Neither Russia nor NATO – against all imperialist powers! For an independent popular struggle to defend the Ukraine! For a workers government to defeat the Russian invaders! No to imperialist sanctions! For an independent socialist Ukraine!
Emergency Statement of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 24 February 2022 [UTC 09.00], www.thecommunists.net
- 1. A few hours ago, Putin launched a wide-scale military operation against the Ukraine. While the concrete details are not clear yet, it is known that Russian Armed Forces are attacking cities all over the country. Bombs are falling, among others, in Odessa, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Dnipro and the capital Kyiv. At the same time, troops stationed in the so-called Donbas “Republics” are attacking the Ukrainian army. No doubt, this is a full-scale war against the Ukraine.
- 2. Putin announced that the goal of this war is to “demilitarise and denazify” the Ukraine. Naturally, this is a cynical lie! The real goal is to expand the sphere of influence of Russian imperialism and to push back its NATO rivals. So, contrary to the outrageous claims of social-imperialist “left-wing” parties which side with Russia (and China), this is not a “progressive” or “anti-fascist” war by any standards. This is an imperialist war!
- 3. While the exact response of the U.S. and European imperialist powers is not clear yet, it is obvious that they will impose a wide range of massive economic and financial sanctions against Russia. There cannot be the slightest doubt that this represents a further major escalation of the Great Power rivalry which will have dramatic consequences for the imperialist world order as well as for the capitalist world economy. The Washington Post aptly noted, already before the war started, in an editorial: “This is the way the post-war world ends, and the post-Cold War world, too.” (22 February)
- 4. The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) unreservedly condemns Putin’s imperialist war against the Ukraine. We reaffirm our analysis of this conflict which we elaborated extensively in the past weeks: this war is the result of the massive acceleration of the inter-imperialist rivalry between the Great Powers. Since 2014, the Ukraine has been divided between the right-wing government which came to power via the EuroMaidan movement and the so-called Donbass “Republics”. While the first has been effectively puppets of NATO imperialism, the latter were colonies of Russian imperialism. The deep crisis of capitalism provokes the ruling class of all Great Powers to intensify their aggressions at home as well as abroad.
- 5. The RCIT repeats that the workers and popular masses must not side with any of the imperialist camps. They must intransigently oppose all Great Powers – the U.S., Russia, China, the EU and Japan! Therefore, socialists must reject all forms of imperialist aggression – from chauvinist warmongering, sanctions to military attacks. Likewise, we denounce all “left-wing” parties which – openly or concealed – side with one or the other imperialist power. We therefore condemn the Putinista left, i.e. the pro-Russian Stalinist and Bolivarian parties; the “Party of the European Left” which supports EU imperialism; and Bernie Sanders and his allies who are supporters of the Biden Administration.
- 6. As we stated in past documents, socialists in Russia must staunchly oppose Putin’s imperialist war. They should support all kinds of protest activities. It is an encouraging sign that numerous graffities have appeared on the streets saying “Нет войне” (“No War”). There is also circulating a hashtag #нетвойне in Russian social media. The policy of socialists in Russia centers around the slogans “The main enemy is at home!” and “Turn the guns around”. Such a policy is a crucial part of the strategic goal to transform the imperialist war into a civil war. Socialists must denounce Stalinist traitors like the KPRF which fully supports Moscow’s policy of aggression. The task is to assemble socialists on the basis of an internationalist and anti-imperialist program.
- 7. Naturally, socialists in the Ukraine face the most difficult task at the moment. The Ukrainian workers and popular masses experience devastating bombardment and invasion by the Russian army. The Zelensky government is a coward lackey of Western imperialism. Its “defense” policy has always been reduced to pathetic appeals for NATO aggression against Russia. The Ukraine can not and must not be defended with such a puppet regime!
- 8. The RCIT advocates the perspective of an independent and socialist Ukraine. We denounce Great Russian chauvinism and support the sovereignty of the Ukrainian nation as well as the existence of the Ukraine as an independent state. Such a state should recognize the rights of all minorities (including the Russian-speaking population), including the rights to secede.
- 9. We support the struggle for an independent Ukraine. We therefore support the Ukrainian people resisting the Russian invasion. Such a struggle must be independent from Western imperialism. It must be independent because Western imperialism is no better than Russian imperialism. It must be independent because domination by the U.S., NATO, or EU puts the Ukrainian people under foreign rule. And it must be independent because there can be no true victory against the Russian invasion if Western imperialists intervene. This is a lesson that many peoples learned in the past. Just remember the fate of the Bosnian people who were stopped by the NATO intervention in 1995 when they heroically attempted to liberate their country from Serbian nationalist troops. Until today, the Bosnian people are paying a high price – one that no true socialists want the people in Ukraine to pay! Let us be clear: We want an independent Ukraine which is neither a Russian nor a NATO colony!
- 10. Therefore, the Ukrainian masses should overthrow the Zelensky regime and replace it with a workers government based on popular assemblies and militias. Such a government could wage an authentic national liberation war against Russian imperialism and, at the same time, oppose NATO imperialism. Under the current circumstances socialists should support all spontaneous efforts to build popular militias to defend the country against the Russian aggressors. Criminals and fascists must be excluded from such militias. Socialists also need to look for close collaboration with anti-war activists in Russia as well as with other peoples oppressed by Russian imperialism (e.g. the Chechens, they Syrian people). The enemy is not the Russian people but the Putin regime and its lackeys (including the Stalinist KPRF)!
- 11. Comrades, brothers and sisters! We are experiencing a historic turn in the world situation. The RCIT has emphasized since more than a decade that the rivalry between the imperialist Great Powers in East and West is a key feature of the world situation. One can not be a socialist without recognizing this fundamental fact! One can not be a socialist without opposing all imperialist powers! And one can not be a socialist without supporting the oppressed peoples fighting against imperialist aggression. We send our warmest greetings to the heroic socialists in the Ukraine fighting against the Russian invasion without lending any support to the NATO imperialists or their puppet Zelensky regime. Likewise, we greet the courageous socialists in Russia opposing Putin the butcher and his reactionary wars. We appeal to all socialists to unite on the basis of an internationalist and antiimperialist program. Join the RCIT in building a Revolutionary World Party fighting for international socialist revolution!
Down with Putin’s imperialist war against the Ukraine!
For an independent popular struggle to defend the Ukraine!
Support the creation of popular militias!
For a workers government to defeat the Russian invaders!
An independent Ukraine is only possible against Moscow, Washington, and Brussels!
For an independent and socialist Ukraine!
No to imperialist sanctions!
Solidarity with the Chechen and Syrian people fighting against Russian occupation!
Workers and Oppressed: Fight all Great Powers in East and West!