How Freedom Came to Russia

[@dorothydepth000]

I'm Russian, born in 1985 in Leningrad, USSR. And unfortunately I was born too late. I remember my school years in the post-USSR, "free Russia" when our history teacher brainwashed (yes, actively brainwashed) us into thinking that Tsarist Russian Empire was a magical place of honor, beauty, and prosperity (failing to mention that the vast majority were illiterate and deliberately kept in poverty). Then the "evil Bolsheviks" came and "destroyed our great motherland", and all the minor good things that the communists had done (equal rights to women and to all ethnicities, free education, free healthcare, free housing, you know, the really minor, insignificant stuff) would have been done by the Tsar anyway and irrelevant because "Stalin, gulag, worst than nazis". But the glorious Yeltsin's freedom reforms gave us the chance to regain "all that we'd lost". It sounds ridiculous but I was young and I bought wholeheartedly into the "glorious freedom-loving America", the "free market means free people", and the "we just need capitalism done right" bs. Despite the fact that gang wars were hapening all around us and dead bodies and burning cars were a common sight everywhere. To all the people who are saying that socialist education brainwashes people - no. Capitalist education brainwashes people. It took me YEARS to dig myself out of that liberal idealogical shithole that capitalism shoved me into. Thank you for this video, comrades! Workers of the world, unite!

[@jimtroeltsch5998]

Word, Comrade! It's interesting for me, a Canadian who is a socialist/marxist, to hear from perspectives who grew up in the soviet union/ post ussr. It's truly fucked up what happened with the USSR collapsing, not only because of the suffering it caused the russian people, but also other socialist states and the international left wing in general.Thanks for your comment.

[@dorothydepth000]

@@jimtroeltsch5998 thank you for your words of support, comrade! Yes, the decline towards revisionism and eventual illegal dissolution of the USSR was and still is a great tragedy for the world as a whole. It is also something to learn from, so that next time we're ready, more prepared, more knowledgeable. Stronger. Solidarity, comrade!

[@cranksetwrench]

@@dorothydepth000 why do you think communist russia collapsed in the first place? communism work in theory but in practice no it doesn't

[@dorothydepth000]

@@cranksetwrench the USSR had started to veer off the planned economy path in the 50s, due to the counter-revolution in the party. As a result, the CAPITALIST crisis of the 80s was one of the reasons of the USSR's illegal dissolution. (I say illegal, cuz more than 70% of the people voted to keep the USSR, but the "democratic" capitalist leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine said "f you" to the people and to the rest of the republics). And btw, if the first plane in the world has crashed, does it prove that flying machines are impossible? The USSR was the world's very first attempt at socialism. I suggest you look into how the world's first attempts at capitalism faired in history (spolier: they failed hard and feudalism prevailed). By your logic, capitalism should be impossible then.

[@pebblepod30]

No - I cannot agree. Brainwashing can be done for any ideology & and person. Brainwashing is a series of manipulative techniques which includes shutting down questioning or independent feeling, thinking & experience. You sound like you could try to brainwash your own young yourself with that attitude, not even realizing what you are doing. I recommend Steven Hassan and his BITE model for a non-ideological, non partisan, non-religious look at that.

[@hunterfinan7585]

"Remember, this video is about Russia, 1 of 15 soviet republics. It would take a whole documentary series to cover them all". Thats okay I'll wait lol

[@theriverthatflows98]

From Lithuania's perspective: The 90s were rough, marked with lots of crime, chaos and corruption. The early 2000s were more calm with the crime, most of the leading criminal organisations were either destroyed or went into hiding/underground. Late 2000s, early and mid 2010s were the biggest leap in living standards, as well salaries, possibilities and other good stuff. In short - we survived the 90s, held out a bit under very shitty conditions but now we live much better than we did under USSR's occupation.

[@ipoetry6572]

Finally, an honest and analytical review of Russia. I would like to add that the Russian population is highly lumpinized, but since 2016 it has seen an increase in the left-wing agenda in society. Independent Marxist circles are beginning to grow. The first independent trade unions appear. Sorry for the clumsy translation and thank you for the video. Your friend from Russia.

[@themarxistproject]

Привет из Соединённых Штатов!

[@kazundogouda1786]

@@themarxistproject Привет с Полшы!

