Russia and the West: Different Means, but the Same Ends

We have received this contribution from Russia, which we are pleased to publish

The recent news of the arrest of several so-called “Marxists” in Russia on charges of “terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the state” has caused a stir even in Western media circles. In reality, these individuals had done nothing more than organize a public reading of Lenin, and as members of the “Left Front” of the CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation)—a deeply nationalist and chauvinist faction—they can hardly be called “communists.”

Inspired by “Stalinism,” they aim to bring the CPRF “back onto the right path of Marxism-Leninism.” The program of this “persecuted” faction states: “…first. The primary goal of the Left Front is to build socialism in Russia. The looming political crisis could spark a mass revolutionary movement from below, aimed at creating decent and just living conditions for Russian workers. Specifically, this would mean free healthcare, compulsory secondary education and accessible higher education, a progressive tax system, and freedom of speech and assembly. In other words, it would be a matter of achieving those conditions commonly referred to as the “welfare state,” which in recent years have been the target of attacks by reactionaries. To achieve these goals, social democratic and even liberal left politicians, movements, and organizations could become allies of the communists…“.

Of course, for us Marxists, this is a blatant manifestation of opportunistic reformism that appeals to the “welfare state” and “freedom of speech and assembly” and certainly cannot pose a threat to the capitalist state. But why have they been targeted? Evidently, the mere formal reference to “Marxism” and the figure of Lenin, which evokes the revolutionary past, represents a specter that the ruling class in Russia must keep at a safe distance!

The carrot of Western bourgeois liberal democracy and the stick of Russian state authoritarianism are two forms in which the capitalist regime manifests itself, aimed at the preservation and class oppression of the proletariat that persists in all parts of the world—two expressions of the capitalist regime that are interchangeable, depending on circumstances and needs. Today in Western countries deception prevails, with the smoke and mirrors of legalism and parliamentarism, while petty-bourgeois “socialist” parties promise reforms, all the while disarming revolutionary sentiment. 

On the other hand, in Russia, there is repression of any form of opposition that dares even to express a pacifist sentiment, such as regarding the imperialist invasion of Ukraine. The ultimate goal is the same: social conservation and the class oppression of the proletariat. 

Certainly, one can argue—as with fascism—that the open repression that unmasks the bourgeois state creates the most favorable conditions for dispelling the illusion of reformism.

While, under the dictatorship in full force, the task of organizing may appear more arduous for the proletariat, the opportunist wing of the bourgeoisie—which preaches social peace and stifles the class consciousness of workers—will be less active. Thus, the open repression of trade union struggles in Russia prevents the formation of legal unions marked by class collaboration, as in Western countries. And this can dialectically create better conditions for the radicalization of the class struggle.

In this sense, Russia is proving, once again, to be the weak link of capitalist conservatism in Europe. With the prospect of a third imperialist war on the horizon, the picture is becoming clear for the Russian working class: there is no alternative to defeatism; there is no other path but revolution.

Against the “social democratic” leaders who are poisoning the well, only the International Communist Party can pave the way to the future. Only the armed revolutionary struggle can liberate the Russian and international proletariat.