Gallup takes stock of public opinion in Russia in 2023, outlining six key insights that offer a glimpse into life for those on the other side of the conflict in Ukraine.
The best news in that report is how the views of China's leadership are climbing. Really hopeful Russia starts modelling itself more and more on China. A lot of people in Russia see USSR in a positive light, and it's not hard to see how USSR could've transitioned to a model similar to what we see in China if better decisions were made. Now that Russians got to experience capitalist model first hand, there's a tangible understanding of what was lost.
I'm very hopeful that Russia will take cues from China's economic model, but I'm somewhat skeptical. The reich-wing oligarchs will probably fight against efforts to emulate socialism, and Putin will be a narcissistic fence sitter who abuses power for his own ends. Russia is an anti-imperialist ally, but it is still a bourgeois capitalist dictatorship. I'm hoping the Russian communist party will eventually lead a popular revolution.
Putin's getting old, and I doubt he'll stay in power for much longer. It'll be interesting to see who ends up replacing him and which direction things go after that. The big difference with Russia from the west though is that the state has power over the oligarchs. This was the major miscalculation the west made when the war in Ukraine started. The assumption was that oligarchs would want to keep doing business in the west and get their way, and that didn't happen. It is still a capitalist state, but where the state apparatus is an entity of its own as opposed to just being a management committee for the oligarchs the way it is in the west.
I'm not holding my breath for a popular revolution in the near future though because the conditions simply don't exist for it. Most people would support more socialist reforms, but would hardly do some uprising against the government.
Your last few sentences are why I'm more skeptical. And I don't believe that the Oligarchs are subservient to the state. They can feel the pressure from it and are somewhat regulated, but they are still capitalists. And the Russian state still does business with the west I think, just with different companies and back channels and conditions, but mostly in Russia's benefit. I do agree though that the state does have a slight hold on the capitalists.
I wouldn't hold my breath for it either, but hope for the future is all I have left. If I didn't think that the conditions for a global popular revolution are very possible in my lifetime (I'm almost 26) I would have offed myself by now.
The main reason Putin is so popular in Russia is precisely because he reigned the oligarchs in. I lived through the 90s in Russia and I saw first hand what life was like when oligarchs ran things. Russia today is vastly different from that. It's also worth noting that even after decades of capitalism the social safety nets in Russia are far better than what the workers have in US.
While I'm not sure about a global revolution happening, what I do think is likely is that western model will discredit itself. I think we're already seeing the start of that happening. Meanwhile, Chinese model is increasingly seen as a saner alternative around the world. What I'm hoping will happen is the reverse of USSR collapse where US became the model everyone wanted to emulate. This time around it will be US capitalism crashing as China goes from strength to strength.
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I think some pragmatism is necessary here as well, tbh. What would popular revolution, in the near future, as the west remains in some degree intact, in Russia do? Similar to what it would probably do in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, or any other non-socialist, non-communist states at the moment- if it fails or is co-opted by the west, it would likely weaken the current shift to multipolarism and the collective efforts of the south and east in breaking free from western imperialism, at a crucial time where nations, socialist and otherwise, are increasingly working with one another towards these goals.
I might be a communist, but frankly? I'll take the continuation of the Wahhabist, reactionary monarchist Saudi Arabia, Islamist Iran, hell, I'll even take the increasingly fascistic Hindutvas of the BJP in the short term over the continued hegemony, forever-wars, and white supremacist, genocidal imperialism of the west. Most important of all to me- far, far above that of communism- that is, far above the task of building socialism and the establishing of the dictatorship of the proletariat, which is likely best left to each society to start working towards themselves at their own pace (and eventually, they all will have to IMO- socialism or barbarism is how it will go, as always) is anti-imperialism, mutlipolarity, and the equality, equity, and democracy of nations and all races. The highest stage of imperialism must be undermined and destroyed first and foremost- and as a struggle that is faced by the majority of humanity, I think it would be a fatal mistake to undermine those who are working towards it.
It might sound a bit rich, coming from someone living in a western country, raised in the west- and personally, I used to be one of those chumps who hoped for the further westernization or even overthrow of my own birth country and idealized western "democracy" and "human rights" (Singapore, which once again- granted, I'm aware of how it all sounds coming from someone whose family comes from a rich- albeit formerly poor and brutally colonized- country). But it is what it is- to me there's a hierarchy of needs and priorities, and even as a trans person myself, first and foremost, the greatest evils- imperialism and white supremacy- must be destroyed. If purported communists cannot deliver racial, national, and cultural liberation from western hegemony- if we seek to undermine all imperfect states no matter their present circumstances and the broader ongoing global context, and in doing so even act against these things, out of the pursuit of economic liberation for ourselves while abandoning the international solidarity being built against the highest form of capitalism- what reason does anyone else looking in have, to trust, work with, educate themselves about, and find common cause with such kinds of self-proclaimed communists?
Basically- the Soviets were right to work with the rest of the allies during WW2, due to the circumstances back then. The second united front in China between the CPC and KMT was necessary. In the same vein, I think it's best for communists and anyone sensible and well-intentioned in general, to work with other countries of the global south and east, no matter how disagreeable- hell, how vile- their governments might be, if it is pragmatic to do so, and it genuinely undermines the west in a pragmatic fashion.
I very much agree. US hegemony over the world has to be broken before any serious positive change becomes possible in the world. Countries having sovereignty and not being run by global financial capital is a prerequisite for moving towards socialism and communism.
While Russia may be a capitalist state, it is acting as a vanguard against NATO expansion in Ukraine while also being pivotal to BRICS which is breaking US economic hegemony. I expect that when the dust settles we'll enter a multipolar world where US no longer dominates. I also expect this will force the empire into irreversible decline because its ability to parasitise the rest of the world will be greatly diminished.
