cooperation is possible if it is in the interests of Russia, its safety and has a healing impact on international relations. In some situations, it becomes desirable and sometimes even necessary - for example, in the suppression of armed regional conflicts and nuclear arms control treaties. In any case, such cooperation must be under the auspices of U.N.-accepted principles and the norms of international law and cannot be directed against other countries.

Q: Do you totally reject the possibility of a new Iron Curtain between Russia and the rest of the world?

A: The Cold War and the so-called Iron Curtain - i.e., the isolation of my country - resulted from the Soviet-U.S. confrontation after the Second World War. It was a product of the concrete reality of the 20th century - a time that is over. I believe that the Russian and American people have suffered a lot and will not allow this nightmare to happen again. Russia, like the rest of the world, is at the threshold of the 21st century, the epoch of the postindustrial society and tremendous technological information changes. All this will whip away any iron curtains. Now Russia is open to the world. In some areas it is open to the extent that it hurts its own interests. We went from one extreme to the other. As a result, the national economy, science and culture as a whole have suffered a great loss. No government, including the U.S.A., has ever opened its borders in such a manner - the flight of capital, export and import remain unchecked. The priorities of national growth, scientific progress, agriculture are not being protected by the present government of Russia. Many measures must be taken. The fact is that Russia is open. However, the extent of this oneness does not just depend on Russia but also on its strategic partners. However, there are people in your country, very influential people, who see Russia as a redundant country. Such people will bring the two countries to a new confrontation.

Q: Would you allow even a temporary restriction of democratic freedom in Russia?

A: The true threat to democracy does not come from us but from the present government of Russia. We didn't shell our own parliament in 1993 and we didn't start a massacre in Chechnya. The Russian mass media have shown Yeltsin's statement: "I will never hand over power to the Communists." Is this not an open threat, an unabashed anti-constitutional slogan? Russian papers, not only the opposition papers, have expressed their concern that Yeltsin will not leave office, even if he does not win the elections. The national patriotic coalition is against dictatorship and tyranny, it advocates strengthening of the democratic process. The Communists and their allies have shown that they are the national inheritors of the constitutional legality. In the case of our coming to power, we will assure long lasting people power. We will give the legislature the majority of power. Only under these circumstances will the political, economic and personal rights of the individual be protected. We guarantee that Russia will be ruled by the forces of law and nothing else.

Q: Ukrainian leaders have said they do not want closer political integration with Russia. Are you prepared to accept the current status quo with Ukraine? If not, what would you want to renegotiate?

A: The people of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have lived in peace and friendship in a unified fatherland for centuries. Against the wills of these people, this has been destroyed. Simple people have been affected the worst. From an objective point of view, people of all three Slavic states are naturally interested in re-integration, regardless of the wills and ambitions of their leaders. However, we are not going to jeopardize the sovereignty of an independent Ukraine. Any changes in the status of the Ukraine (if it wishes to enter the new union) are possible only on a voluntary and mutual basis by negotiations and compromise. No force will be accepted.

Q: Will Russia, in case you become president, sell tanks to Iraq?

A: If Iraq respects the U.N.-accepted principles and norms of international law, then this can be considered. Why should it not be?

Q: What will your position be if Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait again?

A: We are against any solution of international disputes of global and regional character by force. We advocate the political solution.

Q: How would you pay for the improvements in benefits and subsidizing of uneconomic factors that you have promised to the Russian people?

A: These are some of the solutions: We shall stop the unchecked flow of capital and raw materials from the country. We shall reconsider tax policies in order to encourage industry growth. We shall establish a flexible and fair system of progressive income tax. We shall stimulate investments and foreign capital import. According to expert estimations, up to $300 billion have been taken from Russia and put in foreign bank accounts. We shall offer the holders of this money a more profitable way to invest this money rather than just keeping it in their bank accounts. Our country has excellent natural resources of mineral reserves and precious materials. We shall create good stimuli for those who exploit these resources to replenish Russian currency and budgetary coffers.

Q: Many people attribute the popularity of the Communist Party to its popularity among the highly nostalgic Russian population. It stands to reason that you should widen this base of popularity. In short, how do you propose to make the KPRF more appealing to Russian youth?

A: I would say that the situation is far from that which you have just mentioned - that is a pure myth; this is an image created by the pro-Yeltsin mass media. Sociological studies that we have commissioned say otherwise. I travel this country a great deal, and there are no less young people greeting me than old. My pre-election platform is that of a national patriotic coalition with a program for a new Russia of the future and this future belongs to the youth.

Приложение 2

 

¾

Приложение 3