This is a short statement of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, fighting a three way war of aggression.
Media War
Western and Russian media has erased the past, and the working class history of the Ukraine, in similar fashion to the Ukrainian government attempts to De-communize the country. We caution folks to be wary of the sources of the media. We all think we’re smart enough to not parrot imperialist talking points but we must try to read between the lines.
Binary Analysis
The west in NATO and the US, are presenting a binary, as they are so fond of: The Ukrainian Government and NATO = Freedom, and Russia = Oligarchs and Murderers. Russia presents their anti-nazification, and security threats. Further, another favored imperialist trope insists that Russians vs. Ukrainians is just an ethnic battle. Like all information, there are pieces that resemble truth, but much of it is just imperialist false flags.
In an imperialist conflict we never support the imperialist powers, we stand with the people. Conscription is an enemy of the people, and both sides are utilizing this devastating tool.
An attempt at understanding the background
Maiden Protests
Ukraine is not a monolith. Millions fought in the streets during the protests in 2014. These people didn’t replaced a Russian puppet government with a NATO puppet government. The far right in the Ukraine was absorbed into the government, and made significant advances and growth within their organization. The Azov Battalion (fascist militia) was absorbed into the Ukrainian military. 48 anti-fascists in 2014, were massacred by fascists during this uprising.
You can read more about it here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment
and here: https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2019/05/10/five-years-after-odessa-massacre-anti-fascists-demand-justice/
Donbass
Clearly not everyone agreed with the Maiden Protests and some people in the east formed break away republics, the Donetsk People’s Republic, and the Luhansk People’s Republic. It’s unclear to us how the self styled “communist” republics will play out, but in general, the break up of capitalist nation states is not always a bad thing. These Republics utilized the inter-imperialist conflict to get Russian aid in their mission. This is similar to the YPJ utilizing U.S. imperialist air power in Syria. There are obviously many contradictions in both these situations, and it is the role of revolutionaries to think critically, parse out these contradictions, and call them out, while supporting revolutionary left and specifically communist movements in the world.
We must not make the mistake of falling prey to war tourist fantasies, and saviorism. There is plenty of work to do here.
We support the self determination of all those seeking out a just life, regardless of capitalist state territorial integrity.
The Revolutionary Left in Russia and the Ukraine.
Through our research on the Russian and Ukrainian left prior to the invasion, the two organizations we’ve found most affinity with are Borotba in Ukraine and Left Front in Russia.
Borotba is a banned communist organization in the Ukraine, members were massacred in the above mentioned incident in 2014 in Odessa. From wikipedia:
“The Draft Manifesto of the Organization declares: Union “Borotba” stands for Revolutionary Marxism, and its most important task – to extend Left ideology implementing Marxist methodology in the political discourse of Ukraine.The Manifesto also states that the organization will support principles of anti-capitalism, internationalism, anti-fascism, political radicalism and gender equality."
http://www.borotba.su/
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/03/08/understanding-the-war-in-ukraine/
Left Front on the other hand, again from wikipedia: is a united front of political organizations in Russia. It is strongly critical of President Vladimir Putin. From their website:
“Goals and objectives of the Left Front:
Our goal is to build a just socialist society.
We are convinced that our country needs a united, strong, radical and modern left movement. The growth of protest activity shows that the peoples of Russia, like a hundred years ago, are not ready to endure oppression and bullying indefinitely.
We call forward—to the creation of a socialist society based on the combination of social property with political and industrial democracy. This will ensure the rapid growth of the economy, science and culture, a breakthrough to high technologies, and a fundamentally new level of social justice.
We are waiting for everyone who shares leftist views, who wants a free and fair future for themselves and their children. Anyone who still has the courage and conscience. Enough to do for everyone!”
https://www.leftfront.org/
Since before the invasion both groups have faced repression, Borotba is banned and their website hasn’t been updated since 2020. There is little current information about them we’ve found.
Our understanding of the role of the left in the United States.
As an anti-imperialists we believe the role of the left of the united states is to counter imperialist media narratives centering the people of the Ukraine resisting Russia for survival, the anti-war sentiment in Russia, and signal boosting the revolutionary left forces in both countries.
We believe being revolutionaries in the belly of the beast, the number one threat politically, socially, militarily and internationally, the United States, that it is our duty to expose and confront the imperialist war machine here.
Further we must continue to develop and support anti-NATO ideas. NATO is the primary military threat in Europe, and to the world over. NATO by proxy is headed by U.S. imperialist interests.
For Social Revolution, For Communism.
We hope to see the resistance of the people in the Ukraine turn its guns on the Ukrainian government next and build a truly sovereign, independent, and socialist country.
We hope to see the working class in Russia, rise up and over throw the oligarchs and Putin regime.
We hope to see the working class in the United States (and Europe), build and organize it’s own revolutionary left social movements, communist organizations and resistance to U.S. imperialism and NATO; to overthrow the capitalist parties, towards building a better world.
Neither Russian, US/NATO, or Ukrainian Imperialism.
Support for the International Revolutionary Left in Ukraine and Russia
For Social Revolution, For Communism
Red Machete
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