Jesus Christ was the first communist on the planet, KPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov proclaimed during a Komsomolskaya Pravda radio broadcast on September 1. The Russian Orthodox Church replied that “it does not consider it correct and appropriate to compare the incarnation of God with any political and economic doctrines, including communism.” However, this isn’t the first time Zyuganov has referred to Jesus as a communist. Meduza discovered that Communist Party leader has been making this claim for at least 20 years — and more often than not, he brings it up ahead of parliamentary elections.
November 29, 1999 (20 days before the elections)
“The first communist was Jesus Christ, who felt sorry for the suffering, the infrim, for the sick, for the weak, and the orphaned. For which, as a matter of fact, he was crucified.”
August 31, 2011 (95 days before the elections)
“As a matter of fact, the first communist was Jesus Christ. Who did he stand up for? For the orphaned, for the poor, for the suffering. Put the Code of the Builders of Communism next to Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Our predecessors copied from the Sermon on the Mount 100 percent.”
April 20, 2016 (151 days before the elections)
“Christ was the first communist in the new chronology. He raised his voice for the orphaned, for the suffering, for the poor, for the sick, for the needy — everyone who [was] hurt and having trouble. And in this regard, if he were alive, he would be in our [ranks].”
September 1, 2021 (16 days before the elections)
“The first communist on the planet in the new chronology was Jesus Christ. Put Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount next to the Moral Code of the Builders of Communism — [they’re] one and the same, you just gasp.”
read more about the 2021 elections
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- September’s likely winners Meet the doctors, cosmonauts, and pro-Kremlin youth stars expected to grab seats in Russia’s next Parliament
- Star politics Almost every election season, Russian celebrities vow to run for office and serve the nation. They’re usually full of shit.
- Get off my ballot Abusing a new law against ‘extremists,’ Russian election officials have started barring opposition candidates
Translation by Eilish Hart
The Moral Code of the Builder of Communism
A set of principles of communist morality approved by the 22nd congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1961. Among its provisions are, for example, “Conscious work for the good of the society: One who doesn’t work, doesn’t get to eat.”