Ilya Klemeinov of the Russian Communist Party: «Sanctions Confirm Our Chosen Path is Correct»

Original article: Ilya Klemeinov, Comunistas de Rusia: «Las sanciones confirman que hemos elegido el camino correcto»

In this interview, Ilya Klemeinov, Vice President of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia, discusses the role of communists amid the Special Military Operation and Western sanctions, the party’s program and electoral results, the process of ‘resovietization’ within Russian society, the involvement of militants as volunteers on the frontlines, and the party’s stance on assaults against Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and the genocide of the Palestinian people.

–What does it mean to be a communist during the Special Military Operation and under attacks and sanctions from the West?

-Communist parties around the world have always opposed the spread of fascism across the globe. Consider historical examples like Germany, Spain, and Chile. In today’s reality, it is every communist’s duty to prevent fascism from prevailing and, as before, to strengthen internationalism. While sanctions are not the dungeons of Buchenwald or the confinement in the Santiago stadium in ’73, they still confirm the consequences of the path we have chosen.

–What were the main proposals of the Russian communists in the elections regarding transforming Russia into a socialist state, and what support did they receive in the vote?

The central theme of the KPRF program, «For Victory! For Soviet Power!», is the gradual transformation of society aimed at creating a just social state reminiscent of the Soviet model. It would be unwise not to learn from the experiences of the USSR in this regard, but also from the examples of socialist countries such as China, Laos, Vietnam, and the DPRK, among others. To achieve this, serious and large-scale work with voters is essential, which our candidates focus on during all electoral campaigns. Expecting a quick result would be naive, but the collective outcome of the leftist parties in these elections—over 20% of the voters—brings hope. The party’s key candidates in electoral districts received between 5% and 12%, marking significant growth, yet much work remains to ensure victory.

–We observe a certain resovietization in Russian society: the return of Stalin to the Moscow metro, an increasingly active exaltation of the Soviet past by the country’s leadership, and a sense of a common struggle against the West. Why is this happening?

-This is not surprising. It is not about glorification but rather the restoration of historical justice, for which our party has also been fighting for many years. It was only thanks to the Soviet Union and the heroic Soviet people that the fascist scourge was defeated. The current struggle against the collective forces of evil hardly differs from those years. Today, the image and deeds of Stalin are not mere memories but a guide for action: our Banner!

–We know that some members of the Communist Party of Russia participated in the Special Military Operation as volunteers. What are the reasons for their involvement? Is there a political motivation?

-The communists who went as volunteers stated, above all, that the regime in Kyiv is nothing but the worst manifestation of the essence of imperialist states. It is not hard to find confirmation of this: the attacks against the technical school in Starobelsk, against civilians in Donetsk, and the regular strikes on e-commerce platform warehouses in Russia; these attacks are exclusively against peaceful citizens. The only objective of the imperialists is to preserve their capital, and as we see, to do so by any means possible, often inhumane. There is no other argument or explanation for the collective evil politics that harm the peaceful population of Russia!

–How does the party assess, on the international stage, the recent attacks against Cuba and Venezuela, the war against Iran, and the genocide of the Palestinian people?

-Our party has consistently opposed the blockade of Cuba for many years and expresses solidarity with the people of Bolivarian Venezuela and all nations pursuing an independent domestic and foreign policy. However, the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife has undoubtedly crossed all boundaries of the contemporary world order. In reality, all these assaults against sovereign states and the people of those countries are links in the same chain and part of the same war, where freedom-loving peoples must prevail; there can be no other path toward humanity’s future…

The Citizen