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Communist Party of the Russian Federation News of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov: "The pinnacle of domestic parliamentarism was the power of the Soviets." On April 21, the leader of the communist faction, G.A. Zyuganov, spoke from the rostrum of the State Duma. - Dear deputies, comrades, friends! The Speaker of the Duma just opened a unique exhibition, "120 Years of Russian Parliamentarism." I strongly recommend visiting it, carefully studying it, and reading the historical materials about the events it covers. This exhibition has been conscientiously put together and will be very useful to you all, not only as deputies but also as citizens. It will also be useful for your children and grandchildren. Because it traces the history of legislative power from the Tsarist Duma through the Soviet era to our current eighth convocation. I believe this is an important and symbolic step in terms of uniting the parliamentary corps. And this is especially important against the backdrop of the brutal war that NATO and the Anglo-Saxons are waging against the Russian world and Russian civilization. But I would very much like for the understanding of the history of Russian parliamentarism to be broader and not limited to just these 120 years. This is important for understanding the vast and remarkable path our country has traveled. I never tire of reminding you: there are about 200 countries in the world, but only a dozen of them have a thousand-year history. We are proud that Russia is among them, occupying a unique place in world history. You can count on the fingers of one hand the civilizations, peoples, and states that, like our country, have invented all forms of creativity—be it artistic, scientific, technical, or political. President Vladimir Putin constantly emphasizes that our most important task is to defend our sovereignty. But only two countries in the world have retained their sovereignty for 500 years—we and England. And only we have to fight, on average, seven years out of every ten years for the right to live in these vast territories, to be friends with whomever we deem necessary, and to speak our native language. Therefore, the main pillar of our statehood is collectivism, without which it is impossible to defend such a vast country. And it has been the foundation of governance since the very first days of our statehood. The Novgorod Veche is first mentioned in chronicles dating back to 1016. At that time, it was a local phenomenon, confined to Veliky Novgorod, which had emerged in the mid-9th century. But 120 years later, the Novgorod Republic emerged, stretching from what is now Russia's western border to the Urals. This state lasted for over three centuries and was the most democratic in the world. Its governor was elected by those nominated by the streets, who recognized their candidates as the bravest and most worthy. It was a remarkable example of popular representation. It was here that our parliamentarism, built on communalism and collectivism, was born, and these found their most vivid and complete embodiment in the socialist era, in the form of the Soviets. Following the Novgorod Veche, boyar and tsarist Dumas emerged. Then came the State Council, which lasted almost a hundred years. And then Nicholas II's decree establishing the Duma, which he signed under complete duress. After the 1905 Revolution and the crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, he first issued a manifesto declaring the Duma's establishment. But this document did not grant the parliament any significant powers. This sparked public discontent, which was evident even to Nicholas himself. Two months later, he proclaimed: "From now on, I decree that no law shall be passed without the approval of the State Duma, elected by the people." This was fundamentally important. But as soon as the people's representatives even hinted at issues concerning land ownership and spoke of how it should belong to the people, the First Duma was dissolved 72 days after its inception. The ruling class refused to allow even a discussion of justice in the land issue. A second Duma was elected. But as soon as it began to discuss the viability of the tsarist government, it was accused of plotting a coup d'état. It was dispersed three months after its first session. An investigation was launched against 55 deputies. Parliamentary immunity was lifted for 16 of them and they were jailed. Only the Third Duma, which proved the most obedient, served its full term. The Fourth, however, directly contributed to the country's descent into World War I and failed to cope with the situation. Today, the ruling party should reflect on at least one episode associated with the history of this Duma. It had six factions, all bourgeois. But even they recognized the impasse the autocratic system had reached. And in mid-December 1916, their representatives came to the Tsar and said: "Sire, the empire is falling apart, the army is deserting. A million have already fled the front with weapons in hand. Industry is grinding to a halt, transportation is in its death throes. We must form a capable government and compel it to work to pull the country out of the crisis." The Tsar agreed. But in the end, he proved himself to be a completely weak-willed man. Three days later, he was dissuaded, and he repudiated all agreements with parliamentary representatives. Open the newspapers of those years, including the tabloids, which are always hungry for sensationalism and the most outrageous forecasts. From January 1 to February 20, 1917, not a single one of them mentioned a word about any possibility of revolution. But in February, it was already in full swing. It began with a riot of hungry women on Nevsky Prospect. They ran out of bread, which had begun to disappear from sale amid the crisis. Then they stormed St. Petersburg businesses and literally drove the men out into the streets: go and do whatever you want! And the authorities responded by giving the order to shoot. But when society reaches the limit of patience, even shooting is useless. The Tsar realized that the people no longer supported him. He turned to the army. And 11 of the 12 generals he spoke to told him bluntly: if you can't handle this, if you don't know how to govern, then abdicate! What is the secret and grandeur of Leninist-Stalinist modernization? It is that it succeeded in maximizing the mobilization of society and lifting the country from the depths of crisis, from backwardness, to unprecedented heights of development. Lenin, without even having an army, assembled it from scratch. He built it on the foundation of the great ideas