Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the October coup

It turns out that the legal ban on the Communist Party has not been finalized in Ukraine. Why?
7 November, 2017 - 12:35
Sketch by Anatolii KAZANSKY from The Day’s archives, 1998

Today, the Red counter-revolution, also known as the October coup, turns 100. “Talking about the results of 1917 for Russia, the Russian communist socialism was born that year,” Stanislav Kulchytskyi said. “It was not the socialism that we saw in Sweden, but, of course, a quite different one. In essence, the communist socialism enslaved three generations of Soviet people. It subjugated Ukraine as well, after its three desperate attempts to break free. In my opinion, modern Russia runs on the same formula of power that Vladimir Lenin came up with. What is its essence? The party is divided into two parts, of which one is the holder of an absolute dictatorship, while the second, in the shape of the Soviets, faces the people. And this second part is formed through elections. But the elections themselves, now as then in Russia, are held without proposing real choice. A stable system of power has emerged that holds society by the throat and destabilizes other countries. We have avoided this thanks to the Maidan, as have the Baltic countries (and partly Georgia), but all other republics of the former USSR have remained within this system.”

REUTERS photo

 

But has Ukraine got rid of this system completely? “Ukraine suffered greatly under the Bolshevik system, and we ought to have acquired immunity to all these communist movements already,” director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Volodymyr Viatrovych commented for The Day. “The Soviet ideology was the basis for justification of mass crimes. The totalitarian system envisioned the destruction of all dissenters. As you know, the Communist Party of Ukraine was formed after the collapse of the USSR, but it promoted Russian interests. This was obvious. Therefore, we must talk not only about a specific party, but also the responsibility of specific individuals who had links to Russia. Here we need investigations and conclusions. The war has proven that this cannot be delayed. And here the issue is not only with the communist ideology, but in general with this enclave of pro-Russian forces.”

By Ivan KAPSAMUN, Valentyn TORBA, The Day
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