Putin Channels Lenin: A Translation of the Nashi "Manifesto"

Filed under: Eastern Europe

Publius Pundit is pleased to offer, as far as we know for the first time anywhere, a direct translation with commentary of the voluminous "manifesto" which guides the operation of Vladimir Putin's "Nashi" youth cult. It comes to us through the heroic efforts of La Russophobe's expert Russian-English translator.

"Nashi" Organization's "Manifesto with Commentaries"

Summary and Commentary

General Comments

-- This is a long document, about 80 pages as I printed it out. It definitely does not merit full translation. It is, however, a great deal more interesting than the basic Nashi Manifesto (without "commentaries", available on the same website), which is very vaguely worded and does not identify the ideological underpinnings and concrete objectives of the Nashi organization.

-- The Manifesto lists as its only "main sources" four articles/speeches by Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov, a former GRU officer, currently Putin's Deputy Chief of Staff, and widely viewed as the Kremlin's main ideologist. In other words, this appears to be purely Surkov's "movement."

-- At the outset, the Manifesto gives the appearance of being much more moderate in tone than some of the leaflets that have been handed out by Nashi members at recent demonstrations. Toward the middle, however, it becomes increasingly caustic and anti-Western, and more openly reveals the main purpose of the Nashi movement, which is to help the authorities suppress mass pro-democracy demonstrations.

-- Reflecting Soviet ideas about the unity of physical and social sciences, the overall tone of the Manifesto is ponderously pseudo-academic and at times pseudo-scientific, though in its opening paragraphs it also carries a disclaimer, to the effect that "a manifesto is not an analysis or an article, but a call to action" -- perhaps hoping to insulate itself from criticism that as an article it is short on facts, and as analysis it is not at all objective.

-- On the other hand, the Manifesto also hopes to find usefulness as an "ideological weapon in the hands of political soldiers," so we might expect to see a lot of its ideas being repeated on various RuNet forums, blogs, etc. The serious Russia watcher may therefore be interested in a quick survey of its major themes, in order to track their re-appearance elsewhere (and thereby, so some extent, the rise or fall of Surkov's star), as well as predict the activities of the organization.

Some Key Quotes:

"Today the U.S. on one side, and international terrorism on the other, are trying to take control of Eurasia and the entire world. Their sights are set on Russia. The task of our generation is to defend the sovereignty of our country the way our grandfathers did 60 years ago."

"The 'Orange Revolution' in Ukraine and the 'Rose Revolution' in Georgia occurred due to internal reasons, but under critically important influence from outside. External forces in large part prepared these revolutions and organized their progress. For this reason one can say that the countries that underwent 'colored revolutions' organized from abroad in large measure lost their sovereignty."

"On the eve of the 2007-2008 elections, the party of oligarch revenge is again raising its head. It is betting on an orange revolution in Russia, a 'Berzovskiy revolution.' We, NASHI, will not allow the party of oligarch revenge to return to power in Russia. We will not allow them to steal Russia's future. Oligarch capitalism is our main enemy in Russia. We will uproot it and ensure progress, freedom and justice in Russia.:"

"NASHI is firmly determined not to allow Russia to suffer a geopolitical coup d'etat and the introduction of external control under the guise of a 'colored revolution.' At the decisive hour we are prepared to send hundreds of thousands of young people into the streets of Russia under the banner of 'Sovereignty and Independence for Russia.' We are prepared to fight for Russian democracy."

"Our opponents claim that NASHI is a Kremlin-sponsored scheme against an 'orange revolution' . . . And indeed, we are opposed to an 'orange revolution' of the Ukrainian type, because this is a geopolitical scheme for the establishment of external control over the country." [TN: No attempt whatsoever is made anywhere in the Manifesto to rebut the accusation that NASHI receives its financing from the Kremlin -- even after the Manifesto itself brings it up.]

"We will help the members of the Movement to become high-ranking professionals and . . . prove their right to lead Russia, in government organizations, businesses, social structures and mass media.”

"Every oligarch or bureaucrat, street rabble or member of a totalitarian organization who raises a hand against a member of our movement should clearly understand that tomorrow he will face the movement as a whole."