[@hunterfinan7585]

Good luck comrade! Solidarity from the belly of the beast.

[@Octoberfurst]

We Marxists in the West stand with you! Stay strong!

[@renato7184]

Venceremos

[@saicarpkm2305]

An absolute tragedy. Heartbreaking

[@CostasCTS]

Amazing video. It is absolutely heartbreaking what brutality has been inflicted on the Russian people. Going over the events of the 90s, and seeing how much the people were robbed of nearly everything overnight makes me profoundly sad, and I can kind of relate, living in Greece. This is capitalism, raw, naked, bare, with no pretenses of "lifting all boats". The USSR did not fall. It was murdered in cold blood, weakened by years of market reforms and the introduction of private property. Even so, the USSR at its worst was probably better than Russia today for most people. As you pointed out, the choice increasingly facing Russia is socialism or barbarism, as Rosa Luxembourg would say. But given today's situation, I'm not so optimistic about them going down the path of socialism, and that goes for other countries experiencing unrest and class struggle right now... What do you think?

[@themarxistproject]

Honestly, by the time I finished this video I was feeling pretty down. Especially because the collapse of the USSR and post-Soviet liberalism had a direct effect on my family. It's a painful topic to have to deal with. Something that gives me hope though is the resilience of leftist movements. The Left was completely decimated by the 2000s and the official Communist party became pseudo-leftist. For a while, relative prosperity thanks to the oil boom obscured the many deficiencies of the country, making it hard for any real opposition to garner support. But now the oil boom is over and Putin's rule is waning. A number of small but active Marxist groups have sprung up across the country. There's also the recent success of a handful of Marxist YT channels, which have hundreds of thousands of followers. One of them just recently called for a coalition of communists to begin seriously organizing and agitating on the ground. The state (and the church) have spared no expense in producing anti-Communist propaganda, but clearly, socialism is the shadow of capitalism. Even if you physically exterminate every socialist from a country, socialism will return to the scene because it is the only real solution to capitalist problems. The Left in Russia has a long way to go. But that was very much the case in the early 1900s, and look how that turned out. We'll see what ends up happening. For me, the resurgence of real leftism is definitely a beacon of hope.

[@CostasCTS]

@@themarxistproject Let's hope. The difference with the Russian left is that they have done it before, and can do it again, and this time much better. What about Chile, Argentina, Lebanon, Iraq, Bolivia? Are there any strong left movements there?

[@themarxistproject]

Right. This is why, despite all the suffering and destruction, the collapse of the USSR can be a really useful lesson to learn from. The left can now analyze all the weaknesses and failures that ultimately destroyed the Soviet project, which will hopefully make any future attempts at building socialism all the more successful. Well, there are very strong anti-neoliberal currents there right now which definitely suggests the potential for a developing leftist movement, but I can't say for sure what the left looks like in those countries. The resistance to capitalism in has brought out millions of people, which is impressive and valuable moving forward. I think this new wave of protests has way more power than the post-2008 movements did.

[@hectorhernandez3132]

@@themarxistproject what are the names of those YT Marxist channels? I never heard of any Marxist channels surpassing 40k.

[@themarxistproject]

@@hectorhernandez3132 Вестник Бури (Vestnik Buri) just hit 200k. Константин Сёмин (Konstantin Syomin) has 400k i believe. Выход Есть is smaller but also good. Клим Жуков is more focused on history but does Marxist analysis/commentary videos as well.

[@LibertarianLeninistRants]

if that title wasn't satirical, you could have just made a video about the October Revolution with that title and trigger the libs xD

[@dreamingdeadgirls]

Not gonna lie I first thought the video was about the October Revolution when I received the notification.

[@Cd5ssmffan]

This title but unironically. rent is due, cashlet

[@rinkiakepapa5625]

When pizza hut and coke becomes more important than jobs and financial security , the country's downfall becomes inevitable

[@estacion7386]

To be fair, coke is sugar trap that is heavily addictive, i'm kinda struggling to don't drink that shit, but even tho it makes me want to vomit, i just take it.

[@christopher9727]

.. Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@PiotrChlebowski]

Great video comrade!

[@henriashurst-pitkanen8735]

A series of documentaries with comrades describing the history of the downfall of each of the Soviet Republics would be fascinating and would massively help to provide evidence of the barbarity of the collapse. Thank you for this video and the work involved in it. Subscribed.

