Imperialism: The Example of the Russian Federation

Article by the Revolutionary Communist Youth League of Russia (Bolsheviks) RKSM(b):

Introduction

The question of the role of the Russian Federation in the global imperialist system is important now more than ever. The ongoing war in Ukraine, the growing tensions between large capitalist powers and the ongoing crisis in the international communist movement bring the topic to the forefront of the discussion. Being only one aspect of a greater discussion on the nature of imperialism, it highlights how a flawed understanding of a given phenomenon can have far-reaching consequences for the political analysis of the global situation as a whole. This, in turn, can undermine the theoretical and practical work of entire organisations.

What is Stalinism and what does it actually mean to be a Stalinist today?

 By Nikos Mottas

Since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956, everything that relates to Joseph Stalin has been demonized. The so-called “destalinization” process initiated by Khrushchev and his political allies, within the broader opportunistic turn of the CPSU, tried to blame Stalin for all the evils of the world. 

Khrushchev's shameless campaign against Stalin was effectively used by the capitalist world in building the anti-communist arsenal of the Cold War. 

Antonio Gramsci — I hate the indifferent

By Antonio Gramsci.

I hate the indifferent. I believe that living means taking sides. Those who really live cannot help being a citizen and a partisan. Indifference and apathy are parasitism, perversion, not life. That is why I hate the indifferent.

The indifference is the dead weight of history. The indifference operates with great power on history. The indifference operates passively, but it operates. It is fate, that which cannot be counted on. It twists programs and ruins the best-conceived plans. It is the raw material that ruins intelligence. That what happens, the evil that weighs upon all, happens because the human mass abdicates to their will; allows laws to be promulgated that only the revolt could nullify, and leaves men that only a mutiny will be able to overthrow to achieve the power.

E.Yaroslavsky- History of Anarchism in Russia (Before the Bolshevik Party / Part I)

History of Anarchism in Russia

By Emelyan Yaroslavsky.

New York: International Publishers, 1937.

INTRODUCTION

In the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics at the present time the anarchists no longer enjoy any influence over the masses. They are met with only as isolated individualists. The reason for this is the victory of socialism in the U.S.S.R. The old Russia, landlord and petty-bourgeoispeasant Russia, which fostered anarchism and gave birth to the founders of anarchism, those repentant aristocrats--Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin and Leo Tolstoy--has passed away.

Interview with Domenico Losurdo: Marx and the counter-history of Liberalism

Domenico Losurdo, one of the most significant contemporary Marxist thinkers, died at the age of 77. He was a Professor of Philosophy at Urbino University as well as President of the International Association Hegel-Marx for Dialectical Thought. Despite any possible disagreements of different views regarding his work, the death of Losurdo consists a major loss for marxist thought in the academic and literature sector. Below, we republish an interesting interview he gave to the Platypus Affiliated Society in 2012, based on one of his latest books titled "Liberalism: A Counter-History". 

KKE: Marxism as a factor in the shaping of sociopolitical processes in Greece

Marxist Theory as a factor in the shaping of sociopolitical processes in Greece: Some Conclusions drawn from the action of the KKE.

International Conference on Karl Marx’s “Capital” and its Impact on the development of the World Moscow, May 11 - 12, 2018

By Giorgos Magganas, 

representative of the Ideological Committee of the CC of the KKE.

The central work of Marxism, “Capital” is the foundation, the pedestal of a radically new worldview – Dialectical Materialism -  that, having assimilated the totality of intellectual achievement, shattered the limitations of the interpretations of the world, creating the theoretical preconditions that make changing it not only timely but realistic.

Karl Marx's 200th birth anniversary: The man who changed the world forever

By Nikos Mottas.

"Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it." 

 

- Karl Marx, Theses on Feuerbach.

Two centuries have passed since the birth of the greatest thinker in the history of mankind. It was the 5th of May 1818 when Karl Heinrich Marx was born in Trier, Rhenish Prussia (present-day Germany). 

He was the man who tried not just to interpret the world, but to change it. The issue of how to change the world consisted the core of his remarkably unique theoretical work as well as his practical activity. The result was the scientific theory of the working class, for the overthrow of the capital's power and the establishment of the workers' power, the "dictatorship of the proletariat", the abolition of the exploitation of man by man and the ultimate transition from class societies to communism. 

Brinda Karat- Marxism and the Struggle for Women’s Emancipation in India

Marxism and the Struggle for Women’s Emancipation in Contemporary India

By Brinda Karat*.

Source: International Communist Review, Issue 8, 2018.

Introduction

The struggle for and the road to women’s emancipation depends on the nature of the State and the specific correlation of class forces in any given society. Which are the forces responsible for the unequal status of women, the violence against women, the daily humiliations and creation of multiple barriers in women’s struggles for freedom? 

V.I. Lenin — The Defeat of One’s Own Government in the Imperialist War

Vladimir I. Lenin - The Defeat of One’s Own Government in the Imperialist War.

Published in Sotsial-Demorkrat No. 43, July 26, 1915.

Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, [1974], Moscow, Volume 21, pages 275-280. 