"It was Russia that defeated Hitler in the Second World War. Other countries . . . helped us in this war. They sold us arms, raw materials, manufactured products, etc. They even conducted their own wars on the periphery . . . (But) only on June 6, 1944 -- less than a year before the end of the war -- did the U.S. and U.K. open a second front in Europe."

"Russia itself unified Germany, thereby creating the most powerful government in Europe, the center of European integration and power."

"The victory of Russia in the Second World War created the basis for a world order which until recently guaranteed the world would be defended against global hegemony by any one country (whether Nazi Germany or the USA) and a repeat of a new (sic) world war."

Major Points/Themes (in approximately the order presented)

1. Frequent and mostly approving references to Communist/Soviet ideology.

"The most famous manifesto in history was the 'Communist Manifesto' of Marx and Engels, which turned the world on its head. With it, people went to the barricades, to prison and even to their death. They went, risking everything, because they believed in the ideas set forth in that Manifesto . . ."

Very telling detail: Apparently taking pride in its notoriety, the Nashi website also uses the old ".su" domain name designated for the Soviet Union. This is an example of what the Manifesto later calls "historical optimism." [ED: In a similar way, pop star Oleg Gazmanov croons proudly about being "made in the USSR"]

2. Heavy appeals to generational vanity, reminiscent of the old "Komsomol" Communist youth movement, but trenchantly critical of the last generation of Soviet and first generation of post-Soviet leaders. Several pages are devoted to detailing past "great generations" in Russian history. A poll is cited, supposedly showing that the younger generation of Russians is much more optimistic than older generations:

"Do you expect that in the near future the country will undergo change, and if so, then for the better or for the worse?" ("FOM"/Public Opinion Foundation, Aug 2005)

---------------Generations

-----------Youth---- Older

Better -----53% -----35%

Worse ------ 9% ----- 18%

(Interestingly, according to the above, 38% of young Russians and 47% of older Russians apparently thought there would be no change, or refused to respond.)

The Manifesto quotes another survey, by the British polling company BBDO, indicating that Russian youth are more optimistic about their future than their counterparts in the West, with 80% vs. 46% believing they will live better than their parents. (Of course, this is probably because the Russians are starting from such a low base compared to their Western peers, but no mention is made of this possibility.)

Young Russians are also supposedly more work-loving as well, since only 13% of young Russians plan to retire as early as they can, versus 48% in the West. (The real reason for this difference will surely be obvious to anyone familiar with Russian pensions and investment schemes.)

Also more patriotic: "The percentage of potential defenders of the Fatherland is twice as high in Russia as in Western Europe -- 64% vs. 34%." (The question that evoked these responses is not given; it is also not clear whether this was from the same poll as the one previously cited.)

And more thirsting for opportunity, professional success, entertainment, social responsibility, etc. (No figures/explanation/sources given for this assertion.)

3. Repeated emphasis on "competition" and "competitiveness," starting with several definitions, including this one:

“Competition -- in biology: Antagonistic relations, defined by the effort of the best and fastest to achieve some objective compared to other members of the community. Competition arises for space, food, light, shelter, mates, etc. Competition is a manifestation of the struggle for existence”

This sets the stage for the extremely zero-sum conception of economic competition and other forms of engagement with the outside world that follows.

Two examples of the results of "globalization" are given, both of them completely negative:

-- Brazilian automobile manufacturing: Brazil is now the 10^th largest manufacturer of cars in the world, but all of them are of foreign design.

-- Russian aerospace industry: "Not only our foreign partners, but even the leadership of the largest Russian aviation companies are demanding that the Russian government lift tariffs on the import of aviation technology. If this happens, civil aviation manufacturing in Russia will cease to exist." (Emphasis in the original.)

Conclusion: "Globalization is a project for reinforcing the hegemony of the USA in the modern world." Nevertheless: "Our task is to make Russia a leader in globalization."

4. A thinly-disguised bribe/threat is made for young people to join the Nashi movement:

"We will help members of the Movement to become high-ranking professionals and in open competition with others succeed and prove their right to lead Russia, in government organizations, businesses, social structures and mass media."

(Considering that Nashi is more-or-less openly funded by the Russian government, and such a large percentage of major businesses, social organizations and media outlets are also owned/operated by the government, it is highly doubtful how "free" this competition will be; this is an "offer" that many young people in Russia will probably find hard to refuse.)

5. Dark predictions of another collapse of Russia. The Manifesto takes a long digression through an interpretation of history provided by the English historical philosopher Arnold Toynbee, reflecting darkly on the fates of the Roman, Byzantine and Austro-Hungarian empires, and concluding with the odd claim that the center of world finance passed from London to New York City as a result of England becoming a debtor to the U.S. after World War I (rather than the sharp increase in America's share of world GDP around the same time – combined with America having inherited most of the English legal and accounting traditions). A long excerpt is given from a speech by Putin about the collapse of the Russian economy in the early-1990s. The conclusion: "If Russia loses (this) competition, it may disappear like the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Some, perhaps, may rejoice in this, hoping to profit from it. But we love our Motherland, and will not allow this to happen."

6. Miscellaneous assertions, digressions loosely connected to "competitiveness":

-- The U.S. makes up and changes the rules of the global economy while the game is being played (no examples given).

-- A long review of the historic military threat from the West, recounting all the many invasions Russia has suffered throughout its history (while failing to mention a single one of Russia's many invasions and annexations of neighboring countries).

-- Back to the generational theme, with empty rhetoric: "Our generation is not satisfied with the status of geopolitical loser . . . We have set for ourselves the goal not only of pulling Russia from crisis, but of ensuring its leadership in the modern world."

-- Promise to promote a strong, technologically advanced army, and cultural leadership, so that "the life of the average citizen in Russia will be such that we will be envied by people of other countries."

-- Notes that "the U.S. Department of State will spend $328 million in 2006 for external propaganda and improving the image of the U.S." (No analogous figures are given for other countries, much less on a per-capita or income-adjusted basis. A cynic might point out that this would be especially difficult to compare in the case of Russia, where virtually all mass media are state-operated, to say nothing of publications by Kremlin-funded "movements" like Nashi.)

7. Grandiose assertions about Russia and the Soviet Union's central role in world history, "setting the political agenda" of the "modern world order," etc.:

-- "In terms of the potential of the future leadership of Russia, we view Russia as the historical and geographical center of the modern world . . ."

-- "The 20^th Century was the Russian Century. Three times in the course of this century Russia set the format for world history. The October Revolution (1917) was the historic call that in the end set the political agenda for the 20^th century."

-- The Communist Party of the Soviet Union is given credit for:

- the 8-hour workday

- free public education

- unemployment insurance

- workman's compensation

- worker participation in the management of companies

- universal suffrage

- rights of women.

All of these measures, the Manifesto claims, were adopted by other countries only after they were instituted in Russia by the Bolsheviks.

-- "It was Russia that defeated Hitler in the Second World War . . . Other countries . . . helped us in this war. They sold us arms, raw materials, manufactured goods, etc. They even conducted their own wars on the periphery . . . (But) only on June 6, 1944 -- less than a year before the end of the war -- did the U.S. and U.K. open a second front in Europe.”

-- Claims that Russia's singular victory over fascism validated the "new world order" of the Yalta agreement.

-- "Russia unilaterally ended its participation in the 'Cold War' because it came to realize the pointlessness of military confrontation . . . Russia itself unified Germany, thereby creating the most powerful government in Europe, the center of European integration and power."

-- Presents a long digression into the achievements of the Socialist world. (This appears to have been uncritically lifted from a Soviet history textbook, with only a small change in how the story ends.)

-- Explicitly compares the U.S. to Nazi Germany: "The victory of Russia in the Second World War created the basis for a world order which until recently guaranteed the world would be defended against global hegemony by one country (whether Nazi Germany or the USA) and a repeat of a new (sic) world war."

8. Russian nationalism, couched in the language of multiculturalism:

-- Goes on at some length about Russia's unique geopolitical position, spanning several continents and many time zones. Brief, pointless critique of "isolationism," giving 19^th century Japan as example (while managing to avoid mention of Russia's role that story's denouement, in 1905). Pointless review of various religious groupings of the world.

-- Comes to two very contradictory conclusions: 1) "It must be clearly understood that multiculturalism is an important advantage for Russia in the modern world"; and 2) "At the same time, Russians are the government-forming and most populous people of Russia, and for this reason the fate of Russia will depend in large measure on well-being of and position occupied by Russians."

-- Condemns "aggressive nationalism, separatism, religious intolerance." Belittles the imporatance of linguistic identity as a factor in creating national identity, using as evidence the fact that here are 10,000 languages in the world, but only about 200 independent countries. Blames "separatism" for the breakup of Yugoslavia. Long review of separatist movements in India, China and Europe. Claims Sikhism is "separatist" (very dated information, especially considering the current PM of India is a devout Sikh).

-- Another long interlude about Russia being the "heartland" of Eurasia, concluding: "Today the U.S. on the one side, and international terrorism on the other, are trying to control Eurasia and the entire world. Their sights are set on Russia. The task of our generation is to defend the sovereignty of our country the way our grandfathers did 60 years ago."

9. Obsession with "sovereignty," vigorous defense of the term "sovereign democracy." The term "Sovereign Democracy" in reference to Russia was, of course, invented by Surkov himself. The Manifesto starts with a long-winded discussion of "sovereignty," followed by a list of countries that have supposedly given up parts of their sovereignty:

- Georgia, due a status of forces agreement with the U.S. that excludes prosecution of U.S. troops on Georgian soil by Georgian courts.

- Czech Republic and Hungary, due to 70% of their banks being controlled by foreign capital.

- Argentina, due to use of the U.S. dollar reserves as a benchmark for limiting issuance of new pesos.

- All the countries of NATO.

- Countries with common tariff agreements, intelligence-sharing agreements (presumably refers to the EU, but gives the weird example of Egypt in the period 1875-1952, when it was largely governed by Britain).

- Government economic policies dictated by foreigners (Russia 1992-1998).

Then a list of other ways sovereignty can be surrendered:

- Mass media ownership (Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic)

- Infrastructure ownership (Chinese railroads, until 1949)

- Foreign ownership of key tax revenue suppliers (oil extraction in the countries of the middle east, until nationalized in the early 1970's)

- Foreign influence in "the political system as a whole. A nation should determine its own president, parliament and judicial system. A nation has no right to tolerate outside forces exerting a strong influence on its political system, least of all at key moments in history."

A few pages later, the term "Sovereign Democracy" is introduced, defined and fiercely defended:

"Sovereign Democracy is a new term, born in Russia at the beginning of the 21 century. It emphasizes the problem that in the modern world every country is confronted with attempts to limit its sovereignty." (Note Surkov's modesty in not identifying himself as the father of this newborn term.)

"Sovereign Democracy means that Russia does not intend to develop democracy under the external instruction of anyone. It does not intend to take a test on democracy administered by foreign professors and build democracy according to a foreign mold. Russia will walk the path of democracy and do this in accordance with its own national interests and traditions, and will not sacrifice to abstract principles the genuine interests of its people -- interests in security, stability and a high standard of living."

10. "Colored Revolutions" as loss of sovereignty. The need to defend against "colored revolutions" is a key point in the Manifesto, probably the main point, and is tied strongly to the Manifesto's notion of "sovereignty" as being pure of any outside influences:

"The 'Orange Revolution' in Ukraine and the 'Rose Revolution' in Georgia occurred due to internal reasons, but under critically important influence from outside. External forces in large part prepared these revolutions and organized their progress. For this reason one can say that the countries that underwent 'colored revolutions' organized from abroad in large measure lost their sovereignty."

"Many countries, formally remaining independent, are in fact not sovereign. For example, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, have surrendered their foreign and defense policies to NATO and the leader of NATO -- the USA; their economic policies, to the EU; and they have sold off key elements of their economies to European -- for the most part German -- corporations, which have located in these countries only low-technology manufacturing."

"Several of the countries of the former USSR also surrendered their sovereignty. For example, Georgia surrendered a large part of its defense policy to American advisors. The plan adopted after the 'Orange Revolution' for the integration of Ukraine into NATO and the system for Ukrainian-American consultations are mechanisms for controlling Ukraine's foreign policy by the USA. The plan for "Europeanization," developed for Ukraine by the EU, is a mechanism for the control of Ukraine's internal policies by the EU."

A few pages later, the Manifesto repeats the above paragraph almost word-for-word, with the following new introduction: "The so-called 'colored revolutions' that took place in Georgia and Ukraine and planned in other countries represented the formation of a system for external control of the country."

The Manifesto then cuts to the chase about the true purpose of the Nashi movement:

"NASHI is firmly determined not to allow Russia to suffer a geopolitical coup d'etat and the introduction of external control under the guise of a 'colored revolution.' At the decisive hour we are prepared to send hundreds of thousands of young people into the streets of Russia under the banner of 'Sovereignty and Independence for Russia.' We are prepared to fight for Russian democracy."

11. Rejection of "Assimilation" (outside of Russia):

". . .the policies of assimilation, of suppressing the Russian language and Russian culture, have been systematically pursued by the countries of the Baltics for the past 15 years with the silent approval of European and world public opinion, which in relation to Russia professes a double standard. What Russia cannot do in relation to one or another national minority, other countries can do to Russians."

The Manifesto goes on to point out that many non-Russians (Georgians, Ukrainians, Kazaks, Jews) also use Russian as an "international language" while living in third countries, and says the Russian government should defend their "right" to do this as well.

12. Presentation of the Nashi movement as a force of moderation, standing between the extremes of Nationalism/Fascism and Liberalism:

"Liberals are prepared to sacrifice the country's independence for the sake of personal freedom. Communists and fascists are prepared to sacrifice the personal freedoms of citizens to achieve a great state. For us the two sides of freedom are inseparable . . . Personal freedom and national sovereignty are two sides of the same coin."

And later in the Manifesto: "Today before our very eyes an unnatural union is being formed between Liberals and Fascists, westernizers and ultranationalists, international organizations and international terrorists. It is held together by only one thing -- hatred of Putin."

13. Presentation of Russia and the Soviet Union as peace-loving countries, in harsh contrast to the United States. After a rambling and pointless cataloging of various forms of democracy observed around the world, the Manifesto suddenly and without explanation reverts back to its "independence" theme:

"Russia in 1917 became the first country in the world to proclaim as a founding principle the right of nations to self-determination. Russia recognized the independence of all countries whose governments announced -- often despite the will of the people of these countries -- the desire to become sovereign. Russia gave the gift of independence to many countries that did not fight for it. Russia does not desire to subjugate any peoples, but neither will it allow its national interests to be harmed, nor will it allow anything to be imposed on Russia which is opposed by our people.

"The USA, by contrast, does not recognize the right of the world's people to free development. . ." With this, the Manifesto launches into a long review of U.S. military interventions in Latin America and Iraq, followed by a claim that Russia is a "just country" (again, no mention whatsoever of Russian/Soviet interventions/annexations). This is followed by a gratuitous, vague and suspiciously Marxist-sounding definition of justice, which concludes (with emphasis): "The concept of justice always has an historical character, dependent on the living conditions of the people". The Manifesto then trails off into a very communist-sounding celebration of Russians' supposed special solidarity as a society, "where the fate of one person is inextricably tied to the fate of others, where assistance and support of fellow citizens is the norm…" etc.

14. Disgust with recent generations of Russian/Soviet leadership. At this point, the Manifesto abruptly announces a "change in format," and embarks on a long condemnation of the late/post-Communist and pre-Putin leadership of Russia: "The generation that led the country beginning in the 1980s lost faith in the country and its future. Some of its representatives look to the West and wait for examples and orders . . . The entrenched mentality of defeat does not allow even consideration of the question of leadership of Russia."

The Manifesto continues for several pages railing against the "offshore aristocracy," and "defeatist generation" and (pokoleniye porazhentsev) and “elite of disintigration” (elita raspada) etc. This is followed by a glowing review of China's modernization program, then a long and approving excerpt from the Putin speech in which he asserted that "the breakup of the Soviet Union was the worst geopolitical catastrophe of the century,"

15. Blame of the "Oligarchs" for all of Russia's current problems. The Manifesto spends about five pages lambasting Russian oligarchs for the state of the country, claiming that "oligarch capitalism" is the "main obstacle to development of the country," represents "privatization of the government and "destroys democracy," etc., then warns:

"On the eve of the 2007-2008 elections, the party of oligarch revenge is again raising its head. It is betting on an orange revolution in Russia, a 'Berzovskiy revolution.' We, NASHI, will not allow the party of oligarch revenge to return to power in Russia. We will not allow them to steal Russia's future. Oligarch capitalism is our main enemy in Russia. We will uproot it and ensure progress, freedom and justice in Russia."

(Hatred of the business elite is a common theme for the siloviki elite, and harkens back to old Communist propaganda encouraging class envy and mistrust of capitalist markets. No distinction is made in the Manifesto between "oligarchs" and other wealthy Russian businessmen. One can safely assume that any politician not financed by the Kremlin or someone friendly to Putin will be considered by Nashi to be backed by an "oligarch.")

16. Tacit admission to being Kremlin-financed. In a burst of frankness, the Manifesto notes: "Our opponents claim that NASHI is a Kremlin-sponsored scheme against an 'orange revolution' . . . And indeed, we are opposed to an 'orange revolution' of the Ukrainian type, because this is a geopolitical scheme for the establishment of external control over the country." (Note: No attempt whatsoever is made anywhere in the Manifesto to refute the accusation that NASHI is Kremlin-financed -- even after the Manifesto itself brings up the question.)

17. Review of "Objectives":

1) Preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia. Starts out with a quick mention of the war in Chechnya, but almost immediately lapses into a long discussion of the threat posed by "Fascism," with a few pages spent trying to link it to Liberalism (and finding some unlikely support in a few out-of-context quotes from Zbignew Brzezinski). Oddly, the Manifesto then suddenly changes its mind and concludes that fascism is not nearly as much of a threat in Russia as it is in other countries, due to Russia’s "fiercely anti-fascist ideology," and characterizes the threat as consisting only of "a multitude of 'minor fascist organizations'."

2) Modernization of the country. A laudable goal, to be sure, but among eight items listed as necessary for achieving it (patriotism, historical optimism, strategic thinking, social responsibility, openness to the new, constructiveness/cooperation, leadership qualities, and a "high level of professionalism in one's field of activity"), there is no mention whatsoever of support for free markets, promotion of good corporate governance, protection of investors rights or the rule of law in general. Making this omission the more striking, the Manifesto then spends several paragraphs lauding China's recent economic achievements.

3) Formation of a functioning civil society. The Manifesto acknowledges the growing importance of NGOs in the modern world, but then seems to imply that "Nashi" is the only legitimate one in Russia: "Government bureaucracy is fundamentally incapable of moving (civil society) forward. This can be done only by our movement . . . Enough talk about defending human rights. The blather of current Liberals is the worst advertisement for democracy . . ."

The Manifesto goes on to eulogize Putin as a "man of action," and recounts in detail the founding of the Nashi movement (again, not a word about the sources of its funding). An account is also given of how one of its members was beaten up by self-proclaimed Bolshevik thugs, and Nashi's first mass rally in response.

This leads to an example of the sort of "civil society" Nashi has in mind: "We should serve as an example of social solidarity. Every oligarch or bureaucrat, street rabble or member of a totalitarian organization who raises a hand against a member of our movement should clearly understand that tomorrow he will need to deal with the movement as a whole."

The Manifesto concludes with a repeat of its earlier appeal to "replace the generation of defeatism with the generation of NASHI, the elite of disintegration with the elite of development," and promise to "create a new generation of managers . . . and bring this generation to power.” (Again, since this is a government-backed organization, such an offer of "career assistance" can hardly be viewed as anything but a veiled threat that those who fail to join Nashi -- like its predecessor Komsomol -- will be systematically excluded from positions of power. As the Russian writer Matvey Ganapolskiy recently pointed out, this "offer" is just another part of the Big Lie now being re-assembled in the Neo-Soviet Union.)