Why does AKEL celebrate the Bolshevik revolution?

AKEL’S decision to commemorate the Bolshevik Revolution has raised eyebrows in Cyprus, with some observers casting doubt on the party’s dedication to the communist principles that came to power in Russia in October 1917.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellites, communist parties across the world rushed to ditch labels and principles deemed unelectable. AKEL, however, kept its name and symbols, and is one of the few communist parties in the world to have the backing of such a large percentage of the electorate — over 30 per cent.

But one political analyst yesterday questioned AKEL’s dedication to Communism, describing it as a Social Democratic party disguised as a movement with communist ideology to maintain its popularity among the working class.

“There is no point in commemorating the Bolshevik Revolution since Communism was universally denounced after it died.” AKEL, however, says it insists on the ideas of social equality and justice, but has denounced Communism as a political system. The party celebrated the 83rd anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution on Tuesday, expressing the hope that the days to come would do justice to socialist ideas, which were widely abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

AKEL political bureau member Yiannis Kolokasides told the Cyprus Mail his party no longer supported the communist authoritarian model of the former Soviet Union, but was backing the ideals and principles on which it was based.

“In our 1990 Conference, we positioned ourselves in favour of a socialist, parliamentary democratic system and a partly free market. But we insist on the importance of a centralised economy, which will ensure social equality. There is no other alternative to capitalism, which reinforces injustice.”

AKEL parliamentary spokesman Andreas Christou, addressing the party’s event to commemorate the Revolution, said that: “Communism might have failed to bring about the results which people were expecting, but the efforts to abolish social injustice and impose equality and the classless society will never be abandoned with Akel continuing to fight in their name. Socialism has yet to develop and be realised.” Christou nevertheless admitted that horrible crimes had been committed under communist rule.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.