Russian communist lawmakers condemn Ukraine war

 Oleg Smolin, Mikhail Matveyev, Vyacheslav Markhaev

Three Communist Party members of the Russian Duma, Oleg Smolin, Mikhail Matveyev and Vyacheslav Markhaev have expressed their condemnation for the military attack against Ukraine. 

 

Despite the official position of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) which views positively the government's war campaign, the three lawmakers joined the anti-war movement in Russia by publicly denouncing the launching of a full-scale war by President Vladimir Putin. 

 

Oleg Smolin, from Omsk Oblast's Moskalenki constituency, said he “was shocked” when the attack started and “was convinced that military force should be used in politics only as a last resort.”

Another CPRF deputy, Mikhail Matveyev, said the war in Ukraine should be stopped immediately. "I believe that the war should be stopped immediately. By voting for the recognition of DNR/LNR, I voted for peace, not war. For Russia to become a shield, not to bomb Donbass, not to bomb Kyiv", Matveyev wrote on Twitter. However, a few days later, the tweet seems to have been deleted.

Vyacheslav Markhaev, a Duma member of the CPRF from the Republic of Buryatia, has condemned the military attack by Russia on Ukraine. 

"To my greatest dismay, the whole campaign to have DNR and LNR recognised was motivated by entirely different intentions and plans, which were initially kept hidden. Now, as a result, we have a full-scale military confrontation and war between the two countries", Markhaev wrote on Facebook.

The communist lawmaker also added: "I condemn the unjustified strategy of the West and the double standards of their policies, promoting their interests by changing the legitimate authority in the states in dispute and seizing new territories under the false slogans of defending democracy. I also condemn the Russian government, which has started to use the same double standards. We used the recognition of DNR and LNR to hide a plan for full-scale war with our closest neighbour".

It must be noted that since the beginning of the invasion, thousands of anti-war protesters in more than 60 cities have been detained by Russian police. 

IN DEFENSE OF COMMUNISM ©