During a reactionary war a revolutionary class cannot but desire the defeat of its government.

This is axiomatic, and disputed only by conscious partisans or helpless satellites of the social-chauvinists. Among the former, for instance, is Semkovsky of the Organising Committee (No. 2 of its Izvestia), and among the latter, Trotsky and Bukvoyed,[2] and Kautsky in Germany. To desire Russia’s defeat, Trotsky writes, is “an uncalled-for and absolutely unjustifiable concession to the political methodology of social-patriotism, which would replace the revolutionary struggle against the war and the conditions causing it, with an orientation—highly arbitrary in the present conditions—towards the lesser evil” (Nashe Slovo No. 105).

J.V. Stalin - Trotskyism or Leninism? (1924)

Joseph V. Stalin- Trotskyism or Leninism?

Speech delivered at the Plenum of the Communist Group in the A.U.C.C.T.U., 

November 19, 1924;

Published on Pravda, No.269, 

November 26, 1924.

Published via Marxists Internet Archives.

Comrades, after Kamenev's comprehensive report there is little left for me to say. I shall therefore confine myself to exposing certain legends that are being spread by Trotsky and his supporters about the October uprising, about Trotsky's role in the uprising, about the Party and the preparation for October, and so forth. I shall also touch upon Trotskyism as a peculiar ideology that is incompatible with Leninism, and upon the Party's tasks in connection with Trotsky's latest literary pronouncements.

TRUTH AND LIES ABOUT SOCIALISM - Dictatorship of the Proletariat: A Higher form of Democracy

TRUTH AND LIES ABOUT SOCIALISM: 

ON THE SOCIALIST POWER.

Central Council of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE).

Published by Synchroni Epochi, 2013.

Click here to read the book in pdf.

PART II: THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT: A HIGHER FORM OF DEMOCRACY.

The leap that takes place during the socialist construction, i.e. during the transition from capitalism to communism, is qualitatively higher than any previous one, since communist relations, as non-exploitative, cannot be formed in capitalism. The political revolution is the precondition for these new relations to be imposed and dominate, i.e. the conquest of power by the working class and the establishment of its own state, the dictatorship of the proletariat. 

This is a basic difference in the transition to the communist socioeconomic formation in relation with the previous. In the framework of the transition from an exploitative socioeconomic formation to another, the new relations could be developed and dominate first in the confines of the previous socioeconomic formation and then, as the last part of this process, the class that was the bearer of the new relations struggled for and took power. This happened for example in relation to capitalism. 

TRUTH AND LIES ABOUT SOCIALISM - The phony dilemma: "Democracy" or Totalitarianism"?

TRUTH AND LIES ABOUT SOCIALISM: 

ON THE SOCIALIST POWER.

Central Council of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE).

Published by Synchroni Epochi, 2013.

Click here to read the book in pdf.

PART I: THE PHONY DILEMMA: "DEMOCRACY" OR TOTALITARIANISM"?

INTRODUCTION. 

A great part of anti-communist, anti-socialist propaganda focuses on the issue of the so called lack of “freedom and democracy” during the construction of the new society, of socialism-communism. The main focus of that attack is the revolutionary workers’ power, the state of the working class, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the role of the Communist Party. The capitalists cannot abide it; they tremble before the idea that the working class will emerge as the dominant class, and that they will be thrown into the dustbin of history. 

A Masterpiece of Human Intelligence: Quotes from Karl Marx's "Das Kapital" (1867)

More than 150 years since the publication of "Das Kapital" (The Capital)- the most significant book for the world's working class- we remember some basic thoughts written by Karl Marx. 

The commodity is first of all, an external object, a thing which through its qualities satisfies human needs of whatever kind. The nature of these needs, whether they arise, for example, from the stomach, or the imagination, makes no difference. Nor does it matter here how the thing satisfies man's need, whether directly as a means of subsistence, i.e. an object of consumption, or indirectly as a means of production.

• Vol. I, Ch. 1, Section 1, pg. 41.

Every commodity is compelled to chose some other commodity for its equivalent.

• Vol. I, Ch. 1, Section 3, pg. 65.

Joseph V. Stalin- Concerning Questions of Leninism

Concerning Questions of Leninism.

By Joseph V. Stalin.

 January 25, 1926.

Source: Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1954 via Marxists Internet Archive.

Dedicated to the Leningrad Organisation of the C.P.S.U (B).

I. THE DEFINITION OF LENINISM

The pamphlet The Foundations of Leninism contains a definition of Leninism which seems to have received general recognition. It runs as follows:

“Leninism is Marxism of the era of imperialism and the proletarian revolution. To be more exact, Leninism is the theory and tactics of the proletarian revolution in general, the theory and tactics of the dictatorship of the proletariat in particular.”1

Dimitris Koutsoumbas: The significance of the October Revolution in the era of the transition from capitalism to socialism-communism

By Dimitris Koutsoumbas*.

Source: International Communist Review, Issue 7, 2017.

