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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Wednesday, 14 May 2008 |
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Although still in its early stages,
there is clearly a reawakening of the Russian working class taking place with a
growing number of strikes taking place. Once this picks up steam at some later
stage it will cut across all the confusion and demoralisation that have been
dominant features in the past.
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Wednesday, 14 May 2008 |
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An example of a very militant strike in Severouralsk, one of a series in the
recent period. The miners were determined but the bosses were ruthless. This
experience is another indication of growing working class militancy in Russia.
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Wednesday, 14 May 2008 |
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We provide an interesting
interview with Moscow
train drivers who were recently on strike, that reveals the terrible conditions
imposed on the workers but also the militant mood of the organizers.
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
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Officially
Putin's right hand man, Medvedev, has won the Presidential elections with over
70% of the vote on a turnout of more than 70%. But no one seriously believes
this. Many Russians have commented on the meaninglessness of the elections.
Putin will remain the boss. However, for all the pomp that surrounds Putin
there is a strong undercurrent of hatred against capitalism. The fact that the
CPRF yet again showed that it is the only opposition to the Kremlin, confirms
this.
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
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As
background the Presidential elections we publish an analysis of the December
parliamentary elections. These reflected political consolidation following on
from economic stabilization after the financial crisis of 1998. These new
relations are now in turn leading to a reaction. The modest gains of the CPRF
reveal both the potential for an organized opposition to Russian capitalism and
the path that this opposition will take in the mass organizations.
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By Besedoval Yevgenii Utkin
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Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
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We have received a very
interesting interview with A. Etmanov, the leader of the trade union of Ford (Saint Petersburg). This
reveals many things, not just about the Ford strike but about the state of the
Russian workers' movement, the struggle of the trade unions and their attitude
towards capitalism and the political parties.
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By Tom Rollings
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Monday, 11 February 2008 |
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Last year's strike at the Russian Ford plant marked an
important turning point for the Russian labour movement. The Russian economy is
growing and this has strengthened sections of the working class. With this
growing strength comes a militant mood. At some point this will lead to a wider
movement of the Russian working class and with it will come important political
repercussions.
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By Alexey Petrov, 4 December 2007
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Wednesday, 12 December 2007 |
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The strike at the Ford plant in St. Petersburg is extremely symptomatic.
After the collapse of the Russian economy in the 1990s now we have an upturn.
With it comes also a renewed confidence of the working class. The victory of
the Russian Ford workers would strengthen enormously the whole of the Russian
working class. They need your help.
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By Rob Lyon
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Friday, 05 October 2007 |
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50 years ago on 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite into space - Sputnik 1. The press may scoff now at the impact of the launch and dismiss the achievements of the Soviet economy, but at the time the strategists of capitalism were genuinely alarmed, if not terrified at the remarkable advances of the Soviet Union.
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 |
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Yeltsin was a symbol
for the capitalist system that emerged following the capitalist
counter-revolution he headed. The fact that his death yesterday was met with
indifference in Moscow
shows just how weak support for capitalism is in the capital, a city where
unlike in the provinces a layer of the population is better off than in Soviet
times.
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By By B. F. in Russia
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Monday, 20 November 2006 |
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In the Russian
political dictionary Kondopoga has emerged as a new negative concept. Over a
short period we have already experienced a number of such events, and
everywhere along the same lines. Mass disturbances under nationalist slogans,
which stemmed from everyday conflicts, xenophobic pogroms, public calls “to
clear off the blacks” – all this is Kondopoga.
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Monday, 20 November 2006 |
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The collapse of the Soviet Union was not the end
of Marxism. On the contrary it confirmed what the Marxists had stated long ago,
that the bureaucracy was a threat to the very survival of the planned economy.
But there was no Marxist party on the scene that could offer the workers an
alternative. Thus the whole system imploded with devastating effects on
industry and with it the working class, which was thrown back decades, divided
and atomised. It became a passive force, which explains the impasse facing
today’s Russian left. But now we can see the first signs of the working class
beginning to come together again as a class.
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By our correspondent in Moscow
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Monday, 14 August 2006 |
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On Wednesday July 26 the supporters of the International Marxist
Tendency in Moscow and comrades from Vpered organised a picket against
electoral fraud in Mexico.
