Marxism, Marxism-Leninism, and Xi Jinping's Report to 20th Congress

By Charles Andrews.

Facts count more than words. Xi Jinping says, "China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries." A couple of days later, the Chinese Consul General in Manchester stepped onto UK territory outside the consulate gate. He grabbed a demonstrator from a noisy but peaceful rally, dragged him into the consulate compound, and had his staff beat the man up.

However, for those persons still wedded to evaluating the PRC by its words, let us look at how Xi Jinping's report to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) uses "Marxism" and "Marxism-Leninism." His 25,000-word speech contains exactly one mention of Lenin or Leninism:

PAME’s greeting at the 58th Congress of the UD CGT13 in Marseilles: "Our future is not to become slaves of the 21st century"

A delegation of the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) Secretariat and the Union of Piraeus' Port Dockers of COSCO arrived in France to participate in the Congress of UD CGT 13 and express solidarity with the strike actions of the working class of France. The following greeting speech was delivered by George Perros, member of the Secretariat of PAME:

"Comrades,

Workers of UD CGT13 Bouches duRhones, of the historic Marseille.

KKE: Message of solidarity with the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia (NKPJ)

In a statement following the fascist attack against the headquarters of the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia in Belgrade, the International Relations Section of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) stresses out:

"The KKE denounces the cowardly attack by fascist groups against the offices of the Central Committee of the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia ( NKPJ) in Belgrade. 

Communist Party of Sweden slams NATO, Ukraine and Russia for the escalation of imperialist war

In a statement issued on Wednesday (here in Riktpunkt) the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP) refers to the escalation of the imperialist conflict between the Euro-atlantic powers and Russia in Ukraine. On the occasion of NATO's nuclear weapons exercise that will take place this week, SKP points out:

“Russia was invaded Ukraine, annexed parts of Ukraine and bombed capital Kiev. All this happened without taking into account the increasingly tense threat of a global scale war. 

Was Marilyn Monroe a communist?

At first sight the title's question seems ridiculous: What does a Hollywood bombshell with a “ditzy blonde” persona have to do with communist ideology? But sixty years since her death, a controversial Netflix movie (“Blonde”) based on her life raises, once again, the issue of Marilyn Monroe's socio-political views which the U.S. cinema industry fears to address.

Was Marilyn Monroe a communist-sympathizer? Did she have any close ties with Communist Party members? What were her views on the Soviet Union, on Fidel Castro's Cuba and the People's Republic of China? There isn't a straightforward answer to these questions. Back in 2012, files that document the FBI's close scrutiny on Monroe were released.  

Serbia: New Communist Party (NKPJ) denounces attack against its headquarters in Belgrade

In a statement signed by its General Secretary Aleksandar Banjanac, the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia (NKPJ) denounces the new attack against its headquarter offices by neo-Nazis and calls for solidarity by fellow Communist and Workers' Parties. 

The statement reads:

"The New Communist Party of Yugoslavia informs you that Neo-Nazis organized a new attack on our Headquarters in Belgrade. They demolished our windows and wrote anti-communist and Neo-nazi slogans. Reactionary forces attacked our Headquarters 5 times last year. In the last few years it has become standard. But the last attack on our Party was the biggest.

KKE: On the warmongering resolution supported by ND, SYRIZA and PASOK in the European Parliament

At a time when the imperialist war in Ukraine is dangerously escalating, the European Parliament adopted a resolution (07/10/2022) that literally constitutes a warmongering frenzy. Among other things, it ratifies and endorses the decision of the EU and member states to “increase military aid to Ukraine”, calls for the establishment of “a mechanism for military aid through leasing and lending to Ukraine”, and calls for coordination between governments even in regard to arms deliveries to Ukraine.

NATO Killers Go Home: Protesters in Greece threw red paint at NATO warships

Members of the Communist Party (KKE), workers, peace activists demonstrated today in the Patras, Greece, against the docking of NATO warships in the city port, 902 portal reported.

Following a rally in the city, the protesters approached the port where they threw red paint at the ships, shouting slogans against the presence of NATO imperialists in the region. 

PAME stands by the side of the working class of Turkey: On the employers’ crime in Amasra

In a statement about the employers' crime in Bartin, Turkey, which led to the deaths of 41 miners, Greece's All Workers-Militant Front (PAME) points out:

"PAME expresses its deep sorrow and condolences to the families and colleagues of the 41 miners murdered in the Amasra mines in Bartin, Turkey.

