Russia: Communist local deputy fined for appealing to Putin for peace

On May 27th, Communist lawmakers in Russia's far east Primorye region expressed their disagreement over the imperialist war in Ukraine and called President Vladimir Putin to end the military campaign (read here).

We demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. We demand an end to military action”, legislative assembly member Leonid Vasyukevich had said during a session. Vasyukevich, member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) back then, said continuing Russia’s three-month campaign in Ukraine “would lead to an imminent increase in military deaths and injuries.” "During a military operation, people become disabled. These are young people who could be of great use to our country," he added.  

Ukraine and Russia governments unleash attack against workers' rights

Presidents Zelensky and Putin, both enemies of the working class.

In the midst of the imperialist war, the governments of Ukraine and Russia are promoting and implementing bills that undermine the rights of the workers in favor of the big capital.

Ukraine's Parliament Verkhovna Rada has passed two bills that obliterate workers' rights to collective bargaining and other fundamental labor protections, and allow employers to put up to 10% of their workforce on “zero hour” contracts leaving them without any control over their working lives. 

Ástor García: "To deny the imperialist nature of Russia today is to deny reality"

The following speech was delivered by Ástor García, General Secretary of Communist party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) at the quadripartite meeting held on 8th of July 2022 in Athens:

Comrades,

We are holding this important meeting in an especially difficult moment for class struggle. The imperialist war being waged in Ukraine is the key element that determines all the other issues and, from our viewpoint, it is a turning point in the international scene with important outcomes in the domestic spheres of our countries.

Union of Communists of Ukraine: On the War and the tasks of the working class

The following statement-analysis by the Union of Communists of Ukraine was originally appeared in Russian language in solidnet.org (27 June 2022). It is the first public statement of the Union of Communists for the imperialist war in Ukraine, while the Communist Party of Ukraine has not so far issued any communique. Both political forces have been banned in Ukraine and are currently facing multiple persecutions.

The full statement is as follows:

The general assessment of the nature of the war launched under the guise of a special military operation (SMO) by the Union of Communists of Ukraine (UCU) generally coincides with the Statement of the Communist and Workers' Parties of February 24, 2022, supported by the UCU.

KKE MEP: The Euro-Atlantic camp and capitalist Russia are complicit in war massacres

On Wednesday 6 July, a discussion titled “The relations of the Russian government and diplomatic network with parties of extremist, populist, anti-European and certain other European political parties in the context of the war” took place at the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. 

 

In his short and well pointed intervention, the MEP of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos stressed out the following:

Slavoj Žižek, an apologist of Capitalism disguised as "Marxist philosopher"

By Nikos Mottas.

"The least we owe Ukraine is full support, and to do this we need a stronger Nato [...]  Today, one cannot be a leftist if one does not unequivocally stand behind Ukraine” (The Guardian, June 21, 2022).

Who is the author of the above words? Is it NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg? Or German Chancellor Olaf Scholz? Maybe Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez? None of them. The phrase belongs to a celebrity of contemporary left-wing intelligentsia. The much publicized “Hegelian Marxist” philosopher Slavoj Žižek. 

KKE: Statement on the NATO Summit in Madrid

In a statement about the NATO Summit that takes place in Madrid, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) stresses out:

"The NATO Summit that will take place on 29–30 June in Madrid will be a spearhead for the further escalation of NATO’s aggression against the peoples and the sharpening of imperialist competition, which is currently manifested in the fierce military conflict in Ukraine.

The NATO Summit seeks to strengthen the aggressive “NATO’s Strategic Concept”, focusing on:

The KKE denounces the sending of weapons to Ukraine by the Greek government

Giorgos Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE and MP, made an intervention in the Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs demanding that the Minister of National Defence inform the Committee about the sending of military equipment to Ukraine and not hold a briefing behind closed doors. 

 

He stressed that the issue is crucial and linked with the dangerous involvement in the war and the US–NATO plans. 

On the unacceptable stance of the RCWP towards KKE

To the CC of the RCWP

Athens 03/06/2022

Comrades,

We received your reply to the CC of the KKE of 6 May 2022 and we also read the article which was published in SOLIDNET.

First of all, we are saddened with the style and the unacceptable accusations addressed to our party in both texts, which are absolutely baseless and unacceptable. The leadership of the RCWP is well aware of the fact that the KKE has supported your party as well many CPs, that it has essentially assisted them in difficult moments, and that it has expressed its solidarity in practice, faithful to the principle of proletarian internationalism. These facts refute the slander of arrogance on our party which are used in order to justify the mistaken positions of the leadership of the RCWP, positions that are far away from our principles.

G. Marinos (KKE): The joint struggle of the communists against NATO and the imperialist war

Following an invitation of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, the KKE and the Communist Party of Turkey attended an event in Madrid on the occasion of the NATO Summit that will take place in Madrid in June 2022, under the tile “Your wars, our dead – no to the imperialist war”. Giorgos Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE, delivered a speech on behalf of the KKE, which reads as follows:

“Dear comrades and friends,

We would like to thank you for the opportunity given to the KKE to participate in today’s event, which is organized by the CP of the Workers of Spain on the 40th anniversary of the accession of Spain to NATO, and to shout out loud our will to strengthen the joint struggle against bourgeois classes, against NATO and all imperialist alliances, against imperialist wars and interventions. 

KKE slams Mitsotakis' government for sending tanks to Ukraine

BMP-1 tank of the Greek Armed Forces.