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Monday, 30 January 2006 |
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The recent conflict between Ukraine and Russia over the price of gas brought to the surface the contradictions in the Ukraine, a country which is being pulled towards the western sphere of influence. That was what the so-called Orange Revolution was about. Now the Ukraine people are disillusioned as they watch an international conflict for control of resources that stretches right across the former Soviet Union and beyond. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Tuesday, 06 September 2005 |
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A long standing
dispute at the Saint
Petersburg
docks is escalating into what could be come an all-out strike. We have received
a request for international solidarity. Please act now. Raise this in your
union branch and send messages of solidarity. |
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By Ted Grant
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Monday, 18 July 2005 |
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This book, by Ted Grant and with a preface by Trotsky's
grandson Esteban Volkov, which is
in its final stages and will be approximately 500 pages long,
covers the key developments
in Russia since the Revolution right up to the present day. It
traces the elimination of
workers' democracy, the rise of Stalinism, the advances of
planned economy and the
eventual collapse of the bureaucratic system under
Gorbachev. Using the method of Marxism,
Ted Grant uncovers the contradictory developments that
have shaped the Soviet Union over
the last 70 years and finally led to its downfall. He also
deals in detail with the
present situation in Russia under Yeltsin and assesses the
possibilities for a successful
restoration of capitalism. Not since the publication of
Trotsky's book "The
Revolution Betrayed" in 1936 has such a detailed and
comprehensive Marxist study of
Russia been undertaken. If you want more info about the
book please mail to:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
. To purchase
this book, click here. |
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Wednesday, 15 June 2005 |
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Putin is still holding on to his popularity among wide layers of
Russian society. But his party, United Russia, is not doing so well. In
a series of local elections it has done rather badly. This reflects a
crisis within the Russian ruling elite. The Communist Party (CPRF) has
made some gains, in spite of the total inertia of its leadership. Misha
Steklov in Moscow looks at the situation facing the country. |
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Tuesday, 14 June 2005 |
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Misha Steklov in Moscow comments on last month’s victory of the Russian
team, CSKA (The Central Sporting Club of the Army) over Sporting Lisbon
in the UEFA Cup final. “From the Taiga to the British seas, the red
army is the strongest of all,” went the chorus of the fans. But only
the words of the song reminded you of the club’s origins. |
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Monday, 18 April 2005 |
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We received this letter from our correspondent in Moscow on the recent Russian Social Forum. |
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Friday, 11 March 2005 |
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On March 8th, Aslan Maskhadov was killed. There are
currently conflicting reports as to how Russian forces killed the
recognised leader of Chechen resistance against the Russian state. His
death has been painted as a personal victory for President Putin, who
was compelled to admit the weaknesses of the Russian state following
the Beslan tragedy. But there is still no end in sight for the war of
attrition between Chechen independence fighters and the Russian army. |
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Wednesday, 03 November 2004 |
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In the aftermath of the Beslan massacre President Putin has used the
pretext of the fight against terrorism to abolish the direct election
of national deputies and regional governors. He has also introduced
other measures which are an attempt to gain tight control over the
state apparatus. But he is doing this as a growing disillusionments
spreads among the Russian masses. At the moment this remains below the
surface, but it must emerge in one form or another at some point. |
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Friday, 03 September 2004 |
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We received this report shortly after the storming of the school in North
Ossetia. It highlights the divide between the ordinary people of Beslan and the
authorities, and also the responsibility of the Russian government in creating
the conditions upon which terrorism flourishes. The barbarity of what happened
in Beslan has struck the minds and hearts of millions of people around the
world. The unfortunate thing is that all this will now be exploited by the
Putins of this world, and by the Blairs and Bushes too. This barbaric act of
individual terrorism will not serve the cause of the Chechen people. |
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By Misha Steklov in Moscow
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Thursday, 02 September 2004 |
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The events unfolding in Russia are of a dramatic nature. Gunmen are holding
350 children, parents and teachers in a school in Beslan, North Ossetia. The
taking of these hostages is the latest in a series of attacks that have shaken
Russia in the recent period. All this is a product of the ongoing conflict in
Chechnya. Earlier this week there were new elections in Chechnya and another
stooge of Moscow was elected president. This has not served to pacify the area. |
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By A. Kramer
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Wednesday, 01 September 2004 |
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It is clear that the Putin regime can't solve the problem of Chechnya. It is
now slowly becoming a problem of all of the North Caucasus. The Russian army
can't do anything about it, but Putin cannot put an end to the war either. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Tuesday, 31 August 2004 |
We have received this report from comrades in Russia as well as members of the
Student's Residence Soviet and the Student's Union in St. Petersburg about a
recent demonstration against the policies of the university administration.
