Capitalist Russia

international | anti-capitalism | news report Thursday March 23, 2006 13:58 by proletarian

For all you lovers of 'democracy' who celebrated the fall of the USSR .

Check out the series of programmes on more4 and gain insight into 'modern' Russia.

It's frightening viewing and proof that in Russia babarism has won the battle with socialism. Hopefully, the war isn't over

Facts about Russia:

- In the first six months of 2005, the Russian population fell by half a million;

- By the middle of this century Russia could lose up to half of its people, according to Russian government stats;

- Life expectancy for men is 56 years, the same as Bangladesh;

- Ten years ago, the life expectancy for men in Russia was 63;

- The World Health Organisation says that at a conservative estimate more than a million people will have died because of AIDS in Russia by 2020;

- Every other newborn baby is diagnosed with a disease at birth;

- There are more abortions every year in Russia than babies are born;

- Thanks to ill-health, 10 million Russians are infertile;

- A quarter of the population lives below the poverty line;

- Paradoxically, Moscow has more billionaires than any other city in the world;

- Although Russia's population is in freefall, they're still throwing people out. Thirty thousand Meshket Turks have recently had to seek asylum in America, having been forced from their homes in the south of the country by discriminatory laws and racist attacks.

listings of programmes at
http://www.channel4.com/more4/documentaries/doc-feature...id=43

Analysis of the left in Russia check out:

New period for Russia

Vladimir Putin’s draconian anti-union legislation and attempts to stifle the opposition have made life for the left in Russia extremely difficult in one sense - but they have also helped it to rebuild. Boris Kagarlitsky of the Institute for Globalisation Studies spoke to Tina Becker about the emergence of a new Marxist left

http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/616/Kagarlitsky.htm