By Harsh Thakor
All progressive forces must heart and soul condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has aggravated the crisis of a third world war sprouting at it’s greatest height since 75 years, escalating international tension at an unprecedented level. The sharpened inter imperialist contention precipitated this event, with NATO countries wishing to enstrangle Ukraine at one end and Russian troops in retaliation encircling its neighbour. It is an abject lesson of the consequences of contention of imperialist powers. In this hour there is continuous bombing in Kiev, Kramatorsk, Odessa, Kharkov, Berdyansk.
What is heartening are the demonstrations worldwide condemning the war ,particularly in Russia .Thousands of Russian people are flooding the streets in protest. What is lacking internationally in the protests is exposing the conspiracy of NATO and America in hatching such a plot and the anti-people regime ruling Ukraine. Possibly it is the weakness of an organised democratic movement led by a Communist party within Ukraine that paved the way for Ukraine endorsing membership of NATO.On the international level it is the absence of a genuinely Socialist state, weakness of a genuine Communist movement or anti-imperialist revolutionary struggle that has failed to check the conspiracy of imperialist powers.
Sadly China is shying from taking a progressive stand giving Russia support .This is because of it’s trade relations with Russia as a supplier and overall its contention as a rival imperialist power. It testifies he reactionary nature of China today. Nor are India or Pakistan taking a positive stand, negotiating with Putin.
It is regrettable that a trend is emerging within the Marxist camp supporting Russia’s action. In their view it is to safeguard Russia from being mowed down by NATO countries, with Ukraine joining NATO threatening their very survival. They simply fail to understand Russia’s expansionist ambitions to capture trade markets, which are the very perquisites of an imperialist country. Even Russia’s aversion to Ukraine joining NATO
There is also a tendency of over anxiety, particularly amongst the America n people, in analysing that the World is on the brink of crashing and having no clue of how America and the West gave birth to such a crisis. I deeply miss the days of protests against Vietnam war when the American people tightened the nooses of their very govt.Many Westerners are only dropping crocodile tears from their eyes.
Ruling classes including ruling RSS-BJP have given a supporting hand to both USA and Russia to counter China. In fact their so-called independence stems from their courting different imperialist powers. It is noteworthy that India has remained neutral in this War, not condemning Russia or even Pakistan for that matter.
A most balanced perspective has been projected in statements of organisations like C.P.I. (M.L) New Democracy, and the Revolutionary Workers party of India.
A very important element today is to expose to the working class widely and intensely how globalisation is a source of War and how nation chauvinism is delivering a mortal blow to the welfare of the working class. It needs to be educated how only revolution can avert a third world war. The link must be established between the unprecedented capitalist crisis in the West and the Imperialist ambitions of countries. It would be worth projecting how it was Socialist USSR that defeated Nazi Germany in World War 2 and how China under Mao in 1968 condemned the USSR invasion of Czechoslovakia. A link must be established of the Ukraine War with other issues like Taliban in Afghanistan, Israeli hegemony in Middle East or even the consolidation of neo-fascism in India.Study classes should be undertaken to educate workers world over of the progressive nature of Soviet Russia before 1956 and how the Ukranian people as part of USSR benefited immensely .Ukraine people’s role in the triumph of USSR in World War 2 should be recalled and how USSR was a genuine federal state till 1956..The role of a truly Socialist state ‘s foreign policy should be projected ,in contrast to imperialist powers.
What is most important is that progressive forces leave no stone unturned in exposing the nefarious design sof imperialist conspiracy of the West and Russia, exploit the inter-imperialist contradictions and convince masses world over that Imperialism means war and only Revolution can defeat it. The biggest priority is the people of Russia and Ukraine in grasping the neo-fascist nature of their rulers and extricating themselves from any chauvinist tendency.
This war is essentially a product of intensified conflicts among contending imperialist powers. US and Russia are giving excuses for their stance in this war. All talk of US about democracy and commitment to international law and treaties is bogus. US had manufactured overthrow of a democratically elected President of Ukraine in 2014, the beginning of the present crisis. All along US establishment’s aim has been to extend NATO closer to Russia. (CPI-MLNew Democracy statement)
Russian rulers have chosen to confront US and NATO led by them to consolidate their areas of influence which had been thrown to the graveyard since dissolution of Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union. Engaged in transition to ‘private’ capitalism i.e. loot and plunder of state properties, and for which they needed support of US led imperialist block, Russian rulers observed the diminishing area of influence and expansion of US. With US getting bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, and having consolidated their control over Russia, ruling elite of Russia sought to claw back their influence. First they went about it area by area with limited aims e.g. Georgia and after US defeat in Afghanistan for whole sale roll back of US influence in the region. As events of Kazakhstan showed Russia is re-emerging as ‘gendarme’ in vast Eurasia. (CPI-MLNew Democracy statement)
Ruling elite of Ukraine, capitalist oligarchs, sprouted in Russia from loot and plunder of state properties. They had a conflict based in continued dependence on Russia besides linguistic and cultural bonds, and need to enlist US and West Europe for increasing their wealth and check Russian influence. Rather than pursuing the interests of people of Ukraine, they hobnobbed with big powers.
With this all out attack on Ukraine Russia has exposed it’s hypocrisy in defending people of Donbas was proclaimed with the intention of gaining hegemony over Ukraine. Russian President Putin who was earlier taking of ‘preventing genocide in eastern Ukraine’ has now launched a ‘special military operation’ to “demilitarize’ and ‘denazify’ Ukraine, the aims which mean controlling Ukraine. (CPI-MLNew Democracy statement)
One of main aims of Biden Admn. of USA is to re-establish control over Western Europe where France and Germany were beginning to take an independent course. Biden’s slogan “US is Back” is targeted at that, and cancellation of Nord Stream 2 has been its focal point. In fact Russian Oil and Gas companies are contending with big oil companies of the west.
Ruling elite of Ukraine, capitalist oligarchs, sprouted in Russia from loot and plunder of state properties. They had a conflict based in continued dependence on Russia besides linguistic and cultural bonds, and need to enlist US and West Europe for increasing their wealth and check Russian influence. Rather than pursuing the interests of people of Ukraine, they hobnobbed with big powers. Ukraine has long been a zone of contention among imperialist powers but its rulers patronised their interests . President Zelensky allowed his Govt. to be clawed by US’s European policy and made himself a slave of the “Ukrainian Nationalists”. Against his election promise, he intensified attacks on Donbas regions, branded them as terrorists and refused to talk to them. Zelensky Govt. has given a deaf ear to problems of people, especially working class. People of Ukraine have every right to assert their sovereignty, a right threatened by big imperialist powers especially Russia, but present rulers do not represent this. (CPI-MLNew Democracy statement)
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