Sergey Shargunov, chairman of the Just Russia youth branch Hurray! and member of the Just Russia central committee (left) with chairman of the central committee of the Communist Youth Union Konstantin Zhukov during the 6th congress of the CYU at the Izmailovo Hotel in Moscow, August 20, 2007.
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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Communists Turn Just
// Some young communists go over to Just Russia Party
The Communist Youth Union held a congress in Moscow yesterday, at which it was announced that the young communists are refusing to work with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and intend to support the Just Russia Party in the next elections. Their former comrades claim that the communist youth “are receiving a salary from Just Russia” and are “fulfilling a political order to create tension between Just Russia and the communists.”
The congress of the part of the CYU that is refusing to associate with the CPRF took place at the Izmailovo Hotel. There were 80 people present. They stated that the CYU intends to support Sergey Mironov's Just Russia Party because the CPRF is “in stagnation.” “Degradation is occurring in the party. There is no real communist party in the country at all that we could orient ourselves toward,” said CYU leader Konstantin Zhukov from the podium. He said that Just Russia has “all the prerequisites” for association because it “doesn't engage in demagoguery, but in real business.” “In the upcoming elections, we will work with Just Russia,” he concluded. The stage was decorated with red banners with poems about the Komsomol.
Sergey Shargunov, leader of the Hurray! movement, one of the youth divisions of Just Russia, was also present on stage. He stated that he would be “glad to be friends and work with Konstantin Zhukov.” “I am glad that Zhukov has enough courage and wisdom to understand the political situation,” Shargunov said when his turn came. “Unfortunately, there is nothing left in the Communist Party but empty rhetoric and political speculation. It is a structure that has forgotten the interests of the people.” Just Russia press secretary Alexander Morozov told Kommersant that “the party welcomes” Zhukov's initiative. “Just Russia is the center of attraction for leftist forces and those guys came to the right place. It is possible that they will become an official youth division of Just Russia,” Morozov said. They would be the fourth youth division of the party, which also works with Hurray!, Victory and the Justice League.
CKU was founded as the youth division of the CPRF in 1999. Until October 2003, it was headed by Zhukov. Then the party leadership decided to replace him with Yury Afonin, head of the Tula regional committee of the party. A month later, a congress of the All-Russian Leninist Communist Union of Youth, which Zhukov headed, was head outside Moscow. That organization continued to call itself the CYU, since its leaders had taken the registration papers with them from the party. The movement declared itself a supporter of the All-Russian Communist Party of the Future. That party was disbanded in 2005. They All-Russian Leninist Communist Union of Youth also declared its support for Gennady Semigin's Patriots of Russia.
Afonin, leader of the communist youth that remained with the CPRF, says that the communists “have lost nothing.” “That congress was illegitimate, because there were no representatives of the regional organizations at it. We warned then in advance and informed the Justice Ministry as well,” Afonin said. He also noted that “There is no one behind those who held that congress.” He emphasized that “All the regions are working with us and all our offices are registered to members of the CPRF,” which will hold its congress on October 28. Afonin aid that yesterday's event is “part of a campaign by Just Russia directed at drowning the communists.” “Apparently, they said in the Kremlin that they need a scandal so that they started talking about how everyone is leaving the CPRF for Just Russia. But there was not a single member of the CPRF at the congress,” Afonin said. Member of the State Duma from the CPRF Valery Rashkin agrees. “That are impostors. They are parasites on the real political struggle taking advantage of the elections!” he said. Rashkin also told Kommersant that the CYU of the Communist Party has also filed registration papers. “Those people are simply looking for financial support,” he said. Youth Yabloko leader Ilya Yashin also suspected a material basis for the political conflict. “Obviously, Just Russia needs to increase the tension in its conflict with the communists,” he said. “And those guys apparently receive salaries from Mironov to provoke clashes with it.”
Young Communists Fight Young Guards
A conflict arose between members of the United Russia Young Guard and members of the Communist Youth Union loyal to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in front of the regional committee of the CPRF in Moscow yesterday. The CYU members had come to support the Avant Garde Red Youth and their leader Sergey Udaltsov. About 30 young United Russia members arrived to hang a banners reading “To the Mausoleum with the hammer and sickle” and “Our flag is the tricolor” on the fence surrounding the communists'' office and to present CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov a history book. “The Communist Party is calling on us to return to the USSR, but we live in a different country. We have to refuse communists dogmas,” Young Guard press secretary Polina Orekhova stated. The young leftists resisted their efforts by throwing eggs at them, but were answered with fists. The scuffle lasted several minutes, until the police separated the opposing sides. The police tried to detain Udaltsov for organizing a riot, but were unsuccessful. There were no reports of serious injury.
Ivan Tyazhlov
Ekaterina Savina
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 21, 2007
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