Russian imperialism

Simon Pirani — What can we, in the labour and social movements, do about these two conflicts that are transforming the world we live in, and heightening fears of bigger, bloodier wars?

Russian Socialist Movement — Two years ago, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This was not a response to any military threat posed by Ukraine or NATO: it was an attempt to subjugate a neighboring country that Putin simply believes should not exist.

Hanna Perekhoda analyzes construction of Russian imperialist imagery of Ukraine, rooted in the Russian ruling elite’s drive to maintain its power.

Ilya Budraitskis — To accomplish his war aim’s, Putin regime is trying to stabilize Russian society, stoke political conflict within NATO countries, legitimate his rule through the presidential election in March and mobilize troops for a new offensive in the spring.

Volodymyr Ishchenko, Ilya Matveev & Oleg Zhuravlev look at how the transformation of the Russian economy and society in response to the challenges posed by the invasion of Ukraine have affected popular support for the war.

Pedro Fuentes discusses imperialism’s new phase, ecological crisis and "accumulation by dispossession", the unpredictability of contemporary politics and the need for a new internationalism.

Why is Russian aggression in Ukraine imperialist? How is it possible to interpret it based on Lenin’s analysis of imperialism, and how do these interpretations differ? Social researcher Anatoly Kropivnitskyi delves into the political economy of empires.

Fourth International — The wars we are facing are linked to the global crisis of capitalism and the resulting headlong rush into conflict between rival imperialist powers.

Claudio Katz talks about the need to avoid looking at imperialism in purely economic terms, the rise of what he terms an “imperial system” and the complexities of anti-imperialism in the 21st century.

Chris Slee — Dave Holmes argues “Russia is most decidedly defending itself from an existential threat from the US-NATO bloc” while approvingly quoting Scott Ritter’s assertions that “NATO is a paper tiger”. So which is it?

Renfrey Clarke — Few questions of international politics have seen the Western left as sharply divided as the war in Ukraine. But there is no good reason why Marxists, with the writings of Vladimir Lenin at their disposal, should lack clarity on how to analyse the war.