While benefitting from free trade policies and major corporations, Vladimir Putin and his United Russia Party dictatorship pushed back against the neoliberalism and capitalism. Despite the denialism on the populist and libertarian Right, Putin provided strong indicators that he adhered to some level of Soviet-style communism and opposed free enterprise (even the modified form of private enterprise that I support). Sometimes, the Russian dictator dissembled on the question of whether he was an adherent of capitalism or communism. For example, in a December 2000 interview, a Cuban Communist journalist asked Putin whether he was a capitalist or a communist. The Russian president cryptically replied: “Call me a pot but heat me not.”[1] Very evasive and yet telling answer. On several occasions, Putin bluntly revealed his true feelings on communist and socialist ideology. In October 2021, Putin claimed, “Everyone says that the existing model of capitalism, which the basis of social structure in the overwhelming majority of countries, has run its course…Everywhere, even in the richest countries and regions, the uneven distribution of material wealth leads to aggravating inequality.” Putin claimed that neoliberalism led to the “snarl of increasingly tangled contradictions.”[2] (He was not necessarily wrong. However, Putin paid fealty to the even more flawed Soviet system, or at least aspects of it.) At the end of the day, Putin tilted towards an embrace of at least aspects of the Soviet Communist system. In 2016, Putin admitted that he “liked Communist and socialist ideas very much and I like them still.”[3] In 2018, Putin claimed on Rossiya 1 TV that “communist ideology is very similar to Christianity.”[4] In October 2017, Putin voiced his support for the assembled foreign communists and leftists at the old Soviet front World Youth Festival in 2017 (held in Sochi, Russia). He urged them to carry forth the communist torch in the West (presumably including the US), “…Go for it. Create your own future. Strive to change the world and make it a better place. There is nothing you cannot do. Just don’t give up and keep going. And be assured that the festival brotherhood will help fulfill your boldest dreams and good intentions.”[5] Throughout the 1990s and especially the 2000s, various highly placed Russians spoke of their continued loyalty to the Soviet Union and its ideology. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu simultaneously predicted and hoped that “Soon, there will be the Soviet Union again and we will again live in peace.”[6] However, do these facts mean anything to the likes of former President Barack Obama, who chided Mitt Romney for adhering to Cold War ideology regarding Russia? Or did it change the perspective of scholars like Paul Gottfried, who implicitly attacked geopolitical analyst and author J.R. Nyquist, who has meticulously researched the Russo-Chinese threats to the US? Or Tucker Carlson or Alex Jones? This is why you, as subscribers, could send these essays to your local Congressman/woman, Senator, or Republican or Democratic political club to raise awareness. That is how you help ensure our Nation’s survival-in part through education and authentic conversation.
[1] Nyquist, J.R. “Almost Getting It” JRN Blog March 7, 2005 Accessed From: http://www.jrnyquist.com/nyquist_2005_0307.htm
[2] “The existing model of capitalism has run its course—Putin” Tass October 21, 2021 Accessed From: https://tass.com/economy/1352463
[3] Damien Sharkov “Russia’s Putin: I’ve Always Liked Communist and Socialist ‘Ideas’” Newsweek January 25, 2016 Accessed From: http://www.newsweek.com/russias-putin-says-he-always-liked-communist-socialist-ideas-419289
[4] Damien Sharkov “Putin Says Communism Comes From the Bible, Compares Lenin to a Saint” Newsweek January 15, 2018 Accessed From: https://www.newsweek.com/putin-says-communism-comes-bible-compares-lenin-saint-781328
[5] J.R. Nyquist “Is Vladimir Putin a Communist?” Family Security Matters Accessed From: http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/is-vladimir-putin-a-communist
[6] Claire Anderson “Putin’s defence chief says ‘there will be the Soviet Union again’” July 28, 2022 Accessed From:
Putin in his own words
"You know that I, like millions of Soviet citizens, over 20 million, was a member of the Communist Party of the USSR and not only was I a member of the party but I worked for almost 20 years for an organization called the Committee for State Security," Putin said, referring to the KGB.
"I was not, as you know, a party member by necessity," he said. "I liked Communist and socialist ideas very much and I like them still."
It would've made more sense if after the end of the cold war Russia was invited to join NATO.
Yeltsin would have agreed and Putin also expressed his regret many times, most recent in the interview with Tucker Carlson.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/stone-interviews-putin-says-asked-russia-joining-nato