Partisan Magazine gives voice to anti-Putin ukrainian communists

1) The world contradictions

What is your analysis of the aggravation of the world imperialist contradictions and the risks of generalization of the war ?

The collapse of the social-imperialist Soviet Union and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in 1991 led to the Western domination worldwide. It entailed the reorganization of international capitalist production, `old` imperialist countries and the leading international monopolies engaged in bitter rivalry for the world market.

Meanwhile in China and some other formerly neocolonially dependent countries, domestic monopolies and state-monopoly structures evolved and strengthened. This led to the emergence of new-imperialist countries. By 2020 more than 10 new-imperialist countries already were in existence, with more than half of the world population living in them. They increasingly competed with the USA, Japan, and the EU countries for markets and spheres of influence. Some of these countries established a regional imperialist hegemony, e.g. Russia, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil. They pursue visions of their own imperialist supremacy, develop military power structures, and form ideological power centers worldwide to manipulate public opinion.

The inter-imperialist contradictions intensified in 2020, in the wake of the world economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Inter alia, China rose to the status of an economic superpower and was poised to take over first place from the USA. China strives to play this role also in the political and military field. This is the aim of its Belt and Road Initiative, a giant project pursued since 2013. The imperialist EU has also positioned itself as a rival to the USA, and to China as well, although now in the fight against Russia the interests of the USA and the EU have converged.

The internationalization of production and trade was followed by the internationalization of the class struggle and of social movements. An international industrial proletariat emerged which now comprises around 745 million industrial workers. The militant women’s, youth and environmental movements also surged forward again internationally, and the struggle for democratic rights and freedoms unfolded.

As for the possibility of an escalation of the war, in fact, preparations for this began even before the war started. The West is interested in the maximum weakening of Russian imperialism, and if this requires direct military intervention, most likely it will happen. And this is a direct path to a world war. In turn, the Kremlin directly threatens to use nuclear weapons, and this threat is very real.

What is your analysis of the expansion of NATO in the region ?
Undoubtedly, US-led NATO has been using the war in Ukraine to strengthen its power from the very beginning. Moreover, there is reason to believe that already in 2020-2021, the United States and NATO had a plan for a successful military campaign in case of a Russian invasion to Ukraine. And now this plan is being implemented. At the public level, NATO acts as a `careful partner`, for example, Secretary General of the organization, Jens Stoltenberg. constantly repeats that this war should not escalate into the Third World War.

However, NATO is working closely with the US, Britain and other key players in terms of military and economic assistance to Ukraine. From January to September 2022, NATO countries provided Ukraine with weapons worth tens of billions of dollars, incl. the US supplies in the amount of more than $10 billion. And this is only the visible part, the real amount can be much more.

In parallel, NATO has increased its presence in neighboring member countries, from the Baltic countries to Romania and Bulgaria. Also, let’s not forget about joining the alliance of Sweden and Finland. Surely these steps were prepared in advance, even before the Russian invasion, and are now being consistently implemented. In addition, Ukraine has already filed a direct application for NATO membership. Perhaps the admission of Ukraine will take years, but even the filing of an application is of great importance.

Can we say that Zelensky is the pawn of the USA and NATO in these world contradictions, or is it a bit more complicated ?

In general, yes, but the nuance is that the ruling classes of Ukraine have their own plans for regional economic and political expansion. These plans will become more realistic in the event of a military and political victory of Ukraine and the West over Putin’s interventionists.

After the collapse of the USSR in Ukraine, as in Russia, oligopolistic capitalism was formed, which is also called `oligarchic`. This means the presence of groupings of financial and industrial capital comparable in their capabilities, which are waging a permanent struggle for power among themselves. The richest capitalist in the country is Rinat Akhmetov, the head of the SCM corporation, whose fortune was estimated at $7.6 billion in 2021. This corporation in the 1990s captured large ex-Soviet enterprises in metallurgy, mining of iron ore, coal, and energy, it has many assets in the field of transport, telecommunications, trade etc. When Viktor Yanukovych was the president (2010-2014), this corporation politically and economically controlled all of Ukraine.

