KATHMANDU: Former Prime Minister and Chairman of Nepal Samajwadi Party (Naya Shakti), Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, has sharply criticized the state of Nepal’s communist movement, likening its current trajectory to the ideological stagnation and authoritarian purges of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Dr. Bhattarai reflected on the irony of a famous quote: “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.”

He remarked that this applies perfectly to Nepal’s communist movement, which, despite being rooted in historic uprisings like the Jhapa rebellion (1971-74) and the decade-long Maoist insurgency (1996–2006), is now heading down a self-destructive path similar to that of the now-defunct Soviet Communist Party.

“The way today’s communist leadership operates the state shows all the signs of Brezhnev-era stagnation (1964–82), where there was no real progress despite long years in power—only hollow promises,” Bhattarai wrote.

He claimed Nepal’s communists, despite holding power multiple times, have failed to deliver any meaningful or transformative achievements, instead resorting to empty slogans about socialism and communism just to mislead their cadres.

Bhattarai went further to compare internal power struggles in Nepal’s major communist parties to Stalin’s infamous purges between 1927 and 1938.

“Much like Stalin’s elimination of fellow leaders—Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin—today’s communist elites in Nepal are systematically sidelining dissenting voices through political and organizational purges, if not physical ones,” he noted, referencing historical accounts such as ‘Stalin: A Political Biography’ by Isaac Deutscher.

In a pointed message to communist leaders and their supporters, Bhattarai criticized the party culture that glorifies authoritarianism. He questioned how long leaders would cheer the downfall of colleagues only to find themselves in the same position later.

“Will those still emotionally clinging to outdated, bureaucratic-centralist party structures gather the courage to seek an alternative path to build socialism and uplift humanity?” he asked.