[Putinist]

Post-Soviet Republics To Unite Again:
http://english.pravda.ru/cis/2003/03/06/44126.html

Several Russian politicians believe that the USSR will be restored by 2007



It seems that the company spirit of the Russian nation is really strong: Russian people always have wish to unite with someone. So does the leadership of the country. Presidents of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan ordered to conduct the first meeting of the Group of high level for the issues of forming the joint economic space. Russia will be represented at the meeting by Vice Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko. As the vice prime minister believes, the joint economic space ideology comprises four degrees of freedom: freedom of the commodity market, freedom of services, capitals and labor force.

The presidents of the four countries announced their readiness to set up the joint economic space on February 23rd in Moscow. The final goal of the agreement is to establish the Regional Integration Organization. It was ordered to develop the agreement by September of the current year. This document stipulates the development of the coordinated economic policy on several directions, the balance of adequate laws, and the creation of the joint independent committee for trade and tariffs.

Russia has already announced that the joint economic space will be open for other countries to join it. Nikolay Ryzhkov, the President of the Russian and International union of commodity producers, proposed to start the formation of the joint economic space with the organization of the food exchange v most important goods for people. As it is mentioned in a special statement, ?the implementation of the mentioned program will definitely assist in the rise of the agricultural production; it will also provide the food safety for every country.

As it is well known, the current attempt to set up the post-Soviet economic association is not the first one. Back in March of 1996, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia signed an agreement to deepen the integration in the economic and humanitarian fields. The document should have helped to create the joint economic space in the four countries, to provide favorable conditions for economic development there and to set up the mechanism for the mutual strengthening of political and social and economic structures. The leaders of the mentioned four countries have conducted several meetings since that time, discussing different variants for establishing the joint economic space. However, the project melted away itself.

Since Russia failed to create something good with its neighbors, the government of the country raised another issue. In 2001 Russia started talking about a higher level of integration. It was decided during Russia-EU summit in May of 2001 to set up a committee ?of a high level for the elaboration of suggestions pertaining to the establishment of the joint European economic space. As it was said in the statement, Russia and the European Union agreed upon studying the issue of using euro in its trading and economic relations.

In July of 2001, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov offered the European Union to build the joint economic space together with Russia. The prime minister pointed out that the solution of that issue solely depended on the enthusiasm of European Union countries. However, European countries were not enthusiastic about it, while the issue of the Russian Kaliningrad enclave pushed the idea of the joint economic space into the background.

The today's integration system is more humble. The republic of Kyrgyzstan is no longer on the list, but there is Ukraine there now instead. However, Ukraine is the country, which is peculiar for its maximum resistance against integration suggestions. Prior to the session of the Group of high level, the Ukrainian parliament sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich. In the letter, Ukrainian deputies asked for an explanation of circumstances, at which presidents of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the statement pertaining to the creation of the joint economic space. As Ukrainian deputies claimed, that question had not been publicly discussed in the country, so a suggestion like that could not be upheld.

What will the new commonwealth look like, if it is eventually established? Pavel Borodin, the Secretary of the Unified State of Russia and Belarus assumed that the new commonwealth might resemble the USSR. As he stated the USSR might be restored again by the year 2007. The Soviet Union was an objective reality. Almost the whole post-Soviet space might be retrieved in the nearest future, stated Borodin.

According to the recent poll, which was conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, Russian people support the idea to integrate. As Russians believe, Russia should establish a joint state with Belarus v 35% of respondents, Ukraine v 28%, Kazakhstasn v 11%, and Moldavia v 9%. Eighteen percent of respondents believe that Russia is not supposed to unite with any country of the Commonwealth. According to the poll that was conducted in December, 32% of Russians would support the unification of several republics in closer unions, 23% would support the restoration of the USSR, while 15% would stand for a closer unification of republics on the base of the EU principle. Yet, thirteen percent of the population stands for the preservation of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the way it exists today. Twelve percent favors the idea of independent existence for all republics.

As far as the attitude to post-Soviet leaders is concerned, 32% of Russians sympathize with Alexander Lukashenko, the incumbent President of Belarus, 20% like Nursultan Nazarbayev, the incumbent President of Kazakhstan, while seven percent prefer Vladimir Voronin, the President of Moldavia. Russian people dislike Eduard Shevardnadze most of all (the Georgian President) v 44%. Twenty-four percent dislike Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.

MiK News Agency

PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov

Is this the time to say "I told you so"?

[Krasniy Yastreb]

Is this the time to say "I told you so"?

Say it in 2007, comrade. I'll believe it when I see it. Interesting article though. I'd like to see the republics re-unite.

P.S. I didn't know Russia had that many rivers, and they all flow South to North???

[Putinist]

Not yet guys.