Another major `oligarch` is Igor Kolomoisky, who sponsored the election campaign of Zelensky and his party. Kolomoisky’s main business is industry (especially the production of ferroalloys), as well as the media, which allows him to influence events in the country.

Generally, Ukraine has prerequisites for turning into a new-imperialist power. Geographically it is the largest country of Europe with extensive mineral resources, broad expanses of fertile black soil, a well-trained working class, and monopolies that are partly state-owned and partly concentrated in the hands of oligarchs. Ukraine could become a serious competitor right on the border of Russian imperialism.

Some people in France deny the imperialist character of Putin’s Russia, claiming that it is surrounded and aggressed by the West, what is your opinion ?

The Putin`s regime is aggressive and imperialistic in its essence, not `in response` to the actions of the West. The roots of this issue go back to the 1960s, when an active bourgeois degeneration and restoration of capitalism had began in the USSR. In the following decades, the USSR waged some aggressive wars in various regions of the world ; these wars had nothing in common with the interests of the working class and with the tasks of the socialist revolution. So, in 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan, where they operated for 10 years.

Another example is Ethiopia, where Moscow supported the military regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam, which declared itself `socialist` in words, but in reality suppressed the working people and fought against the national liberation movements in the country. There are a number of examples, from Asia to America, when it was enough for the ruling elites to declare their `socialist orientation` in order to receive material, political, military support from the USSR for many years.

At the end of the 1980s in the Soviet Union, the restoration of capitalism reached the political level, at the stage of the liquidation of Soviet power and the USSR itself. At the same time, the Soviet revisionists were defeated in the global imperialist confrontation with the Western bloc. Russia became the largest `fragment` of the USSR, where large state monopolies began to form in the fields of hydrocarbon production, metallurgy, engineering, transport, etc. These monopolies directly or indirectly passed into private hands, forming a basis for the new big Russian bourgeoisie.

During the 1990s and 2000s, this bourgeoisie actively accumulated capital and created opportunities for the resumption of external expansion both on the former Soviet territory and outside it. In the 2000s, there was an aggressive expansion of Russian capital into the CIS countries, moreover, Western capitalists did not have enough opportunities to resist this. In particular, Russian expansionists used old Soviet connections and, in a broad sense, their `local experience` to strengthen their positions both in the countries of the former Soviet Union and in Europe.

In parallel, political influence began to grow, aimed at ensuring abroad the interests of the ruling class of Russia. The annual military budget of the Russian Federation grew from $9 bln in 2000 to $50 bln in 2010 and then continued growing to the level of $70 bln. In 2021, Russia ranked 5th in the world in terms of military spending, which exceeded 4% of GDP, more than in the US or China. In general, from 2000 to 2021, approximately $1.1 trillion was spent on the modernization of the Russian army, which is one of the largest figures in the world.

Moreover, already in the first years after the collapse of the USSR, Russian troops directly participated in local conflicts on its former territory in Transnistria (Moldova), in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Georgia), in Tajikistan. In 2008, Russia carried out a new aggression against Georgia, directly occupying a significant part of its territory. In 2014, in the struggle for influence in Ukraine, the Kremlin occupied the Ukrainian Crimea first, and then inspired an armed rebellion of its proxies in the Donbass. Since 2014, Russia has fully supported and maintained at its own expense two puppet regimes in the Donbass and has created a permanent hotbed of war there. Many civilians died, millions became refugees.

In addition, in 2015, the Putin`s regime has began supporting the authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which at that moment was fighting against both the democratic Kurdish opposition and other opposition formations. The war crimes of the Russian military on Syrian soil, including air and artillery bombardments of peaceful cities, are totally real.

According to Lenin and other classics of Marxist-Leninist science, one of the key features of imperialism is the expansion of capital, accompanied by the expansion of political influence and military power. All this fully corresponds to the policy of the maleficent Putin`s regime, which, at the same time, has been actively exploiting the phraseology and symbols of the USSR from the very beginning of its existence. The purpose of this is simple and clear, to gain the sympathy of those who are nostalgic for the USSR of the 1980s, without taking into account its revisionist and imperialist nature.

