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Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 09:01:31 EST
Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy
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Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy
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From: norma jo baker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: fascism in russian labour movement (fwd.)
Following is an abridged version of an article entitled "Russian Fascism
and Russian Fascists," which will appear in Russian Labour Review No. 4.
Subscription information for Russian Labour Review can be found at the
end of this article.
FASCISM IN THE RUSSIAN LABOUR MOVEMENT
By Kirill Buketov
The spread of fascist ideology in the Russian labour movement has
aroused particular alarm recently in trade union circles. The
advance guard of fascism here is the leadership of the
Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Russia (KSPR), which has
signed an agreement with the fascist organization Russian National Unity
(RNE) "to inculcate the Russian national idea in the labour movement"
(for a more detailed account of these developments, see Russian Labour
Review No. 3).
It is unfortunate that for all the tears which have been
shed over these events by the trade union and left press, there
has not been a single article adressing the question of why the
KSPR leaders lined up beneath the fascist banner. The fact is
that apart from the objective causes that have fostered the rise
of nationalist moods, there are also subjective reasons. The
latter include a widespread desire for a renewal and
radicalisation of the methods of trade union work.
Until recently, the economic situation in the majority of
Russian enterprises has not favoured a clear distinction between
the interests of workers and bosses. Both had an interest in
maintaining production, in saving their enterprises from total
collapse, and in opposing the government's ruinous tax policies.
In political matters, the directors therefore rested on the trade
unions.
Since the end of the first stage of privatisation, which saw
the bulk of enterprises transformed in effect into the private
property of their former managers, the bosses are behaving more
and more like owners, thinking first and foremost of their own
personal benefit. As a result, the specific interests (one could
say class interests) of workers in the enterprises have come to
be defined more clearly. The bosses are now autocratic sovereigns
in their domains, and do not shrink from any infringement of the
rights and simple human dignity of the workers. The old trade
union methods are inadequate for resisting bosses of this type.
Unions need to be able to speak to them in radical terms and from
a position of strength.
The old trade unions have become bogged down in internal
wrangles, and despite reforms to their structures, are continuing
to play the role of mutual aid societies in the enterprises. The
new unions are rapidly losing their authority, as they become
transformed into nomenklatura feed-troughs for so-called
"workers' leaders". Unions of both types are falling behind the
pace of events, and failing to address the new realities of
Russian life. And here the blackshirts appear on the scene,
telling workers: The main cause of the deteriorating situation is
foreigners and Jews! The nation has to unite in resisting them!
The interests of workers and employers need not be in conflict,
only employers do not always understand this -- the only force
that can make them act in the interests of the nation is the
workers!
Fascists are not in principle afraid of using any methods,
and they are quite prepared to talk to employers from a position
of strength, forcing enterprise directors to act as "social
partners". What is involved here is something very different from
the liberal "social partnership", which is sustained primarily by
demagogic appeals for friendship between poor and rich, appeals
which are issued mainly by the wealthy and which are liable at
any moment to collapse should the social activism of the workers
extend beyond certain bounds. The "partnership" of the fascists
is based on physical force, and therefore has greater chances of
success.
Here let us again turn to the KSPR. The largest union
affiliated to this organisation has about 2000 members, and is
active in the Severstal metallurgical combine in the city of
Cherepovets. Two other unions also operate at this enterprise;
these are the old reformed union with about 12,000 members, and a
new union which was set up with money from the AFL-CIO and which
has about 300 members.
The RNE became established at Severstal during a
strike that took place in the spring of 1994. The struggle
extended to physical clashes between workers and guards hired by
the management, and the strike committee was naturally concerned
about the methods to be used in the dispute and about possible
allies. In the criminalised conditions that exist in Russia, any
trade union work can be dangerous. "When we organised the
strike," one of the members of the strike committee related, "I
was scared even to step out of my home, the pressure on us was so
great." Trying to intimidate the workers, the general director
ordered searches to be conducted and checks to be carried out on
personal possessions. For this purpose he hired special guards,
whose pay was three times that of workers. There were cases when
guards detained workers even outside the grounds of the
enterprise. The plant was gradually transformed into a
concentration camp. These tactics could only be resisted from a
position of strength. It was at precisely this point that RNE
members moved into action, coming to the enterprise and helping
organise the stoppage in a disciplined fashion. In the process,
they handed out their propaganda. After the strike had been won,
the volunteer auxiliaries enjoyed increased authority. As a rule,
however, the sympathy for the RNE among the workers went no
further than this. Few workers paid any serious attention to the
RNE's ideology.
Fascism is thus taking root in Russia's trade union movement
primarily because of the impotence of the existing trade unions.
It is the general approach to trade union work employed by the
fascists -- an approach that could be summed up as "Think
radically and act decisively!" -- that is attracting workers to
fascism, not the ideology. The main task of the trade union
movement is to make this slogan its own, rejecting traditional
conceptions of trade union work if this is what the situation
requires. Only a militant organisation, employing the whole
political arsenal of democratic radicalism, can stand up to the
management thievery and arbitrariness that now holds sway in
Russian enterprises. But for the moment, sadly, the Russian trade
unions remain preoccupied with dividing up property, and with
publishing tirades against one another in the pages of the
newspapers.
Reproduction in any form may be possible only if credited to
RUSSIAN LABOUR REVIEW #4
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Russian Labour Review - Voice of Russian Labour
In North America, Write: RLR, P.O.Box 8461 Berkeley, CA 94707, USA
Call: Ph. (510)489-8584 Fax (510)471-4454
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