[@christopher9727]

.. Only Jesus Christ blood can cleanse us of are sins come to Jesus Christ today Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void. The Holy Spirit can lead you guide and confort you through it all Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@theriverthatflows98]

Not all of the ex-USSR republics went into a "downfall". For example - all 3 Baltic states live MUCH better than they did under USSR's occupation. The 90s were rought, I agree, but everything after it went only in the good direction, resulting in us quickly approaching western European levels of living standards.

[@rushkovski]

Fucking heartbreaking. I was born in StPb in 1990. This hits home.

[@gaspi91]

We never realised what we had...

[@christopher9727]

No hope in going to the past come to the loving savior today Seek his Holy Spirit in prayer today he can give you peace confort and guidance today Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@PartyComrade]

There is this Russian Civil War White Army song, in which they sing "Free Russia will reborn". Well, there you go.

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Oh they're happy all right. The majority of the people are poor and starving while a small elite live in complete luxury, just like it was in the good old Tsarist days!

[@dogeyes7261]

"freedom for whom to do what?"

[@srobsonscosta8887]

This was like watching a true horror movie.

[@theodorobretas3326]

this is an excellent video. you have lots of top notch essays, all thoroughly researched. congrats!

[@siddgeir1312]

Liked the video, subbed for that delicious source list.

[@ErikaBell_Z]

From the title I was expecting it to be about how Lenin freed Russia in 1917, but the ironic title works the same too. Yeltsin and Gorbachev are two of the most evil men in Russia's modern history. I wish that Andropov would have been able to live long enough to enact his reforms, they were real reforms to modernize the USSR, not like Gorbachev's liberalization.

[@rurak2727]

At least half of Gorbachev‘s reforms were undeniably good. The CPSU held onto power despite free and fair elections, this is a sign of good reforms. Gorbachev wanted to preserve the USSR and provide much needed stability, which was ruined by Yeltsin‘s neoliberal and accelerationist shock doctrine

[@vadimk3484]

I dunno about Andropov... First of all, his personal angle is unclear - I've even heard of rumors that Chubais (who is indeed an absolutely negative and duly hated figure) was his protege. And second, many of the CPSU members that clearly played a role in dismantling the country and got rich in the process were ex-KGB. At least that's what I heard. Gorbachev, if you ask me, looks more like a wimp than an evil mastermind - I think his political impotence simply allowed the real predators to do what they did. I mean, he didn't even get a piece of the spoils - he didn't get to steal any state property and he was thrown out of politics right after being replaced by Yeltsin. And in the end, the role of individual people in this whole story is secondary, I think: the CPSU degraded into a bunch of old bureaucrats, democracy wasn't a thing anymore (and true socialism is all about democracy). If Yeltsin didn't exist, someone else would play a similar role. Don't get me wrong, the collapse of the USSR was indeed a catastrophe, but I think that the root cause is deeper and more complex than "some evil politicians decided to smash everything to pieces".

[@apestogetherstrong341]

those people were mere products. the foundation was laid in the 60s and Khruschev's times

[@matthewkopp2391]

Gorbachev’s failure was not protecting the country from vulture capitalists. But worker cooperatives created a liberalization of market socialism. This was stamped out by GHW Bush through Yeltsin. Yeltsin illegally dissolved the government. Gorbachev sin is naïveté of capitalists.

[@uis246]

Gorbachev was grossly incompitent, not evil

[@Andrew-pb6hy]

The more I learn about the Soviet union, the more I realize we were lied to about how "evil" communism was and how "good & righteous " we in the USA are.

[@sticklebacketienne]

The job of a government as far as I’m concerned is to provide as high a quality of life to its people as possible. By practically every metric, people in the US had a higher quality of life than those in the USSR. The stated intentions of the USSR are irrelevant, only the outcome it produced is. POSIWID.

[@redsickle5916]

Laughing at all the reactionaries who clicked on this video without realizing the title is ironic :)

[@Ma_ksi]

So like in Yugoslavia

[@djuradjuric7161]

The worst part about that dissolution is that our states are filled with such a degree of reactionary sentiment that I honestly don't think we'll be united as one for quite a long time. Such a tragic and senseless conflict.

