Another Yalta conference

Submitted by AWL on 29 August, 2014 - 6:59

Less than two months ago Richard Brenner (Workers Power) and Alan Freeman (Socialist Action) and other Western leftists were feted in the Hotel Yalta-Intourist by Russian fascists and ultra-nationalists at a conference to boost Russian imperialist designs in Ukraine.

The same initiative met again on 30-31 August, but dispensed with the left-wing decoration.

Members of the following European fascist or far-right organisations were invited to the conference:

British BNP, French National Front, Hungarian Jobbik, Belgian Vlaams Belang and National-European Communitarian Party, Bulgarian Ataka and Bulgarian National Movement, Italian Lega Nord and Forza Nuova, Polish Samooborona and Falanga. Ex-BNP leader Nick Griffin was also invited.

It is unclear how many responded to this particular invitation. But Russian fascists, the pro-Russian separatist leaders and European fascism are bound together by a common ideology. Hostility to the USA, hostility to the EU, hostility to “decadent” liberal values, hostility to globalisation, and support for a “New World order” based on nationalism.

The first conference produced a “Declaration” (full of anti-fascist and anti-war verbiage, designed for an international left-liberal audience) and a “Manifesto” (to wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth, or at least to reduce it to the segment of Ukraine ruled before World War 1 by Austria).

Almost all of the leading figures in the “People’s Republics” (prior to a recent change of leadership, probably ordained by Moscow) are members of, or linked to, Russian fascist organisations.

“Prime Minister” Borodai, military commander Strelkov-Girkin, and “People’s Governor” Gubarev are all members of the Izborsky Club, a fascist “think tank” headed by Russia’s leading fascists: Alexander Dugin and Alexander Prokhanov.

Gubarev is also a former member of the fascist Russian National Unity (RNU) organisation. RNU members are currently fighting for the separatists in Ukraine (bit.ly/rnu-uk), alongside French fascists (bit.ly/fr-ukr).

Andrei Purgin (DPR deputy prime minister), Oleg Frolov (member of the DPR “parliament”), Konstantin Knyrik (head of the “South-eastern Front Information Centre”), Oksana Shkoda (DPR “General Headquarters Representative”) and the late Alexander Proselkov (former DPR deputy foreign minister) all have fascist connections.

In 2006 they attended a “summer camp” of political training run by the fascist Eurasian Union of Youth (founded by Dugin) and emerged as leading figures in the “Donetsk Republic” organisation set up the same year.

A challenge to debate

This letter has been sent to the Workers’ Power group.

As you will be aware, Workers Power and the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty have taken radically different positions in relation to the current conflict in the south-east of Ukraine.

If we understand the position taken by Workers Power correctly, this can be summarised as:

The current situation in Ukraine has been “largely provoked by the aggression of the NATO and EU axis.”

The Kiev government “was handpicked by US and EU representatives and brought to power by the armed force of the fascist Svoboda and Right Sector militia.”

That government is “the political tool of the IMF and western imperialism, the Right Sector and Svoboda their mailed fist.”

The forces combating the government and pro-government forces constitute “the anti-fascist resistance” in Ukraine.

Workers Power now finds itself allied with Stalinists in Britain (“Solidarity with the Anti-Fascist Resistance in Ukraine”), as well as defending the collaboration of socialists with fascist-cum-Russian-ultra-nationalist forces (the recent international conference in Yalta, attended by one of your comrades).

We think that there would be a political-educational value in holding a public debate to argue out our differences concerning the current situation in Ukraine in more detail. These issue, about political perspectives in Europe, are of importance for the wider left.

Dale Street and Cathy Nugent, on behalf of the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty

Comments

Submitted by ann field on Sat, 30/08/2014 - 22:37

Anton Shekhovtsov, an academic expert on European and Russian far right/fascist movements and ideology, has published the following list of participants in the conference (or invitees to it – it is unclear from current reports how many actually attended):

Nick Griffin (fascist British National Party, UK)

Márton Gyöngyösi (fascist Jobbik, Hungary)

Frank Creyelman (far right Vlaams Belang, Belgium)

Luc Michel (neo-Nazi Parti Communautaire National-Européen, Belgium)

Pavel Chernev (far right Ataka, Bulgaria)

