In the context of the summer camp organised by the Germany-based Communist Organisation FRFI was able to interview Ukrainian and Russian communists from three distinct organisations: the Union of Communists of Ukraine (SKU), the Workers Front of Ukraine (RFU) and the Revolutionary Communist Youth League (Bolsheviki) from Russia (RKSMb). These organisations are at the centre of Down with the war! (Nieder mit dem Krieg!), a solidarity campaign with the communists in Ukraine and Russia who are fighting both imperialist sides and defending the interests of the working class. In this interview with Alexander Trome, they present their theoretical and practical points of view on the current war.
FRFI: How do you understand the nature of the war?
RKSMb: The ‘special operation of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine’ marks the peak of an ongoing process of imperialist reconfiguration centered around the areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as well as Ukraine as a whole. It’s essential to recognise that on both sides of this conflict, you have two imperialist powers which defend their actions by appealing to concepts such as ‘denazification’ or ‘democratisation’, but this rhetoric merely conceals their real, common aim: safeguarding the class interests of their monopolies. Regardless of the eventual outcome, it’s always the working class on both sides that bears the burden, not only in terms of lives lost but also through a substantial deterioration in their living conditions.
RFU: This is unmistakably an imperialist war which perpetuates the competition between Western and Russian capitalists and which we oppose in the name of the interests of the working class. Being on the fringes of the global capitalist system, not being an imperialist country, Ukraine is not a subject but an object in this conflict: a bargaining chip in the division of the spheres of influence between Western and Russian capital. We do not seek solidarity from either of these sides; rather, our focus is on fostering solidarity within the Ukrainian and Russian working class, as this represents the only antidote to the imperialist war.
SKU: The roots of this military confrontation can be traced back to the counter-revolutionary destruction of socialism in the USSR and the subsequent restoration of capitalism across the post-Soviet countries. The conflict between Western and Russian imperialist interests in Ukraine will have tragic consequences for the working class, but not for the bourgeoisie, which have already sent their children abroad, and which is profiting from this war, speculating within sectors such as military industry, humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts. Our primary objective is to secure the downfall of the puppet government in Ukraine, transforming this imperialist war into a class war.
FRFI: How has the intensification of repression impacted your activities?
RFU: Repression against communists in Ukraine did not start in 2022 but rather in 2014. Since then, the Ukrainian communist movement has become the target of a continuous attack through legal and illegal means, posing a threat to organisations and individuals alike. This repression has steadily increased and has now reached its peak. The bourgeois rule of law is frequently supplanted by special operations conducted by state security and paramilitary forces, often harbouring sympathy for Nazi ideologies. They’re able to enter your house, hit you and torture you there, without any legal basis. If they want to continue with you, they don’t take you to the prison but to the underground, where they can carry on indefinitely.
SKU: Repression in Ukraine is also extending its reach to non-politicised individuals. Recently, a screenshot circulated online, showing a review of a taxi driver who received a single complaint for their anti-Ukrainian positions – the driver was exposed to countless insults and threats. Every citizen is expected to spy and report on anyone who even remotely questions the official state version on the war. Paradoxically, this intensified repression also reveals a certain level of dissent regarding the war. Public support for Zelensky remains robust for now, but it may shift rapidly in the future.
RKSMb: While the overall situation is becoming increasingly reminiscent of Ukraine, in Russia the most prevalent method of suppressing anti-war sentiments has been to target individual outspoken critics of the war. Leftist activists and intellectuals have been arrested and separated from the movement, which now possesses fewer and fewer influential voices. Simultaneously, the government consistently invokes distorted references to Marxist political economy and the legacy of the USSR to cloak the bourgeois interests it’s safeguarding. Using the same language to interpret and resist the war becomes an even more daunting challenge.
FRFI: What is your political evaluation of the Russian and Ukrainian governments?
SKU: We view Ukraine as a fascist state, using terror to favour the interest of what Georgi Dimitrov referred to as the most chauvinist and most imperialist elements of finance capital. In recent years, the onslaught against the working class has been relentless, encompassing not only repression but also wage reductions and the erosion of labour rights. At the same time, a steady stream of propaganda has been directed against the USSR, rehabilitating Nazi war criminals before the war was declared, underscoring Zelensky’s anticipation of the impending conflict.
RFU: From our perspective, Ukraine is gradually inching toward fascism but has not fully arrived there yet. The wave of repression has readied the country for the potential adoption of fascism, but the Ukrainian capitalists have not yet found it necessary to take this final step. The repression we encounter is not primarily a result of a fascist state’s battle against communists; rather, it stems from a capitalist state embroiled in an imperialist war. Communists are targeted only incidentally, as the primary focus remains on the imperialist competitor.
RKSMb: Similarly, we believe that Russia is not yet fascist, but simultaneously there’s an evident emergence of a fascist tendency, which has been ingrained in Russian imperialism over the past 15-20 years. So, while it propagandises to fight fascism in Ukraine, within Russia itself fascist tendencies are gaining momentum, as the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie is becoming increasingly repressive and terrorist. Different sections of the Russian capitalist class are moving towards fascism, including the one supporting the government. Their disagreement is around questions of who will lead this new fascist regime, and the methods and timings through which it will be established.
