Borotba responds to lies of Russian oppositionist Ilya Ponomarev

In particular, journalists asked Ponomarev why he didn’t defend his allies on the left, facing repression after the victory of Maidan — the Ukrainian Communist Party (KPU), Union Borotba (Struggle), etc.

“I do not think the Communist Party is a left-wing party, it is an oligarchic rump. It has long ceased to be a left-wing party. Some leftists are there, but it has been declining for many years.

“I did my best to have Borotba occupy a role, but this did not happen, although it appeared as a result of the revolution to for them to become the Ukrainian version of the German Die Linke. Unfortunately, the traditions of Ukrainian political life are no different from the traditions of Russia. It’s very easy to call opponents, with whom one does not agree, agents of the Kremlin. In the beginning they took no pro-Russian position. I was in constant contact with them, while the Russian Left Front took a clear stand against the invasion and the DNR and LC.

“Borotba tried to join the Maidan, but they were kicked out by the right-wing. This party began to drift, and in the end really was in the camp of pro-Russian demonstrators. They finally became ‘enemies of the people’ and a ‘fifth column,’ as I am a ‘fifth column’ in Russia. Now they are hiding mainly in Crimea, because they believe Crimea is Ukrainian and thus, they feel that they have not departed from the territory of Ukraine, and continue their work from exile.

“It’s very sad. Without a strong left wing in Ukraine, a stable political system cannot arise,” said Ilya Ponomarev.

His words came as a surprise to one of the leaders of Borotba, Odessa deputy Alexei Albu.

“Borotba, indeed, has never been a pro-Russian organization. It is not now. We are a ‘pro-Ukrainian’ organization, in the sense that we are in favor of the elimination of the fascist regime in Kiev and support those forces that are fighting against fascism in Ukraine. The struggle against fascism is not up to Russia or anyone else, it’s for the Ukrainians themselves.

“Ilya Ponomarev said that the leaders of Borotba are now living in Crimea, because, allegedly, we ‘believe Crimea is Ukrainian.’ This is not true. As socialists, we believe Crimea (as well as any other territory) is the property of the people who live on it. And if Crimeans decided in a referendum to join Russia, we will be the last to force them to remain a part of Ukraine. Especially such a Ukraine as exists after February 2014.

“Ilya Ponomarev says that after the Maidan, which he calls a ‘revolution,’ Borotba had the opportunity to ‘become the Ukrainian version of the German Die Linke.’ It is strange to hear this, since members of Die Linke went to the insurgent Donbass and condemned the ultra-right government of Kiev and its war crimes. All the more strange to hear about left-wing politics in modern Ukraine, where not only the whole left, but any opposition speech is suppressed. The Maidan power imprisoned hundreds of people for opposition activities, including Borotba activists. Ilya Ponomarev cannot be unaware of this.

“Last February a right-wing coup took place in Kiev that brought to power a bloc of neoliberals and neo-Nazis of behalf of Ukrainian big business. In this situation, the left, including Borotba, could not be among the ‘loyal opponents’ of the regime.

“Understanding this, Union Borotba took a clear position against Maidan and the political forces that participated in it. We do not understand what Ilya Ponomarev meant by saying that Borotba drifted toward the pro-Russian demonstrators. No Borotbists took part in the Maidan; in November 2013 we evaluated the Maidan as a right-wing movement and opposed it. The incident with the beating of Borotba activists the Levin brothers occurred near the Maidan, where they campaigned among people hanging out on Khreschatyk. Union Borotba not only took a stand from the beginning against the neo-fascists, hungry for power, but also opposed the so-called ‘European integration,’ even when Yanukovych and the Party of Regions were ardent supporters of rapprochement with the EU,” stressed the Borotba activist.

“Now, a year after the events, when the anti-social, anti-people implications of Maidan are clear, when it has become clear to everyone that the Maidan brought to power openly neo-fascist forces, to justify or somehow whitewash the coup of February 2014 is not just unworthy of left politics, but is also a betrayal,” concludes the Ukrainian leftist.

[Translators note: To get a sense of what kind of “opposition” politics Ponomarev represents, consider that he has been holding court as a speaker at pro-imperialist conferences in the United States, and is a featured speaker at the upcoming Central and Eastern European Shale Gas & Oil Summit 2015 in Warsaw, Poland, “serving as a platform to reinvigorate European shale gas exploration.”]