Russia

Workers at National Grid’s terminal on the Isle of Grain, Kent, stopped the landing of a consignment of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the start of March . The workers, members of Unison, were facing the prospect of unloading the LNG because of a loophole in the Government’s new ban on Russian shipping: the ban does not extend to Russian cargo. The union members could fall foul of the anti-union laws that ban political strikes if they refused to unload the cargo, and potentially lose their jobs. As the Boris Vilkitsky, the ship carrying the LNG, approached Grain, Unison officials...

The slogan "the main enemy is in the home camp" dates from a leaflet written by the German revolutionary Karl Liebknecht in May 1915, the focus of which was Italy’s entry into the war on the side of the Allies. It is rightly famous. But it is being abused in relation to the war in Ukraine. Before the war Italy had been allied with Germany in the Triple Alliance. But then, in 1915, it had joined the war on the side of the Allies. The German ruling classes denounced Italy’s "treachery" in an attempt to whip up renewed pro-war fervour. The purpose of Liebknecht’s leaflet was to challenge those...

Russian feminists organised through Feminist Anti-War Resistance have issued this manifesto and call for action against the Russian war in Ukraine. For posters and information to do a solidarity photo in their support on International Women's Day, see here . On February 24, at around 5:30 AM Moscow time, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a “special operation” on the territory of Ukraine in order to “denazify” and “demilitarize” this sovereign state. This operation had long been in preparation. For several months, Russian troops were moving up to the border with Ukraine. At the same...

Vladimir Putin has been extremely explicit and vocal in condemning the Bolsheviks’ policy of national self-determination and their policy for Ukraine in particular. Condemnation of the Bolsheviks is central to his absurd argument that there is essentially no Ukrainian nation, that it is a somehow an artificial construction. As has been widely noted, Putin regrets the collapse of the USSR. But it is the Russian empire the Stalinist USSR represented, not “communism” and certainly not the Russian revolution, that he views positively. For the obvious reasons, Putin is against workers' struggle and...

Early on the morning of Thursday 24 February Russian President Putin appeared on Russian television to announce the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Within a few minutes 100 Russian cruise missiles had hit military and government targets across Ukraine and the first wave of Russian troops began to move into Ukraine from three sides. By starting this war – and appearing at the same time to threaten a much broader conflict – Putin has upset the political equilibrium that has existed in Europe for 30 years, since the collapse of the USSR. The future in Europe now looks more dangerous...

The government of Cuba, which calls itself socialist, has essentially backed Russia in the Ukraine conflict. While insisting that it “deeply regret[s] the loss of life” and that “the Cuban people had and have a close relationship with the Ukrainian people”, the "Declaration of the Revolutionary Government” repeatedly blames the US and NATO for the war in Ukraine, says the “use of force” is a result of the denial of Russia’s “just claims” and suggests the war is about “Russia ha[ving] a right to defend itself”. Cuba has form, over many decades. It supported the USSR’s invasion of Czechoslovakia...

Keir Starmer has forced 11 left-wing MPs to withdraw their signatures from a Stop the War Coalition statement on the grounds that Labour MPs cannot oppose or criticise imperialist military alliance NATO. Media reports say the MPs were threatened with withdrawal of the party whip. And the party machine has seized control of the Young Labour (YL) Twitter account on the same basis - and now Starmer has apparently cancelled this year's YL conference ! The left should not support the Stop the War Coalition, which consistently apologises for Russia and anti-Western imperial powers. And Young Labour...

Since the start of a widespread invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Russian people have mobilised impressively in anti-war protests and dissent. On the first evening, protests in around 60 cities saw enormous numbers of participants, leading to the arrest of over 1,800. OVD-Info reports over 5,000 arrests overall in the days since (at time of writing). None of the protests have been sanctioned by local or national authorities, making the mere act of participation a criminal offence. Police have arrested and abused with impunity, and the government have introduced new measures to dissuade...

It’s Sunday night in central Moscow, and Rosgvardia, President Vladimir Putin’s personal military force, is out in full force. It’s been four days since war was waged against Ukraine and since then, a heavy police presence has dominated the centre of the city, with paddy wagons for protestors lined up and ready. In metro exits near Moscow’s usual protest site, barriers are up. Everything is in place to make sure any anti-war protests can be quickly contained with perpetrators swiftly rounded up. The Russian enemy On Thursday, 24 Feb 2022, the world woke up to news that would at once grip the...

Official opening of the Power of Siberia pipeline Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revealed the geopolitical and ecological insanity of a European capitalist class addicted to fossil fuels. Russia is the world’s largest petro-state, controlling one third of Earth’s oil and gas reserves and producing 68% of the world’s domestic gas supply. Fossil fuels constitute around 60% of Russian exports and around 40% of government income. The overwhelming majority of those fossil fuels are bought by European and other NATO countries. The fossil fuel revenue has allowed Putin to amass the third largest...