FRFI: What is the role of the Azov Brigade right now in Ukraine?
SKU: Since the beginning of the war, the Azov Brigade has experienced significant growth. However, its influence within civil administration and parliament remains relatively limited, as nationalist parties have never performed well in elections. Their power comes directly from the government, which in turn represent Ukrainian capital and entrusts them with key operations, often alongside the police and army, precisely because of their extra-legal nature. In their ranks there are mostly right-wing criminals, but they’re controlled by the Ukrainian state and advised by the West.
FRFI: Is there any similarity with the Wagner Group?
RKSMb: The Wagner Group is a private military company that has emerged as a tool of Russian imperialism, effectively advancing Russia’s international objectives in situations where deploying conventional military forces was unsuccessful. When Russian military personnel had losses or low motivation, the government has turned to highly skilled and well-equipped mercenaries. This happened in Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic before Ukraine, but here the military lack of progress has brought about a significant shift in this dynamic, resulting in divisions within the Russian bourgeoisie. While one faction continues to support Putin, others start to dissociate from him, either seeking alignment with the West, or opposing the Kremlin’s cautious approach and advocating for more decisive actions. The rebellion within the Wagner Group reflects the interests of the latter two tendencies, seeking a pivotal turning point in the war and potentially creating a bargaining chip in dealings with the West.
FRFI: Which sections of Russian and Ukrainian capital are benefitting from the war?
RKSMb: While the Russian federal budgets records one of the largest deficits in its history, Russian capital is reaping immense profits. Western sanctions have had minimal impact on the gains of major Russian corporations, which have seen their net worth increase by hundreds of millions of dollars. The lion’s share of this wealth is flowing into energy corporations, but sectors like metallurgy and agriculture are also reporting substantial gains. However, not only Russian but also Chinese capital is profiting from this situation by filling the void left by Western businesses forced to exit the country. This presents a lucrative opportunity for Chinese investment, further entrenching Russia’s economic dependence on China.
RFU: Also in Ukraine, a small number of capitalists control crucial sectors of the economy, in particular energy, metal and mining, with significant rates of monopolisation. Furthermore, the war was anticipated by a significant restructuring of capital most evident in the agricultural sector. Until the mid-2010s, the very fertile Ukrainian land was not tradeable, as it was mostly owned by small-scale farmers who normally rented it to larger companies. Zelensky, however, allowed Ukrainian capitalists to purchase this land, guaranteeing them enormous profits, while steeply increasing rural poverty and unemployment.
FRFI: What role did the Donbass play at the beginning of the war?
SKU: The establishment of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic was a reaction to the 2014 Maidan coup. Initially anti-fascist elements played a significant role in creating the Republics, but control quickly shifted to Russian forces. Initially, these forces repressed those in power, but they soon turned their attention to anti-fascists and communists, who have a strong presence in the region due to its historical working-class orientation. Russian interests always revolved around exploiting the region’s mineral and industrial resources, rather than combating fascism or protecting the population.
RKSMb: Russia pursued negotiations with the West until the very end, seeking to carve out spheres of influence over the Donbass population. To achieve this, they initially halted the Donbass militias’ advancement against the central government and subsequently brokered the Minsk agreements, which left Donbass vulnerable to attacks from the Ukrainian army. Thus, in an attempt to appease the West, Russia’s capitalists allowed Western imperialism to prepare its Ukrainian proxies for the conflict. This Kremlin policy has exacted a heavy toll in terms of working-class lives on both sides.
FRFI: What are your organisations doing in this challenging context?
SKU: Our organisation places a strong emphasis on education. We publish an international scientific-theoretical journal called Marxism and Modernity, and we organise Rosengarten, a youth network of theoretical training circles. However, since 2014, and especially now, repression has considerably curtailed our activities, as some of our comrades remain within the country, and others are dispersed around the world. Despite these challenges, we persist in our efforts to study and advance Marxist theory and philosophy, exploring its application in supporting the labour movement not only in Ukraine and Russia but also globally.
RFU: For similar reasons, our activities are primarily centred on education, although we are also involved in agitating the Ukrainian working class against the war. We have observed that soldiers on the frontlines tend to be more receptive than workers at this time, so we try to work with them and increase their political awareness and engagement.
RKSMb: Presently, it’s nearly impossible to conduct overt actions against the war in Russia and therefore we’re using indirect means of propaganda to agitate. We’re establishing a workers’ correspondence network in which isolated members provide information on specific workplaces and regions. Additionally, we’re collaborating with other organisations such as the Russian Labour Front to support various strikes that challenge the narrative the government seeks to present. For example, in a campaign against the layoff of post office workers, we emphasised the connection between workers’ redundancies and the current war. While we cannot directly and openly address this issue, we are doing our utmost to underscore the link between Russia’s economic, geopolitical and political crises.
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! No 296, October/November 2023
