In “The Ukrainian Revolution and the Future of Social Movements,” U.S.-based collective Crimethinc provides a relatively nuanced anarchist perspective on the Ukrainian revolution.
They write:
Crimethinc: Revolution & reaction togetherw
21 03 2014Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: western left
Categories : Left politics, Uncategorized
Snyder vs. McGovern
18 03 2014While it does not contain much new information, this debate on Democracy Now stages two very contrary views on the Ukraine crisis prevalent among observers in the western (especially U.S.) left.
On one side is historian Timothy Snyder, whose detailed articles have been mentioned several times on this blog. On the other side is former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, who presents the left-wing critique of U.S. “meddling” in other countries. The stark contrast between the two makes for an easy opportunity to judge and evaluate the two sets of views. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Timothy Snyder, western perspectives
Categories : Left politics, Uncategorized, Western media
Pilash: “Trapped… in a vicious circle”
16 03 2014The following interview with Denis Pilash of the Left Opposition in Kyiv was carried out by SYRIZA (the Greek “Coalition of the Radical Left”). It was passed onto me by Marko Bojcun and can be read here in full. As it hasn’t been printed anywhere else yet (to my knowledge), I am sharing it here in full.
Question: The European Union has started a game that it is not able to finish. It (EU) couldn’t predict the reaction of Moscow?
Comments : 9 Comments »
Categories : Left politics, Ukrainian Left politics, Uncategorized
Responding to concerns on the Left
7 03 2014I’ve been engaging in some vigorous e-mail conversation about Ukraine with a group of local left-wing political thinkers. The following are a few pieces of that conversation that seem worth sharing. These comments are in the nature of a quick exchange, so I am not providing sources here (except for a few), but previous posts on this blog provide further background, and I’d be happy to provide more upon request.
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Left politics, Uncategorized
AWU statement on Russian intervention
3 03 2014From the Autonomous Workers Union’s statement on Russian intervention:
“The war can be averted only if proletarians of all countries, first and foremost Ukrainian and Russian, together make a stand against the criminal regime of Putin.
Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: Crimea
Categories : Left politics, Uncategorized
Gusev: Russian activists facing danger
26 02 2014Alexei Gusev is a professor of history at Moscow State University and chair of the Praxis Research and Educational Center in Moscow. The following is a letter he sent to Richard Greeman, who asked that I post it online.
Dear Richard,
Comments : 51 Comments »
Tags: Russia
Categories : Left politics, Uncategorized
Greeman: Revolution’s first phase now complete
25 02 2014A friend of mine alerted me to the following unpublished text, which was sent to a network of activists in the international Left. It is by retired scholar and activist Richard Greeman, director of the International Victor Serge Foundation, co-founder of the Praxis Research and Education Center in Moscow (which co-sponsored the first International Congress of Independant Labor Unions last November in Kyiv), and close colleague of political theorists Immanuel Wallerstein and Cornelius Castoriadis.
It is being published here by permission of the author.
Ukraine, Revolution or Coup?
Comments : 16 Comments »
Categories : Left politics, Uncategorized
The “threat” of direct democracy
22 02 2014These are my own thoughts after following today’s events in Ukraine. I am cross-posting them from Immanence. — A. Ivakhiv
“Power to the millions, not to the millionaires” (#Leftmaidan)
Three forms of democracy vie with each other in Ukraine today.
The first of these is what we might call authoritarian democracy. This is a hybrid of democracy and authoritarian rule, in which partially developed democratic institutions can be relatively easily played off against each other by the powers-that-be to maintain their rule.
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Left politics, Ukrainian Left politics