Nazim Hikmet: The most beautiful days we haven’t seen yet...

By Nikos Mottas.

Nazim Hikmet. The great Turkish poet of the world's working class whose poems praised and highlighted the people's struggles for a better future without exploitation.

The man whose poetry expressed the revolutionary desires and hopes of the proletariat, of the poor and despised people in every corner of the world.

It was 120 years ago, on January 15, 1902, when Nazim Hikmet Ran was born in the city of Thessaloniki, then part of the Ottoman Empire, from a Turkish father and a mother of German, Polish and Georgian descent. 

63rd Anniversary of the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution

By Nikos Mottas

The Cuban Revolution inspired and continues to inspire the workers-people's struggles in all over the world, proving the vitality of the Marxist-Leninist worldview and the significance of proletarian internationalism. Figures such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, Vilma Espin, Fran Pais and others became eternal symbols of the revolutionary working class movement throughout the world.

Under the leadership of Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz and with the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union and other socialist states, Cuba achieved a number of extraordinary – unprecedented in Latin America - achievements in sectors such as Health, Education, Womens' Rights, Culture, Sports, etc. 

30 years later, 63% of Russians regret the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Thirty years since the victory of the counterrevolution and the overthrow of socialism in the Soviet Union, the supposed "heaven" that capitalism would bring in Russia has been proved nothing more than a deception.

The deeply anti-worker policies of the bourgeois governments, from Boris Yeltsin to the current administration of Vladimir Putin, leads more and more Russians to consider what they lost after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Huge social achievements were abolished, the rich became richer and the poor became poorer, while the income for the working class families shrinks year by year. Capitalism has shown its real, repulsive, barbaric face to the working people of Russia. 

The Red Flag will rise again: 30 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union

By Nikos Mottas.

It was thirty years ago, on December 26, 1991, when the red flag with the sickle and hammer was lowered from the Kremlin. 

It was then, during the cold days of December, when the first socialist state of the world, the homeland of the world's proletariat, bent under the weight of the counterrevolution. Four days before, on December 22nd, the leaderships of three of the largest Soviet republics had decided the dissolution of the USSR, while the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) had been outlawed on summer of the same year.

The stance of the KKE in the face of the 1990-91 overthrows in the USSR

Interview with Aleka Papariga, member of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), former General Secretary of the Party from 1991 to 2013, in "Rizospastis" concerning the stance of the KKE during the 1990-91 counterrevolutionary overthrows in the Soviet Union. 

The interview (here in Greek) was originally published in "Rizospastis" weekend edition (18-19 December 2021). English translation by Nikos Mottas.

— The bourgeois parties celebrated when the red flag was lowered from the Kremlin. What were their main declarations at that time?

30th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR: "Socialism remains the future and the only way out for the people"

“Socialism remains the future and the only actual way out for the people” underlined Kostas Papadakis, MEP of the Communist Party of Greece (ΚΚΕ) during his intervention at the debate on the “30th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union” held in the Plenary Session of the European Parliament.

In his intervention (here in Greek), the KKE MEP said:

Has socialism ever existed in the Nordic countries?

In “Arbetet Debatt” newspaper, left-wing politicians Jonas Sjöstedt from Sweden and Pelle Dragstedt from Denmark, published a text about socialism. They write about how it worked and that examples of it can be found in the Nordic countries, including Sweden.

We translated and publish an article written by Andreas Sörensen, head of the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP), that was published in "Riktpunkt" on 30 November 2021. The article is titled "Has socialism worked in the North?" and provides a response to the arguments made by Sjöstedt and Dragstedt. 

By Andreas Sörensen.

KKE and French communists honored the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune

Photo: 902.gr

“We are here in Paris to culminate the rich program of tributes, events, publications and other activities through which our Party honors the heroic Paris Commune, 150 years since the first “storming of dream” by the working class. We are here, we walked in the footsteps of the Commune and drawing strength and knowledge from its teachings, we continue the beautiful but difficult struggle. So that dreams will be vindicated”, said Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, during a speech in Paris, France.

Dimitris Koutsoumbas — The struggle against “green” and “digital” capitalist barbarism

On Sunday 28 November, the European Communist Initiative held a teleconference titled "The communists at the forefront of the workers’–people’s struggle against “green” and “digital” capitalist barbarism, for the contemporary popular needs, for the real way out, socialism". 

Below you can read the introductory speech delivered by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas:

Communist Party of Ireland on COP26: "There is no green capitalism possible"

In a statement about the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow, the Communist Party of Ireland stresses out:

"The future belongs to socialism and to those who fight for it.

The jamboree that was the COP26 closed and a statement issued to the press. Their carefully choreographed opinion pieces, the television news features of how “western democracies” are leading the fight to save the planet and the parcelling of selected nations as villains into neat packages to reassure the gullible that it is not capitalism that is the problem. Nothing has fundamentally changed.   

USSR 2.0: Half of Russians would prefer the Soviet system

Thirty years after the counterrevolution and the restoration of capitalism in Russia, the prestige of socialism remains in high levels despite the waves of anti-communist propaganda.