Not surprisingly, Putin’s policies are actively supported by revisionist treacherous forces in Russia and beyond. In Ukraine, an example of this was so-called Communist Party of Ukraine, which in the 2000s and 2010s increasingly advocated precisely for the interests of the Kremlin, and not for workers. As a result, this organization lost its political influence and almost disappeared. And only after that it was banned by the Ukrainian authorities.

The imperialist Putin`s regime has essentially no difference from the regime of the US or the EU. This is clearly visible in its actions on the world stage, including war crimes, and in domestic politics. Throughout its existence, the Putin`s regime has tried to build an authoritarian military-and-police state, where dissent is suppressed, where organizations of real communists are actively repressed. This is constantly confirmed by comrades from these organizations.

In the interest of Russian finance capital, Putin had been building up his position of power with pro-fascist methods for years. He had the government-critical opposition neutralized and freedom of the press dismantled. The Putin`s regime cultivates varied and close cooperation with pro-fascist and fascist organizations in Europe, like Rassemblement National in France, AfD in Germany, Golden Dawn in Greece or Fidesz in Hungary. Coming from Russia, massive `troll farms` spread chauvinist propaganda, reactionary conspiracy theories, racist anti-refugee hate-mongering in the social media.

2) The situation in Ukraine

How did the war affect workers in Ukraine ?

Once upon a time in childhood, we watched news on TV about the war in Lebanon, with urban battles, where high-rise buildings exploded and everything collapsed. In 2014, when Russian aggression began in the Crimea and Donbass, similar things came to the homes of ordinary people in these regions of Ukraine.

Now, in 2022, this is a daily reality for the entire country. At least 10,000 civilians have already died, tens of thousands have been wounded, and almost 500 children have been killed. More than 4 million people have become refugees abroad, and another 7.7 million have become refugees within the country. These people are forced to survive in conditions that are far from those sufficient to meet even the minimum daily needs.

In mid-October, the culpable Putin`s regime dealt a massive blow to the civilian people of Ukraine again, hundreds of civilians were killed or injured. First of all, the aggressor hits civilian infrastructure in order to intimidate people and sow panic. However, such barbaric strikes in many ways lead to the growth of patriotic sentiments, this is clearly visible in everyday life.

In addition, the war led to an increase in unemployment. According to the International Labor Organization, almost 5 million jobs were lost in Ukraine during the war, or about 30% of the total. The real unemployment rate exceeded 40% of the able-bodied population. Such large industrial centers as Mariupol and Kharkiv have been heavily destroyed by Putin’s interventionists, and the attacks continue.

What are the limits of the Ukrainian people’s support for Zelensky ?

Zelenskiy won the 2019 presidential election as the broad masses in all regions hoped for dramatic changes for the better, including a decisive fight against corruption, as well as measures to end the military conflict in the Donbass. Zelensky’s campaign headquarters actively speculated on such topics, knowing full well, for example, that there was no real possibility of resolving the war in the Donbass, since it expressed the opposition of the main world imperialistic centers.

In the years following the victory of Zelensky, and then his party in the parliamentary elections, many of those who supported him became disillusioned. After all, an endless struggle for power within the government followed, for influence on certain sectors of the economy. The former president Poroshenko in 2021 has almost caught up with Zelensky in ratings. But the Russian attack inevitably rallied the masses in the face of brutal aggression. Many working people in Ukraine and abroad today perceive the President of Ukraine as the face of resistance to Putin’s pro-fascist regime. Here one can draw analogies with Britain in the 1940s : there is no doubt about the class nature of British imperialism, but in the conditions of the war with Nazi Germany, support for the central government was quite strong.

Zelensky is just a personalization of the ruling class, or, in other words, the embodiment of a political superstructure. During the war, he often speaks in public, and one can often notice his insincerity, as he reads from a piece of paper, or prompts from the screen behind the scenes, etc. But in modern conditions, a significant part of the working people perceive him as a `banner` of the struggle against aggression. The same can be said about the military command, whose popularity remained at a high level throughout the war and grew with the start of a successful counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army in September. The further level of Zelensky’s popularity will depend primarily on the course of the fight against Putin’s aggression.

What can we say about the anti-worker laws that have been passed by the authorities ?

Under the martial law, labor laws were tightened. Key innovations are as follows : the dismissal of employees has been significantly simplified, the working week has been increased from 40 to 60 hours, state holidays have been canceled (extra public holidays). At many enterprises, in fact, there could not be days off before the war as well, but now this phenomenon has expanded significantly.

Also, women are now allowed to work in various hard and dangerous jobs. Any strikes are prohibited. Thus, the ruling class is using the war to attack workers’ rights. In addition, the rulers wanted to completely abolish the responsibility of the employer for non-payment of wages, but it was decided to refuse this. An interesting nuance is that for the duration of military service, employees retain their place of work, but the time spent in the army is not counted in the total work experience.

Do you have a point of view on the military strategy of Zelensky facing the Russian invasion ? That is to say, conventional war of material and destruction (artillery, tanks, drones...) against partisan war ? What do you think of Amnesty International’s accusations about the tactics of the Ukrainian army ?

There is reason to believe that the military and political leadership of Ukraine had actively prepared for a big Russian aggression since 2021 at least. Direct information about the preparation of the invasion appeared in the fall of 2021, and then it became clear that the likelihood of war was growing rapidly.

Before the invasion (in January-February), the following key points were crucial :
 the maximal receipt of Western military assistance, in the winter months, it came even by planes ;
 a covert withdrawal of regular forces from their places of permanent deployment and their preparation for combat operations ;
 the urgent formation of units of the Territorial Defense in all regions, which included both volunteers and mobilized people. Since the beginning of the war, these infantry units played a big role in the fight against the invaders in important areas, incl. during the defense of Kyiv in March.

In the spring and summer months, the stake was placed on active defense in order to weaken the invasion forces as much as possible and inflict maximum losses on them. At the same time, there was an accumulation of forces for counterattacks in important sectors. In September, as we know, the Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive, first in the Black Sea region (Kherson region), and then in the Kharkiv region, achieving rapid success. Now the offensive is gradually developing.

Yes, this is a full-fledged continental war, the largest since World War II. At the same time, from the first days of Putin’s invasion, the people of Ukraine began guerrilla resistance to the invaders. Where possible, this resistance was coordinated with the actions of the army forces. Thus, the partisan movement reached a significant scale in the South (Kherson, Zaporizhzhya regions). In addition, since the summer, partisans have appeared in the Crimea, where anti-Russian resistance is gradually growing.

As for the Amnesty International theme, it is clear that the Ukrainian side also violates the rules of warfare, the treatment of prisoners etc. in many cases. However, the facts show that the scale of these violations is many times less in volume and cruelty than the crimes of Putin’s interventionists. Publicity, incl. on the Internet, shows mockeries of Ukrainian prisoners, massacres of civilians made by the invaders in various regions, and the targeted destruction of civilian infrastructure. In particular, the Russian troops made huge destruction and casualties in such large cities as Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv.

What is the nature of patriotism in Ukraine ? A legitimate and natural rejection of the invasion of Russian imperialism, or more deeply a reactionary chauvinism ?

Since 2014, when Putin’s direct aggression against Ukraine has started, patriotic sentiments in our country have grown dramatically. This is a natural reaction to the crimes and lies that this aggression brings to the people of Ukraine, including Crimea and the part of the Donbass which since 2014 was actually under Russian occupation.

On the other hand, this patriotism is actively supported by the authorities in order to use the masses` energy for the interests of the ruling regime. The share of reactionary chauvinism increased with the beginning of open military aggression, but remains not very large. The majority of working people, for various reasons, do not have chauvinistic sentiments, incl. as of spontaneous awareness of their class interests. Despite the hatred of the interventionists, many ordinary people publicly declare, `to kill the Russians` is the wrong slogan, the aim is to destroy the armed aggressors and their accomplices.