The Greek government's decision to supply additional armored vehicles to Ukraine consists a “very serious development” which boosts the dangerous participation of the country in the war, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) stresses out in a statement. More specifically, the KKE statement (here in Greek) reads: 

 

“The ND government continues unabated and “gets off the ground” the dangerous participation of our country in the Ukraine war, this time through the sending of armored vehicles. In fact, the issue became known by the German Chancellor Scholz, announcing a Greek-German agreement for their replacement, while Mr Mitsotakis concealed it in his own press conference.  

Russia: Communist Party deputies in Primorye region demand an end to Ukraine War

CPRF deputy Leonid Vasyukevich.

Defying their Party's official policy, two communist lawmakers in Russia's far east Primorye region on Friday expressed their disagreement over the imperialist war in Ukraine and called President Vladimir Putin to end the military campaign.  

“We demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. We demand an end to military action”, legislative assembly member Leonid Vasyukevich said during Friday’s session. Vasyukevich, a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), said continuing Russia’s three-month campaign in Ukraine “would lead to an imminent increase in military deaths and injuries.” 

Portuguese Communist Party slams anti-democratic remarks by Ukrainian associations

In what seems to be a blatant intervention in the internal affairs of Portugal, the president of an association of Ukrainian refugees (Refugiados Ucranianos) proceeded to unacceptable remarks against the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP).

Speaking during an event in Lisbon earlier this month, Maksym Tarkivskyy targeted the PCP over its position in the Russia-Ukraine War, saying that he cannot understand how “a democratic country continues to have a Communist Party”!

Jean-Luc Godard: "Cannes Festival is a propaganda tool - Zelensky a bad actor"

The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival  kicked off on Sunday 22 May, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appearing on a video message during the opening night, giving a speech about the importance of film-making in the midst of war. 

Commenting on Zelensky's propagandistic appearance at Cannes, the legendary French-Swiss film director Jean-Luc Godard, one of the most influential European filmakers of the 20th century, wrote:

Western media glorifying Ukraine's neo-Nazi criminals

The recent fights in Azovstal and the surrender of the paramilitaries to the Russian army, provided another opportunity to Western media to present them as heroes within the broader effort to “whitewash” the neo-Nazis of Azov Battalion. The fact that the Azov fighters are now part of the Ukrainian army do not absolve them from their Nazi ideology and the heinous crimes they have committed since 2014. 

According to Reuters, in 2020 the number of paramilitaries in Ukraine reached 120,000, accounting for about 40% of the country's Armed Forces. Their ranks are filled by mercenaries of various nationalities, who were equipped, trained and funded by the United States, Canada, Britain and France. 

Shameful billboard against Victory Day in New York's Times Square

The shameful billboard in New York City.

A shameful multimedia billboard appeared in Times Square, New York City, on Monday 9 May, calling the victory of the Soviet Red Army over the Nazis a "day of shame"! 

The billboard, paid by the campaign "Unite with Ukraine", was referring to Russia and the ongoing imperialist war in Ukraine. 

"MAY 9, RUSSIAN VICTORY SHAME DAY" was the message written in the billboard, provoking numerous negative comments in social media. 

KKE: The imperialist war in Ukraine and the stance of the Russian Communist Workers’ Party (RCWP)

 Article of the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE

On the stance of the RCWP on the imperialist war in Ukraine

Following the article on the stance of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), we would also like to respond to some questions about the stance of the Russian Communist Workers’ Party (RCWP) regarding the war in Ukraine; questions which also arise from some unfounded remarks made by the RCWP about the Resolution of the CC of the KKE that some “well-intentioned” people, who are hostile to the principled positions of the KKE and support the geopolitical plans of the Russian bourgeoisie, took care to translate into Greek and disseminate in various media outlets.

Koutsoumbas: “The right side of history is the struggle against the imperialist war in every country”

“The anniversary of Greece's accession to NATO may be, without doubt, a black anniversary, but for the working class and the people, especially the younger ones, is also an opportunity: To refer to the blood-stained, full of crimes history of this imperialist organization which continues to be written even today”, stressed out the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece Dimitris Koutsoumbas during a speech at the Party's headquarters in Athens. 

KKE: On the imperialist war in Ukraine and the stance of the CPRF

By the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE.

“A struggle for markets and for freedom to loot foreign countries, a striving to suppress the revolutionary movement of the proletariat and democracy in the individual countries, a desire to deceive, disunite, and slaughter the proletarians of all countries by setting the wage slaves of one nation against those of another so as to benefit the bourgeoisie; these are the only real content and significance of the war. ” - V.I. Lenin, The Tasks of Revolutionary Social-Democracy in the European War, Collected Works, Vol 26, pp 1

All the above, underscored by the leader of the October Revolution more than one century ago, are absolutely true as regards the war in Ukraine. Many articles to date have highlighted aspects of the fight over markets, raw materials, and commodity transport routes.

Sweden's communists say "NO" to NATO membership

SKP's head Andreas Sörensen.

Sweden has been following a foreign policy of neutrality for a long time. However, the ongoing imperialist war in Ukraine has caused a rise in Russophobia, thus giving the opportunity to the Swedish bourgeoisie to root for NATO membership.

Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported that the United States and Britain had promised Sweden increased military presence, more in-depth military exercises and 'strong political' support from NATO countries" during a possible NATO application process. It is expected that the Swedish government will formally express its wish to join the imperialist alliance by mid-May.