Last modified: 2018-12-17 by rob raeside
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image by Ivan Sache, 19 November 2018See also:
Borotba (Боротьба; Struggle) was established in 2011 as the Stalinist wing of
the former Organization of Marxists, the Troskyite wing being renamed to Left
Opposition. Borotba took the name of Ukrainian social democratic party active in
1918-1920, while Left opposition is a nod to the Trotskyite platform in the
Soviet Communist Party of the 1920s.
Both groups saw the creation of a
leftist party with parliamentary ambitions as their task.
Initially
taking a sceptical position (typical for most leftists) towards the Maidan in
Kyiv, Borotba went on to break with Ukraine’s other left groups in January 2014.
As the protests took on an anti-police character, and the Yanukovych regime
intensified its repressive tactics, one thing became clear: there was no going
back. Instead, what we faced was either the victory of Maidan (and an uncertain
future) or a new authoritarian regime in the Russian model. Despite this,
Borotba openly took the side of AntiMaidan, a pro-government movement, which
later transformed into pro-Russian separatist movements in the south and east of
the country. Today, Borotba’s leadership resides partly in western Europe,
partly in Russia, and has tied its political future to the separatist movement
in the east of Ukraine. In so doing, Borotba has lost its political appeal for
the rest of Ukraine. Have they managed to achieve anything on that side of the
frontline? It’s hard to say: separatist authorities have arrested Borotba
members on several occasions. The Communist Party of Ukraine has also found it
difficult to enter the ‘political process’ in the Donetsk People’s Republic
(DPR).
https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/denys-gorbach/ukraine%e2%80%99s-left-between-swamp-and-hard-place
- openDemocracy, 24 July 2015
In an interview by Andrej Hunko, German MP
for the left-wing party Die Linke, Sergei Kirichuk, founding member and
coordinator of Borotba, provides the movement's analysis of Maiden movement and
attempts to refute the accusations of support to pro-Russian separatism and
cooperation with conservative, chauvinistic and fascist organizations.
https://www.andrej-hunko.de/7-beitrag/2120-they-hate-us-because-we-are-communists
- Andrej Hunko's website, 9 July 2014
In an interview to "Révolution
Tendance Marxiste Internationale", Dmitry Kolesnik, presented as one of the
leaders of Borotba, describes the movement as "defending workers' unity and the
international socialist revolution" and opposed to the Kyiv government,
"resulting of the tactical alliance of the neo-liberal right and
extreme-rightist paramilitary groups". Borotba considers the separatism was
caused by the Ukrainian government.
https://www.marxiste.org/international/europe/ukraine/671-borotba-son-origine-et-son-programme
- Révolution Tendance Marxiste Internationale, 7 December 2014
Ivan Sache, 19 November 2018
The flag of Borotba is red with the movement's emblem, which is made of a
dark red star on a yellow disk surrounded by a yellow ring and a thin white
outline. The name of the movement is written in white letters on a red
rectangular cartouche with rounded angles, outlined in white and placed over the
star. On some flags, the original red color of the emblem is kept, much darker
than the flag's field, while on other, the emblem has the same bright red color
as the flag's field.
Photos (dark red emblem):
http://www.borotba.su/ukraina-v-lidiruet-v-antireytinge/
http://www.borotba.su/na-donbasse-sostoyalos-sobranie-aktiva/
https://www.marxiste.org/international/europe/ukraine/671-borotba-son-origine-et-son-programme
http://servirlepeupleservirlepeuple.eklablog.com/borotba-au-sujet-de-l-atroce-incendie-massacre-d-odessa-a114102576
https://secoursrouge.org/Ukraine-Enlevement-d-une
http://dev.nrt24.ru/defying-junta-borotba-marches-in-kiev-on-day-of-liberation-from-fascism/
http://brechainformativa.blogspot.com/2014/04/borotba-ucrania-la-junta-ha-declarado.html
https://www.les-crises.fr/ukraine-des-repressions-ouvertes-ont-commence-contre-les-forces-de-gauche/
https://www.workers.org/2014/11/07/class-forces-ukrainian-civil-war/
https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/denys-gorbach/ukraine%e2%80%99s-left-between-swamp-and-hard-place
Photos (bright red emblem)
http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2014/10/interview-with-borotba-leader-victor.html
https://www.workers.org/2014/09/23/meet-borotba/
Ivan Sache, 19 November 2018