Note that Remi Meisner (noted below as “M”) is often talking sarcastically to say what cannot be said legally.
35:43 — 54:35
J: If we compare our two political regimes - Russian and Ukrainian (both can not be called progressive, both are right-wing conservative to one degree or another), - what do you think, from the point of view of a communist, can we choose from among them a more preferable regime?
M: No.
J: Do you mean that it is equally convenient and safe for a communist in the Russian Federation and Ukraine to spread agitation and propaganda?
M: A communist should see the process, not just a single moment. And it is quite obvious that what is going on in Ukraine will happen in Russia with a lag of about five years. Now we have almost exactly the same situation as in Ukraine in 2015. And by the way, Europe is following us. Some communists go to the other extreme: "But Europe is more democratic. So, probably, it will be cool if it conquers Putin's Russia" But no, comrades, that will not be cool, because Europe, despite the fact that it is a little more democratic - just a little - but all this is heading into the same garbage dump where we all are going. The entire capitalist world is heading towards fascism. This is a process, and it cannot be said that we will choose, like, the third carriage on this train, because it is further away from the locomotive, which means that it will arrive in fascism a couple of minutes after the first and second. That's what I think, dear comrade.
J: If you look at Russia in 2010, then, applying your logic, it could have been said that by about the year 2012-2013 Russia would be completely fascisized, because then all sorts of "Russian marches" were blooming in our country. We had a lot of fairly serious neo-Nazi, National Socialist organizations.
M: These were vile police entrapments created to lure dumb youngsters and then frame them as evil terrorists, getting pretty good awards.
J: But you are now arguing based on afterthought. If we had sat and discussed this exactly 10 years ago, then we could use the example of these organizations to say with confidence that in 2-3 years we would be like Ukraine in 2022. But nevertheless, this whole gang was dispersed, and here we ...
M: And here we have Wagner!
J: And here we heard of the attack on the Bryansk region …[* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Bryansk_Oblast_attack]
M: Yes, by the way, comrades! I just can't get my head around it! Who carried out the attack? We have plump herds of policemen walking back and forth, all well-fed, newly uniformed, wearing ankle boots, with machine guns. We have cameras on every corner. A special law was passed to tap everyone's phone. And what was all that for? To keep you safe from terrorism, dear citizens. "You don't want it to be like in Budyonnovsk?" [* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budyonnovsk_hospital_hostage_crisis] And what do I hear today? They discuss on TV that in Bryansk it was just like in Budyonnovsk, just like Shamil Basayev did. [* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamil_Basayev] And I think, yes, there really is something in common. In the same way, just like Shamil - a former GRU man, by the way - what a coincidence, for some reason it was he who became the main terrorist - in the same way, somehow a whole gang came in trucks, bristling with assault rifles and machine guns, drove, did, what they need and drove away. Oops! Well, it's okay, it was the nineties, there was devastation, chaos ... But now they have put things in order here! And that is what the order looks like! The daughter of the famous "philosopher" was killed... And who killed her? Ukrainian saboteurs! They feel at home here, as it turns out, wandering this way and that. It turned out that the Yarovaya law [* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarovaya_law] and other stuff, comrades, are not aimed at Ukrainian saboteurs. It turned out that it aimed at something else, a little bit different. And now, by the way, we can’t even say what it is aimed at because we now have a presumption that our authorities are infallible. Now we are obliged to believe not only that our bosses want the good for us, but also that the bosses achieve this in the most effective, best way.
J: Who attacked the Bryansk region? Their identities were also established there. Have you read the news about this?
M: I didn't read. As for me, quite enough that it has happened. And, whatever they may say, whether these were Ukrainian saboteurs, or someone local, in any case, a big hello to our security services. You earn your keep!
J: So, I'm reporting. They were natives of the Russian Federation, belonging to Russian fascist organizations, who had left Russia in 2014-2015 because criminal cases had been brought against them here. So, how come the Russian fascists are fighting not for Russian troops, but for Ukrainian ones?
M: You’d better tell me how come the police were arresting two busloads of people around the monument to Taras Grigoryevich Shevchenko, while, as it turns out, terrorist gangs were seizing houses? How did this happen? How come we have bookstores full of books by Rezun [* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Suvorov] , Radzinsky [* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Radzinsky] , all sorts of the Nazi scum like Ilyin, this batshit-crazy Dugin, 800 rubles per volume. How did it happen? Yes, how come we suddenly began to foster nationalisms, and religion on every corner, and, a generation later, it turned out we have either fascists or some kind of fanatics. And it turns out that our lovely authorities must now kill everyone for the sake of our peace of mind, otherwise we will be restless. Yes, our authorities spawned them, and now our superiors will kill them, or even better, will give us machine guns to kill them. Oh, my love for our superiors is just breathtaking. Sorry, comrade, I couldn't help it.
J: As for the question of the effectiveness of the work of the border services and the local police, I am hardly the person to ask.
M: I don't mean you, comrade. Not at all, what are you talking about!
J: You were just asking why, so I thought it is up to to me ... Okay.
If you do not see the difference in political regimes, in matters of fascism, how come Russian Nazis are fighting for Ukraine against Russia? Why do they do it? Why did they leave for Ukraine?