[@borizbrzheev8048]

@@djuradjuric7161 Serbia and Montenegro under the Anti-NATOists were trying to reunite it

[@daha1214]

its so sad what happed to Yugoslavia. I just startet to learn a lot about Yugolsavian modern history and how good the people lived there. I think the good conditions under Tito are the reason we in west Europ do not hear a lot about it

[@ancan963]

If it weren't for Putin the entire country would have dissolved had it followed the advice of the West like it did under the Yeltsin years. Putin pulled that country out from the brink of destruction.

[@PoliticalEconomy101]

One of the biggest problems on the KZbin left is that MLs spend all of their time making videos about ML theory and the history of socialist countries and breadtube just talks about idpol. Dr Wolff only talks about cooperatives and David Harvey only talks about his completely irrelevant circulation of capital theory. There is NOBODY on the KZbin left talking about the most important issues such as liberal democracy vs. a socialist democracy and the plan vs. market debate. The KZbin left needs to start talking about these issues

[@themarxistproject]

I agree that adressing questions about political and economic structures of socialism is absolutely essential, and I would even agree with you that there isn't much of that happening on LeftTube. But everything you listed doesnt have to be mutually exclusive, there is definitely value in all the leftist content out there. I think the more we have, the better. I hope to do a video on planning vs markets at some point in the future. My "Future of Socialism" video kind of scratches the surface of socialist political structures, but I'll certainly want to make more content along that line.

[@Pridetoons]

Finnish Bolshevik talks about Liberal Democracy vs Social Democracy all the time.

[@-kadannalkoodu]

One word: Parenti I am desperately trying to find ways to share Parenti everywhere. He doesn't go into theory or even the application really, but the analysis is amazing; with his emotional and peculiar way of presenting his analysis he has changed me and apparently many others I have met.

[@shtefanru]

That's just unfair. David Harvey is a very interesting interpreter of Marxist theory and you need to understand the capitalism system to be able to criticize it so then you can move towards a socialist democracy and other kind of production system as well.. (With other mechanisms outside markets).

[@mafismathis8012]

@@themarxistproject please do more videos about china... and compare other communist / socialist countries

[@Alexalexalexalex226]

you also have to mention too that after the soviet union was disbanded the presence of the church became much larger, this is the root of a lot of homophobia in Russia today.

[@uis246]

Church was KGB's local office

[@theriverthatflows98]

Criminal codes in the republics of the USSR had an interesting article about a man's sexual interaction with another man. That isn't homophobic, isn't it?

[@BekKhamidov]

Benji sent me here

[@themarxistproject]

Welcome! 🙂

[@BekKhamidov]

Btw now I’m addicted to this channel

[@themarxistproject]

Glad to hear it!

[@Pridetoons]

Same here!

[@insane_troll]

It always seems incongruous when people call what was done "reform". The word "reform" is supposed to mean making things better, whereas this was extreme corruption. Calling it "market reform" is like calling what the Night King in Game of Thrones was doing "zombie reform".

[@emlillthings7914]

I may not really be a communist, but I certainly commend you for making really good content. Learn a lot, and do believe Marxist economics have a lot going for it. And this 3 year old vid is almost evergreen in it's analysis, and contributes a lot to an understanding of Russia that I was seeking. Thank you so much for uploading your work! As commies go, you're one badass commie!

[@ecIipsed]

Any update? ;)

[@dialecticalveganegoist1721]

Great video! ✊♥️

[@carlos_herrera]

Has anyone applied the method used in the Black Book of communism to count things like falling birth rates as deaths caused by communism to post-soviet Russia? Not that I think that communists and socialists should argue in this way typically, but it would make a handy rebuttal to anti-communists who cite that book: ' actually, using the same method to analyze post-soviet Russia shows X Millions killed by capitalism, etc.'

[@emanuelneagu14]

It hasn't been done specifically for Russia but for the whole world some people have calculated it and it's between 1 and 2 billion without those dumb methods of inflating the numbers. But yeah we should have a book with those methods of inflating the numbers and aim for 2 billion.

[@SMT-ks8yp]

Nah, they would say it was not real capitalism, it was because dictatorship, or something like this.

[@vicm5272]

This was great. Thank you

[@PoliticalEconomy101]

Jeffrey Sachs is Bernie Sanders head economist. And people think Bernie is a socialist LOL

[@vump5114]

State Socialism I’m pretty sure he’s just hiding his power level so to speak

[@ThePeanutButterCup13]

@@vump5114 still think so?