41 of our brothers, our colleagues did not return to their families because of the employers’ unending pursuit of profit. After the dead of Soma, whose families are still waiting for justice, comes another massacre of workers.

KKE: The images of naked refugees on Greek-Turkish border expose capitalist barbarity

Greek border guards and officers of EU border agency Frontex found 92 unclothed migrants from the banks of the river Evros, on the northeastern border with Turkey on Friday, Greece's Citizen Protection Ministry said on Saturday.

The migrants “had been abandoned completely naked and without any equipment,” the ministry said. 

 

 In a statement about the incident, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued the following statement (here in Greek): 

Communist and Workers' Parties meeting to be held in Havana on October 27-29

Havana, Cuba's capital city, will be the hosting place of the 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) on October 27-29, 2022.

The theme of the 22nd IMCWP will be: “Solidarity with Cuba and all the struggling people. United we are stronger in the anti-imperialist struggle, alongside social and popular movements, we confront capitalism and its policies, the threat of fascism and war. For the defense of peace, environment, workers' rights, solidarity and socialism”.

WFTU-PAME: Solidarity with the big strike of the workers in the French Refineries #SoutienRaffineurs

The World Federation of Trade Unions, representing 105 million workers in 130 countries around the world, expresses its support for the strikers in the refineries of France and for the FNIC CGT, affiliated to the WFTU, which has been leading this heroic struggle for 3 weeks against the big monopolies Total and Exxon mobile.

Refinery workers in France are waging a powerful and exemplary struggle, at a time when these big oil monopolies are paying billions of Euros in dividends to their shareholders, while refusing to raise wages: refiners are showing that only the way of the strike and the struggle can force the employers to satisfy the demands of the workers.

Nikos Mottas: Che Guevara is today more alive than ever before (VIDEO)

On October 8, 2022, in the fully-packed Studio New Art Cinema in Athens, in presence of Dr. Aleida Guevara March who traveled especially from Havana to attend the event, numerous friends of Cuba in Greece commemorated the 55th anniversary of Ernesto Che Guevara's assassination in Bolivia (read Cuban Embassy's report here). 

 

Among the speakers was Nikos Mottas, editor-in-chief of "In Defense of Communism", author of the book "Che Guevara, Ambassador of the Revolution" (2021), whose greeting speech is presented below:

RKSM(b): Statement on the entry of Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye into Russia

In a recent statement concerning the admission of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into the Russian Federation, the CC of the  Revolutionary Communist Youth League of Russia (Bolsheviks) points out:

«People have made their choice, an unambiguous choice. Today we are signing treaties on the admission of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Kherson Region, and the Zaporozhye Region into the Russian Federation,» President Vladimir Putin said during the ceremony of the regions’ accession to Russia on September 30.

Greece's trade union movement prepares for massive nationwide strike on November 9

With big, massive meetings, representing hundreds of Unions the class unions of Greece prepare the National General Strike of November 9 and honored the WFTU International Action Day.

In Athens at the Sporting Arena, which was decorated with the banners of PAME, the trade unions and the WFTU, and with the central banner of the event giving the slogan “No waiting, no tolerance, everyone to the general strike on 9 November”, welcomed hundreds of trade union delegations from all sectors.

Finland's disgrace: Last statue of Lenin removed

Using the pretext of the imperialist war in Ukraine, the authorities of Kotka, Finland proceeded to the removal of the last remaining statue of Vladimir Lenin in the country. This decision comes as a consequence of the escalation of anti-communism within the EU member-states, following the Russian invasion in Ukraine. 

More specifically, the statue of Vladimir Lenin in Kotka's Pohjoispuistokatu square was relocated to a warehouse on Tuesday.

Brazil: Is social democracy the solution for the people?

By Nikos Mottas.

After four years of far-right Bolsonaro government, the old known social democracy is back in Brazil. Lula da Silva's electoral victory consists the culmination of social democracy's recent resurgence in Latin America, following the rise of Lopez Obrador in Mexico, Gabriel Boric in Chile and Gustavo Petro in Colombia.

Once again, opportunist left-wing forces will celebrate the victory of Lula da Silva, presenting it as a political triumph that will allegedly bring positive developments for the Brazilian working class and the popular strata. Without doubt, Bolsonaro's defeat would be positive news, but the major question that arises is the following: Does social democracy provide a real alternative solution to the dominance of the capital in Brazil? 

