In order not to miss the chance to increase the number of voters from among the students, with all the parties rushed to defend the rights of the students.With the support of the Russian students trade union association (RATUS) that decided to hold a rally with the party "Just Russia". It should be noted that the cooperation of RATUS and Just Russia has a long history. RATUS was created in December of 1991 year on the basis of trade union of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the chairman of the trade union was Denisov O.I, who became the undisputed leader of the association. RATUS is a famous organization of thousands of student protesters from the 90th, the amount of the members of the organization were more than 1 million people. Association with the declared independence in fact is under the control of FNPR. In the early 2000's RATUS even expressed their desire to join the FNPR formally, but the Kremlin are had other plans. Denisov was one of the founders and co-chairman of the Russian regions, which in 2003 was created by the initiative of the Kremlin's party the "Rodina".
RATUS was organized on a massive youth activities and ensured political loyalty to the students. Instead of services rendered Denisov was elected from the party "Rodina" in the State Duma of the IV convocation, and then a member of the Federal Political Council of the Party and the leader of the Moscow city party organization.
But in 2005 some changes were made in the “Rodina” as the result of the initiations of the part of the leadership and the leader Rogozin D.O. In the Early 2005 the “Rodina” criticized the monetization of benefits and the rest of the policies of the President and the Government, and earned the support of the population. Authorities' reaction was not longer to wait and the “Rodina” was repressed by the State and the party had been denied to release all the federal channels. Because of the ties, the ‘Rodina” and RATUS had got to Denisov and the nationalist youth organization "Young Russia" was founded in his own university in 2005.
As the Kremlin's next project, it was intended to be a political organization for young people, who are able to substitute RATUS to the event of its exit of state control. But this wasn’t happened and it had played a role in the split of the “Rodina”. Denisov joined as the newly former of the “Just Russia” party, where he took a high position member of the Presidium of the party Central Council. Thus we can conclude that it is controlled by the RATUS as the government student union, which exists to support the “Just Russia” and to create the appearance of an alternative structures to the FNPR.
Therefore, it becomes clear why the deputy edge Legislative Assembly from the “Just Russia” party by Volotkevich T.N is a concurrently and a Board member of RATUS, and the chairman of the Krasnoyarsk regional associations of the student trade unions (KKATUS), and until the mandate was the rector of educational work of the Siberian State Technological University (SibSTU). Using this situation the “ Just Russia” party members organized the round table, discussions and meetings with student unions and wrote the letters to the President and the Federal Assembly chambers during the winter and early spring of 2011 year. Also the Students' Union of Krasnoyarsk Territory (SUKT) whose chairman is Akman I.A and he also is the chairman of the trade union Students Union of SibSTU (the post formerly occupied by Volotkevich T.N) was active in this case. SUKT is an initiative of the Government of Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Union of Rectors for the association of student self-government and control over them. It is used to create the appearance of legitimacy management decisions on the part of university students.
The result of this work was the statement by the leaders of KKATUS and SUKT intent to join the interregional action by RATUS "Sorry Gagarin" on 12th April and hold a rally at Revolution Square to the objectives of which is the preservation of social guarantees students to previous amount. It was planned that the rally will attend 5,000 students. Got to know of planned action CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) and LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) that want to join the rally, but they were refused. Thereafter, they filed a notice of the conduct of its meetings at Revolution Square to appropriately 12 a.m. and 6 p.m. Then party members of the “ Just Russia” announced the postponement of the rally for an indefinite period and declare that a rally of students are not politicized and that students do not have to go to rallies of the CPRF and the LDPR, because they want to use the students for their political purposes.
11th April within the framework of the interregional action "Sorry Gagarin", miss Volotkevich T.N held a picket near the Krasnoyarsk Territory Administration. About the time of the rally the public has learned a few hours before it began, therefore, not surprising that it was attended only by students SibSTU working in the trade union or participating in voluntary-compulsory. At the picket, it was reported that the main rally will be held on April 19.Interparty struggle raged for a students and a progress was put into administrative resources. So the chairman of the Council of Rectors Drozdov N.I. sent a letter to the rector of the Siberian Institute of Business Management and Psychology Zabuga V.F with a request to warn the youth organization of his university doesn’t organize or participate in 12th and 13th April 2011 rallies and meetings.
Parties were able to answer only a banal bribe, since the representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party have promised everyone, who came to rally to give a ticket to a popular nightclub. But even these methods have not helped and at the rallies CPRF and LDPR were present at least nearly 100 men.