[Berkut]

Well, it's about an economic agreement nothing more...And only 23% support the restoration of USSR And the restoration of Soviet Union (if ever) will mean the reestablishment of communism.

[blackbeard]

Thats great stuff , I hear the EU are bringing back the royal famaly of Poland .

This is all so heart warming isn't it , the most important thing no matter what is feeding the pesants so let's see those tracktors get built and those roads paved and the seeds sown for a new tomorrow .

[KurtFF8]

its talking about the republics reuniting but it never menitions it becomming the soviet union again or even socalist.

[Putinist]

I hear the EU are bringing back the royal family of Poland.

Where did you hear that? Anyway, they're all dead.

You know, before I discovered communism and the Soviet Union (at high school all we learn is Hitler, Hitler, Hitler, Holocaust, Holocaust, Holocaust, WWII, WWII, WWII, and a brief mention of Uncle Joe Stalin), I asked my great-aunt what happened to Poland's Royal Family. Her reply was; "They couldn't afford to keep them".

[Stipe]

---

there has been strong movements towards absorbing Belarus, but that is generally unpopular with the opposition to the dictator Lukashenko. There is considerable sentiment for reunion in Ukraine, but the Russian government has (wisely) written off any similar plans with Kiev.

---

[Putinist]

There is considerable sentiment for reunion in Ukraine, but the Russian government has (wisely) written off any similar plans with Kiev.

This I did not know.

Where did you get this information from?

In spite of everything I am advocating, I doubt that Russia and Ukraine will again become one. The central Asian states and perhaps Belarus yes, but not Ukraine and the Baltic states.


From the other thread in the Communism section:



Waving goodbye to capitalism in Europe!

[Adrien]

Who is the guy in the middle?

And on a side note, you should tell to our president your theory of the great deception and his role as a western leader, because i'm not sure that he knows that he is supposed to be socialist!

[Putinist]

Who is the guy in the middle?

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

And on a side note, you should tell our president your theory of the deception, because i'm not sure that he knows that he is supposed to be socialist!

LOL. "Supposed to be" is the key phrase there.

Golitsyn told de Gaulle personally of the deception, but he wrote him off as a nutcase. So did Reagan later on. Christopher Story once got to Margaret Thatcher herself - this was in 1990 as soon as the Soviet Union was already showing signs of going. She too dismissed him, despite having a listening ear prior to that. "I sure hope not", she said upon Story's presentation waring to her.

[Adrien]

Such reactions are understandable, especially when you try to sell this conspiracy theory to right-wing leaders or morons (that is to say Reagan and Thatcher hehe). I remind you that even here some of your fellow comrades, me included, have trouble believing you.



Well, as long as you don't truly think that Jacques Chirac will turn out to be socialist, you're note completely insane yet..

[Stipe]

Kuchma won the presidency through a resurgence of pro-Russian sentiment in the country. I don't believe any unification plans were ever formally introduced like has been the situation with Belarus, especially since the Ukrainian national identity is quite a bit stronger than the Belarussian. Russian authorities have been keen not to capitalize on that because of the conception of a resurgent Russian imperialism and the likely ethnic backlash that would result later.

[Putinist]

Well, as long as you don't truly think that Jacques Chirac will turn out to be socialist, you're note completely insane yet..

Monsieur Chirac is another Blair or Aznar - he has all but abandoned his socialist roots. People like him are socialist in name only. At least that's one thing that Britain's Arthur Scargill gets right; when he says that "the Labour Party have abandoned socialism and embraced capitalism".

Only one key European leader do I still hold in mind as being a true leftist - Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

[Adrien]

Come on, I can accept that for Blair it would be coming back to his roots (i don't know from which party Aznar comes) but Chirac never was a socialist, from the beginning of his political career he was a good old rightist!

So, if Lionel Jospin did forget his leftist roots in his last run, our president never had any..

[RedCommunist]

I knew I heard this somewhere. Thank you for the information I needed.

[Putinist]

http://www.PoliticsForum.org/forum/view ... hp?p=13566



It may be too early to pop open the champagne yes, but I would put the bottles on ice.

[Yeddi]

I still fail to see how the Soviet Union returning in a flurry of war could possibly be good for the world. I'll drink my champagne now and drink many toasts to peace in the world, and against any threat like this from occuring.

[CrazyPete]

It's Jean Chretien He is definitly not waving good bye to capitalism. Infact only because he is obsessed with finding a legacy is he reinstating many social programs (as many as he can) on a national level. In reality Canada will begin a descent into the depths of the right after the old PM is gone next year. Whether it is Martin or a different party Capitalism is here .. for now

I am with Yeddi. I do not see the CCCP being reborn in the sense that it was before, perhaps a Chavez-ist government but definitly not a Soviet style junta.

[Comrade Brutus]

Can anyone tell me what came of the Commonwealth of Independent States?