of brotherhood and justice. He put forward five astonishing slogans that a semi-literate Russia heard: "Peace to the peoples!" – when the country was bleeding. "Bread for the hungry!" – when every second person was starving and rebellion was already raging in every other province. "Land to the peasants!", "Factories to the workers!", "Power to the Soviets of Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Deputies!" This was the apotheosis of what Russia had been shaping for a thousand years, what it had been striving for for a thousand years. When the landowners complained to Peter the Great about many fugitives fleeing to the Don, he issued a decree—a very harsh one, as was typical of him: to return all the fugitives. The Don people gathered and sat in session all day. This was their parliament. It was this parliament that elected their commander and formed the entire system of government. And in the end, the Tsar received a single reply: there would be no extradition of fugitives from the Don. And none were returned. Even to sell a few hectares of land, the Tsar was obliged to convene a plenum of adult members of the royal family. To establish Soviet power, it was necessary to convene a congress, the Supreme Soviet, and commissions. And when the Bolsheviks are accused of allegedly excessive harshness, it is important to understand: in the conditions of war, in the face of the predatory intervention of Western countries, they had no other options. Congresses were never purely partisan. They were a union of party members and non-party members. They were a national representation. And today, as we go to the polls, we must remember: representation is only effective when it truly meets the needs of the people. During socialism, the Soviets reflected the position of every work collective and the sentiments of all social groups. But when parliamentarism becomes a fiction, a tool of destruction, it brings enormous harm to the state and society. Yeltsin should have been featured at this exhibition, too. They should have recalled the story of how they literally pushed him into power, using the Supreme Soviet as a platform, without hesitation. I was at that meeting, which took place right here, in the Hall of Columns. It began at two in the afternoon and ended at three in the morning. He was pushed through under the dictation of the Americans, who persuaded ZIL director Brakov and several other deputies to vote for Yeltsin. He squeaked through with six votes. And this had dire consequences for the country. It resulted in disasters whose fruits we are still reaping. We must remember how much our team, like Kharitonov, Ryzhkov, and many others, did in the Duma to save the country from civil war. We saved the country from fatal decisions that could have completely destroyed our independence and security. We even saved the Duma itself when, following the vote to denounce the illegal Belovezh Accords that dissolved the USSR, security forces arrived here on Yeltsin's orders, armed and armed with dogs. We didn't waver during the default, when the country found itself on the brink of collapse. We formed the center-left government of Primakov, Maslyukov, and Gerashchenko. Matviyenko also played a key role in it. We saved the country with virtually no financial resources. Gold and foreign exchange reserves were less than 8 billion, compared to over 700 billion today. And a barrel of oil was worth less than $14. We're doing everything we can to support Putin and his strategy, his policies. Yesterday, Kashin and his team dispatched our 152nd humanitarian convoy. It was everything that those affected by the disaster in Dagestan and the Chechen Republic asked for. It was everything that the border areas and the front, the soldiers, children, and the elderly needed. These are our wonderful traditions. We are all obligated to follow them in our practical work. But even in today's most difficult situation, you don't hear our arguments and our calls. When blogger Victoria Bonya speaks from Monaco and reminds us of the problems troubling society, the Administration declares that she has been heard. Peskov comments on her speech. But when we, at the epicenter of the problems, propose concrete solutions, specific laws, a fully justified and widely approved Victory Program, you choose to ignore it. Five thousand of our deputies, representing the entire country, signed a petition demanding an end to the unfounded persecution of our comrades in Altai. Let the faction in the regional legislative assembly function normally! Only after the third petition did the regional Duma in Lipetsk finally convene to read it to the deputies. And they did so with obvious reluctance, attempting to counter our obvious arguments. So, object, gather, and discuss! At the end of this week, we will hold a plenary session dedicated to the most pressing and urgent issues facing the country. And we will present it to all of Russia, to the entire world. Our program is ready. Our development budget is prepared. Our laws on the nationalization of the mineral resource base and strategic resources are in place. Their adoption is inevitable, no matter how much the oligarchy resists. Our laws on supporting children of war and large families have long been on your desks. Our rightness and the ability of our personnel to solve the most complex problems are fully confirmed by the unique experience of people's enterprises. It is confirmed by the successes of the regions led by our representatives. There, economic indicators are several times higher than the national average. The President recently convened the cabinet. I haven't seen such a sad and disturbing meeting in a long time. He should have heard from you, the representatives of the ruling party, why we are once again falling into a financial and production crisis. But he hasn't heard a clear answer to this question. And we have warned you repeatedly: at this rate, the economy will inevitably collapse. The first quarter was marked by a clear decline. And not a single serious expert today believes that even symbolic growth will be achieved by the end of the year. Everyone is declaring stagflation and recession. If you don't immediately take the necessary financial, economic, and other measures, if you don't fundamentally correct the course of action, then in the fall we could face what happened in February 1917. We have no right to repeat this! Therefore, we must take historical experience into account and make long-overdue decisions. Once again, congratulations to everyone on the opening of this wonderful exhibition. Best of luck! © 1993-2026 Political party "COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION"