100 Years of Russian Revolution – I: Is Communism Compatible with

Democracy?

- Pankaj Saxena, @PankajSaxena84

http://indiafacts.org/russian-revolution-communism-
democracy/#.WgE8AxAJ5Tw.facebook

While the February Revolution was a genuine revolution of the masses which
happened spontaneously, overthrew kingship and established democracy, the
November coup of the communists destroyed democracy, overthrew the
Assembly and the Provisional multi-party government.

Hundred years ago, on 7th November, 1917, [1] a revolution took place in
Europe which changed the fate of entire mankind. It was the Russian Revolution.
It gave birth to the first Communist State in history, the Soviet Union.

The Revolution, and its political ideology communism, had such great impact on
world history that it affected all six inhabited continents. Communism is still an
influencing factor in the politics of many countries in the 21st century. For
communism was not just an ideology. It was also a political, economic and
social system. An entire system of governing and running a society; some would
even call it a religion, a Prophetic Monotheistic religion. [2]

And like a religion, it had conversion goals with dreams of converting entire
mankind into its own brand of ideology, communism. It promised the creation of
a Heaven on Earth, a perfect communist society. To achieve this, the Soviet
Union spawned communist parties all over the world. These parties were strictly
controlled by the Soviet Union and were effectively its lobbies. The Soviet Union
provided them with both finance and ideology. [3]

Armed with massive propaganda, emanating from Moscow, these parties

became potent political forces in their respective countries. In many of them
they managed to create anarchy, topple governments and seize power. At its
peak, there were sixteen communist countries in the world. And there have
been thirty-six countries which have at one time or other been under communist
rule. [4]
It was with this objective, to seize power and establish communist rule, that the
Communist Party of India was founded in 1925. Though it never became
successful in seizing power at the centre, it and its sister party Communist Party
of India (Marxist) managed to rule three states intermittently: West Bengal,
Kerala and Tripura. The cultural influence of communism however was much
bigger than its direct political influence.

The socio-cultural movement that the Communist Party of India came to be

associated with was known by various names under various times but accepted
the umbrella term ‘leftist’ universally. It spawned a great number of institutions,
particularly targeting academia and media and indirectly but strongly
influencing the politics of India.

This leftist movement maintained a love-hate relationship with the Congress

Party. Until the independence, the Congress Party was its sworn enemy with
many of its leaders abusing even Gandhi in the choicest of terms. [5] However,
in the post-independence era, its ideological string pullers in Moscow realized
that seizing power at the centre in India was likely to always remain a
pipedream. A better strategy would be to infiltrate other mainstream parties of
India and thus influencing politics and foreign policy of India.

With Nehru at the helm of Congress, who was all but a communist in name, it
was not a very hard task. [6] He handed over the country to communists on a
platter. Gandhi’s assassination, the success of the leftist and Congress
propaganda and political persecution, sidelined Hindu parties like Hindu
Mahasabha and forcibly suppressed social movements like RSS. Whatever
institutions were left, succumbed to the second wave of repression under Indira
Gandhi and turned socialist. With a socialist economy, pro-Soviet and anti-
American foreign policy, India was firmly in the socialist camp for all the
nonsense of non-alignment.

This leftist camp kept changing names, calling itself socialist, Marxist, communist,
Naxalite and leftist at different times and places. In 21st century it has once
again gathered together under the umbrella title of ‘left-liberal’. Under this
umbrella various ‘-isms’ and ‘rights activisms’ have gathered together, like:
feminism, communism, humanism etc. and lobbies such as human rights,
minority rights, animal rights, LGBT etc.
One of the most defining and common characteristics of the ‘left-liberal’ camp
is its rabid anti-Hinduism. It posits Hindu culture and society as the very
manifestation of evil, labeling everything Hindu as superstitious, barbaric,
degenerate and at best obsolete, ready to be consigned to the dustbin of
history. On the other hand it projects itself as the force of good, claiming to be
fighting for the rights of various disadvantaged and marginalized groups, such
as: women, minorities (sexual and religious) and even animals.

