Archive for the ‘Russian Socialist Movement (RSD)’ Category
Did Lenin Сreate Ukraine? On the Right of Nations to Self-Determination and Marxism
Why do Marxists defend the right of nations to self-determination? What does the struggle for national liberation have to do with the workers’ struggle? Social researcher Grusha Gilaeva analyzes the positions of Marx and Lenin on the national question and explains why the left movement must support the anti-colonial struggle of Ukraine


Grusha Gilaveva’s fascinating article comes from the Russian left-wing publication Posle. Gilaveva argues, in a very convincing manner, that Marx and Engels started out in the 1840’s opposing the rights of small nations to self-determination – inspired by a blanket opposition to all nationalism – but changed their policy after 1867. Marx and Engels were heavily influenced by Ireland’s struggle for liberation from the British Empire, and the Phoenix like rise and fall of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), the Fenians. Policy divisions on the question of self-determination for small nations continued within the Marxist second and third internationals in the twentieth century. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin championed a policy favouring the rights of small nations and nationalities – and was opposed by revolutionary comrades such as Karl Radek and Rosa Luxemburg. Once again Ireland featured strongly in the debate among revolutionary Marxists. The Easter 1916 Rising in Dublin, although it was militarily crushed by British artillery, inspired socialists all over the globe who were fighting against the barbaric World War 1. The impact was brilliantly described by the famous North American feminist revolutionary Louise Bryant in “The Masses”, published in July 1916. “The Masses” can be accessed here : https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/masses/index.htm

An alliance between the descendants of the IRB (the Irish Volunteers led by Pádraig Pearse) and a brand-new working class actor fighting for Irish Freedom, James Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army (ICA), inflicted devastating wounds on the most powerful empire the world had ever seen in those early years of the 20th century.
The 1917 Russian Bolshevik Revolution began to go badly wrong in the 1920’s. An early sign that all was not well was Great Russian chauvinist suppression of smaller nations such as Ukraine. We live with and suffer from terrible consequences today. We cannot change history, but we can learn from it.
John Meehan January 25 2023
Did Lenin Сreate Ukraine? On the Right of Nations to Self-Determination and Marxism
Why do Marxists defend the right of nations to self-determination? What does the struggle for national liberation have to do with the workers’ struggle? Social researcher Grusha Gilaeva analyzes the positions of Marx and Lenin on the national question and explains why the left movement must support the anti-colonial struggle of Ukraine
Read the rest of this entry »Written by tomasoflatharta
Jan 25, 2023 at 10:31 am
Posted in Anti War Movements, Arts and Culture, “A Carnival of Reaction” - James Connolly’s Warning About the Partition of Ireland, British Empire, Easter 1916 Rising in Ireland, European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, Feminism, Free Russians Ireland, History of Ireland, International Political Analysis, Ireland, James Connolly, James Connolly, Louise Bryant, Mass Action Versus Militarism, Posle Magazine, Revolutionary History, Russia, Russian Revolution 1917, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Ukraine, Ukraine Russia War 2022, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Russia’s Road Toward Fascism
Sunday 1 January 2023, by POPOVYCH Zakhar
Source : https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article65239
WAR IN UKRAINE is plunging more and more into massacre but possibly the worst is about to come. Mass killings of prisoners and civilians, numerous and systematic rape in Russian-occupied territories are now “normal” news from Ukraine. Millions could be killed this winter by freezing alive in their apartments without heat, water and electricity.
The daily count of dead is far higher than at any moment of the Donbas wars of 2014-2021. According to reports from both sides, the death toll probably exceeds 100,000 from the beginning of the war, and may now be higher than a thousand combatants and civilians daily. [1]
Not just the scale but the cruelty of violence is steadily rising and Russian state propaganda is systematically pushing for escalation. If it is not genocide yet, the ideology for eliminating Ukrainians in the millions is already announced on Russian state TV, and by high-ranking officials.
Russians claim it is “denazification,” but it turns closer and closer to the ideology of fascism and Nazi state practices. [2] It is hard to say how deep Ukraine will dive into this abyss of terror, but it is clear that withdrawal of Russian troops is the best way to “denazify” Ukraine — and possibly Russia.




In October, Russian armed forces began systematic attacks against the Ukrainian electricity grid and civilian infrastructure including water supply facilities of the major cities. These activities don’t have immediate military significance and don’t influence Ukrainian armed forces’ ability to fight. But these attacks are affecting the chances of the civil population to survive this winter.
Read the rest of this entry »Written by tomasoflatharta
Jan 7, 2023 at 2:26 pm
Posted in Against the Current Journal (USA), Anti War Movements, Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS), Crimea, Crimean Tatars, Eastern Europe, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, Fortress Europe, Fourth International, Ilya Budraitskis, International Political Analysis, Irish Left With Ukraine, LeftEast, Leon Trotsky, Migration in Europe, Russian Revolution 1917, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement), Ukraine, Ukraine : Women Raped by Russian Invaders, Ukraine Russia War 2022
Call for solidarity actions with anti‑war activists in Russia – Week of January 19 to 24
The article below is written by Ilya Budraitskis on behalf of The Russian Socialist Movement. Source : https://anticapitalistresistance.org/call-for-solidarity-actions-with-anti-war-activists-in-russia/
Irish Left With Ukraine will work with other organisations and individuals answering this call.
See also : https://www.tempestmag.org/2023/01/to-remember-is-to-fight/?fbclid=IwAR0WOTwC6AqdjHclwo59krczHCaYZPE39Av4HxNTXW1ZuySXwwI9t9Qhf3g – Tempest shares the call of the Russian Socialist Movement for solidarity with Russian anti-war and anti-fascist activists.

For over a decade, Russian antifascists have commemorated January 19 as their day of solidarity. This is the date when in 2009, in the center of Moscow, the human rights and leftist activist Stanislav Markelov and the journalist and anarchist Anastasia Baburova were gunned down by neo-Nazis.
The murder of Markelov and Baburova became the culmination of the ultra-right terror of the 2000s, which killed hundreds of migrants and dozens of anti-fascists. For many years, while it was still possible, Russian activists held antifascist demonstrations and rallies on January 19 under the slogan “To remember is to fight!”
Today, when the Putin regime has invaded Ukraine and unleashed unprecedented repression against its own citizens who oppose the war, the date of January 19 takes on a new meaning. Back then the danger was posed by neo-Nazi groups, often acting with the connivance of the authorities.
Read the rest of this entry »Written by tomasoflatharta
Jan 7, 2023 at 11:17 am
Posted in "Vpered" ("Forward"), Russian section of the Fourth International, Anti War Movements, Crimea, Crimean Tatars, Eastern Europe, European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Fourth International, Ilya Budraitskis, International Political Analysis, Ireland, Irish Left With Ukraine, LeftEast, Revolutionary History, Russia, Russian Revolution 1917, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement), Soviet Union (USSR), Ukraine, Ukraine : Women Raped by Russian Invaders, Ukraine Russia War 2022
Free Russians Ireland Demonstration, Dublin, December 11 2022 – “We demand that the Russian army immediately Leave Ukraine”
Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU) was honoured to receive an invitation to participate in this demonstration organised by Free Russians Ireland. Free Russians Ireland
Free Russians Ireland co-hosted an impressive protest with Iranians in Ireland supporting the current women-led uprising against the brutal Islamic Republic led by Ayatollah Khamenei.


Pictures of the Protest are here : The blue and white flag is based on the Russian flag without a red colour. Free Russians Ireland co-ordinator Olga Popova explained that, for Free Russians Ireland, the colour red in the flag meant blood. A blue and white flag means Russia at peace with a free Ukraine and other neighbouring states. Free Russians Ireland calls for “régime change” in Russia.
Read the rest of this entry »Written by tomasoflatharta
Dec 11, 2022 at 8:58 pm
Posted in "Vpered" ("Forward"), Russian section of the Fourth International, Anti War Movements, Crimea, Crimean Tatars, Dublin Governments, Eastern Europe, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Fortress Europe, International Political Analysis, Iran, Ireland, Irish Left With Ukraine, Left Wing Organisations, LeftEast, Mass Action, Migration in Europe, Russia, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Trade Unions - International, Ukraine, Ukraine : Women Raped by Russian Invaders, Ukraine Russia War 2022
Jill Stein : Fake Anti-War Activist, Apologist for Russia’s Imperialist Invasion of Russia – Green Party (USA) Split Down the Middle
Jill Stein has form. Mary Scully, an Irish-American activist and blogger, explains below.
The Green Party (USA) is split down the middle on this issue.
This party’s 2020 Presidential candidate, Howie Hawkins, endorses the policy of the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) and its Irish supporter Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU).
Here is an extract from a Howie Hawkins post dated March 2022 :
People are not going to respond to a call for no US war with Russia when they plainly can see that the shooting war is Russia’s assault on Ukraine. If we are not clear that we oppose Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine, we won’t be able to get a public hearing about opposing the expansion of NATO to Russia’s doorstep as a precipitating factor in this war, as well as opposing the many “low-intensity” and economic wars that the US and NATO are fighting around the world.
Read the rest of this entry »I would like to suggest some more particular demands we should make and actions we should take under these two slogans of Russian Troops Out and No NATO expansion.
Written by tomasoflatharta
Nov 11, 2022 at 11:36 am
Posted in Anti War Movements, Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS), Campism, Eco-Socialism, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, Fourth International, Howie Hawkins Ecosocialist Candidate, USA Presidential Election 2020, International Political Analysis, Ireland, Irish Left With Ukraine, NATO, Russia, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement), Ukraine, Ukraine : Women Raped by Russian Invaders, Ukraine Russia War 2022, USA, War
PANEL: UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN ACADEMICS DISCUSS THE WAR – Broadcast by the Real News Network
Debates over the proper approach to the Russo-Ukrainian War have dominated much of the year. Yet discussions within the western left have not always featured the perspectives of Ukrainians and Russians themselves. The Real News Network board member Bill Fletcher, in partnership with Haymarket Books, hosts a panel with Ukrainian and Russian academics.
Written by tomasoflatharta
Nov 10, 2022 at 8:39 pm
Posted in "Vpered" ("Forward"), Russian section of the Fourth International, Anti War Movements, Eastern Europe, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), Fall of the Berlin Wall, Fortress Europe, Fourth International, International Political Analysis, Ireland, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Left Wing Organisations, Media Sources - Reliable Versus Unreliable, National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Russia, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Teachers’ Club, Parnell Square, Dublin, Trade Unions, UNITE, Violence Against Women, War, Women
The Fallacies of the Call for “Negotiations” Between Ukraine and Russia – Charles Pierson
The following article was submitted to the USA journal Counterpunch replying to the article mentioned in the paragraph below. Counterpunch refused to publish it.
We wish to thank the New York based Irish-American activist Joan McKiernan who brought the article below to our attention. This vital discussion is occurring in many parts of the world, including Ireland. If you wish to actively participate in principled left-wing solidarity with the Ukrainian masses we recommend the European Network for Solidarity With Ukraine (ENSU). The ENSU’s Irish supporters work with Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU), which has organised a public meeting in Dublin taking place on November 21 2022. The main speaker is ENSU activist Yuliya Yurchenko.
John Meehan November 10 2022
Links :
ENSU https://ukraine-solidarity.eu/ ILWU : https://www.facebook.com/groups/466892938791354
“Victory against Russia,” is the wrong goal in Ukraine, writes Binoy Kampmark (“Vicarious Zeal: Fighting to the Last Ukrainian,” Counterpunch, Jul. 15, 2022). Kampmark, a frequent contributor to Counterpunch, worries that Ukraine and the West are demanding what amounts to Russia’s “unconditional surrender.” Instead of demanding Russia’s surrender, Kampmark recommends peace talks. A negotiated peace, he writes, will shorten the war and save lives. Unfortunately, “Hard-headed peace talks, let alone anything approximating to negotiations have … become taboo.”
I respect Binoy Kampmark. I believe this is the first time I have disagreed with something he has written, but I do disagree. Strongly. Here’s why.
Russian-Ukrainian Peace Talks Since the Russian Invasion
Kampmark appears to have bought into the myth propagated by the “anti-imperialist left” that Ukraine refuses to negotiate. That puts the onus on Ukraine for rejecting peace. The truth is that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine began even before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Russia and Ukraine, together with France and Germany, met in January and February to attempt to defuse the growing crisis.
Written by tomasoflatharta
Nov 10, 2022 at 12:52 pm
Posted in Anti War Movements, Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS), Campism, Crimea, Crimean Tatars, Dublin Governments, Eco-Socialism, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, European Union, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Fourth International, Independent Left (Ireland), International Political Analysis, Ireland, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Irish Left With Ukraine, Left Evasionism, Left Wing Organisations, LeftEast, Media Sources - Reliable Versus Unreliable, NATO, Neutrality, Poland : Ban on Abortion, Russia, Russian Revolution 1917, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement), Teachers’ Club, Parnell Square, Dublin, Ukraine, Ukraine : Women Raped by Russian Invaders, Ukraine Russia War 2022, Vietnam Anti-War Movement, War, Westplaining
Tagged with Feminism, Ireland, socialist renewal
Ireland should welcome Russians who don’t want to kill Ukrainians – North and South
The article below comes from Sweden via the USA based Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign.
Link : https://www.facebook.com/groups/307530784861174/?ref=share
The same issue arises in the Irish state – like Sweden, a member of the European Union, which is under pressure to draw down a new Iron Curtain partitioning the European continent.
