This post was originally a question during a reading club, but since it does not align with the theme of the reading club, I am posting it here to ask everyone. The questions are as follows:
The main purpose of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the achievements Russia has made.
Is there currently any trend towards ending or ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict?
The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on future world revolution.
What communist organizations are there in Russia and Ukraine?
The future position of Russia and Ukraine in the world revolution.
Regarding point 4, as far as I know, there are no truly communist organizations in Russia and Ukraine. The left circles there mainly consist of monarchists who glorify the Soviet Union and its allies. Besides that, the “Russian Maoist Party” is relatively well-known, but it has many issues itself, and it also participates in the international organization ICOR (International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organizations) for the left alliance. An organization called “Russian Maoist Collective” once criticized the “Russian Maoist Party” through debates, but it has now disappeared from the internet, and it is unclear whether it was due to security issues or other reasons. The “Russian Maoist Collective” was active earlier on the Russian imperial software Telegram, and later they even created an official website using the .ru domain (the website is no longer active). After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, they stopped updating for some time.
Same question. Long ago, the Russian Empire already publicly declared that the October Revolution was a “coup d’état,” probably saying what “obstructed” Russia’s development. Some time ago, a translation news from a leftist circle reported that a group in Moscow was studying “The State and Revolution” and was arrested; the authorities considered “The State and Revolution” to incite rebellion and separatism. They were sentenced to 10 years.
I personally do not have the ability to answer this question; there are many groups abroad that claim to be communist, but very few can truly be considered communist organizations.
This article by Zhong Mao Gong has serious stance issues; it does not point out that the Russia-Ukraine war is an act of Russian aggression initiated by Russia, but instead views it as a dog-eat-dog war between the two imperialist groups of American imperialism and Chinese revisionism. This is an insult to the Ukrainian people’s anti-invasion struggle and a serious misguidance for the working people of other countries.
Doesn’t that mean that Ukrainian revolutionaries or anti-invasion people should oppose aggression like the Chinese Communist Party did during the invasion of China, forcing the reactionary government to actively take defensive measures?
It should first point out the reactionary purpose of Russia’s invasion war, then emphasize that Ukraine’s anti-invasion forces are mainly the Ukrainian people, rather than the passive defense of the comprador government of Ukraine. Since the Ukrainian militia was incorporated into the comprador government, it has been subjected to various restrictions by the bourgeoisie army, and its combat effectiveness has declined. Although the working masses around the world know that Russia’s invasion war is reactionary, few people can see through the essence of the comprador government of Ukraine’s passive resistance. This is what should be pointed out. The understanding of the Chinese Communist Party on this issue is not as good as the vast majority of the global supporters of Ukraine.
“Vulgar and shameless liberals and petty-bourgeois democrats distort the imperialist nature of the Russia-Ukraine war under the pretext of ‘aggression war,’ supporting Ukraine’s ‘anti-aggression’ (they dare not directly say ‘defend the homeland,’ nor openly oppose Leninism, so they take a roundabout approach, using other beautiful and melodious words to cover up the ugliness of social chauvinism), in fact, standing on the side of Ukrainian oligarchs and American imperialism.”
This is what they say. I have always stood on the same side as them, and I also call for turning imperialist wars into domestic wars.
The Russia-Ukraine war is indeed a war of Russian imperialist invasion of Ukraine, but a major mistake in the claims of liberals and democrats is that they describe Ukraine’s anti-invasion actions as being carried out by a few “patriotic” oligarchs in Ukraine, especially what Zelensky has done. In fact, Zelensky himself is just like Chiang Kai-shek, a complete traitor, signing treacherous treaties with the American imperialist bloc on one hand, doing nothing on the front lines, and on the other hand, cracking down on the genuine anti-invasion armed forces in Ukraine and frequently negotiating with the Russian Empire. Therefore, the description of this as an invasion war is correct, but the mistake lies in attributing the anti-invasion achievements to traitors. This mistake must be pointed out, but if, based on this, one claims that this is not an invasion war but an imperialist power struggle, then it erases the Ukrainian people’s anti-invasion struggle. It is akin to saying that the Anti-Japanese War was just a “dog fight” between Chiang’s bandits supported by the U.S. and Japanese imperialism, which is actually even more mistaken.
The problem is that Ukraine is not an imperialist country, so let me ask you, do you also think the Anti-Japanese War was just dogs biting dogs? Trotskyists say it was about turning an imperialist war into a civil war, but in reality, they received subsidies from the Japanese imperialists, which actually facilitated Japanese aggression. During the Anti-Japanese War, the united front was also both united and fought; when reactionaries opposed communists, they would struggle against them.
This article does not provide a detailed discussion of why the Russia-Ukraine war is called an “imperialist war” in their terms, but only summarizes it with the sentence: “The overall international political and economic situation indicates that the war between Russia and Ukraine is obviously an imperialist war.” This sentence is not based on any material and is not supported by any rigorous or logical reasoning, so it is obviously unconvincing to most people. Instead, it may confuse those who trust the Chinese Maoist-Communist line, making them indirectly accomplices of the revisionist imperialist group. Moreover, the following sentence of this statement can counter the Maoist-Communist view itself: “It is the political struggle of Russian capital and Western capitalist powers over Ukraine’s market, resources, land, and population through violent means.” This sentence indicates that Ukraine is merely a colony fought over by two major imperialist groups, indirectly admitting that Russia launched the war to colonially invade Ukraine. No matter from which perspective, Ukraine must respond with armed resistance to Russia. Do the Ukrainian people have to obediently surrender their guns and submit to Russia’s invasion and atrocities to avoid being “cannon fodder for the Ukrainian government,” and can Russia’s invasion be called an act of war? This is a complete victim-blaming logic. If that’s the case, then the Anti-Japanese War, supported by Britain and the United States and fought between the Chiang Kai-shek government of the Republic of China and the Japanese imperialists, would also be called a “dog-eat-dog imperialist war,” right?
The Communist Party of China is about establishing a united front, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan, relying on the masses to compel Chiang Kai-shek’s comprador government to fight the invaders and prevent their surrender. Now, the Ukrainian people are also forcing Zelensky to resist Russia; if Zelensky does not resist Russia, he will be overthrown. However, due to the lack of leadership from a communist party, the masses are not as organized, and it is also very difficult to thoroughly expose Zelensky’s various surrender plots and resist his suppression of revolutionary masses.
That is certainly to learn Marxism well, to clearly demand resistance, then to point out Zelensky’s various suppressions and betrayals, to strive for the right to armed resistance, and to gain support from a broader range of the masses. However, the specific methods are more complex, and Marxist organizations have also been forged through fierce struggles. They generally originate first from the petty bourgeois left-wing intellectuals.
