Majority Support for (Old School) Socialism?

By Joe Sims

Against the backdrop of Gorbachev’s US visit and Russia recent elections is a new poll reported on BBC this morning (Thursday). The opinion survey, conducted by a Moscow polling group indicated that 52 percent of the respondents said they wished for a return to state ownership and distribution and central planning. How's that for old school?

So why did Russia’s communists only get 12 percent of the vote? Go figure. Clearly a desire to return to the old comforts does not translate into support for the party leading the old regime. Its prestige it seems is still in shatters. There’s another consideration. Was the vote free and fair? Many are challenging it. But here's someting that really takes the cake: I saw a news report the other day from Grozny the war-torn capital of Chechnya. Seems like there was a stupendous vote there, with a 99.8 percent turnout and 99.2 percent support for Putin’s party. Wow. Now doesn’t that hearken back? If you ask me that’s a little like saying the GOP got the highest vote in Baghdad or Kabul. Too much of a stretch? Ok, try US occupied San Juan.