[@matthewkopp2391]

Social democrat always was. And social democracy still relies on imperialism. Look at Sanders in regards to war, you see a very spotty record.

[@Товарищкоммунист-э3к]

A sad story, of course. The first socialist state ended so ingloriously.

[@AtlantaBill]

Excellent! I wish I'd found it before now.

[@minhng7208]

Excellent research and report.

[@shtefanru]

Pretty good stuff (I say as Russian to a Russian), thou it'd be even more interesting to unveil the reasons of the fall of URSS.. I mean, what u said it's more or less accepted, at least in leftist circles, but what it's a rough topic of debates are the contradictions within the economy and the social and political system of the late URSS.. 80s.. I'd be like to watch a video on this topic.. It'd be necessary to make some parallels to the Chinese reforms and the likes.. The planning economy vs markets.. All this stuff.. And some comments to the new open possibilities for planning due to computers capacities So it'd be historical as well very contemporary to the debates about alternatives models of arranging the economy

[@matthewkopp2391]

When Yugoslavia at the same time went to GHW Bush for a loan one of Bush’s demands was to end all worker owned worker managed cooperatives. It was illegal to end them they were private enterprises. Bush insisted the same for Russia. In East Germany the cooperatives went to court and won, Germany already had a large cooperative sector. But the point is Right wing YS conservatives wanted to stamp out all socialism. Including market socialism which was one of Gorbachev’s liberalization reforms. The problems with central planning could have been solved simply by making certain industry into cooperatives which have incentives for productivity and distribution. Tax them if very very successful for social programs.

[@TexTalksSometimes]

If civilization collapses, this will have been the inflection point on that path

[@TheAndrew1987]

very good

[@mandarin1257]

Very interesting video, saying this as a Russian. Thanks. *nullptr sent me.

[@ComeradeVelaryon]

Good videos. It would be interesting if one day you complete the series and make videos of the other former Soviet republics.

[@nightowlorder2750]

Lenin is rolling in his grave . . .

[@matthewkopp2391]

But Marx isn’t. The contradictions of capitalism actually still increase. But Marx was not that great at understanding the finance economy.

[@emanuelneagu14]

@@matthewkopp2391 the finance economy was A LOT more different then than now. Today most money have nothing assigned.

[@emanuelneagu14]

@@sylvann7501 why kill him

[@какой-тоноунейм-ы6ч]

Author forgot to add quotation marks to word "Freedom."

[@branilavvasic9727]

25:45 Very sad picture.

[@lucasbonhommevazquez]

Lovely addition of Kino's Kukushka

[@numbersix8919]

Time for an update! Yes, it is time!

[@apestogetherstrong341]

Damn, I really loved Кукушка and Воскрешение, truly beautiful choice of music

[@TheLeontheking]

The most frustrating about this is how the result of so much struggle could be dissolved so quickly. It took a revolution against the tsar-empire, a fight against nazi-germany, a subsequent cold-war to build and sustain this union, and just a few years of mismanagement and reappearance of nationalism to end it. The soviet-union might not have been perfect by any means, but they were a large entity that offered an alternative to the capitalist mode of production. Now in it's place there's just another empire with a fascist leader.

[@peternyc]

This is an excellent video. Very valuable.

[@TinosNitso]

25:00 Nice map! 🙂

[@anemoiatrippin]

Ruslan Khasbulatov should have been president instead of Yeltsin.

[@blueberryjam698]

What goes around, comes back around. America will fall

[@waspwrap1235]

I would say, and I think many would agree, it is already. Slowly but surely. 😅

[@mEmory______]

So sad...

[@KerstinStigsson]

It was not a collapse. It was a counterrevolution.

[@scoopidywhoop7484]

It can be said that the 90’s in Russia was worse to the people than the Great Depression in America.

[@khrushchevscorn6459]

Thank you tovarish 🙌

[@anemoiatrippin]

Khasbulatov said Gaidar had many US economists in his ear. Of course the US wanted to break Russia down. There were 2 superpowers in the 20th century. Now only one.

[@TheLeontheking]

Old people often feel nostalgic about the world they grew up in, but for old russians this feeling must be extreme..