While this ‘left-liberal’ camp labels Hindu customs and traditions as redundant
and superstitious remnants of medieval barbarity it calls itself scientific,
continuing the Marxist tradition of claiming its ideology as science. While it labels
Hindu society as patriarchal, xenophobic and dictatorial, it claims itself as the
force which fights patriarchy, xenophobia and is fundamentally democratic in
nature.

Are these claims true? Are they leftists really liberal? Is communism scientific?
Does it really fight patriarchy and xenophobia? Have the communist
governments treated their minorities with equality? What is the track record of
human rights in the communist countries? Is it really democratic in nature?

At the eve of the centenary of Russian Revolution it is imperative to verify these

claims made by the ‘left-liberal’ camp. In order to do that one must go to the
origins of communism, to the single event that initiated communism in the world:
the Russian Revolution. In a series of articles following this, these claims will be
separately studied and analyzed.

The Russian Revolution was a Coup!

The most common refrain of the communists in any debate on India is that they
are ‘fighting for democracy’ against the onslaught of the ‘communal, divisive
and fascist forces’ that are trying to install a Hindu supremacist dictatorship in
India. In this fight of good and evil, the communists depict themselves as the
force of democracy against the forces of dictatorship of the Hindu majority. Is it
true? Are communists democratic? Is communism compatible with democracy?
What better point in history than the Russian Revolution to enquire whether
communism is democratic or not? The answer is a big no. The birth of
communism was not democratic at all.

The ‘Russian Revolution’ was a coup. [7] It was not a single event. There were
two events, or two ‘revolutions’. The real Revolution took place in February and
March. The Russian Empire was a crumbling mansion which had overstretched
itself. It had delayed modernizing its society and providing democratic
freedoms. All of these factors were weighing it down, however, it was the stress
of bearing the brunt of the First World War which really broke it down. There
were many protests and demonstrations and the Tsar Nicholas II, the last
Emperor of Russia abdicated his crown on 15th of March, 1917, thus bringing an
end to the Russian Empire and initiating the short-lived era of democracy in
Russia. [8]

A Provisional Government was formed calling its assembly the Soviet Duma, the
first democratic institution of its kind in Russia. Various parties including the
Constitutional Democratic Party, the Social Revolutionary Party, the Octobrists,
the Progressists and the Mensheviks shared power in the coalition. Lenin’s party,
the Bolshevik party did not share power in the coalition. Lenin was not one to
share power with anyone. He would wield it alone.

When the Revolution happened in Russia, Lenin was working from Switzerland.
As soon as Tsarism fell and democracy was ushered in, Lenin became active.
Lenin arrived in Russia on a German train and started Bolshevik communist
propaganda on German finance. He, along with many prominent Bolsheviks,
was on Germany’s payroll. [9] He made several attempts to seize power at the
centre the most famous of them being the July Putsch which ended in disaster.

However the Bolsheviks finally became successful in seizing power in what can
be described only and only as coup d’état on November 5, 1917. [10] They took
control of certain key institutions like the post office, the naval port etc. Upon
seizing power they abolished the Soviet Duma (Parliament), free elections and
other political parties, putting an end to democracy in Russia and starting the
era of communism. The new country that was created from the ashes of the Old
Russian Empire later came to be called the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics) or the Soviet Union.
The communists were experts at propaganda. There was a dedicated
government department (Agitation and Propaganda or simply Agitprop) for
spreading communist propaganda both locally and internationally. [11] With
the help of this propaganda, the communists managed to lie that the
November coup of the Bolsheviks was actually a Revolution; calling it the Great
October Socialist Revolution. Marxist historians of India being faithful servants of
their Moscow overlords kept calling it a Revolution misleading millions of Indians.