M: I have no idea!
J: So I can answer: because in Russia criminal cases were brought against them.
M: The main Nazis are not in [—] battalions, but somewhere else, and they have a higher rank than a colonel - that's who the real Nazis are. And those whom you are talking about are not Nazis, but dumb youngsters, they can be found everywhere. Those who shoved mops up prisoners' asses in the Saratov prison hospital, who are they, what Nazi group did they belong to? [* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/08/i-was-always-scared-inmate-who-exposed-systemic-russian-prisoner-abuse] When a man in Kazan - a petty thief - was stuffed with a bottle of champagne in the ass so that he was torn apart [ __ ] and died - what fascist organization did they belong to? [* https://www.businessinsider.com/dalny-kazan-champagne-bottle-police-rape-sergei-nazarov-2012-3] Maybe they were led by Tesak [* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Martsinkevich] or someone else? No! Those who say: “I came to protect white children born on Slavic soil,” who are they, what does this mean? What organization are they from? Oh… Excuse me, comrades!
J: Is the definition of fascism based on sticking a bottle up someone's ass based on Dimitrov's ideas, or is this another newer definition? [* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Dimitrov
Dimitrov: "Fascism is the power of finance capital itself. It is the organization of terrorist vengeance against the working class and the revolutionary section of the peasantry and intelligentsia. In foreign policy, fascism is jingoism in its most brutal form, fomenting bestial hatred of other nations... "]
M: Wut? Ah, no, it is by no means fascism! This is a manifestation of bourgeois democracy. Well, Dimitrov would have kissed Putin and Prigozhin, bro! Fascism is a swastika! In short, if someone draws swastikas, this is fascism. By the way, our prisoners are covered with swastikas. They have tattooed swastikas - this is an alternative to the eight-pointed asterisk. So you can come to our prison and see: there are so many people tattooed with swastikas from head to toe, but at the same time they are not fascists. They, perhaps, will even say bad things about Hitler. Fascism, in fact, is when the bourgeois rule without democracy. That's what fascism is, to put it very briefly.
J: Well, about ruling without democracy: we have comrade Syomin in our country, who has 700.000 subscribers, and is quite popular. There is comrade Meisner, who also loves to make all sorts of videos, to talk about communism.
M: So, I say that just to have something to say, oh my God! I'm not against anyone or anything!
J: Okay, but why are there no similar comrades Syomins and Meisners in Ukraine, what do you think?
M: I don't know. Aren't there? I'm not very interested. Even here, I don't know anyone. And now, a lot of our people write to me from there ...
Ah, I got you, I got your idea! Our dear master is so kind, unlike our neighbors' master, who can instantly hit you on your head just for a portrait of Lenin! But as for our master... Freedom! If you want a portrait of Lenin, hang it at home, and let it hang, and no one will say a word to you. Of course, you can't go outside with it. They will approach you right away, and ask, however, not in a fascist way, but in a bourgeois-democratic way, in a fatherly way: “Why are you organizing an illegal rally here? Hide your portrait.”
J: I suppose that can be said even if you have any other portrait, not only that of Lenin.
M: Yes, I agree. I don't know if they will ask about a portrait of Stolypin or not.
J: I don't think the cops really care. They don't really understand.
M: Nicholas the Bloodthirsty shot down even the procession, where his portraits and icons were carried.
J: F*ck Nicholas.
M: Amen.
J: What do you think, a person who wants to propagate communism in Ukraine on the same scale as Syomin, will it be safe for the person to do it there?
M: I already said: our dear master is very kind, much kinder than our neighbors' one. And if he does not deign to hit us on the head for propaganda of Marxism, will we really be so ungrateful that we will be plotting something against our good master? However, they can say that somehow five years ago we could discuss more topics in a conversation, and 10 years ago even more. And somehow it shrinks more and more, and the tendency is that it won't be permitted to say anything at all.
J: I don't know. As far as I'm concerned, communist conversations haven't changed at all for a decade. What you discussed 10 years ago, or is being discussed today, the same thing will be discussed in 10 years.
M: Okay. I don’t leave the apartment at all, dear comrade, I hardly know what’s going on. I just heard from rumors that it seems like they've put a bit of pressure lately. But if you say "no", then I do believe so.
J: So you still think that at the moment a person of communist views who wants to promote communist ideas ...
M:... must kiss Putin's hand.
J: No, he must not kiss anything to anyone.
M: How so? It depends on how zealous they are! Excuse me, but what if someone wants to? If someone wants to thank Putin for anti-fascism, why can't they kiss his hand?
J: Can a communist choose among these two regimes one more preferable?
M: To spread communist ideas, some communists chose NATO countries, drove off to promote communist ideas from there. They decided that it was better there than in Mother Russia.
J: It's better to hide from the mobilization there.
M: Basically, I expressed my opinion, dear comrades: our bosses are obviously good, so, honor and praise to them, and thanks to them. Here, our comrade does not want to kiss master's hand, but I believe that a zealous patriot could kiss. And it would be okay! And it wouldn't break your face to kiss, our masters' hands are always clean, wiped with some kind of antiseptic. In general, it's okay. Our good master is so kind: you may say whatever you want, although you can’t call for a revolution, of course.