The best news in that report is how the views of China's leadership are climbing. Really hopeful Russia starts modelling itself more and more on China. A lot of people in Russia see USSR in a positive light, and it's not hard to see how USSR could've transitioned to a model similar to what we see in China if better decisions were made. Now that Russians got to experience capitalist model first hand, there's a tangible understanding of what was lost.
I'm very hopeful that Russia will take cues from China's economic model, but I'm somewhat skeptical. The reich-wing oligarchs will probably fight against efforts to emulate socialism, and Putin will be a narcissistic fence sitter who abuses power for his own ends. Russia is an anti-imperialist ally, but it is still a bourgeois capitalist dictatorship. I'm hoping the Russian communist party will eventually lead a popular revolution.
Putin's getting old, and I doubt he'll stay in power for much longer. It'll be interesting to see who ends up replacing him and which direction things go after that. The big difference with Russia from the west though is that the state has power over the oligarchs. This was the major miscalculation the west made when the war in Ukraine started. The assumption was that oligarchs would want to keep doing business in the west and get their way, and that didn't happen. It is still a capitalist state, but where the state apparatus is an entity of its own as opposed to just being a management committee for the oligarchs the way it is in the west.
I'm not holding my breath for a popular revolution in the near future though because the conditions simply don't exist for it. Most people would support more socialist reforms, but would hardly do some uprising against the government.
Your last few sentences are why I'm more skeptical. And I don't believe that the Oligarchs are subservient to the state. They can feel the pressure from it and are somewhat regulated, but they are still capitalists. And the Russian state still does business with the west I think, just with different companies and back channels and conditions, but mostly in Russia's benefit. I do agree though that the state does have a slight hold on the capitalists.
I wouldn't hold my breath for it either, but hope for the future is all I have left. If I didn't think that the conditions for a global popular revolution are very possible in my lifetime (I'm almost 26) I would have offed myself by now.
The main reason Putin is so popular in Russia is precisely because he reigned the oligarchs in. I lived through the 90s in Russia and I saw first hand what life was like when oligarchs ran things. Russia today is vastly different from that. It's also worth noting that even after decades of capitalism the social safety nets in Russia are far better than what the workers have in US.
While I'm not sure about a global revolution happening, what I do think is likely is that western model will discredit itself. I think we're already seeing the start of that happening. Meanwhile, Chinese model is increasingly seen as a saner alternative around the world. What I'm hoping will happen is the reverse of USSR collapse where US became the model everyone wanted to emulate. This time around it will be US capitalism crashing as China goes from strength to strength.
A Reddit link was detected in your comment. Here are links to the same location on Teddit and Libreddit, which are Reddit frontends that protect your privacy.
I think some pragmatism is necessary here as well, tbh. What would popular revolution, in the near future, as the west remains in some degree intact, in Russia do? Similar to what it would probably do in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, or any other non-socialist, non-communist states at the moment- if it fails or is co-opted by the west, it would likely weaken the current shift to multipolarism and the collective efforts of the south and east in breaking free from western imperialism, at a crucial time where nations, socialist and otherwise, are increasingly working with one another towards these goals.
I might be a communist, but frankly? I'll take the continuation of the Wahhabist, reactionary monarchist Saudi Arabia, Islamist Iran, hell, I'll even take the increasingly fascistic Hindutvas of the BJP in the short term over the continued hegemony, forever-wars, and white supremacist, genocidal imperialism of the west. Most important of all to me- far, far above that of communism- that is, far above the task of building socialism and the establishing of the dictatorship of the proletariat, which is likely best left to each society to start working towards themselves at their own pace (and eventually, they all will have to IMO- socialism or barbarism is how it will go, as always) is anti-imperialism, mutlipolarity, and the equality, equity, and democracy of nations and all races. The highest stage of imperialism must be undermined and destroyed first and foremost- and as a struggle that is faced by the majority of humanity, I think it would be a fatal mistake to undermine those who are working towards it.
It might sound a bit rich, coming from someone living in a western country, raised in the west- and personally, I used to be one of those chumps who hoped for the further westernization or even overthrow of my own birth country and idealized western "democracy" and "human rights" (Singapore, which once again- granted, I'm aware of how it all sounds coming from someone whose family comes from a rich- albeit formerly poor and brutally colonized- country). But it is what it is- to me there's a hierarchy of needs and priorities, and even as a trans person myself, first and foremost, the greatest evils- imperialism and white supremacy- must be destroyed. If purported communists cannot deliver racial, national, and cultural liberation from western hegemony- if we seek to undermine all imperfect states no matter their present circumstances and the broader ongoing global context, and in doing so even act against these things, out of the pursuit of economic liberation for ourselves while abandoning the international solidarity being built against the highest form of capitalism- what reason does anyone else looking in have, to trust, work with, educate themselves about, and find common cause with such kinds of self-proclaimed communists?
Basically- the Soviets were right to work with the rest of the allies during WW2, due to the circumstances back then. The second united front in China between the CPC and KMT was necessary. In the same vein, I think it's best for communists and anyone sensible and well-intentioned in general, to work with other countries of the global south and east, no matter how disagreeable- hell, how vile- their governments might be, if it is pragmatic to do so, and it genuinely undermines the west in a pragmatic fashion.
I very much agree. US hegemony over the world has to be broken before any serious positive change becomes possible in the world. Countries having sovereignty and not being run by global financial capital is a prerequisite for moving towards socialism and communism.
While Russia may be a capitalist state, it is acting as a vanguard against NATO expansion in Ukraine while also being pivotal to BRICS which is breaking US economic hegemony. I expect that when the dust settles we'll enter a multipolar world where US no longer dominates. I also expect this will force the empire into irreversible decline because its ability to parasitise the rest of the world will be greatly diminished.