Politics

Russia's Communist Party is making a comeback — and it's bad news for Putin

In late January, speaking in the Russian city of Stavropol, Vladimir Putin denounced Soviet Communist leader Vladimir Lenin for, as Putin put it, placing an "atomic bomb" under the foundations of the Soviet Union by nationality policies that allowed non-Russians the right to secede.

Putin’s comments might seem like a matter of arcane history, but they’re not: They’re part of a debate over the legacy of Lenin’s revolution, which is itself actually about an unexpected challenger to Putin’s government today: the Communist Party.

Next year is the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution that brought Lenin to power. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) wants to see the anniversary celebrated.