Lusine Karapetyan | Communist Party of Armenia
Dear comrades:
First of all, allow me to thank the comrades of the World Anti-Imperialist Platform for organising this conference and for the honour of having extended this invitation to me.
In analysing current events in world politics, we, Armenian communists, believe that the fundamental dispute between capitalism and socialism is far from over.
Capitalism, which prevails today in most of the world, has not changed its essence. Capitalist states continue to protect the interests of big capital, and the exploitation of the working class is intensifying. The contradictions between labour and capital continue to deepen beyond doubt. Furthermore, the nature of modern capitalism is expressed in a growing fascistization of imperialism, moving from democracy to political reaction and unprecedented militarisation.
As we know, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many former socialist countries entered the capitalist camp and became semi-colonial capitalist countries. Since then, world politics has become unipolar, with the United States and its satellites playing the leading role. To maintain their political and financial dominance over the world, the United States and its satellites constantly need chaos and wars in different parts of the world. Now, as we can see, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and East Asia constitute the three main theatres of a world war.
Thus, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated that war with Russia is possible and entirely realistic in the near future. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that Western countries have allowed Ukraine to attack Russia with long-range missiles. French President Macron proposes the creation of a nuclear shield for the European Union and is organising military intervention in Ukraine. US Senator Marco Rubio admitted for the first time that the war in Ukraine is a proxy war between the United States and Russia. US President Trump has stated that the reason for the war in Ukraine lies in Biden’s decision to expand NATO eastward. In Europe, there is a widespread renunciation of political-military neutrality. Finland and Sweden have joined NATO despite decades of neutrality. Austria and Switzerland have participated in all sanctions, including the freezing of $300 billion in Russian assets. Neutral Moldova has conducted 17 military exercises with NATO. US President Trump openly threatens all those who consider abandoning the US dollar. The US struggle for world domination inevitably leads to imperialist wars on a global scale. Under imperialism, the governments of capitalist countries are not elected by the people, but by the oligarchs of finance capital. The imperialist camp employs the neo-Nazis in Ukraine, the Zionists in Israel, and the reactionary forces in Europe.
The main point of the current situation is the emergence of World War III. In this confrontation, an anti-imperialist front has been formed that includes Russia, China, and North Korea. And now this front includes Iran, which is fighting against the imperialist Zionism of Israel. We also believe that if the anti-imperialist forces win this global confrontation, the imperialist forces will definitely lose, and a new and long period of revolts will begin, marked by a significant expansion of socialist and national liberation forces.
The effective construction of an anti-imperialist front and the struggle against capitalism are possible only on the basis of the ideas of socialism and the socialist economic system. The unresolved imperialist contradictions of the modern era require that the national-patriotic and socialist-oriented strata and classes unite in the struggle against the imperialist front. Armenian communists are convinced that the most justified option for our country, and the one that most benefits the majority of the people, is the socialist path of development. The communists of Armenia have set themselves the task of actively supporting and defending the socialist path of global development by all possible means. Based on the general patterns of human development, Armenian communists believe that all peoples of all countries will apply them, taking into account their own specificities and historical experience.
Description of the Current Economic and Political Situation in Capitalist Armenia
Under the slogans of “independence” and “democracy,” the liberal forces that ruled Armenia in the early 1990s established a market economy in the country and adopted the path of integration into the global Western capitalist system. The Bretton Woods financial and trading system, created as a result of the Second World War and based on the dominance of the US dollar, has meant that the existence of a market economy in a particular country implies that that country is economically and, therefore, politically dependent on the United States. Thus, Armenia’s integration into the Western capitalist world has resulted in Armenia becoming a semi-colony of the West. Armenia is formally independent, but in reality it is politically and economically dependent on the West. Consequently, all the most important decisions of the Armenian authorities, both in foreign and domestic policy, are considered not from the point of view of Armenia’s own interests, but from the point of view of the interests of the West. The Armenian authorities, to the detriment of Armenia’s state and national interests, are clearly promoting and serving the interests of the West, in exchange for which they receive loans in the form of state debt.
As historical experience shows, the political interests of the West (along with Zionism and Pan-Turkism) and Armenia have always been, are, and will be in contradiction. Therefore, the fact that Armenia is under Western control does more harm than good to the majority of the country’s population. Capitalist Armenia is an economically backward country because the West is not interested in an economically developed Armenia. The West does not invest its billions or provide development technologies to Armenia, as it does with other capitalist countries. Capitalist Armenia is unable to guarantee its security, constantly loses territory, and the Armenian people are subjected to new genocides. The pro-Western policy of the Armenian authorities towards EU and NATO membership, the ratification of more than 70 Council of Europe conventions, the rejection of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the deterioration of relations between Armenia and Russia, and the establishment of relations with Turkey based on Turkish conditions—all this is nothing more than de facto confirmation of the absence of sovereignty.
The political and socio-economic situation of the modern capitalist Republic of Armenia is characterised by a deep crisis, degradation, and decline in all areas. The forced introduction of capitalism led to a bipolar division of society, with the wealthy minority concentrated at one pole, holding power and the economy in their hands, and at the other pole, the overwhelming majority of the population, deprived of rights, with neither power nor control over the economy. The capitalisation of social relations exacerbates social contradictions, and discontent among the population is growing due to the constant deterioration of living conditions, rising prices, unemployment, increasing poverty, economic crises, and continuous emigration. The introduction of Western norms, globalist values, and ideas alien to the Armenian people, which discredit the past and lead to the self-destruction of the state, continues in the education system, public consciousness, and culture.
The majority of the population of Armenia lacks a decent standard of living and social security. The Armenian authorities, with their anti-democratic policies both domestically and externally, constantly violate the country’s laws and Constitution, becoming a criminal government. The anti-Armenian authorities in Armenia are pursuing a repressive policy in the country, constantly lying, falsifying elections, and violating the democratic rights of the people. The irresponsibility of the Armenian authorities threatens the individual and public security of citizens. The majority of the country’s population is becoming aware that the prospects for the “development” of capitalist Armenia with Western loans are extremely limited, and that the continuation of such a policy will lead to the loss of state sovereignty and a national catastrophe. The Communist Party of Armenia opposes the market economy, capitalism, and Armenia becoming a semi-colony of the West.