 

A recent poll conducted by Levada Center comes to confirm that more and more Russians appreciate the significant achievements of the socialist period.

According to the survey, which was conducted between 19 and 26 August 2021, half of Russians (49%) would prefer the Soviet political system. This is the highest number since the early 2000s. Only 18% chose the current political system, while 16% believe that the best political system is “the Western model of democracy”. 

Socialism Is a Series of Communist Projects

By Charles Andrews*.

In the 1950s many workers had steady jobs with a health plan, sick leave, and annual paid vacation. They could afford to buy a home, which in parts of the country had mortgage payments as low as rent. It was a dramatic change from the Great Depression of the 1930s. 

What did tomorrow hold? The outlook was vague but good. Neither the capitalist class, its government officials, nor church leaders offered a definite vision of the future. Very few people sought out the left.

"As long as the Soviet Union existed no one was hungry"

A white t-shirt with the initials of the Soviet Union in Russian (CCCP) and the sickle and hammer were enough to infuriate anti-communists in social media. 

Julia Nova, a Greek model and TV presenter (photo), decided to share with her followers the happiness of pregnancy by uploading a photo on her Instagram profile account. 

The photo of her wearing a t-shirt with the "USSR" initials on it provoked the angry reaction of anti-communists, right-wingers and various social media trolls who attacked her. Julia, who is of Ukrainian origin, became the target of rude and derisive comments by some users who apparently can't stand in the view of the sickle and hammer.

Cuba's example shone in Tokyo Olympics with 15 medals

 By Nikos Mottas

The performance of the Cuban athletes who took part in the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo and achieved a total of 15 medals causes admiration and pride. 

Leaving behind much larger countries with rich tradition in sports, the small socialist Cuba with a population of 11 million people ranked 14th in the Olympic medal list, winning seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals.

Of course, this is not the first time that Cuba performs great in the Olympics; For many decades, despite the genocidal economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by the United States, the Island of the Revolution has triumphed in multiple Olympiads.

USA: More than 40% of Americans view socialism positively

Despite the decades of persistent and severe anti-communist propaganda by the bourgeois mechanisms in the United States of America, more than 40% of adult U.S. citizens view socialism in a positive way.

According to a recent survey conducted by Axios/Momentive, socialism has positive connotations for 41% of adult U.S. citizens, 2 per cent up since 2019.  Furthermore, Socialism has positive connotations for 60% of Black Americans, 45% of American women and 33% of non-white Republicans. Those numbers have grown over the past two years from 53%, 41% and 27%, respectively.  

“Since the time of Perestroika we have been freezing": 85-year-old Russian woman lived without heating for 30 years

Her name is Vera Pavlova and she is 85 years old. She survived the Siege of Leningrad in 1942, overpassing the difficulties of the Second World War, but the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union reserved a devastating surprise for her: She lived without heating for 30 years!

Pavlova's apartment is on a five-story building which stands on the shore of the bay next to a Soviet shipyard in Feodosia, Crimea. After the victory of the counterrevolution in the beginning of 1990s, the plant and the boiler house that provided heating to the workers' houses, was closed. 

A YEAR OF CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC — JOINT STATEMENT BY COMMUNIST AND WORKERS' PARTIES

A year after the outbreak of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Communist and Workers' Parties from all over the world issued a statement assessing the current situation and pledge to continue the struggle for public, free and universal healthcare services, as well as for protection of the workers-people's democratic rights. 

 

The statement, among others, underline the fact that the pandemic has highlighted the necessity of Socialism which can put the contemporary scientific and technological potential at the service of the people's needs. 

The full statement is as follows:

PCTE: 100 years after the foundation of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE)

Statement of the Central Committee of the PCTE on the Centenary of the Foundation of the PCE (SEIC):

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) addresses to all the workers from our country in the start of 2021 – 100 years after the foundation of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) as the Spanish Section of the Communist International (SEIC) – and conveys the following statement.

62nd anniversary of the Cuban Revolution - Somos Continuidad!

By Nikos Mottas.

Sixty-two years ago, on January 1, 1959, the rebel forces of the 26th of July Movement, led by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, seized the capital Havana, forcing dictator Batista to flee. Hence started a long and tumultuous journey of rebuilding a nation based on the principles of socialism.

The Cuban Revolution, the first socialist revolution in the Americas, was one of the 20th century's most significant events. It became - and continues being - a reference point for the workers-people's movement in Latin America and the whole world.

Capitalism is the virus, Socialism is the vaccine!

By Nikos Mottas.

The 2008 global capitalist economic crisis, the effects of which are still visible today, was a tremendous opportunity for the big capitalists to increase their wealth. During a period of ten years, from 2008 to 2018, the number of billionaires was doubled, like their profits. It has been proved that the crisis generates more capitalists.

The Coronavirus pandemic, which has plagued the world since the beginning of 2020, comes to confirm that capitalist barbarity “feeds” from the people's death, poverty, impoverishment and exploitation. The recent report by Forbes is revealing: