Russian elections:
Chance for Russian people to take new direction

On December 7, 2003 Russian voters will caste their ballots in 
the Duma (Parliament) elections. These elections will be followed 
by presidential elections in March 2004. The Communist Party of 
the Russian Federation (CPRF) is taking an active part in the 
coming elections.

The Party held a Congress in September and adopted an electoral 
platform and nominated candidates who represent a wide spectrum 
of Russian society.

Among them are communists and non-party members, scientists, 
trade unionists, representatives of youth and women's 
organisations.

The CPRF statement says, "It is our conviction that only a broad 
alliance of progressive and patriotic forces can change the 
situation in the country".

The present rulers of Russia are not about to surrender power 
without a fight. The Communist party is fully aware of dirty 
methods used by those in power and their financial backers (both 
local and foreign) who will try once again to discredit both the 
CPRF and its election platform.

The CPRF has issued an appeal to all fraternal and friendly 
parties to send their representatives as part of international 
observers groups that will be formed by national parliaments, 
regional and international parliamentary organisations.

The main points of the CPRF program

The CPRF states that the basic principles of our program of 
reviving Russia are that:

1. The land, forests, the subsoil and other natural resources of 
the country should belong to the whole Russian people. The 
purchase and sale of land with the exception of subsidiary plots, 
gardening, dacha and garage plots of land be inadmissible.

2 The payments for housing, electricity and other utility 
services should not exceed 10 percent of a families income.

3 Wages and pensions not be lower than the living minimum income 
established under a separate law.

4. Fuel, energy and defence enterprises as well as railways be 
state owned and controlled.

A year ago the CPRF attempted to put these policy principles to 
the people in a referendum but it was banned by the government. 
The ruling elite knew what sort of response it would get in a 
referendum.

A crooked oligarchy has come to reign in the country through 
treachery and bribery and an anti-people regime has been 
established says the CPRF. Hypocrisy, lies and disdain for the 
working people are rife.

"The country loses a million citizens every year. US$25 billion 
worth of people's wealth flows abroad every year. Our borders are 
encircled by American and NATO military bases. The leaders of the 
'new world order' openly say that not more than 50 million people 
should remain in Russia. That is enough to extract gas and oil, 
gold and diamonds and to cater to the needs of the oligarchs. 
There is no room on this land for the remaining 100 million.", 
says the Party statement.

Total colonisation

"Faced with the threat of total colonisation and extinction of 
the country, we, workers and peasants, engineers and scientists, 
teachers and doctors, entrepreneurs and managers, artists and 
students, people of different views and beliefs, representatives 
of different parties and movements have united to form the 
People's Block of the CPRF.

"The strategic goal of our block is to gain the majority of seats 
in the State Duma and to win the presidential election.

"We have rallied under the banner of the CPRF because we are 
convinced that patriotism of the people today is inseparable from 
the goals and ideals of the communists, from the struggle for 
socialism, for the restoration of the Soviet power, for the 
revival of the Union state".