That does not change the fact that they are fulfilling an anti-imperialist role in the world today. Yes Russia has serious internal contradictions, ones that will have to be resolved, but they are secondary to the global contradiction between the imperialist core and the rest of the world which is the primary contradiction of our time. Imperialism is the main obstacle to socialism everywhere. It is not the Russian bourgeoisie.
Is is also not a question of “supporting Russia”, rather supporting what they are doing in specific contexts, such as their anti-fascist intervention in Ukraine, or their pivotal role on the global stage in challenging US hegemony, frustrating the imperialists’ plans as they did in Syria, and working alongside China to turn from a unipolar US hegemony to a multipolar world that will allow the global south room to breathe and develop without the crushing weight of neo-colonialism.
This approach is well supported by Marxist-Leninist theory, i would refer you specifically to the sixth chapter of “The Foundations of Leninism” where it is explicitly stated that bourgeois or even monarchist forces can fulfil a progressive and revolutionary role under the right conditions, namely when their actions serve to undermine the global system of imperialism. In this chapter dealing with the National Question the context is that of national liberation and anti-colonialism, but the argument is just as well applicable to the global situation of today.
And on a smaller scale the struggle of the people of the Donbass to free and defend themselves from the fascist US proxy regime in Kiev can be understood as a struggle of national liberation… Not only that but the toppling of this regime would also represent the broader liberation of the people of Ukraine from what is essentially a colonial comprador government that has been selling out their country to Western corporate and financial interests.
Whether Russia can or wants to achieve all that remains to be seen but even just the fact that they launched this operation has already changed the world in fundamental ways and accelerated the demise of global US hegemony. If Russia loses, all of that risks being undone and imperialism being strengthened again, setting the global struggle back decades. It is in the interest of all communists, and more broadly speaking all progressive forces, that NATO and its proxies do not win.
Calling a world power “bad” and leaving it at that is moralistic and anti-materialist.
OK, Why do I not support Russia?
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
I support the territorial claims of Russia, but that doesn’t mean I support Z, I want this war to be over as soon as possible
That does not change the fact that they are fulfilling an anti-imperialist role in the world today. Yes Russia has serious internal contradictions, ones that will have to be resolved, but they are secondary to the global contradiction between the imperialist core and the rest of the world which is the primary contradiction of our time. Imperialism is the main obstacle to socialism everywhere. It is not the Russian bourgeoisie.
Is is also not a question of “supporting Russia”, rather supporting what they are doing in specific contexts, such as their anti-fascist intervention in Ukraine, or their pivotal role on the global stage in challenging US hegemony, frustrating the imperialists’ plans as they did in Syria, and working alongside China to turn from a unipolar US hegemony to a multipolar world that will allow the global south room to breathe and develop without the crushing weight of neo-colonialism.
This approach is well supported by Marxist-Leninist theory, i would refer you specifically to the sixth chapter of “The Foundations of Leninism” where it is explicitly stated that bourgeois or even monarchist forces can fulfil a progressive and revolutionary role under the right conditions, namely when their actions serve to undermine the global system of imperialism. In this chapter dealing with the National Question the context is that of national liberation and anti-colonialism, but the argument is just as well applicable to the global situation of today.
And on a smaller scale the struggle of the people of the Donbass to free and defend themselves from the fascist US proxy regime in Kiev can be understood as a struggle of national liberation… Not only that but the toppling of this regime would also represent the broader liberation of the people of Ukraine from what is essentially a colonial comprador government that has been selling out their country to Western corporate and financial interests.
Whether Russia can or wants to achieve all that remains to be seen but even just the fact that they launched this operation has already changed the world in fundamental ways and accelerated the demise of global US hegemony. If Russia loses, all of that risks being undone and imperialism being strengthened again, setting the global struggle back decades. It is in the interest of all communists, and more broadly speaking all progressive forces, that NATO and its proxies do not win.