See also in Russian:
Студентов
и аспирантов
выгоняют из
общежитий |
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By A. Kramer
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Wednesday, 07 July 2004 |
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Behind the recent split in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
(CPRF) lies the sinister hand of Putin. He wants to eliminate any kind of
opposition on the left as he embarks on one of his most vicious attacks on the
Russian workers. He will fail to destroy the CPRF, but the lessons for the left
must be drawn. |
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By Fred Weston
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Thursday, 18 March 2004 |
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In Sunday’s elections in Russia Putin won a “landslide victory”. No one
was surprised at this. It was a foregone conclusion, as it was not really an
election but a plebiscite in the tried and tested tradition of all Bonapartists.
Putin had tried to eliminate all opposition parties. The only opposition party,
however, that managed to muster a sizeable vote was the Communist Party. Fred
Weston looks at the implications of this. |
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By Alan Woods
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Wednesday, 25 February 2004 |
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In a surprise broadcast address to the nation last Tuesday, just three weeks
before the presidential election, Putin announced that he had sacked his
government. The main aim was to get rid of the prime minister, and this has been
accomplished. The short-term effect of these changes will therefore be to
reinforce Putin and his Bonapartist regime. However, the “strong man” has
feet of clay. |
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By our Moscow correspondent
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Friday, 06 February 2004 |
A bomb exploded in the Moscow metro at 8:40 local time this morning, at the
peak of rush-hour in the busiest underground system in the world. So far the
number of casualties has reached 39, though this is bound to increase.
There will be neither lasting prosperity or peace for
Russians or Chechens as long as capitalism and the national hatreds it breeds on both sides
continue to exist.
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By our Moscow correspondent
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Wednesday, 10 December 2003 |
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On Sunday December 7th, Russians went to the polls to choose
representatives for the state Duma, the lower house of parliament. The
figures given in business daily Kommersant, based on 97.87% of the
total vote, are as follows: United Russia 222 seats, the CPRF 53, LDPR
38, Motherland 37, independent deputies 65, and deputies from political
parties who were elected on a first past the post basis 16.
This result gives Putin a free hand in controlling the parliament. It
is another step towards the consolitation of a bonapartist regime. |
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By our Russian correspondent
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Wednesday, 15 October 2003 |
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In the last week of September, the editor of marxist.com, Alan Woods
participated in a speaking tour organised by the supporters of the Russian
Marxist tendency, the Rabochaya Demokratiya (Workers’ Democracy) group. |
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By A. Kramer
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Monday, 06 October 2003 |
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Ten years ago this month in Moscow (on October 3 and 4) the “White House”
(as the Russian Parliament building is known) was bombed, and hundreds of people
were killed. This was the civil war between President Yeltsin and the Parliament
(the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation). Today the Russian authorities
prefer not to remember those events, not just because of the bloody nature of
what happened, but also because what happened back in 1993 questioned the
legitimacy of the present Russian system. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Wednesday, 02 July 2003 |
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Lenin was said to have stated that under Communism the toilets would be lined
with gold. His prediction seems to have been realised in
present-day Russia- though in a way
rather different to that which he originally envisaged. |
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By A. Kramer
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Monday, 16 June 2003 |
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St. Petersburg - or Leningrad as it was known during Soviet times - is one of
the most beautiful cities in Europe, but it is having a difficult time now. In
1991 during the "anti-communist" rising the city got back its old name of St.
Petersburg and with this name trouble was being prepared for its people. |
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By Alan Woods
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Thursday, 29 May 2003 |
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On May 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his state of the
union address. In comparison with the triumphal statements of the past,
it displayed unusual frankness about the country's problems. The truth
of the matter is that capitalism has been a nightmare for the Russian
people and the position of the masses is not improving, but getting
worse. |
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By Alan Woods
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Tuesday, 27 May 2003 |
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Clausewitz stated that war is the continuation of politics by other means. But in the present epoch peace is also the continuation of war by other means. As we predicted, the détente between Russia and America would not last for long. The underlying antagonisms flow from a real conflict of interest on a global scale. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Monday, 12 May 2003 |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Monday, 28 October 2002 |
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An editorial statement on the recent events in Moscow and an article by A.Kramer in which he looks at the historical background to the Chechen conflict and compares it to the conflict in Israel/Palestine, outlining a socialist solution to the problem. |
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By Rabochiya Democratiya
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Wednesday, 14 August 2002 |
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Recently the State Duma passed a law on the private ownership of land. The redivision of land is beginning all over Russia. The collective farms and state farms that are situated near big towns are subject to the greatest danger. This article highlights the situation at one farm near Moscow. |
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By Alan Woods
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Friday, 31 May 2002 |