The Meeting
Nearly 600 students took part in the meeting at the Square of the Revolution at 2 pm of April 19. Most of them are students SibSTU, whose leaders are Volotkevich T.N and Ackman I.A , they were obliged to inform the trade or the headman of the group, that recorded them in his list. It can be assumed that participation in the meeting allowed students to avoid penalties (reduction of material assistance or problems with session) or vice versa to get a encouragement (exam or set-off for free). Also at the rally attended by representatives of the Pedagogical University, the University of Social, Medical Academy, Trade and Economic Institute, the Institute of Tourism, the Institute of Railway Transport, Institute of Business Management and Psychology and Law College. At the rally, there were no official representatives of the Siberian Federal University (SFU) of the largest university town.
The reason was the decision of the Students' Union of SFU to inappropriate joining students of SFU for this promotion. Decision due to the fact that all the students suggestions and comments to the bill were passed to the official authorities. But this is only a formal reason. The real reason for this decision is that the union SFU is under the direct control of the party "United Russia". Status of the Federal University requires SFU to be a bulwark of stability and loyalty among the students of Krasnoyarsk, but this can not be combined with the participation of students in the protest activities.
The rally turned out to be not very informative - it all started with a presentation of Volotkevich T.N, who explained the purpose of the rally. Next were 14 activists of the primary trade union organizations of universities and 8 of whom were from SibSTU. They talked mostly memorized phrases about the need to maintain social safety nets, few stated requirements of the introduction of tickets for students and the construction of sports facilities. It is noteworthy that there have been sounded urgent problems such as students a small stipend, the rising cost of education and the terrible living conditions in some hostels. After that the slogans were read are written on banners. All this was accompanied by loud applause and cheers. Next, read out a resolution that was adopted almost unanimously. At the end of the rally Volotkevich T.N said that the resolution will be forwarded to the President, to the Government and to the Chambers of the Federal Assembly if they do not respond, then she decided to organize a similar rally in September. The organizers of the rally announced the end of the rally and called on all expenditures 20 minutes after the start.
Social guarantees
We assume that the cancellation of the above social security will not be happen in the near future. This is confirmed by statements of the sponsors of the law, and some experts. Existing social guarantees would be included in the text of the new law "On Education in Russia", or the law "On State Social Assistance". You can also look at the history of the adoption of the law "On Police" at the stage of discussion, the text of the draft law contained a lot of negative innovations, but almost all of them are absent in the final version, which was accepted.
Cancellation of students social guarantees, of course could significantly reduce the federal budget, but it would have caused an increase in social tension and instability in the country. Such negative consequences are more unforgivable luxury for the ruling class in an economic crisis, especially in connection with the forthcoming of the State Duma and the president elections. It reinforced the high level of oil prices will keep short-term budgetary financing of social sphere in the same volume.
Those social security that exists now should not overshadow the true essence of Russia's peripheral capitalism, which can’t improve in education in any way, as it is not possible in other spheres of society. Motifs such unprecedented generosity of the state is not caring about its citizens and not the desire to protect their interests and pragmatism. State social guarantees can mitigate class conflict and preserve the quality of the labor force and prevent its criminalization to the end. Everything is still stable and the order of the system of capitalist production and distribution, and thus contributes to the main purpose of the bourgeoisie to the accumulation of the capital. But in the modern era, the decline of capitalism and the fall of the rate of profit from the state is less and less funding for social safety nets. Formal increase stipends, allowances and pensions are not comparable with the rise in prices and utility tariffs and in fact we have a lot of years have seen an absolute reduction of such payments.
Findings
This situation clearly illustrates the lack of independence of trade unions and it's dependence on the party and state. All these institutions are designed to maintain the stability of capitalist society and support the modern exploitative economic system. We can draw two main conclusions. Firstly, trade unions to related to the parties that prevents the mass protest mood and brings it into legal. Instead, the real struggle for their rights, students are offered a formal protest, safe for the bourgeoisie and organized by them. And secondly, students who do not have political experience and a critical perception of reality, under the pressure of administrative resource management universities find themselves embroiled to interparty squabbling on the alien for their bourgeois interests.
This will continue for as long as students aren’t realize essence and purpose of political parties and trade unions. Only then can we expect students to create a mass revolutionary organizations and carrying out the radical protests. And it will happen as the socio-economic situation will deteriorate and the Government and the Party and the legal trade unions will clearly show their complete of weakness and reactionary. Prior to this, students will continue to occupy a passive position and believe the promises of the state, political parties and trade unions.
Alexander Andreev by Union of Revolutionary Socialists
Link in Russian: https://revsoc.org/archives/6124#more-6124
