Communists call for Russia’s ‘patriotic left’ to unite

Russia’s Communists are inviting all “patriotic left” factions in the country to unite under its banner, the party’s leader, Gennady Zyuganov, has proclaimed.

The teaming up of left-wing forces in the country already began ahead of the parliamentary elections last September, the long-time party boss told RIA-Novosti on Saturday.

“We all got together,” Zyuganov said, referring to 56 organizations, including some trade unions, which joined the Communist Party (CPRF) ahead of the vote.

The move helped the Communists snatch almost 19% of the ballots and finish second, behind only the ruling United Russia party (49.82%). The CPRF currently has 57 seats out of 450 in Russia’s parliament, the State Duma.

This process of unification of like-minded forces must continue, insisted Zyuganov, who had been the head of the CPRF since 1993.

“If anybody has such a desire – join up, we’ll consider all applications,” the 78-year-old promised.

Last month, Sergey Mironov, the leader of leftist group Fair Russia – For Truth, which has 28 seats in the parliament, claimed that a union between his party and the CPRF would inevitably happen in the future.

Zyuganov responded to the idea by stating that his party was ready to run in the next election together with Fair Russia if the latter was prepared to work to implement the CPRF’s program.