Intervention of the KKE at UNESCO for the protection of anti-fascist and Soviet monuments

Intervention of the KKE at UNESCO: Call for measures for the protection of anti-fascist and Soviet monuments

On Thursday 29 September, the MEPs of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Kostas Papadakis and Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos held a meeting with Genc Seiti, Director of the Division for External Relations of UNESCO, and Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 

Veteran Indian communist Kodiyeri Balakrishnan dies

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Comrade Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, an outstanding leader of the Party.  He was a member of the Polit Bureau and, until recently, the secretary of the Kerala State Committee of the Party.

Balakrishnan died on October 1, 2022 in a hospital in Chennai after a prolonged struggle against cancer. He was 68 years old. 

KKE General Secretary Koutsoumbas: "Greece must be immediately disengaged from the imperialist war"

The General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas, proceeded today in a comment concerning the dangerous developments in the imperialist war in Ukraine

The comment of General Secretary Koutsoumbas reads:

“The developments on the front of the imperialist war in Ukraine mark the intensity of the confrontation with incalculable dangers for the peoples. Not only for the people of Ukraine and Russia who are at the center of this conflict, but also for the people of the entire world who are already paying the heavy cost of expensiveness and energy poverty. 

Statement of the KKE on the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia

Following the announcement of the annexation of Ukrainian territories by the Russian Federation, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued the following statement (here in Greek):

"The annexation of the Ukrainian territories of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Lugansk and Donetsk by Russia, announced by President Putin following the completion of the referendums in these regions, adds more “fuel to the fire”.

Sweden's Communist Party appeals against the results of September's elections

The Communist Party of Sweden (SKP) has decided to appeal against the results of the 11th September general election, stressing out that the electoral system has been designed in such an unjust way that the results are more or less predetermined.

In a statement published in “Riktpunkt”, the SKP points out that the entire process of the elections was marked by irregularities and distortions. According to the communists, the legal system favors the big parliamentary parties distributing to them large amounts of funds thus favoring them over other, smaller parties. 

Dimitris Koutsoumbas' speech: "With the KKE, for the great, the beautiful and utterly amazing, for Socialism!"

The events of the 48th Festival of KNE-Odigitis in Athens were successfully completed on Saturday 24 September. The huge “Antonis Tritsis” Park proved too small to host the tens of thousands of people and youth that participated inthe events. 

 

The Festival culminated with the keynote speech of the GS of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas, preceded by an address by the Secretary of the CC of KNE, Nikos Ambatielos.

The full speech by Dimitris Koutsoumbas reads as follows:

In Italy we need the Communists!

The following text is a very interesting statement issued by the Front of the Communist Youth of Italy (Fronte della Gioventù Comunista FGC) on the occasion of the results of the general elections. The original text in Italian can be found on the Facebook page of FGC. 

The statement reads:

"The real winner of the elections emerges from the Milan Stock Exchange which, yesterday, closed positively without being affected in the prospect of a right-wing government led by the “Brothers of Italy”. The big investors are calm because they know very well that the government that will emerge will be a friend of the bosses and a workers' enemy. In words it will be against Draghi, but of the same logic in essence. 

Venezuela: Communist Party slams government for not inviting Trade Unions in ILO-sponsored dialogue

The Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) rejected the exclusion of the United Workers Central of Venezuela (CUTV), the National Union of Workers (UNETE) and the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions (CODESA) from a new meeting of the Tripartite Dialogue between the Government of Nicolás Maduro, employers and workers, sponsored by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Venezuela. 

"It is a hypocritical dialogue that prevents the participation of trade union centers opposed to the anti-worker policies of the Government", affirmed Elena Linarez, member of the Political Bureau of the PCV during a press conference held this Monday. 

KKE: Statement on the result of the elections in Italy

Following the result in the Italian general election and the victory of the far-right bloc, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement (here in Greek).

 

The statement reads:

"The electoral result in Italy, with a record abstention and the far-right as the first power, only foreshadows the continuation and escalation of the anti-people policy in the neighboring country. The “anti-systemic” cheap-talks of Meloni, the leader of the far-right bloc, cannot hide the assurances of loyalty to EU and NATO, her alignment with their plans in the war between thieves in Ukraine and the aspiration of the Italian bourgeois class, through the recovering of the far-right, to shield the interests of the third strongest economic power in the intensifying competition within the EU. 

Massive crowds at the Festival of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) in Athens

Photos: 902.gr.

The 48th Festival of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), known as KNE-Odigitis Festival, was successfully concluded on Saturday night at the fully-packed Athens' Tritsis Park following a large, awe-inspiring political event where the keynote speaker was Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE. The opening speech at the event was delivered by Nikos Abatielos, Secretary of the CC of KNE.