J: Comrade, I really appreciate your sarcasm, but what about the answer to the question: yes or no?
M: No sarcasm. I told you, our bosses are kinder, and we should kiss their hands for how kind they are. Besides, if our good master, after he allowed us to propagandize Marxism, says: "Go, kill someone over there," - we must, simply must jump up and run. It seems to me that every reasonable person will agree with me that for such kindness, if the authorities do not forbid us, we will show black ingratitude and simply disgrace ourselves as communists. This is my opinion. It doesn't have to be correct. Maybe I overdid something. Maybe, in my zeal for the authorities, of course, I went too far, but here it is better to go too far than not to go too far, it seems to me, dear comrades. Moreover, the authorities manage us so effectively, so well. You know, Vladimir Vladimirovich defeated world terrorism, he defeated our internal oligarchs, he defeated poverty, he defeated diseases, and now he has yet to defeat fascism, and that's it - such a life will come that there is no need to die. Right? Life is getting happier every day. It has become easier for us since 2020. We have just got used to it - bang! - 2022, and it has become even cooler. This is good. Our superiors are wise, just, and Orthodox - this is important. So go ahead, follow him! Rally around and to the front.
J: Well, the answer to the question is yes or no?
M: What is the question? I've been talking for so long that I forgot.
J: Can a communist of the two current warring regimes choose which one is more preferable for promoting communist ideas?
M: I don't understand you, comrade. I told you three times: communists not only can but must do it! They must! They are obliged to see how kind Putin and Kadyrov are, simply obliged. If they do not see this, they are either blind, or idiots, or enemies of the people. My answer is they definitely must! And my answer is, by the way: why are we talking about two regimes? Let's call them fascist Ukraine and Putin's democracy, and immediately everything will be clear. Definitely, all the communists should prefer our dear Vladimir Vladimirovich to all other regimes. However, according to this logic, it turns out, for example, that France is more democratic in Russia, and then, in theory, should we support the NATO bloc? But no, they are not Orthodox.
Or maybe a counter question, it just popped into my head: if we follow this logic, shouldn’t we then, if Putin is attacked by someone more democratic than he is, prefer the attacker? For example, if in another country they can organize a rally in the street, and we can't?
J: In the event of an attack by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, I would prefer it.
M: I see, I see. No, these are simple examples. If we had the Red Army somewhere now, I would also prefer it right away and not suffer. But what if another bourgeois attacks us? They are also bourgeois, but they are more democratic than ours. For example, if someone can hold a picket with a poster in their country, and no one will detain them.
J: Can you specify what kind of bourgeois?
M: Well, some bourgeois from Europe. Germany.
J: But Germany is a member of the imperialist bloc NATO.
M: Wait, they are more democratic.
J: You could avoid considering some separate things and casuistry.
M: You mean, if we choose from Putin and NATO who is more democratic, this is called casuistry, but if we choose from Putin and Ukraine who is more democratic it's OK. In short, I was right.
J: We can consider a broader question: what else in Russia makes it more preferable than Ukraine?
M: And what makes Germany preferable? We, it seems, are considering the question, what in Germany makes it more preferable than Russia?
J: But this is you, suggesting that Germany is preferable. On the contrary, I dispute it. The NATO bloc is the main variable in the current geopolitics, which, in general, makes a successful socialist revolution in any country and keeping power in the hands of the socialists unlikely.
M: That's all, I see, I see. Everyone must fight under the banner of Putin against NATO for the sake of socialism. Under Putin, we will build socialism, but under NATO, excuse me, no. NATO members will come and ruin everything here. They will arrange such a thing here that if you do not agree with them, you are immediately an enemy of the people, right? They won't let us gather in the streets. No rallies will be permitted. Probably, they will liquidate the entire social sphere, factories and hospitals will be closed. No, NATO can't help. Vladimir Vladimirovich is our choice. We all stand for him. That's it, I won't ask any more questions.
J: Well, we can, in fact, without clowning around, cite as an example a country like Poland, where the Communist ideology is prohibited in principle. This is a NATO country.
M: That's what I'm saying.
J: What do you think, if we assume such a scenario, in which NATO as a bloc establishes military control over the Russian Federation, what will the Russian Federation then look like, Poland or Germany?
M: That's what I'm talking about: that's why we should all rally around Vladimir Vladimirovich, Academician Kadyrov, and Prigozhin as the creator of a unique combat unit. We must rally around them, they won't let NATO conquer us. If Vladimir Vladimirovich defeated our oligarchs, world terrorism and the coronavirus pandemic, do you think he would not defeat NATO? Honestly, where Vladimir Vladimirovich is, there is Victory. If the NATO threat is real, then we have no choice but to rally around these people who have been trading with NATO all their lives and have become billionaires. Who will lead us to battle against this NATO threat, right? Who else? Only these guys, who have been selling our irreplaceable resources there for 30 years, have all been included in the Forbes list. Only they can save us. And they are also kind! They are not just cool, they are kind because they don't ban communism.