Russia | Kremlin against communists

Oleg Mikhailov is not a conformist communist. In his hometown of Komi, he is committed to the environment and minorities. Photo: Telegram/rkomivoice Russia's Communist Party (KPRF), with its 160,000 members, is still an integral part of the country's politics. In the parliamentary elections in September, the KPRF was able to defend second place despite significant losses. And this despite the fact that the party is almost entirely on the government line. The communists have supported the war in Ukraine from the beginning, and Gennadiy Zyuganov, Central Committee chairman since 1993, has taken a demonstratively servile attitude towards President Vladimir Putin.

And yet the KPRF remains a place for oppositional opinions. The Kremlin now seems to have declared war on them. In August, Nikolai Bondarenko, one of the most famous politicians, was charged with "spreading extremist symbolism." In his regional association in Saratov, Bondarenko avoided war rhetoric and instead brought social issues to the fore. His video blog is known nationwide. However, he was not allowed to run for election because he allegedly posted a photo of liberal opposition figure Alexei Navalny on social media. Even the intervention of Zyuganov's deputy and potential successor Yuri Afonin didn't help.

A month ago it also became clear that the KPRF continues to attract many opposition forces who see it as the only legal platform for their work. “Down with the Tsar!” (meaning President Vladimir Putin, editor’s note) and “No to war” were chanted by activists, leftists and even Yabloko supporters at an approved rally against the fraud in the Duma election in Moscow. 60 people were arrested. KPRF members also registered demonstrations in other cities. They are now being pursued by the authorities. In Izhevsk, Dmitry Morozov, who describes himself as a “democratic socialist,” was arrested for drug possession and was apparently severely ill-treated. Although not a member, he maintains contacts with the critical part of the party.

In the Komi Republic, regional party leader and former Duma deputy Oleg Mikhailov was targeted by the authorities. On October 21, he was arrested at a Moscow airport for “publicly justifying terrorism.” Mikhailov is accused of a post from 2024 in which he expressed solidarity with the socialist scientist Boris Kagarlitzki. Kagarlitzki has been in prison since 2023 for “calling for terrorism.” The sociologist had condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mikhailov has taken some liberties in the past. So he left the hall during all votes on war laws in the Duma. He ran his election campaign this year under the slogan “Peace for the world, tax money back to the republic.” As a former volunteer told »nd«, Mikhailov not only maintained good contacts with the social movements in his constituency, he also supported the environmental protests against a planned waste incineration plant in Schies in the neighboring Arkhangelsk region.

While the KPRF expressed positive views on Russian nationalism at the federal level, Mikhailov and his regional organization supported the Finno-Ugric Komi national movement. In the republic named after them during Soviet times, they now make up less than 23 percent of the population. Mikhailov campaigned for the right to use Komi as a language in the regional parliament and to make it a compulsory subject in schools again.

Yevgeny Stupin, who sat for the KPRF in the Moscow City Duma between 2019 and 2024 and has since been expelled from the party, explains to "nd" that the new wave of repression is intended to prevent possible negative reactions to the election fraud through intimidation. »Unfortunately you have to say that it works. In Izhevsk we managed to get permission for a demonstration, but after Morozov's arrest it no longer took place.

Meanwhile, even KPRF politicians who advocate increased repression, such as Duma deputy Nina Ostanina, have expressed their solidarity with Mikhailov. Disciplining the communists could well backfire for the Kremlin.

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