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This news item is instructive:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61285833.amp
especially the explanation of why it was spread:
“Ukrainian military historian Mikhail Zhirohov described the Ghost of Kyiv story as “propaganda for raising morale”. Speaking to the BBC from Chernihiv, he said that early on in the war the Russians dominated Ukrainian airspace, so a Ukrainian pilot “could only shoot down two or three”.
“It’s essential to have this propaganda, because our armed forces are smaller, and many think we can’t be equal to them [the Russians]. We need this in wartime,” he said.”This explains why they exaggerate the number of enemy planes downed, tanks destroyed, troops killed, buildings targetted, civilians under the rubble, etc. etc. They will all be lies or unbelievable exaggerations aimed at raising the morale and/or hatred of the enemy amongst soldiers and civilians.
The same goes for Russian propaganda (though we don’t hear the same amount of that as it’s banned as disinformation — as it is, but so is the Ukrainian propaganda that is religiously relayed by the pro-war-against-Russia media here)
Unfortunately yesterday’s MayDay march in London turned out to be another Bokshevikfest rather than a trade union event. Without contingents from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Greece and Sri Lanka it would have been a rather small event.
Each Bolshevik group presented its case on the Ukraine War. Most supported Russia. At least one, calling itself the “Communist League”, supported Ukraine. The Ukraine Solidarity Campaign were handing out a leaflet, in English and Ukrainian, from some Trotskyists in Ukraine (“Social Movement” which presents itself as an NGO so as not to get banned by the government) which called for “free supply of modern weapons to Ukraine, in particular, air defence systems that would allow to minimise civilian casualties.”
The pro-Russia ones based their case on Lenin’s mistaken theory of imperialism which divides capitalist states into “imperialist” and “non-imperialist”. They were at pains to classify Russia (and China) as “non-imperialist”. According to “Socialist Fight” (whoever they are):
“Neither Russia not China are imperialist powers, they are not integrated into the IMF and World Bank and cannot extract surplus value from the global south in that way, though China in particular aspires to do so. (…) Russia‘a and China’s spending on their military and naval warships are completely defensive …”
Oh yeah, pull the other one.
Another group proclaimed “For the right of Russia to defend itself against imperialist encroachment!”:
“Although Russia has been capitalist since 1991 it is not an imperialist power in its own right. Imperialism is more than when one state employs military force against another. Imperialism is a stage of capitalism represented by the dominance of finance capital. Russia is not part of the ‘imperialist club’ but a relatively backward dependent capitalist economy.”
Maybe, but why is that a reason to abandon socialist internationalism and support one capitalist state against a group of other capitalist states? (Incidentally, what are the Russian oligarchs if not finance capitalists?)
I thought it referred to those members of the British CP (and their descendants) who supported the Russian tanks crushing of protests in Czechoslovakia in 1968 which the party’s leadership criticised (and which turned out to be the beginning of the end for the party since, apart from loyally supporting everything the Russian government did, the party had no reason to exist). In 1956 the leadership of the British CP supported Russian tanks crushing an uprising in Hungary. But I don’t think they were called “tankies” at the time.
That a Maoist group should defend post-USSR Russia so fervently is odd seeing that the Maoists didn’t even regard post-Stalin Russia as socialist and sometimes even referred to it as state capitalist with a new, bureaucratic ruling class. But there is a perverse logic in their position — they are opposed to “imperialism” and, for them, Russia is the victim of Western imperialism and, as such and even as an openly capitalist country, it should be defended.
This ignores the fact, of course, that present-day Russia is as imperialist as it always has been, seeking to expand its territory and spheres of influence. Everyone can see that. “Imperialism” is a slippery concept anyway as any state is potentially imperialist in the sense of expansionist. China, India, Indonesia and Turkey are examples of successful expansionism; Argentina and Iraq of states that tried and failed.
In any event it is not imperialism that is the enemy but capitalism of which imperialism, war and militarism are products.