See Also, from the European Network for Dolidarity With Ukraine :
Open the borders for Russians refusing military service!
https://ukraine-solidarity.eu/
Latest news from the anti-conscription movement in Russia : https://ukraine-solidarity.eu/9c8950df16724719b875eece066b3912?v=3bc1cb6bcdb84da2b0a88fdb3783cfdc
OPINION: Sweden should welcome Russians who don’t want to kill Ukrainians
An iron curtain is descending across Europe. But in contrast to the beginning of the Cold War, the curtain is being drawn down by EU countries – not Russia.
Any day now, Finland is poised to ban Russians from entering the country on tourist visas, to keep out men who want to avoid being drafted to fight in Ukraine. Announcing the policy, the country’s foreign minister said Finland was becoming “a transit country for Russians who want to leave their homeland for fear of being forced into war, and this traffic could harm Finland’s international position”. Opinion polls put 70 percent of the public in favour of a ban.
Read the rest of this entry »Written by tomasoflatharta
Sep 29, 2022 at 3:22 pm
Posted in "Vpered" ("Forward"), Russian section of the Fourth International, Anti War Movements, Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS), Brexit - Britain Leaves the EU, Double Standards, Dublin Governments, Eastern Europe, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, European Union, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Finland, Fortress Europe, Germany, History of Ireland, Human Rights, International Political Analysis, Ireland, Irish Left With Ukraine, Left Unity, Left Wing Organisations, LeftEast, Mass Action, Mass Action Versus Militarism, Migration in Europe, NATO, Russia, Russian Revolution 1917, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement), Ukraine, Ukraine : Women Raped by Russian Invaders, Ukraine Russia War 2022, Vietnam Anti-War Movement
“Putin is talking about the desire for peace again? Amazingly. Because ‘conflict resolution’ is extremely simple. Immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire territory of Ukraine.” – Mykhailo Podolyak, Senior Adviser to Ukraine’s President Zelensky
Allowing for the fog of war and incomplete exaggerated or inaccurate media reports – convincing evidence suggests that the invading Russian army is losing the war in Ukraine :
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Mr Zelenskiy, said in response: “Putin is talking about the desire for peace again? Amazingly. Because ‘conflict resolution’ is extremely simple. Immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire territory of Ukraine.”
The astute analyst Mary Scully notes that Russia’s few powerful allies, Modi and Xi Jinping – leaders of India and China, are offering grim advice to Kremlin boss Putin :
“Supporters of Putin’s war are looking pretty damn foolish now that no less a war criminal than Modi publicly confronted Putin telling him to end the war against Ukraine & Putin acknowledged that China’s Xi Jinping privately expressed the same position. Russia has been able to sustain western sanctions only because India & China provided a financial lifeline by increasing trade, especially the purchase of oil & natural gas, from Russia.
It will be interesting to watch the song & dance of the war mongering progressives as they try to coordinate their apologetics with China & India’s realpolitik.”
Written by tomasoflatharta
Sep 17, 2022 at 12:11 pm
Posted in Anti War Movements, Crimea, Crimean Tatars, Daniel McLaughlin (Irish Times), Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, Fortress Europe, Fourth International, International Political Analysis, Ireland, Irish Left With Ukraine, Media and State Misbehaviour, Media Sources - Reliable Versus Unreliable, NATO, NATO, Poland, Razem (Poland), Revolutionary History, Russia, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement), Ukraine, Ukraine Russia War 2022, USA, War
How Can Feminist Solidarity Help Ukraine? (Podcast)
From the outstanding ESSF http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article62454
Since Russia’s full-scale imperialist invasion of Ukraine was launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24, Putin’s speeches, Russian state propaganda and the actual massacres and rapes committed by the Russian army have revealed the genocidal and misogynist character of this invasion. At the same time, the resistance of the Ukrainian people has been heroic. There have been many other expressions of opposition to this war as well, ranging from global protests to humanitarian aid convoys and initiatives by individuals and groups to help the resistance in Ukraine.
Ukrainian feminists have been an active part of the resistance both in actual combat and in various other invaluable capacities such as health care, child care, food production, communications and strategizing through social media as writers, leaders and spokeswomen. Among the more than five million Ukrainian refugees in Europe who are mostly women and children, many women are promoting valuable communication with the world.
Written by tomasoflatharta
May 15, 2022 at 1:39 am
Posted in Abortion, Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus, Fall of the Berlin Wall, International Political Analysis, Ireland, Migration in Europe, Poland, Revolutionary History, Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Ukraine, Ukraine Russia War 2022, Violence Against Women, War, Women