What is the situation of the population and especially of the people in the Donbass ?
Since the 1990s, the population of Ukraine has been steadily declining. If in 1991 52 million people lived in the country, in 2021 it was less than 44 million people, including all the occupied territories. The steady decline in the population is related to the collapse of the USSR, which led to a sharp deterioration in living conditions. The result of this was an increase in mortality, a drop in the birth rate, as well as the active emigration. Only in 1991-2010 about 600 thousand people left Ukraine forever.

As for the Donbass, before the Russian aggression in 2014 the population of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions together exceeded 6 million people. After the puppet `republics` appeared, 3.8 million people remained on their territory. At the time of occupation by Russia, another 2 million people lived in Crimea. Overall, since 2014, approximately 1.8 million residents of Crimea and the Donbass have become refugees, having moved to other regions of Ukraine or abroad. This is connected both with military operations and with unbearable living conditions in the `republics`, where a military-and-police regime, a low standard of living, and the suppression of basic civil rights were established from the very beginning.

Is there a left opposition in Ukraine, neither pro Putin nor pro Zelensky ? What do you think of the platform "Sotsialniy Rukh" (Social Movement), supported by reformist trade union and political forces in France ? Other political, trade union or associative forces ?
There are very few such left organizations. A significant part of the left organizations are revisionist and at the same time support the policy of bourgeois imperialist Russia for many years. In particular, the Communist Party of Ukraine, which in the 1990s was the largest party in the country, already in the 2000s completely switched to supporting the Putin`s regime and, as a result, completely lost its political influence.

In addition, since Soviet times, there have been branches of some Trotskyist `internationals` in Ukraine. Quite often the same people represent the cells of various `internationals`. Sotsialniy Rukh is one of the Trotskyist projects and has no real influence among the masses. At the origins of this structure were persons known for their adventures with the appropriation of funds from foreign Trotskyist `internationals`. It is not surprising that this structure is actively cooperating with reformists in Europe and around the world.

Also, since the Soviet era, there has been a movement of independent trade unions in Ukraine, especially in the field of mining and engineering. In part, these trade unions are under the influence of right-wing forces, but in recent years they have intensified the struggle for the objective rights of workers. So far, this struggle has been limited to economic demands and partial political slogans.

We have published in our magazine a class analysis found on the web (https://eventsinukraine.substack.com/p/class-contradictions-and-the-war?s=r), what do you think of it and what criticisms can you make ?

In general, your analysis gives a good and deep picture of the situation. At the same time, after the collapse of the USSR, and especially after 2014, the big bourgeoisie of Ukraine actively sought independence from Russian influence. This began to manifest in the 2000s, when the largest Ukrainian corporations, SCM or the Industrial Union of Donbass, launched foreign expansion and acquired foreign assets.

Now, if finally the state of Ukraine emerges as a political winner in this war, its ambitions as a regional leader will increase dramatically. This is already evident in the statements of the `first persons`, publicly expressing claims to the role of Ukraine as a post-war `guarantor of peace` in the region. Moreover, it sounds more and more actively from our authorities that Ukraine is starting to set the `fashion for the forceful defense of democracy` in Europe and around the world.

It is clear that these ambitions are limited by the interests of the West (US, EU, Great Britain and their allies). Most likely, the West expects to make Ukraine a successful example of `post-Soviet democracy`, freed from the Soviet past as much as possible, building a successful `democratic society` and dynamic economy. As an analogue, we can take the example of South Korea, where billions of Western money were invested, this made it possible to create a large and technologically advanced economy. But at the same time, South Korea is not an independent player on the world stage. In addition, the South Korean political system remains largely authoritarian and bears the marks of the instability and military coups of the 20th century. A similar prospect threatens Ukraine, because capitalism is inherently unjust and unstable.

