Syria and Donbass: Two sections of a united front against imperialism

I am a supporter of the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin, and the political practice of the Bolsheviks. And I would like to make this clear for the general left movement, so that I am not confused with the anarchists, social democrats, the New Left, libertarians or representatives of other political currents, and also that I am not associated with the opportunists of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation or much of the Turkish communist movement.

In my opinion, today’s world is experiencing the second birth of the Red movement. By studying contemporary political events, global processes and trends, and participating in a variety of left-wing and communist groups, I have increasingly come to the conclusion that their political line is wrong on many issues.

In the second half of the 20th century, the vast majority of communist parties, organizations and movements degenerated, made many concessions and compromises, or revised their political perspective after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the 1990s and 2000s, there appeared around the world small, new organizations and people who were not involved in the political orbit of the “old left” and were trying to create new structures for political struggle.

One such organization was Borotba, which emerged in 2011 in Ukraine. From the inception of the organization, we were looking for like-minded people in other countries and continents. In this, we were helped by the political crisis in Ukraine and the subsequent civil war. These events forever separated us from the “old left communist organizations” as well as from reformists who preferred to operate using old methods in the new political environment. I don’t need to remind you that their political practice led to their complete defeat.

It was therefore extremely important for us to find like-minded people who share our views on events in the world and in Ukraine in particular, as well as the methods of struggle to be used in the new political reality. And we found these comrades.

Today, the Red organizations have no influence on the global economic and political processes. Yes, there are parties which call themselves communist or left that are very strong; for example, the Communist Party of China. But in fact, these parties embrace a bourgeois policy, which is why I would like to be differentiated from such parties and their members. No, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t interact with the old left, but still, there must be a clear understanding that we are not them. In the words of Comrade Lenin: “In order that we may unite, we must first of all draw firm and definite lines of demarcation.”

If you look at what is happening from the outside, it appears that we are not many, we are all scattered, we have no body that can coordinate our actions, and very often we do not even have relations with each other.

This situation in the Red movement binds our hands, constrains our actions, and pulls us to the bottom. To solve this problem, we urgently need to unite into a single a worldwide structure.

One such attempt toward the unification of the Red forces was made by the Turkish comrades, who in 2009 created an “Anti-Imperialist Front.” Today, it already includes dozens of Red organizations, and we are pleased to have found comrades among them. It is a kind of a nascent International for the 21st century. Today, in the struggle against imperialism (a pity that some uneducated people confuse this term, which they often use to mean “imperial” or “imperial ambitions,” and not a phase of the capitalist system) — Syria takes the main place. Close to it are Donbass, Kurdistan, Chiapas, half of Colombia. The struggle is also carried out in other regions of the world. It was therefore very important for us to establish a relationship with all progressive forces challenging the U.S. as the main center of world imperialism, including the government of the Syrian Arab Republic. It was important for us to see the situation from within the region, the lives of the people in the frontline towns and refugee camps. It was important to meet with senior officials of the government, religious and community leaders in Syria, for me — and for the other comrades from Italy, Morocco, Lebanon, Scotland and Greece who participated in the delegation.