In 2017 we will honour the 100th anniversary of the Great Socialist Revolution that took place in 1917 in Russia. This event marked and determined the course of millions of people, not just within the geographical confines of the first workers' state in the history of humanity, the USSR, but it also had an impact of every corner of the planet for many decades.

October demonstrates the working class's potential and capacity to implement its historical mission as the only truly revolutionary class, to lead the first attempt to construct socialism-communism.

At the same time, October shows the irreplaceable role of the guiding force of the socialist revolution, the communist party.

Great October demonstrates the enormous strength of proletarian internationalism. Despite the developments after the overthrow of socialism in 1989-1991, the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, with all the theoretical and practical experience and maturity that we have acquired over the years, makes us even more certain and categorical about the timeliness and necessity of socialism-communism.

Communist Party of Greece: Criticism of certain contemporary opportunist views on the state

POSITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION OF THE CC OF THE KKE AT THE 11th ANNUAL CONFERENCE "V.I.LENIN, THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD".

Source: inter.kke.gr.

The importance and timeliness of Lenin's work on the state. 

100 years ago, a few months before the Great October Socialist Revolution and in particularly difficult and complex political conditions, V.I. Lenin wrote a fundamentally important work, "The State and Revolution", which, of course, was published for the first time after the October Revolution in 1918.

In this work, Lenin highlighted the essence and analyzed the class nature of the state: “The state is a product and a manifestation of the irreconcilability of class antagonisms. The state arises where, when and insofar as class antagonisms objectively cannot be reconciled. And, conversely, the existence of the state proves that the class antagonisms are irreconcilable.”[1]

V.I.Lenin- The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution (The April Theses)

Vladimir I. Lenin - The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution ("The April Theses").

Published on April 7, 1917 in Pravda No. 26.

Source: Lenin’s Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1964, Moscow, Volume 24, pp. 19-26. via Marxists Internet Archives.

I did not arrive in Petrograd until the night of April 3, and therefore at the meeting on April 4, I could, of course, deliver the report on the tasks of the revolutionary proletariat only on my own behalf, and with reservations as to insufficient preparation.

The only thing I could do to make things easier for myself—and for honest opponents—was to prepare the theses in writing. I read them out, and gave the text to Comrade Tsereteli. I read them twice very slowly: first at a meeting of Bolsheviks and then at a meeting of both Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.

I publish these personal theses of mine with only the briefest explanatory notes, which were developed in far greater detail in the report.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin: His revolutionary legacy remains alive and timely

By Nikos Mottas.

It was in the dawn of January 21, 1924, 93 years ago, when the heart of the greatest revolutionary in history, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, stopped beating. Lenin, the leader of the 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution and architect of the first socialist state in the world, was 54 years old.

The name of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin is identified with two dialectically connected issues. On the one hand, there is his revolutionary activity and practice as the leader of the 20^th century's most significant event- the 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution. On the other hand, there is his theoretical work which is the development of the revolutionary theory of Marx and Engels in the era of Imperialism. That extraordinary combination of revolutionary theory and practice makes Lenin a unique personality in history who, 93 years after his death, remains “alive” in the collective memory and hearts of the working class people across the world.

KKE’s perception on socialism: Assessments and conclusions on socialist construction during the 20th century, focusing on the USSR

18^th Congress of the KKE: Resolution on Socialism.

The following is the Resolution of the 18th Congress of the KKE (held on February 2009), containing assessments and conclusions on socialist construction during the 20th century, focusing on the USSR.

The 18^th Congress of KKE, fulfilling the task set forward by the 17^th Congress four years ago, dwelled deeper into the causes of the victory of the counterrevolution and of capitalist restoration. This has been an imperative and timely obligation for our Party, as it is for every Communist Party. It was thus that we faced this task during all the years that have elapsed since the 14^th Congress and the National Conference of 1995. It is a task interlinked with the revival of consciousness and of faith in socialism.

For more than a century now, bourgeois polemics against the communist movement, often assuming the form of an intellectual elitism, concentrate their fire on the revolutionary core of the workers’ movement; they struggle, in general, against the necessity of revolution and its political offspring, the dictatorship of the proletariat that is the revolutionary working class power. In particular, they fight against the outcome of the first victorious revolution, of the October Revolution in Russia, fiercely opposing every phase where the Revolution exposed and repelled counterrevolutionary activities and opportunist barriers, which, in the final analysis, were weakening, directly or indirectly, the Revolution at a social and political level.

"On the slogan for a United States of Europe"- Communist Parties to participate in international seminar in Athens

IDC / Info from 902.gr.

At least 20 Communist Parties from around the world will participate in the international seminar that will take place in Athens on Saturday 10 December. The seminar's subject is the 100th anniversary since the publication of V.I.Lenin's work "On the slogan for a United States of Europe" and is organised by the European Parliament team of the KKE. 

The seminar's major speaker is Kostas Papadakis, member of the CC of the KKE and KKE MEP. The General Secretary of the CC of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas will also attend the seminar and will deliver a short greeting message.

The venue of the seminar is Stanley Hotel at Karaiskaki Square (1 Odysseos str).