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On May 24, 2002, in the Kremlin's gilded throne room, Putin and Bush signed an agreement reducing long-range nuclear weapons by two-thirds over ten years. As part of the deal with NATO, Russia and America were supposed to cooperate in Bush's plans to build a missile defence shield once the ABM treaty is scrapped in June. Immediately afterwards, the formation of the "NATO-Russia Council" in which was Russia is supposed to participate was announced to the world. Such an agreement between the old enemies Russia and America would have seemed utterly unthinkable just one year ago. Suddenly, the world seemed a more secure place. However, as Alan Woods explains, the relations between Russia, Europe and America are not what they appear to be. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Thursday, 02 May 2002 |
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To view these you may need to install the DivX codec. The first is footage from the May Day demonstrations. It is from the bourgeois media, and shows the contingent from the Revolutionary Workers' Party on the march. Click here to play in Real Player or here to open the video normally. The second is footage of the protests in Voronezh on April 11. It shows the official demonstration called by the unions and the Communist Party. However the mood of the protestors was of tremendous anger, which suddenly boiled over. On the video you can see an old woman gets on to the platform and grabs the microphone. Working class women can be seen protesting angrily to the TV commentator that they cannot pay the increase in rent. The mood of desperation is palpable. The people break through the police lines to storm the governor's office. Click here to play in Real Player or here to open video normally. |
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By Alan Woods
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Wednesday, 06 June 2001 |
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The Revolution Betrayed is one of the most important Marxist texts of all time. It is the only
serious Marxist analysis of what happened to the Russian Revolution after the death of
Lenin. Without a thorough knowledge of this work, it is impossible to understand the
reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the events of the last ten years in Russia
and on a world scale. For Marxists, the October Revolution of 1917 was the greatest
single event in human history. If we exclude the brief but glorious episode of the Paris
Commune, for the first time the working class succeeded in overthrowing its oppressors
and at least began the task of the socialist transformation of society. |
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By Marina Lvova
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Wednesday, 14 March 2001 |
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The active liberalization of the Russian economy is being carried out simultaneously with moves to strengthen the power of the state. The state is consolidating itself on all fronts, of which the media is one of the most important. The government, evidently, has unleashed a war for the restoration of its monopoly over the distribution and presentation of information. |
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By Ivan Lokh
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Wednesday, 14 February 2001 |
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On February 1, Putin's government introduced new labour laws which curtail workers' rights. The laws were introduced in part by pressure from the IMF although Russia's bourgeoisie is not in the habit of respecting any laws, preferring to settle disputes with workers with the fists of their security guards. |
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By Alan Woods
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Friday, 26 May 2000 |
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On Sunday May 7, Vladimir Putin was inaugurated as President of Russia with all the pomp and ceremony of a tsar. Nothing was missing: twenty-one gun salute, goose-stepping soldiers with uniforms that seemed to have been borrowed from a Hollywood musical, and even the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Such empty show and tasteless pomp is very typical of the so- called New Russians--a class of upstarts and usurpers who are anxious to ape what they imagine to be the splendours of the western bourgeoisie. To students of history this will be quite familiar. The Thermidorian counter-revolutionaries in France also tried to ape the life style old aristocrats after they had sent the Jacobins to the guillotine. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Thursday, 18 May 2000 |
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Article translated from issue 7 (65), May 2000 of the The Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy |
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By Rabochiya Democratiya
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Wednesday, 12 April 2000 |
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During the methane explosion at the "Komsomolyets" mine in Kemerovo province 12 people were killed. This tragedy occurred soon after another terrible tragedy in the Donbass in the Ukraine. The Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy (April 2000) blames the restoration of capitalism for these miners' deaths. |
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By Rabochiya Democratiya
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Wednesday, 15 March 2000 |
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A short description of the terrible collapse of the economy in Azerbaidzhan from the Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy (March 2000) |
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By Rabochiya Democratiya
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Wednesday, 08 March 2000 |
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From the Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy an account of this strike in Astrakahan (March 2000) |
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By Ted Grant and Phil Mitchinson
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Wednesday, 12 January 2000 |
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Ted Grant and Phil Mitchinson look at the reasons behind Yeltsin's sudden resignation and the implications of the new Putin regime for the future of Russia and international relations. |
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By Ted Grant and Roger Silverman
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Wednesday, 08 December 1999 |
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This document was written by Ted Grant together with Roger Silverman in 1967 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Russian revolution. The article explains how Stalinism arose and clearly shows how even at that time the Stalinist bureaucracy was facing a serious crisis and confidently predicted its inevitable downfall at some stage. |
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By Alan Woods
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Wednesday, 17 November 1999 |
The new war in Chechnya is a further evidence of a shift
of power in Russia in the direction of the military. The generals are now clearly in the
saddle. Not only are they deciding the war agenda in Chechnya, but they are doing so
without regard to the opinions of the Kremlin clique. Boris Yeltsin is now an irrelevance.
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