On January 10, 2015, unfounded accusations against our party appeared on the blog of the Russian organization “Essence of Time.” In this regard, we would like to clarify the ideological and political positions of our party to show the invalidity of the attack directed against us, as well as to refute the false arguments of the supporters of Sergei Kurginyan.
Union Borotba appeared in the spring of 2011, when a number of left-wing organizations and activists decided to establish a political party. All members of the party position themselves as followers of the ideas of Marx and Lenin, although in our ranks there are supporters of various leftist currents, including anarchists. One of the characteristics of our organization is a conscious departure from the archaic division of the left into “Stalinists” and “Trotskyists,” because it does not correspond to today’s political reality.
This view encounters incomprehension from hostile representatives of both the organization “Essence of Time,” which referred to us as Trotskyists, and the Ukrainian nationalists, who accuse us of Stalinism. In fact, the position of Borotba is a consistent communist position, which aims to consolidate all residents of Ukraine sympathetic to the left in the fight against their real enemy — the government of Ukrainian nationalists and the oligarchs – instead of the game of historical reconstruction, which is no threat to the junta.
“Essence of Time” is trying to present us as close associates of the Russian Communist Sergei Udaltsov. We agree with the position of Sergei Udaltsov in respect to his support for the struggle of the People’s Republics — although he has always been critical of the current government of Russia. We criticize them with communist positions to this day, but it does not change our vector of support for all the progressive forces in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DNR and LC) in the fight against the Ukrainian regime, as well as against domestic reactionary forces in the republics.
Attempts to attribute to Borotba any connection with Kharkov Mayor Gennady Kernes are frankly ridiculous. Representatives of our organization were expelled by force by Kernes’ police from rallies against the Kiev regime, which can be seen in many videos that were seen all over Ukraine. Moreover, during the spring, Kernes actively tried to oust Borotba from the political platform of the Kharkov AntiMaidan movement, claiming that our “anti-oligarch” position was beneficial to the oligarchic junta. “Essence of Time” repeats old conjectures of collaboration with the capitalist Kernes, who is extremely hostile to our organization.
Even more ridiculous are the accusations that a representative of the Kharkov Maidan once came to negotiate at the Kharkov office of Borotba, which served as the focal point for local AntiMaidan forces. We recall that the office was destroyed by the Nazis; that armed militants, firing into the air, tried to kidnap Borotba coordinator Denis Levin in the city center; and that secret services and neo-Nazis raided the apartments of Borotba activists, who were called in for questioning or immediately thrown in jail on charges of “terrorism.” If after all this, “Essence of Time” has the audacity to accuse us of collaboration with the Kiev regime, it is perhaps worth asking if it does not in fact cooperate with the junta itself, and where its representatives were when Borotbists organized resistance to the dictatorship?
“Essence of Time” allows itself cynical speculation about the May 2 tragedy in Odessa that does not stand up to scrutiny. Misinformation that Alexei Albu urged people to enter the House of Trade Unions was spread on the orders of ex-Governor of the Odessa region Vladimir Nemirovsky, who even prior to May 2 tried to deprive Albu of his deputy status, and who is directly related to the organization of mass murder at the House of Trade Unions. The absurdity of this version is such that it was repeated only by open Ukrainian nationalists — though without much enthusiasm, because the real picture of the tragic events of May 2 is well documented in video and eyewitness accounts. Odessans who were on the square at that time, who were inside the House of Trade Unions, and who lost relatives and friends there – including Borotba activists recently released in the exchange of prisoners of war — not only never put forward any claims against Albu, but continue to work closely with him, participating in the resistance to the Nazis and the oligarchs.
Recall that Alexei Albu was the only deputy who proposed holding a referendum on the creation of an Autonomous Republic of Odessa, and when the proposal was not adopted, led a protest of the people to the building of the regional council, for which he was officially declared “wanted” by the Ukrainian junta.
We are the communists. Union Borotba always takes class positions and fights in the interests of the oppressed workers. Today’s realities are such that completely different political forces, social movements, organizations and activists were involved in the protests against the neo-fascist authorities — including those who do not consider it necessary to separate from Ukraine, and called for the overthrow of the new central government. Today, despite the different political views and contradictions in the camp of opponents of the current Ukrainian authorities, different political forces are collaborating. Therefore, we must clearly understand that the attempted attacks on Borotba definitely play into the hands of Kiev regime. We ask: With what purpose are the representatives of the organization “Essence of Time” trying to split the movement of resistance to the junta?
Translation by Greg Butterfield
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