[@andresjimenez8520]

¿How can we read the sources in Russian ?

[@madeoutofguns]

Did not realize i was not subscribed feels good not to be alone

[@soggmeisterlasagnagarfield]

What is the name of the song that replays at 17:28?

[@ШЛЁПА336]

Siberiade

[@kevinsullivan9335]

Hey, do you know any good books on this subject? Thanks!

[@hibye7385]

Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti might interest you.

[@pietpanzerpanzer5335]

Good video but the source situation is just horrible. I would suggest making capitals and numbering them. Than if you talk about something show the realting source nummber on screen somewhere

[@willm200]

Comrade, what is your opinion on modern China? Do you support it?

[@themarxistproject]

Well, "support" is kind of a challenging word. My (very non-expert) *opinion* is that modern China is not socialist. I think there are some socialist elements present, and I'm willing to believe that a good number of Party members still hope to build a socialist society. Thag being said, many of the PRC's domestic and foreign policies do not reflect socialist values and I can't think of a way to frame them as necessary steps in the path to socialism. I recognize the Party has done quite a lot for the people of China, and even for many developing countries. I value the material advancements the government has brought for millions if Chinese people. But I don't care for the degree to which the country has embraced capitalism. There's way too much inequality, the economy is too marketized, the wealthy have too much power, etc. I guess I also appreciate China wrt its antagonistic role in the context of US global hegemony. I don't think that makes China socialist though, and it certainly doesn't give it a carte blanche to pursue damaging foreign policy. I'm a bit hesitant to make big claims about China because I dont feel like I know enough about it. I'm hoping to build a better understanding in the coming years though!

[@willm200]

The Marxist Project the way I see it China is a socialist state with a capitalist economy. The main contradiction they faced was not class contradictions, but between forces of production and productive relations. And their model has allowed them to greatly accelerate. I don’t think it will be too long before we see whether China holds true to its promise of returning to socialism. But if they were capitalist, or otherwise controlled by capitalist or proto capitalist interests like the late ussr, they would have seen the same fate as the ussr long ago. Like there were many times the Chinese government was almost overthrown in favor of a liberalized government, but CCP resisted, unlike the CPSU. To this day they have a tight grip on the capitalist class. In fact they will often arrest capitalists when they commit crimes or acts of corruption, something capitalist states won’t do. But we will see I guess

[@themarxistproject]

@@willm200 I can definitely agree with that. I will say this: I *hope* the Party is committed to socialism and I really hope it will do away with capitalism as soon as it becomes possible.

[@gmxealot6236]

@@themarxistproject Very wise comrade

[@VocalBear213]

@@themarxistproject damn, comrade, I love how you tell opinion and knowledge apart. Truly materialist. Care to talk in discord? A Video suggestion - "why can't we truly have a unique opinion?" (because the reality is objective, duh) Or "Leftist and communist - the difference"

[@gidrbridumarg3152]

Anyone know the name of that tune at the end of the vid?

[@fruitnoodles5141]

Has anyone watched the ushanka show? Even though sergei is apparently telling the truth, i can't tell if he over exaggerates some things or not, what is your take on the channel?

[@ovalgoatkid1340]

"that wasn't REAL neoliberalism"

[@hiphopmane1312]

good vid

[@gtenhave]

3:05 is that Fidel in the background?

[@smoke2730]

Yes

[@TheLeontheking]

It's interesting to compare old US movies to new ones. In old ones the KGB and soviet communists tended to be the villains, whereas in new ones it's the russian oligarchy (ie. capitalists). But to me it seems they still had more respect for the old soviets than for the new russian oligrachy.

[@C.A._Old]

*Democracy was lived shortly... gosh dang...*

[@jazzminlee8428]

... a whole documentary series on nebula???

[@apalumbo8585]

Great music

[@jarviskrugerwitts3033]

May I please repost this on a Channel and Use it's Clips ? I am trying make some videos about the failure of liberalism, neoliberalism, and capitalism in solving the crisis in former Eastern Bloc States.

