Ukraine: how to fight the bourgeoisie

A critique of the platform "Ukraine without bourgeosie and fascists"

In general the formation of the united front of a number of left-wing organsations in Ukraine is an important step forward. It offers the workers movement the possibility to bring its weight into the severest political crisis since the independence of Ukraine.

Nevertheless it contains a number of important political weaknesses which – as we are convinced – could lead to serious failures of the workers movement. Therefore we – the RV-MRM and LRCI – see an urgency to present a Marxist critique of this platform.

The central problem for the Ukraine workers movement today is that its official parties – particularly the KPU and the PSUP – remain passive or even hope to come into a coalition government with Kuchma.

This means in a serious political crisis the reformist KPU bureaucracy is leaning to the bonaparte Kuchma. Unfortunately a number of left wing Ukraine organizations are leaning to the KPU and therefor do not come forward with a clear Marxist tactic. For the united front "Ukraine without a bourgeoisie and fascists" it is essential to put pressure on the reformist parties – particularly the PSUP and KPU – to support its actions and to win over sections of the reformist parties. Without this the united front can not build a broad mass movement against the Kuchma regime and independent of Yushchenko.

But to achieve this the united front and the organizations involved in it need a fundamental correct assessment of the main tasks in the present situation.

Who is the main enemy?
The fundamental weakness of the platform is that it is unclear about the main dangers the workers movement is facing at the moment. It lacks any tactical consideration. It starts with the obviously correct position that the working class must be opposed against both factions of the bourgeoisie – the Kuchma camp and the Yushchenko/Timochenko camp.

But the tactic of revolutionary Marxists can only start with such a consideration, not end! Yes there are two bourgeois factions who are fighting for power but for our tactic it is important to recognise who is in power and who is in opposition.

Naturally Kuchma is in power in the first line, Yushchenko is in power too but he is manoeuvring between Kuchma and the opposition and then there is the "Ukraine without Kuchma" opposition in the parliament and on the street. It is extremely important to fully understand this relation of forces because it has enormous consequences for the political situation.

The Kuchma regime because wants to stay in power is prepared to do whatever is necessary. This is why it has murdered Gongadze, this is why it has arrested Timoschenko and this is why it might crush the tent camp and the opposition on the street.

Let us make a historical analogy: In 1917 before the October revolution Kerenski was in power and tried to establish more and more a bonapartist rule. However in July and August his power was endangered by the treat of a military coup by Kornilow. Obviously this was also a struggle for power between two factions of the bourgeoisie.

Kerenski was even in power and as you know the Bolsheviks focused their guns in the same direction like him because a victory of Kornilov would have meant the immediate suppression of democratic rights and the gains of the working class.

Another analogy would be the so called "church question" in Germany which was discussed in the Trotskyist movement in the 1930s. In Germany there was a certain opposition inside the Church hierarchy and among ordinary members against the Hitler regime.

Trotsky advised that Marxists have to critically support such protests because – independent of the religious motivations of the Catholics – they represented a democratic opposition against the totalitarian rule of the fascists. One could add further examples like the civil war in China in the 1920 where the Communists made a military bloc with General Tschang-Kai-Check against the war lords.

To summarise we think that the majority of the organizations involved in this united front don’t understand to differentiate between the bourgeois camps and who represents which kind of danger.

Quiet the opposite the platform expresses complete indifference or better ignorance to these questions. It only declares a fundamental support for democratic rights and general opposition against all bourgeois factions. Fine. But in the present situation it is not enough to make such general statements.

What does this united front say concretely on the attacks of Kuchma apolice on the tent camp and on possible attacks against the demonstrations? What does it say on the arrest of Timoshenko? Is it prepared to defend the movement on the street against attacks of the regime as we demanded it in our resolution. Does it try to break the democratic students away from their fascist allies and kick the later our?

Unfortunately the united front is not prepared to defend the "Ukraine without Kuchma" movement (now renamed National Salvation Forum) against the repression of the Kuchma regime.

And this is a central failure! If Kuchma crushes this protest movement it will strengthen his bonapartist regime. If Kuchma crushes this protest movement and the workers movement remains silent and on the sidelines raising a "third banner" opposing both sides than the workers movement has committed a historic crime.

It had then remained neutral in the most important crisis since a decade. It will then be discredited for years in the eyes of the democratic students and many workers who support this movement! We alert the activists of the reformist and centrist organisations to this danger!! It is the danger of economistic abstentionism.

An example of ignorance
We would like to take a letter from Yevgeni Leshan – a member of Movement for a Workers Party in the Ukraine – as an example. An example because it reflect a tendency which Lenin called "infantile illness of left wing radicalism":

"Anti-Kouchma camp is bourgeois and fascist 100%. Socialist party of Moroz is not left, is reformist and bourgeous. I think, its impossible - \"to drive the bourgeois and the fascist forces out of the camp", the camp is bourgeous activists 100%. In the camp are party \"Batkivschina\" (Fatherland)- right-centrists party of Julya Timoshenko, ex-vice-premier-ministr from oil and electroenergy. She is opposition to Kouchma, she is friend of Lasarenko. She is arrested for corruption.

Party Ukpainian National Assamblee - Ukrainian National Self-defense (UNA-UNSO)- is fascist shturmer organisation. Patriotic Party of Ukraine, Christian- republican party, Republican party are right partyes. Peoples Movement of Ukraine (Ruch) - is a right nationalist SS party. They all - anti-Kouchma camp. But Kouchma is not popular in peoples. And part of peoples support anti-Kouchma camp".

That this is not an isolated approach but quiet typical for the radical left is underlined by a similar approach in another article from the "Marxists-Humanists" of the Raya Dunayevskaya's group Ukraine Workers Group.

Of course comrade Leshan says several true things. But his infantile and ultra-left attitude is reflected in several statements. For example he says "Socialist party of Moroz is not left, is reformist and bourgeous" He does not see the slightest difference between "reformist" – i.e. a bourgeois workers party – and an open bourgeois formation. (True, this party is in a transformation process from a bourgeois workers party to a Oligarch party but here it is a question of method).

While we define the Rukh party as a right wing bourgeois democratic party in the eyes of this comrade it is a "SS party". For him it is sufficient to state that the people in the camp are "bourgeois and fascist". He does not understand the importance to differentiate between the different bourgeois tendencies – from progressive democrats, pro-Westerns liberals, conservatives to right wing chauvinists and fascists.

He does not see the necessity to differentiate because for him everything dark is dark – independent if it is lightly grew, heavily grew or full blown black.

For the left it is important to understand that in a country like the Ukraine where there is a huge political passivity caused the terrible economic situation and the legacy of Stalinism such a movement even if it is lead by bourgeois forces has enormous importance for the working class. Who are the workers who passively support this movement?

Is it not the miners who have been traditionally the most active section of the class? Is it not those workers who are not completely demoralised? The left must understand that a worker who is indifferent on the questions of bonapartism and democracy is a backward worker who lacks class consciouness.

No support for Yushchenkos bid for power!
Some "orthodox Marxists" (unfortunately only in Sunday speeches) reply to our method: "But this means that you want to help the IMF-puppet Yushchenko to power!" Rubbish! We don’t support Yushchenko and we don’t call for Timoshenko to remain a minister. And we don’t call for the "Ukraine without Kuchma" movement to take power. Why? Exactly because we have no interest to rally the working class for the purpose of bourgeois forces to take power and suppress the working class.

But we oppose the strengthening of the bonapartist regime and support every attempt to weaken it.

Therefor we do not call people to participate in the tent camp together with fascists. But we would defend it because the regime would not want to destroy it because of the presence of fascists but because it has become a symbol of democratic opposition to a increasingly authoritarian regime. We would defend the camp and the street protest movement as we defended the White House in Moscow in October 1993.

The important question for the united front are how it can succeed to attract and win over the workers and democratic students who have illusions in Moroz and other leaders of the National Salvation Forum. The united front must not ignore them but try to reach them pedagogically. This is one of the most important questions in the coming period. Fighting for a correct Marxist understanding of the democratic question therefor means to wage a battle against centrist and reformist abstentionism.

Demanding the resignation of the president, the government and parliament?
The platform combines an abstentionist, ultra-leftist ignorance of the question who is the main enemy at the moment with a reformist attitude concerning the methods and tactics of struggle. This is clearly demonstrated in the slogan: "Pre-term resignation of president, government and parliament"

This is a reformist slogan because it implies the danger to lead the movement into a parliamentarist direction. Imagine all this would happen. What would be the result? New elections! Who would then take power? Difficult to say but most probably Yushchenko, Timoshenko or Moroz (may be even Simonenko).