Rather surprising piece by MI6-vetted BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner on how most of the world is not supporting NATO in its proxy war with Russia:
Here is a blow by blow account in a local online paper of the online hustings last Saturday from which we excluded:
The following comment has been submitted:
“You state that the parties contesting the elections were all represented. This is not accurate. The Socialist Party of Great Britain, which is fielding a candidate in Clapham East, was not only not represented but was deliberately excluded. The organisers even refused to read out a one-minute statement saying we were standing. Adam Buick, Election Agent for Danny Lambert.”
We have also sent the Brixton Buzz the exchange of emails with the organisers to back up what we stated in the comment.
After banning 11 political parties as “pro-Russian”, the Ukrainian regime has now moved on the next stage — getting its secret police to round up the members and supporters of these parties on the grounds that they are “traitors” and “collaborators”:
https://globalnews.ca/news/8797266/ukraine-traitors-russian-army/amp/
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Ukrainian and Russian regimes are as bad as each other.
A comrade in a nearby ward in Clapham where we don’t have a candidate has distributed about 700 leaflets as part of the QR experiment. They only have less than 200 left which will be distributed before polling day in 5 May.
There are also less than 200 left at Head Office which the branch hopes to distribute tomorrow.
I thought I was going to read some breaking news but then I saw the date!
More interesting will be the fate of the Makhno statue in his home town of Hulyaipole (or Gulyaipole as it may be renamed) Russia captures it. I suppose, if hasn’t been destroyed in the preliminary shelling it depends on whether or not he is portrayed as a Ukrainian patriot as, stupidly, here (click preview) but
busts of “Ukrainian patriots” must be selling well these days.Powerful article by Simon Jenkins in yesterday’s Guardian about what Truss is up to do;
In case it’s behind a paywall here’s how it starts;
“Liz Truss risks recklessly inflaming Ukraine’s war to serve her own ambition
Simon JenkinsThe foreign secretary’s belligerent comments on Russia reduce Ukraine to a pawn in the Conservatives’ power struggle
The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is playing with fire. On Wednesday night she described Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a “rogue operator” lacking rationality, and with “no interest in international norms”. As a result, she said: “We will keep going further and faster to push Russia out of the whole of Ukraine.” She is clearly revelling in her imagined proxy war on the Russian bear and no one in Whitehall appears able to restrain her.
(…)
Before his stunt visit to Kyiv this month, Boris Johnson also instructed Volodymyr Zelenskiy not to make any concessions to Putin, a line Truss is clearly seeking to rival. It is not unknown for democratic leaders to play war games to excite their electorates, but this must be the first Tory leadership contest fought on the frontiers of Russia.”Normally you would expect the opposition party to expose this sort of thing but the Labour Party is apparently afraid that doing this would undermine its proud claim to be “the party of NATO” and its leftwing MPs have been cowed into submission by threats to be given the Corbyn treatment.
That’s assuming that he was a mercenary hired by the Ukrainian state and not a military adviser provided by the British state or a member of the SAS. It would be surprising if there weren’t any British army boots on the soil there.
I see Truss called her war-mongering speech “The Return of Geopolitics” declaring that “geopolitics is back”. But when did it ever go away in relations between the Great Powers as they compete to dominate sources of raw materials, trade routes and investment outlets and to control strategic points and areas to do this?
And of course it well explains the NATO-Russia War in Ukraine.
In view of Truss’s war aim of pushing Russian troops out of the whole of the Ukraine including Crimea, it is not surprising that the headline in today’s Times is “Truss fears Ukraine war could carry on for years”.
I am not sure, though, that “fears” is the right word. It should be “wants”. As that’s how long it would take to achieve her declared war aim. It is also unlikely to be achieved without NATO boots on the grounds and an exchange of tactical nuclear weapons by both sides.
Fortunately, diplomats from other countries regard her as a crackpot. As indeed she is if that’s what she wants.
A lot of the Greeks in Ukraine speak Russian not Ukrainian and so are persecuted by the Ukrainian nationalists. Some support Russia.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/03/18/greek-refugee-from-mariupol/?amp