[@mladen5140]

I believe if properly credited they'd be fine w this

[@andrewpaddock7560]

This is really interesting. History of Russia is not something you find much in, say, America. I never got much. I never know what to think of Russia or who to believe -- including you. Even I know that generations of propaganda has so muddied everything that I wonder if it's even possible to untangle the truth from it all. Even being able to believe in any Marxist project is hard, though I have no question capitalism ain't working. I think that's obvious to a lot of people to see. Still, I don't know how to think or feel about the Soviet Union or its legacy because I don't know if what I'm hearing is anit-Soviet propaganda, pro-Soviet propaganda, blatant nonsense and outright fabrications, or balance accounting. I want to believe what I see here. It all looks like it fits and makes sense, but with the reasons stated above, I don't know if I can. I'd really love to understand Russia better. Between what I saw here and also learning that the US and other Western powers invaded Russia after the Great War, it would explain why there is so much animosity on the part of the Russians towards the West. I don't know what to believe, and I don't know what to do about it.

[@dorothydepth000]

I'm a "random person on the Internet", but for what it's worth... As a Russian who survived the 90s, let me assure you that this video presents a painfully accurate picture of those events. I cried at how accurate it is.

[@H4mmerofD4wn]

It's too easy to feel in the weeds so to speak. I highly recommend 1Dime, who recommended Marxist Project and has an excellent video that dovetails this one well ('The REAL Story of Putin's Russia (Documentary)'). Also, I even more highly recommend is that you watch 1Dime's videos about Modern Monetary Theory. 'The Deficit Myth: The Biggest Lie In Politics' will explain from the inside out (i.e., economically) *how* capitalism is flawed, by, among many things, providing the perfect conditions for neoliberalism to take hold, because, as you would learn from early on in the video, capitalism was created by capitalists (i.e., the bourgeoisie) TO benefit them and them alone! In a nutshell, Modern Monetary Theory, which 1Dime applies to his reasoning in his video, is, from an economic standpoint, a testament to how flawed capitalism truly is. Lastly, I urge you, as he will in that video, to read the book of the same name, 'The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy', by Stephanie Kelton, former Chief Economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.

[@pad9x]

FrEeDoM 🥴

[@andreyche193]

Well, actually everything is not what it seems... I lived through it: I was 26 in 1991, so I remember it pretty well. It was a good time for me personally, for a whole bunch of reasons. But I was in a minority. Anyway, your "How Freedom Came to Russia" is so sarcastic: I like it! I remember another sarcastic joke from that time about "Russia's independence: nothing depends on Russia now"! And all that time the evil British-American empire was only looking to loot Russia and to stub it in the back! It took me a long time to realize that. But I was surprisingly years ahead of "general of KGB" Putin: he annoyed me so much with his "our partners" until very recently! I even thought that he would go down into Russian history as another failure: like that full Gorbachev and drunkard traitor Yeltsin... But thanks god I was wrong after all! Or I hope so!

[@pietpanzerpanzer5335]

The referendum to preserve the soviet union was not about communism but just the country. They made an inner concile voting weather the socialist question should be in the referendum and faild

[@Rubinrus]

While USSRs transition was designed in the US, the US itself never actually did anything in favor of it. There were quite a few steps that those exact designers were advising US to do but, well, US leadership decided not to. There were A LOT of projects, however, even when compared to Poland, US's interest in Russia was laughable at very best. The exact result was liberalism without freedom or democracy, with United States themselves actively supporting hijacking of any democratic institutes available within Russia. However, it isn't a problem that Russia was facing in 200X and to this day - it's the lack of economical rights. Your assets in Russia ARE NOT protected, unless they're affiliated with the state, so even if it was more than seductive to invest into a poverty-rigged country with already established logistic chains, large & high quality human capital and well-developed industrial base (conditions that were overshadowing China at that time), no one could afford the gamble. Literally nothing says that Russian state or associated elites won't simply steal your assets. There was one time when a British oil company was granted rights to dig out oil and refine it. And the result? - after the facilities were ready to open, Russian state simply said "actually, let's not do that" and boom, literally every investment of that company within Russia just vanished over one simple decision. It's not capitalism here at fault, it's the corrupt birth of the state itself. Instead of slowly moving towards a goal, new Russian state simply jumped off from a skyscraper, miraculously only breaking it's legs in the process. However, now it has to run in a race with those broken legs.

[@vophie]

What does the suicide rate mean?

[@twilightgarrison3671]

That the Country was so destroyed in the 1990’s and life was so miserable people checked out.