Or may be Kuchma again as the French President de Gaulle succeeded with his maneuver calling new parliamentary elections in June 1968. Every of this possibilities would be a bourgeois government probably based on more popular trust then the present one. This means that the opportunities for class struggle would be reduced not enhanced! The demand for the resignation of governmental structures deflects the perspective away from the struggle on the street and in the enterprises and to the parliament and elections. It disarms the movement at the moment when the governmental structures resign and an electoral period opens.

This is why the slogan for new elections is wrong particularly in a situation where there is an uprising of political class struggle and a certain paralysis of the governmental structures.

This is combined with the weakness that the platform has no positive answer who shall take power. This answer can only be a workers and peasant government.

The slogan of the platform therefor should be: Down with the Kuchma regime through mass actions – not early elections! Only this perspective offers the possibility for a workers and peasant government which we are fighting for. Naturally the reformists don’t like this perspective but this is exactly why we have to fight for this strategy.

Banning the fascist organisations?
Another reformist demand is the platform’s call for "prohibition of nazi parties and organization". Who can "prohibit" fascist parties? Only the bourgeois state. But as Trotsky explained powerful in his writings on France in the 1930s Marxists do not appeal to the bourgeois state apparatus to ban fascist organizations because we have no reason to trust the state nor do we want the masses to put the task of smashing fascism into the hands of the state.

It is important for left-wing activists to understand that there is no use to appeal to the state for smashing fascism but the workers movement itself has to do this job. This is particularly obvious in the case of Ukraine where both sides of the bourgeoisie support fascist organizations. Should we call Kuchma to ban his Trident paramilitaries who support him?! Or should we ask Yushchenko to ban the Social National Party – who participates in the pro-Yushchenko tent camp?! No, the left must understand that only itself can stop the fascist threat.

Therefor the next practical task should be to build a left wing self-defense service with representatives from all organizations of the workers movement and which would have the task to defend progressive actions. If it is strong enough it could also take offensive actions against the fascists.

Conclusions
To summarise the united front "Ukraine without bourgeoisie and fascists" is an important step forward. But it must make a second step forward to become a meaningful force. It must not remain silent on the main political issues today which is the struggle for power between the bourgeois bonapartist Kuchma regime and the bourgeois opposition around the National Salvation Front.

The immediate danger is the attempt of the Kuchma regime to strengthen its power and to suppress even more democratic rights. Only by defending the democratic rights concretely – which implies defending the right of the bourgeois opposition to protest on the street – and combining this with the social issues can enable the Ukraine workers movement not only to fight Kuchma but also to fight Yushchenko and Moroz. To achieve our goal of a workers and peasant government we have to start from the concrete relation of class forces today. It is therefor necessary to give concrete answers to the practical questions of democracy today.

The struggle for a workers and peasant government can not be achieved with a reformist strategy and a parliamentary road like the call for "pre-term resignation of president, government and parliament" suggests. The correct slogan can only be " Down with the Kuchma regime through mass strikes and demonstrations! For a workers and peasant government!"

Finally the fascist forces can never be beaten via calls to the bourgeois state for "prohibition of nazi parties and organization". The correct Marxist slogan can only be "Smash the nazi parties and organization".

This united front is an important step forward. This is why RV-MRM is working in it. But if the organizations involved in the united front do not want to make major mistakes in this important political crisis today they must fundamentally change their strategy. In the coming weeks and months the most important task for the vanguard in Ukraine is to mobilise the working class. If we fail in this one form of counter-revolution – either Kuchma or Yushchenko/Timochenko – will win.

Therefor the interests of the working class demand a political battle for revolutionary tactics. Today it is both possible and urgent to demonstrate to left wing rank&file activists what is the Marxist program in practise and how it is different from centrist and left reformist policy. It is in this context that we see the task of building the revolutionary party in Ukraine as part of an International. It is not an goal in itself (how can we become a few more members) but it is an essential political task to build a Bolshevik force which has both a correct and concrete understanding of the Marxist program and the determination to intervene in the class struggle. Without a correct orientation the Ukraine workers movement is in danger to miss the present opportunities and to suffer serious defeats.

These is the challenge for RV-MRM and LRCI and we are happy to discuss these questions with progressive activists in the workers movement and to collaborate with all serious forces.

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