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Besides keeping the ruling parties in check, the existence of the opposition is premised on sharing ideas on how to protect the national interest against foreign imperial influence and domination. Herald correspondent Gibson Nyikadzino (GN) had wide-ranging interview with the chief political advisor to the chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), Dr Vyacheslav ‘Slava’ Tetekin (VST). The former parliamentarian and Central Committee member of the CPRF spoke at length on the threat posed to liberation movements in Southern Africa by imperialism through use of NGOs; the dangers of the green lobby; events in West Africa, how Russia is reshaping relations with Africa since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the collective victory of Zimbabwe over the West’s project of economic colonisation. Below are some excerpts:
GN: You are from an opposition party and you share the same scope relating to foreign policy with the Russian government. What is common despite sharing different political visions?
VST: We are the oldest party in Russia, established in 1898. Then known as the Bolshevik Party or the Party of Lenin. We transformed from 1991 since the collapse of the Soviet Union. We are parliamentary party and have got 20 percent of the seats in Parliament. We are able to influence the Russian policy in various fields of domestic, economic foreign policy. So there is a balanced approach from us.
GN: Where is the balance? How do you come to that from two opposite ends?
VST: We criticise the government and ruling party on things we think should not be done. We have had discussions with colleagues from the ruling party on foreign policy and now we are more unanimous because interesting enough the Communist Party was one to express support to the special military operation in Ukraine. We always said this was the right thing to do because we demanded independence for the Donbass region long before and we were insisting that Donbass should be integrated with Russia. To a certain degree, the government is following our suggestions. So there is quite a reasonable working relationship because now the ruling party is recognising what we have been saying that the West is not friend and not even a partner. The West is an enemy. Russian foreign policy is generally homogeneous in this sense because there is patriotism coming at the top, a recognition that we must rely upon ourselves.
GN: Away from Russia, we have some opposition parties not primarily independent in terms of ideological orientation. They think of policies in western terms. What could be dangers posed to the existence of a State by such opposition political parties?
VST: This problem is much known to us. We are in the opposition but as we see sometimes, we are a constructive opposition because we are competing on who does better for the interests of the country. Then there is destructive opposition, this is also in Russia.
GN: How are they destructive? Kindly explain that point.
VST: These so called NGOs created for the West, by western money, western grants and by the people trained in the West (America, Britain etc). NGOs financed and promoted by the west are dangerous for peace in any country. These groups are not aiming to do anything for the benefit or development of the country, they are destructive because that is the purpose of their existence. Destruction! This is why we should truly differentiate. They are not interested in the well-being of the country. They perform what their external masters tell them to do. So they are paid mercenaries in most of the cases. We have these groups in Russia.
GN: How do you tolerate or entertain them?
VST: The danger of these groups is the tragedy of Ukraine. Where does the tragedy of Ukraine start? It started by Americans and the British creating a very powerful and well-financed network of the NGOs, pro-West and anti-Russia. So these NGOs properly financed by the American intelligence and State Department; and the British forces, they created this layer of people who are not protecting the national interest of Ukraine but they are protecting the interests of those paying them. My view is that we cannot say all NGOs are automatically pro-West, we should always look at the source of finance, and in whose interest are they working. They find very intricate ways of infiltrating any country using ecological issues, the green agenda etc.
GN: Where and how are they infiltrating sovereign states?
VST: For example, in neighbouring South Africa, they are facing the load shedding problem but they have stockpiles of coal. They have coal to fire all power stations but the green lobby is saying you should go for renewable energy. Why? It is not because their concern is about the climate, but they have received instructions to promote renewables at the expense of coal-fired generations. So these green ecologists, allegedly the friends of the humanity of the world, are working for the detriment of the people of South Africa. That is how they operate.
GN: During this visit you met Zanu PF officials. Zimbabwe and Russia share strong political relations, but economic investments from Russia to Zimbabwe are very slow. What is the reason and how can that be improved?
VST: We must go back to the original cooperation. With the destruction of the Soviet Union in 1991 our relations with Africa in some areas practically stopped. It was unfortunate. There are no empty spaces because everyone is rushing to Africa now including former colonial states, Arab states, Emirs, Iran, Japan, South Korea, and Türkiye. So the space is occupied and it is a difficult terrain for us. It will take time. Interest is growing and we must promote it, the Russian Embassy here is working hard to do that here. There is a lot of money in Russia. But to attract Russian businesses to Africa is a different story. We want to come back to Africa but it will take time. We want cooperation and we know African governments are willing to cooperate with Russia.
GN: What has Zimbabwe done that has impressed you?
VST: I was impressed with the memorial of the Museum of African Liberation project. It is an outstanding project. It is a project to retain the memory of the sacrifices that your people made in attaining liberation. It is also a project to retain the national cultural heritage of the whole of Africa. It is an outstanding global project.
GN: Impressive project despite sanctions, which you also have. President Mnangagwa has been sanctioned by the US under a new regime, the Global Magnitsky Act. Technically these are new sanctions against Zimbabwe. Russia has done well under sanctions. How are you managing and how can Zimbabwe be successful in fighting sanctions?
VST: As Russians and the CPRF, we want sanctions as long as possible because they have rejuvenated our own industry. These sanctions have generated the will of the people to resist them, to produce and invest locally, it brings money into the economy. In your case, Zimbabwe must concentrate on educating the people to have sufficient development in science and technology and you also need help with that. When they introduced sanctions against Russia, we were strong in development. It was easy to work and kick start.
GN: There are political movements occurring in West Africa pinpointing Russia. How much of this do you think is key in influencing Russia-Africa relations?
VST: These are extraordinary events taking place in West Africa because we always thought that French control over former colonies is so tight and that they will never be able to get out of it. We call this ‘the next stage of the national liberation revolution of Africa’. The interesting thing is most of African countries attained independence not through the liberation struggle like Zimbabwe or Namibia and Angola. But they were given independence from the hands of their colonial masters. What is appealing to Africans is that in Russia we do not have a history of colonialism and our relationship with African states is mutually beneficial. That was the stated official policy. People of Africa remember that we never tried to rob them and when they search for alternatives to Western colonialism they look for Russia. So those in West Africa are following your example here in southern Africa. Because our reputation was formed here, not West Africa. We were never strong in West Africa. It was fully dominated by the French.
GN: Recently there were terrorist attacks on Russian soil. How are you going to respond? Is the response going to blow the situation with Ukraine into a full scale war? Are you going to negotiate?
VST: This is not a war by Russia against Ukraine. We are the same people. Ukrainians are Russians and Russians are Ukrainians. This is a war by NATO against Russia using Ukraine as a proxy force. So this is a European war. My view on this terrorist attack is that there were western powers involved because that operation was too sophisticated. That thing originated from the West. The reason is they wanted to have an uncontrolled reaction from Russia to hit civilian targets to prolong the war. When the time for negotiations come, we are going to be careful.
We remember the Lancaster House Agreement for Zimbabwe regarding the land issue. It tormented Zimbabwe for many years. The British promised to give Zimbabwe billions in compensation from 1980 to 1990. Did they give you the money? They cheated you. What makes us hesitant is that they are going to cheat us. They cheated us many times before. We do not trust them. They must show the goodwill. It is all about experience which tells us not to trust them.
GN: Faced with an imminent imperial threat, what recommendations do you give Southern Africa’s liberation movements so they remain solid?
VST: The unity of former Frontline States and now ruling governments is extremely important. Vigilance. You must understand that you are facing a global onslaught against liberation movements. Offensives from the West are just to bring revenge. Liberation governments should always seek answers. I do not intend to interfere in the affairs of your countries, but do not allow foreign based NGOs to go around easily. They are always willing to get money and create problems, so think about the end results of that. Be vigilant and understand that the liberation struggle did not end.
Do not be relaxed here in Southern Africa and think that everything is okay. It is not business as usual. The global political struggle continues, they (West) still want to colonise your territories. They still want your national resources because their prosperity depends on grabbing your national resources and they will not stop unless you bloody their nose as you did before.
Online Reporter