Thousands of communists, workers, people of every age, men and women, attended the event thus sending a powerful message of unwavering struggle alongside the KKE, against capitalist exploitation and imperialist wars, for socialism. 

Cuba exposes capitalism's inherent inequality at the UN General Assembly

Mainstream media will not refer to the speech given by the Cuban Foreign Minister at the 77th UN General Assembly...

Addressing world leaders gathered for the first fully in-person high-level debate of the UN General Assembly in three years, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the true essence of the unjust and unsustainable prevailing international order.

Ukrainian, Russian young communists give lesson on proletarian internationalism

By Nikos Mottas.

In a period when the various modern Kautskyites and other opportunists continue to promote the interests of the Russian bourgeois class thus becoming eager servants of the reactionary Putin government in its fierce competition with the western imperialists, young communists from Russia and Ukraine send a powerful message of proletarian internationalism from Athens.

The photo from the 48th KNE-Odigitis Festival, where 35 foreign delegations of Communist Youths are represented, is revealing: Side by side, the Revolutionary Communist Youth League of Russia (Bolsheviks) and the Youth Wing of the Union of Communists of Ukraine remind us that the only thing that can actually oppose bourgeois nationalism, chauvinism and fascism, is proletarian internationalism. 

The 48th KNE-Odigitis Festival kicked off in Athens

The 48th KNE-Odigitis Festival, the annual festival organized by the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), kicked off on Thursday at Tritsis Park, Athens. 

 

Thousands of people of every age, from every corner of Athens but also from other cities, attended the events of the first day which included music concerts, political discussions, stand up comedy and other activities. 

KKE: Mahsa Amini's murder is the tip of the iceberg of the blatant social discriminations against women

In a statement about the murder of 22 year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini and the popular mobilizations in Iran, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out:

"We denounce the Iranian regime for the brutal murder of 22 year-old Mahsa Amini by the religious police in the name of “indecent clothing”, as well as the repression against popular mobilizations. The heinous crime is the tip of the iceberg of the blatant social discriminations experienced by women in education, family, even in their clothing features, which have as a basis and starting point outdated and reactionary perceptions concerning woman's position in society. 

Protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini — Tudeh Party's statement

Statement by the Tudeh Party of Iran on the widespread protests in the country, following the death of a 22 year-old woman, Mahsa Amini:

On 28 June 2022, Ali Khamenei broadcasted a message on social media designed to intimidate the people [of Iran] and brazenly defend the murderous crimes of the regime during the 1980s - threatening to have them repeated in the current conditions, stating," The God of the 1980s is the same God as this year's!". This is a clear sign of the [veteran] dictator's concerns about the regime's critical situation. 

Statement of the KKE on Putin's address — Заявление КПГ по обращению Путина

Following the public address of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on Wednesday 21 September, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement, underlining the escalation of the imperialist conflict and demanding Greece's immediate disengagement from the dangerous plans of EU and NATO. 

The statement reads:

The imperialist war being waged in Ukraine between the Euro-Atlantic forces and capitalist Russia is heading for a new devastating escalation. It is confirmed that the build-up of military forces and materiel on both sides does not lead to the end of the war, but instead feeds the vicious circle of the continuation and intensification of the conflict.

D. Koutsoumbas: The peoples’ struggle can put an end to the causes of the bloodshed of war

The 48th festival of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) continues with a wide range of political and cultural activities. On Saturday 17/9/22, the GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, addressed a speech at the events in Thessaloniki. 

 

In his speech, he highlighted the strategic identification of the parties supporting Euro-Atlanticism and the choices of capital and referred in detail to the struggle of the KKE and its political proposal. He devoted an important part of his speech to international developments and the KKE’s assessments of them,an extensive excerpt of which reads as follows:

KKE on Erdogan's provocations: NATO, US and EU fuel Turkish aggression

In a statement concerning the provocative statements of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in the United Nations, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out:

“Erdogan's delirium at the UN General Assembly, where he presented the entire range of claims by the Turkish ruling class against Greece and Cyprus, cannot be interpreted as a pre-electoral tactic, nor as a product of Turkey's alleged isolation. 

KKE: Cyprus is being integrated deeper into US-NATO plans in the competition with Russia

KKE protest at the Akrotiri British military base in 2018.

Cyprus, which is already being used as a NATO base, is being integrated deeper into US-NATO plans in the framework of the competition with Russia, a statement by the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out on the occasion of the lifting of the US arms embargo on Cyprus.

