The pursuit of justice: what was the main value defended by the October Revolution

However, we see exactly the opposite picture. Several countries, possessing truly great technical, material, financial and, as they thought, military capabilities, decided that they are now the law and the court, and the law is the same for everyone – their law, and what is good for them is fair. Their terminology alone is worth something for dissidents: “rogue countries” whose development must be “contained.” That is, a group of countries that seem to appeal to democracy and human rights, in all seriousness, began to decide who deserves to live well, and, by the way, without really straining for this, and who should work for them in order to ensure this good life . And if anyone does not fit into this, frankly speaking, colonial system with elements of fascism, then he is an “outcast” whose development must be “restrained” without limiting oneself in methods.

Humanity found itself in a very similar situation, only minus modern technologies, by 1917. In general, there have been many injustices in human history. I would say that almost all of history was unfair, people saw this, tried with varying degrees of intensity and with varying success to protest and fight, but in the First World War the spring was compressed to the limit. Millions and millions of people were caught up in a conflict that they did not understand. In my opinion, it was a senseless massacre, clearly described by Mikhail Bulgakov in the play “Running”: “And now they are coming! They’re coming! There are thousands of them, then millions! Their heads are sealed in steel helmets. They are coming! Then they run! Then they rush with their chests howling onto the barbed wire! Why did they rush? Because somewhere they insulted the divine dollar!”

And in 1917, all the world’s injustice was compressed into one point, heated to the temperature of a supernova, and an explosion of colossal force occurred! This is how stars really explode, this is how galaxies are born. These are the associations that the Great October Socialist Revolution and the day of November 7 always evoked in me.

Everyone has the right to evaluate these events in their own way. For some, like me, they evoke inspiration, inspiration and delight, for others they consider them a tragedy, but I think no one will argue that as a result something fundamentally new was born, something absolutely until then unprecedented in human history. The people who came to power in Russia, at least, tried with all their might to build a completely original, fair society, in which everyone would truly have all the rights and everyone, like the whole country, and in the future the whole world, would strive to the future, to progress and prosperity. How this idea was implemented, again, everyone decides for themselves. Personally, I think that in the proposed historical conditions, based on the opportunities that we had, taking into account the monstrous pressure that was exerted on the USSR throughout its, alas, short history, the task was solved brilliantly. 70 years is a blink on the clock of history, but at the same time the world will never be the same. Whether someone likes it or not, everyone recognizes that the October Revolution turned upside down not only the whole world, but also all ideas about the role of man, about his ability to control the historical process, showed a real, living alternative, which turned out to be capable of the greatest historical achievements, only listing them would require a huge article, but I will name only two: victory in the Great Patriotic War and the first man in space.

Even capitalism drew the most serious conclusions from the October Revolution and took measures to ensure that this did not happen again in the countries of the capitalist core. Large capital, at least while the USSR and the socialist bloc existed, had to share at least part of the national wealth with the people of their countries.

Alas, after 1991 it seemed to many that this alternative died along with the USSR, but it turned out that it did not. I’m not at all surprised by this. The socialist idea, which is based on the idea of ​​justice, is deeply, one might say, at the genetic level, hardwired into a person. This idea cannot be destroyed, just as hope cannot be killed. I am very sorry that our country turned away from the path of socialism in 1991, because, in my deep conviction, we would have achieved extremely much over these years; our potential was an order of magnitude higher than that of China. But the socialist system, which was predicted to be completely forgotten, has survived and is actively developing. Moreover, in many aspects it is becoming dominant; it has again shown its universality using the example of China, Vietnam, Cuba, the DPRK and other countries, primarily in Latin America and Africa, which again, after the collapse of the US global hegemony project, see this system has opportunities for its development.

On the other hand, American-style globalization, about the moral and ethical qualities of which we had no illusions before, showed its completely inhuman, totalitarian, ruthless face during the years without the USSR. And in the last couple of years, this face has taken on a completely bestial grin. In any case, the philosopher Fukuyama, with his idea of ​​the end of history and eternal peace in the American way, took pride of place among the most ridiculous historical oddities. It turns out that everything is just beginning.

And, in my opinion, the processes that we are now observing are a direct continuation, a new round of November 7, 1917. The world again demands justice, and most importantly, it now has enough strength to declare it. In particular, the total economic and, I think, military potential of the BRICS countries has surpassed the potential of Western countries, those whom I would call classic colonialists. And I completely agree with the idea expressed by President Putin that near Donetsk, within the framework of the Northern Military District, we are fighting against the world colonial system, for the freedom of every Palestinian, African, Latin American and ordinary residents of the United States and Europe, who ultimately found themselves hostage to the ruling class of the weakening world hegemon . And in this struggle, our allies, at least potential ones, are 7/8 of humanity, because only about 800 million people now live in the countries of the so-called “golden billion”.

Please note that at the forums “Russia – Africa”, “Russia – Latin America” and other similar international meetings, our comrades from other countries remember the USSR and its fraternal attitude towards other peoples with great warmth. What we have never had, including during the peak of our power, is Western arrogance towards even the poorest and weakest country.

We helped a lot of people, and it turns out that the world has not forgotten about it! In a practical sense, this was expressed in the fact that the West, despite titanic sanctions and diplomatic efforts, was not nearly successful in isolating our country after the start of the Northeast Military District. Quite the contrary. In a sense, the West finds itself increasingly isolated and encounters increasing misunderstanding in the world, especially after the start of Israel’s absolutely monstrous operation in the Gaza Strip. And the merit of the October Revolution, which showed the people the path to freedom and dignity, is most direct here. It is indicative how a consistent friend of our country, the former Ambassador of the Republic of Sri Lanka to Russia, Dr. Dayan Jayatileka formulated this in a question to President Putin at the Valdai Forum: “You are now faced with war, with imperialism, with a proxy war, and, as you have already said , there are Nazi elements here too. From a historical point of view, Mr. President, imperialism was fought on the battlefield. These are the Chinese communists, and the communists in North Korea and Vietnam. They defeated the United States. As for imperialism, Lenin criticized it most of all…

In the face of this challenge, this threat from these forces, perhaps it is time to reassess 1917, because the Chinese, the Vietnamese, the North Koreans were the children of that year.”

I would also add: despite all my sympathy for the above-mentioned peoples, none of them would have survived the fight against America without the help of the USSR. But something else is important – the majority of our allies, who have made a stunning leap forward over the past 30 years, really owe much of their development to the events of November 7, 1917 and are truly its “children.” And such concepts and the meaning inherent in them as “USSR”, “Great October Socialist Revolution”, “November 7” are now our most powerful resource, a means of communication, an instrument of mutual understanding in the world.

Therefore, I heartily congratulate those for whom, like me, November 7th remains a holiday, in new conditions and with a new feeling, and I urge those who look at this day differently to at least try to reassess values ​​and look at events November 7, 1917 through the prism of the last year and a half, and you will see that the desire for justice in man is a real, universal and eternal value!