In this lecture from the series on imperialism today, Ilya Matveev discusses the particular character of Russian imperialism and the evolution of the Putin regime. Matveev is a political scientist formerly based in St Petersburg, Russia, and cooperator with the media-project posle.media
Imperialism
Should the Left support the division of the world into imperialist spheres of influence? A year ago, the very posing of such a question would have surprised me, since the answer seems obvious: of course not. Unfortunately, the apparent sympathy with Russian aggression against Ukraine by many on the Western left has shown that this is not so obvious.
Interview with Ilya Matveev by Federico Fuentes
By William Briggs
July 13, 2022 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal — The war in Ukraine should not have happened and yet it seems it was always going to occur. It is hard to stand aloof and view the whole sorry mess through a broader, ideological and analytical lens, but it is important to go beyond the images of war and suffering and look at how the world got to this point. How did we get to Ukraine? The road to Ukraine was certainly not paved with good intentions.
Updated and with a new section on the one year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February, LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal has sought to carry a range of views from the socialist left to help understand the significance of this event. Particular attention has been paid to the voices of Ukrainian and Russian leftists who are at the forefront of resisting this invasion.