[@alexbalayants8490]

25:00 cue my sad tears

[@waspwrap1235]

The 90’s was an extremely disgusting decade imo regarding leadership, not only in the Soviet Union, but in the USA for their intervention, no shit, the USA always did and continues to do this stuff

[@JohnTrustworthy]

Watching this after the Oligarch Purges of '22 is surreal. It is like watching a fictitious horror story detached from our reality.

[@Layd36]

Worst part is western colonizers have convinced the rest of the world that they are the saviors while they still enslave our people and the condescending tone of westerners itself is frustrating and scary enough to think that their reckless system of capitalism is still claimed to be above every peasant

[@beangobernador]

freed

[@mohdshl9316]

❤

[@zurinarctus1329]

Russia may not be truly socialist but its spirit of socialism perhaps returned under Putin. He emulated what China and Vietnam did to consolidate state control over industries as well as the decimation of all liberal oligarchs. He attempts somewhat of Bukharin's philosophy as China and Vietnam currently practice. Putin's Russia even signed an alliance with China against the West as well. I think we may see a resurgence of socialist Russia when the conditions are right: Putin can't find successors, state control over industries is strong, the military-security complex is omnipotent, the nostalgia for Communism reaching all times high that Russian Communists can stage a comeback, and there is an economic miracle (likely based on selling resources to industrious China and Vietnam). Vladimir Lenin predicted that the final conflict between capitalism and socialism will be decided in Asia. This place will be the grave of capitalism, and his prediction is almost correct as almost all Asian nations now practice a certain form of socialism. Iran theocracy is strictly a socialist regime that state control through the Islamic theologians is very strong, and everyone is employed and insured. In Europe, we also have Germany practicing socialist policies that encourage the power of labor and trade unions. Socialism never left as it is merely being fractured and not Leninist.

[@emillybech3837]

How we lost freedom

[@kobajughashvili3444]

Go to r/Americassocialists, r/asiansocialists or r/europeansocialists to meet some solid Marxist Leninist Comrades. We’re trying to organize on a three legged stool.

[@VocalBear213]

Come to discord, comrades

[@Morgan_of_the_Maxilla]

European Socialists is a fascist hive that regularly advocates for unity with fascists and reactionaries against “degeneracy” and “Americas Socialists” is just Social Democrat idiocy but they want a bigger US flag

[@saikatbhattacharya8282]

USSR was lost in 1960s when rule of working class became rule of people

[@wiziek]

more like during first revolution

[@ntokozosibanyoni1421]

Watch Michael Parenti

[@jaynelson9385]

Fuck me I love this video

[@angus4202]

1995 the machine robs a train with the russian mafia

[@user-NeueFeuerLicht]

好

[@pietpanzerpanzer5335]

Oh expected something about the russian revolution of 1916

[@dangerousfreedom4965]

This definitely has a communist slant!

[@thatpandaz6094]

It's literally a marxist channel what did you expect?

[@Gnostic_Oppai_Enthusiast]

"for rent" You support landlords, lol.

[@YG-qn3xr]

How "Freedom" Came To Russia

[@karlthemarxist6806]

A very informative presentation. Further to the subject of de-industrialization of Russia, that is the MO of Capitalist "reforms" which opens the borders to the movement of capital. Paul Cockshott "The Contradictions of Capital Mobility" kzbin.info/www/bejne/fme5eYdtp72oe7M

[@TesterAnimal1]

“Degenerate into a fascist state”… That aged well. I think we’ve hit that time!

[@Katya_Lastochka]

No, you havent. Russians will never become fascist. They are fighting facist Kiev regime that worship Stepan Bandera and kill eastern Ukrainians for resisting the coup government. You dont have to like Putin, but Zelensky and his whole government are extremely right wing.

[@MM-op6ti]

Sachs, fiefer, zimmerman, hmmm

[@gofar5185]

the disintegration of ussr is a lose-lose... lose of the immature would be democratic leaders of russia... yeltsin & company... lose for the middle class who supported yeltsin & company...

[@GhostOnTheHalfShell]

Given current events, Ukraine? Or have you covered this?

[@mafismathis8012]

do a video exposing putin, if you can

[@hack2true]

:(

[@GD15555]

Make one how it’s leaving Russia.

[@Fortiowar]

1991