Russian Communist leader warns of risk of revolution

A veteran of Russia's Communist Party has warned parliament that the country's faltering economy risks fueling a 1917-style revolution and that the government must take urgent measures to change course.

Gennady Zyuganov, 81, made the warning at a plenary session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September, according to a recording of his speech published on the Duma's official website.

"We are doing everything we can to support (President Vladimir) Putin and his strategy and policies, but you (the government) are not listening," he said on Tuesday. Reuters reported that the words drew some applause and were listened to attentively by Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma and a close Putin ally.

Zyuganov said the recent government meeting convened by Putin was the darkest in recent times.

"If you (the government) do not urgently adopt financial, economic and other measures, by the fall we will face a repeat of what happened in 1917. We have no right to repeat that. Let's make some decisions."

Reuters writes that despite his warning, there are so far no signs of serious social unrest in Russia, amid increased wartime censorship, a ban on protests, long prison sentences for dissenters and the growing influence of the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet KGB.

Although Zyuganov's party, the second-largest in parliament, is the main successor to the Soviet Communist Party, it has long supported Putin and his key policies, with carefully measured criticism of the ruling United Russia from within the framework of a tightly controlled political system.

His comments, which also touched on recent criticism of the government by a prominent blogger, appear to be an attempt to win over the votes of Russians feeling economic pressure, to distance Putin from economic problems, and to show that the political system is aware that there are issues that need to be addressed.

So far, there are no signs of serious social unrest in Russia, amid heightened wartime censorship, a ban on protests, long prison sentences for dissenters, and the growing influence of the Federal Security Service.

Reuters notes that Zyuganov was careful not to blame Putin personally, appearing to direct criticism primarily at the government, the central bank and the ruling party, whose ratings are under pressure, according to state opinion polls.

Putin has repeatedly promised stability and spoken of the destructive nature of revolutions. He reprimanded top officials last week after the economy shrank 1,8 percent in the first two months of the year and asked them to come up with new measures to stimulate growth.

Russia's $3,1 trillion economy, which shrank in 2022 but grew in 2023, 2024 and 2025, has beaten most expectations and avoided a collapse despite Western sanctions imposed over Russia's war in Ukraine. But the pressure of war and double-digit interest rates slowed growth to 1 percent last year.

The US-Israeli war against Iran has raised oil prices, which, if the trend continues, would likely boost the Russian economy. The International Monetary Fund has raised its growth forecast for the Russian economy this year to 1,1 percent, from an earlier 0,8 percent.