Russian imperialism

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.

Murray Smith — Throughout history, solidarity has helped achieve the only possible acceptable peace — one guaranteeing defeat of the aggressor and the victim to live free of the threat of renewed assault. That must be the goal of the European Left in relation to Ukraine.

Rafael Bernabe — We reject NATO imperialism, but not to support the expansionism of the Russian Federation headed by Putin. We do not reject one imperialism to support another. We are anti-imperialists, not alter-imperialists.

Promise Li discusses the complex realities of 21st century imperialism — where economic interdependence across geopolitical blocs in tension shapes inter-imperialist rivalry — and the kind of anti-war and anti-imperialist solidarity we need today.

Gavin Gatenby — In the months before his assassination by a Stalinist agent, Leon Trotsky wrote three important articles on the issue of Ukraine. So resolutely did Trotsky support Ukraine’s right to independence that these articles probably gave an added impetus to Josef Stalin’s determination to murder his old rival.