More specifically, the statement published on 902 portal stresses out: 

“The celebrations of the forces of “Euro-Atlanticism” for the decision of the USA to completely lift the arms embargo on Cyprus, which they had imposed in 1987, attempt to hide the painful reality experienced by the Cypriot people from the island's involvement in the imperialist plans and competitions.

Enjoying Capitalism? New York City's homeless reach 80,000, highest since Great Depression

New York City, the metropolis of U.S capitalism, hasn't been unaffected by the crisis of the capitalist system. The homeless population in the most populous city in the United States, has surged in recent years to 80,000 people, according to The Bowery Mission, a 150-year-old agency serving the hungry and homeless, citing federal data.

"Homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s," Fox News on Wednesday quoted the Coalition for the Homeless as saying.

KKE denounces new incident of anti-communism in the European Parliament

The European Parliament continues being an endless source of anti-communist propaganda. In a statement published on 902.gr portal, the EU Parliament Group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) denounces a new anti-communist resolution which repeats the known slanders against the Soviet Union and socialism.

More specifically, in a joint resolution under the name “Human rights violations in the context of forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians to and forced adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia”, the European People's Party (EPP), Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and the far-right Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), included an unacceptable paragraph, completely unrelated to the topic and content of the text, which aims to distort reality by equating today's capitalist Russia with the Soviet Union! 

This is Capitalism: UN says 50 million people stuck in ‘modern slavery’

Protest against child slavery in India.

The intensification of exploitation in monopoly capitalism continues to produce modern ways of slavery, which was particularly escalated during the two years of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2022. 

Fifty million people around the world are trapped in forced labor or forced marriage, the UN said Monday, warning that their ranks had swelled dramatically in recent years.

The study by the UN's agencies for labor and migration along with the Walk Free Foundation found that at the end of last year, 28 million people were in forced labor and 22 million living in a marriage they had been forced into. That means nearly one out of every 150 people in the world are caught up in modern forms of slavery, the report said. The Covid pandemic, which worsened conditions and swelled debt levels for many workers, has heightened the risk, the survey found.

Interview of Nikos Mottas to Red Star Radio

Nikos Mottas, founder and Editor in chief of "In Defense of Communism" spoke to Red Star Radio and Alexander McKay about a number of issues, including the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the decline of the USSR and the failure of the left in Greece during the Syriza government.

KKE bids farewell to iconic actress Irene Pappas

In a statement issued today, the Press Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) bids farewell to the iconic Greek actress Irene Pappas who died at the age of 96 in Athens. 

 

With a career spanning more than half a century, Pappas starred in over 70 films, including  award-winning films as "The Guns of Navarone" and "Zorba the Greek".

The KKE statement points out: 

Communist actor, former KKE MP Kostas Kazakos dies

Prominent Greek actor and director with a career that spans 60 years, Kostas Kazakos, died today in Athens aged 87.

Having studied at the famous Karolos Koun Drama School, he made his stage debut in 1957 and then collaborated with many stage groups. He participated in numerous Greek films.

He stood against the military dictatorship that was imposed in 1967 and was imprisoned in 1973, just a year before the Junta's fall. 

USA: Solidarity with the nurses' strike in Minnesota and Wisconsin

The largest private sector nurses' strike in US history kicked off Monday, organisers said, with some 15,000 workers in hospitals across Minnesota and Wisconsin demanding better working conditions and higher wages.

Strikes in the United States have occurred regularly over the past year, with employees reporting to be exhausted by working during the Covid-19 pandemic and struggling with price rises.

Turkey: Communist Party's 102nd founding anniversary celebrated in Istanbul

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) celebrated its 102nd anniversary with a political and cultural event held in Istanbul. Under the slogan “victory belongs to the workers who resist”, ETF workers who have been fighting for their rights entered the hall receiving the warm applause by the large crowd, including workers, unionists, associations' members, young men and women.

Speaking at the opening of the event, the head of TKP Istanbul Provincial Organization Senem Doruk Inam underlined: “We know that we can rebuild this country together. The owners of this country can and will rule this country”. 

SYRIZA's shameless anti-communism strikes again

These days, SYRIZA's youth organization organizes in Athens its annual festival called “Sputnik”. What do social democrats have to do with a name that is so closely related with the Soviet Union? 

The answer can be found in the attempt of SYRIZA to manipulate working class people by using for its festival a name that symbolizes one of socialism's great achievements, the conquest of space.