Where do you stand in the extremely difficult political situation in which you live, and what are your key political tasks ?

We remain a proletarian organization on Marxist-Leninist positions. For as long as we exist, we have strongly condemned Russian imperialism and its aggressive policies. And we passionately support the Ukrainian people in their struggle against Putin’s bandits. Also we expose Western imperialism and the existing regime in Ukraine, on the basis of an objective class analysis. There is no `good` imperialism, it always brings grief, destruction and death.

Our key political tasks are :
 to explain the true class essence of events and phenomena. This also applies to the exposure of Putin’s imperialism, and the true nature of the ruling regime in Ukraine, and the real interests of the West ;
 to continue building our organization basing on the industrial proletariat, despite the strong anti-communist stereotypes actively promoted by bourgeois propaganda.

3) International solidarity

Is there still a possible basis for an internationalism of solidarity between Ukrainian and Russian peoples against the exploiters and imperialists of all countries ? With the Belarusian railway workers, the Russian pacifists and deserters ?

Such a basis always exists, since the true class interests of the working people of Ukraine and Russia coincide. The same applies to the interests of the Belarusian working people and the working class of all countries of the world.

Throughout the history of our organization, since the 1990s, we have consistently fought against Russian chauvinism and its influence on left-wing parties and organizations. Long before the events of `Maidan` in 2014, we warned that Russian imperialism was no less dangerous than any other imperialism. And in its own way even more dangerous, since the leaders of Russian imperialism have their roots in the capitalist system of the degenerate Soviet Union. They are well aware of everything that happened in the territories of the former USSR, and skillfully speculate on the moods of the working people.

For example, the Putin`s regime has been exploiting the themes of the USSR and Stalin for almost the entire time of its existence, presenting itself almost as their successor. In modern Russia, the symbols of the USSR are actively used, and even the melody of the Soviet anthem as well. But this does not change the true essence of the rotten regime.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian official propaganda all the time of independence seeks to denigrate the achievements of the Soviet socialist system, its leaders, socialism as it is. But neither Russian nor Ukrainian propaganda can change the essence of things : the working class in both Ukraine and Russia has its true class interests, which consist in liberation from capitalist exploitation. And this is possible only with the elimination of capitalism, and the overcoming of any imperialism, including deceitful barbarian Putin’s one.

The peoples of the former Soviet republics have a lot of successful experience both in the joint struggle for socialism and in victories over strong enemies. Let`s recall the Civil War a hundred years ago, when the young Soviet republics, being surrounded by enemy forces, were able to withstand and win. And to build together the world’s first country of socialism, the USSR, and to win on the peaceful and military fronts again. We believe that such a time for the proletariat of our peoples will definitely come again.

What are the needs of international solidarity that you expect in priority ?
Popularization of your positions ? Financial support ? Material help ? Reception of activists ?

In the current situation, the most important thing is a balanced class analysis of processes and events, which makes it possible to draw the right conclusions. It is also important to popularize these findings among the masses. We are trying to do this in Ukraine, and it is very important that other proletarian organizations also do this in their countries.

At the same time, we are very grateful for practical support, including material one, to all those who can provide it. The war brought misfortune and death to the working people of Ukraine, and from the first days of the war we have tried to provide possible organizational and material assistance to those who have lost their homes or who have nothing to eat. These problems became acute at the beginning of the war, but now the destruction of residential buildings and civilian infrastructure continues, people are left without a piece of bread and without a roof over their heads. Ukraine receive humanitarian aid from Western countries, but it is not enough, and is often distributed chaotically. Therefore, we provide support to affected people on our own.

In conclusion, we can note that, most likely, the war will last for about a year more. The Putin`s regime is not going to give up its predatory goals in Ukraine, and the West too. This means that the Ukrainian people will face new sufferings. But no matter how difficult it is, we must continue the fight for the truth, the clarification of the true state of things. After all, only in this way we can advance on the path of struggle for real interests of the working class.

Down with the war ! Down with any imperialism !

Proletarians of all countries, unite !