Angel Djambazki (far right Bulgarsko Natsionalno Dvizhenie, Bulgaria)

Erkki Johan Bäckman (neo-Stalinist, Finland)

Giovanni Maria Camillacci (far right Lega Nord, Italy)

Roberto Fiore (fascist Forza Nuova, Italy)

Mateusz Piskorski (far right Samooborona, Poland)

Konrad Rękas (far right Samooborona, Poland)

Bartosz Bekier (neo-Nazi Falanga, Poland)

See: http://anton-shekhovtsov.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/1984-russian-and-europe…

A pro-separatist website (http://baltija.eu/news/read/39884) states that representatives of the French National Front were also due to attend the conference.

On the website of the pro-separatist “Izvestia” newspaper (http://izvestia.ru/news/575833) an article reports that attendees at the conference include Alexander Prokhanov and Alexander Dugin (Russian fascists) and Konstantin Zatulin (Russian ultra-nationalist and president of the, ahem, philanthropic fund “We Are All – Berkut”).

In early July Aleksei Anpilogov (fascist) organized an international conference to build support for the “anti-fascist resistance” in Ukraine, attended, inter alia, by Richard Brenner (Workers Power) and Alan Freeman (Socialist Action) of the British “Campaign in Solidarity with the Anti-Fascist Resistance in Ukraine”.

Now the same Aleksei Anpilogov (fascist) has organized another conference (same venue) to build support for the “anti-fascist resistance” in Ukraine, attended (if they turned up to the event) by fascists from throughout eastern and western Europe.

The BNP, Falanga, Forza Nuova, Jobbik, Lega Nord, Vlaams Belang, French National Front, Workers Power and Socialist Action – that’s a very broad campaign in solidarity with the “anti-fascist resistance” in Ukraine that Anpilogov is building.

Submitted by Mark on Sat, 30/08/2014 - 23:30

Why hasn't Richard Brenner answered the AWL broadsheet's claims (and the comments, above)? Why doesn't Workers' Power reply?
The fact is: they can't. They don't write anything because they know they've made a bad mistake. They don't write anything because they're not able to admit it. Because they're a sect, run by Brenner.
What a rubbish group.

Submitted by ann field on Wed, 03/09/2014 - 22:39

A lengthy, detailed and very supportive eye-witness report of last weekend’s conference has been written and published by Darya Mitina at:

http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/mitina_daria/1392116-echo/

It opens as follows:

“So, on 29th/30th August in Yalta the second stage of the conference ‘Russia, Novorossiya, Ukraine: Global Problems and Challenges’ took place, organized by the ‘Centre of Co-Ordination – Novaya Rus’’, the main Russian social structure which co-ordinates the Ukrainian resistance.

"The first stage of the conference, which was notable for adopting the ‘Yalta Manifesto’, took place a month and a half ago. The left spectrum of the resistance was invited to it. This time the plan was to invite the right-conservative segment of the resistance. But in the course of the preparations things got pretty mixed up.

"The forum brought together over 200 guests. Politicians, leaders of the resistance in the regions of former Ukraine, field commanders of the army of Novorossiya, representatives of the militia, members of the parliament of Novorossiya, intellectuals and social activists from Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, France, Serbia, Belgium, Latvia, Estonia and international journalists took part in its work.”

So:

Both ‘stages of the conference’ were organized by Aleksei Anpilogov, who heads up ‘Novaya Rus’.

The first stage was for the ‘left spectrum of the resistance’ (e.g. Brenner and Freeman).

The second stage was for the ‘right-conservative segment of the resistance’ (e.g. BNP, Front National, Forza Nuova, Jobbik, Samooborona, etc.).

But there was a ‘mix-up’ in organizing the second stage of the conference. It is unclear whether this means that not all the organisations on the list uncovered by Shekhovtsov were invited, or whether it means that too many people (over 200) dropped in, so to speak, on the event.

But Fiore from Forza Nuova and Mateusz Piskorski from Samooborona, along with Israel Shamir, were definitely there.

Shekhovtsov is still working on trying to identify who else was there from the European fascist/far right scene:

http://anton-shekhovtsov.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/please-help-to-identify…

More pictures of the conference participants can also be seen at the bottom of the page at:

http://sevastopol.su/author_page.php?id=65557

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.