While the February Revolution was a genuine revolution of the masses which
happened spontaneously, overthrew kingship and established democracy, the
November coup of the communists destroyed democracy, overthrew the
Assembly and the Provisional multi-party government.

The communists did not create but destroy democracy. The basic idea of
communism is not democratic. Communism has never favored democracy, in
words or in deed. When Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels gave the idea of the
Dictatorship of Proletariat, they did not have democracy in mind. Communism is
seen by its followers as a perfect political system which has achieved absolute
equality. In such a perfect world there is no need for adult franchise or free
elections, as a ‘People’s Government’ has been ‘elected’, eliminating all need
for any elections or democracy in future.

The most primary feature of a communist state is the abolition of free elections
and the very idea of adult franchise. No communist state has ever held free or
fair elections. Communist parties the world over came to power through various
means, but once they acquired power, they quickly established dictatorship of
the Communist Party and depended upon this dictatorship for holding on to
power.

Democracy is not just limited to elections. It is attained by creating independent

institutions which ensure separation of powers and prevent their consolidation.
The more the autonomy of such independent institutions, the stronger is the
democracy.

In a communist state there are no such independent institutions. They are

denounced as ‘bourgeoisie institutions’ and subordinated to the State. The State
 in turn is subordinated to the Communist Party which is often a personality cult of
the Supreme Leader like Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, or Kim Il Sung.

In such a communist state, the country is not run according to a constitution. The
writ of the Supreme leader is the law. His whim is the constitution. There is no
independent judiciary, legislature or executive. Neither, of course, is there an
independent academia or media. There is no freedom of expression in a
communist country. All branches of government, all institutions of government
are subordinated to the Communist Party which reigns supreme in absolute
dictatorship.

All communist states that have ever come into existence have practiced
absolute dictatorship, which is ingrained in the ideology of Marxism-Leninism.

It is indeed ironic that the leftists of India claim to fight on the side of
democracy. That they are seen as the forces of democracy and freedom
instead of the forces that destroyed them shows the success of the communist
propaganda. It is this propaganda which has created many deep seated
misconceptions in India about Hindu society, Hindu culture and Sanatana
Dharma. These misconceptions have plagued the intellectual debate in India
and influences the way our young generations thinks, eventually having an
impact on the future of the Hindu society.

On the eve of the Russian Revolution, in a series of articles, let us analyze the
beliefs of communism, let us look into the claims that the communists make and
the ideas they profess.

[This is the first part in a series of articles, titled ‘100 Years of Russian Revolution’.]

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Although it happened in November according to the modern calendar, the Old

Calendar prevalent in Russia before 1917 lagged 13 days behind the modern
calendar, hence it is also called as October Revolution. The date according to
the old calendar was 25th of October.

2. Harari, Yuval Noah. Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind. Vintage, 2011. p. 254.
3. Service, Robert. Comrades: Communism – A World History. Pan Macmillan, 2008.
p. 107.

4. Brown, Archie. The Rise and Fall of Communism. Vintage, 2009. p. 3.

5. Shourie, Arun. ‘The Only Fatherland’: Communists, ‘Quit India’ and The Soviet
Union. ASA, 1991. p. 90, 92.

6. Goel, Sita Ram. Genesis and Growth of Nehruism: Commitment to Communism.

Voice of India, 1993. p. ix.

7. Pipes, Richard. Communism: A History of the International and Political

Movement. Pan Macmillan, 2001. p. 38.

8. Massie, Robert K. Nicholas & Alexandra: The Tragic, Compelling Story of the Last
Tsar and his Family. Pan Macmillan, 2000. p. 394.

9. Pipes, Richard. The Unknown Lenin: From the Secret Archive. Yale University
Press, 1996. p. 53.

10. Pipes, Richard. The Russian Revolution. Vintage, 1990. p. 492.

11. Andrew, Christopher; Mitrokhin, Vasili. The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB
and the Battle for the Third World. Basic Books, 2005. p. 736.