ICOR flies Lenin’s flag – for the right of self-determination of nations!

On the basis of its resolution, “Active resistance against psychological warfare, the imperialist war preparation and threats in the Ukraine-Russia conflict!” of 14 February 2022, the ICOR strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This not only tramples on even bourgeois international law. In particular, the socialist principle of the right of self-determination of nations is attacked and defamed. With this a local war has been launched and an acute danger of war of possible global dimension has been created, the danger of an open military clash between the general main warmonger USA and NATO, and imperialist Russia, which is perpetrator of the present aggression against Ukraine.

Imperialism means war – this law becomes patently manifest. A concrete war can be prevented by the active resistance of the masses. Basically though, the danger of imperialist war only can be eliminated by overcoming the imperialist world system through revolution and building socialism. The ICOR undertakes to do everything in its power both to put an end to this concrete war and prevent its expansion as well as to eliminate the imperialist war danger once and for all.

In his address of 21 February Vladimir Putin aggressively justifies his claim to Ukraine explicitly with alleged fundamental mistakes made by Lenin and Stalin in their nationality policy. He says that modern Ukraine was created by “by Bolshevik, Communist Russia.” He brands “Lenin’s ideas of what amounted in essence to a confederative state arrangement and a slogan about the right of nations to self-determination, up to secession, [which] were laid in the foundation of Soviet statehood,” as “crazy.” And he continues: “And today the ‘grateful progeny’ has overturned monuments to Lenin in Ukraine. They call it decommunization. You want decommunization? … Very well, this suits us just fine. But why stop halfway? We are ready to show what real decommunization would mean for Ukraine.”

In reality, the socialist Soviet Union was “decommunized” by the destruction of socialism with the signal given by the Twentieth Party Congress of the CPSU in 1956, as a result of which capitalism in the Soviet Union was restored.

The military invasion of the entire Ukraine following the recognition of the “Lugansk People’s Republic” and the “Donetsk People’s Republic” is therefore completely justified using anticommunism. How very telling that proto-fascist and fascist forces like the former US President Trump loudly applaud him. This also gives the lie to the revisionist forces who consider Putin to be progressive or even “objectively anti-imperialist”¹ or who directly support him in Russia.

Putin defames the forward-looking nationality policy of the socialist Soviet Union and its founder V.I. Lenin. Indeed, in explicit confrontation with Great Russian chauvinism – also in the ranks of the RCP – Lenin stated:

“The C.C., R.C.P.(B.) … is pursuing persistently the principle of the self-determination of nations and deems it essential to again affirm that the R.C.P. holds consistently to the view that the independence of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic be recognised.” (Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 30, p. 163)

With a hypocrisy and demagogy that can hardly be topped, NATO with the USA at its head now acts as if it were defending, yes even embodying, the right of nations to self-determination and human rights. The occupation of Cyprus, the war in former Yugoslavia, in Kosovo, in Afghanistan, in Iraq by NATO and the USA, its fire-raising through the eastern expansion of NATO and in many other places in the world, speak the real language of this imperialist policy and unmistakably show the truth. With the support of NATO, EU and USA the reactionary government of Volodymyr Selenskyj has arrested opposition leaders, suppressed miners' strikes muzzled them and critical TV stations. The NATO countries announce an aggressive revamp of their entire policy to prepare for open military conflicts.

The crisis and war burdens are to be paid for by the workers and broad masses of the world. Economically, the effect will be immense price increases which drive up the already high inflation; ecologically, the increased use of US fracking gas and postponement of the phase-out of coal; politically, increased reaction, internally and externally.

All this must be opposed with active resistance worldwide:

No to any imperialist policy!

Intensify the anti-imperialist struggle against the danger of world war – Strengthen the anti-imperialist and antifascist united front!

For the right of self-determination of nations!

ICOR flies Lenin’s flag of proletarian internationalism and the right of self-determination of nations!

Long live the friendship between the Ukrainian and Russian Peoples!

Fight worldwide for democracy, peace, freedom, socialism!

Signatories (as of 04 March 2022, further signatories possible):

1. PCPCI Parti Communiste Proletarien de Côte d'Ivoire (Proletarian Communist Party of Ivory Coast)

2. MMLPL Moroccan Marxist-Leninist Proletarian Line

3. CPSA (ML) Communist Party of South Africa (Marxist-Leninist)

4. PCT Parti Comuniste du Togo (Communist Party of Togo)

5. PPDS Parti Patriotique Démocratique Socialiste (Patriotic Democratic Socialist Party), Tunisia

6. MLOA Marxist-Leninist Organization of Afghanistan

7. CPB Communist Party of Bangladesh

8. SPB Socialist Party of Bangladesh

9. CPI (ML) Red Star Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Star

10. PPRF Patriotic Peoples Republican Front of Nepal

11. CPA/ML Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)

12. PR-ByH Partija Rada - ByH (Party of Labor - Bosnia and Herzegovina)

13. MLPD Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands (Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany)

14. UC Unité Communiste (Communist United ), France

15. UPML Union Prolétarienne Marxiste-Léniniste (Marxist-Leninist Proletarian Union), France

16. BP (NK-T) Bolşevik Parti (Kuzey Kürdistan-Türkiye) (Bolshevik Party (North Kurdistan-Turkey))

17. KOL Kommunistische Organisation Luxemburg (Communist Organization of Luxemburg)

18. RM Rode Morgen (Red Dawn), Netherlands

19. UMLP União Marxista-Leninista Portuguesa (Portuguese Marxist-Leninist Union)

20. MLP Marksistsko-Leninskaja Platforma (Marxist-Leninist Platform), Russia

21. MLGS Marxistisch-Leninistische Gruppe Schweiz (Marxist-Leninist Group of Switzerland)

22. MLKP Marksist Leninist Komünist Parti Türkiye / Kürdistan (Marxist Leninist Communist Party Turkey / Kurdistan)

23. KSRD Koordinazionnyj Sowjet Rabotschewo Dvizhenija (Coordination Council of the Workers Class Movement), Ukraine

24. UoC Union of Cypriots, Cyprus

25. PCC-M Partido Comunista de Colombia – Maoista (Communist Party of Colombia - Maoist)

26. PCP (independiente) Partido Comunista Paraguayo (independiente) (Paraguayan Communist Party (independent))

27. BDP Bloque Democratico Popular (Popular Democratic Bloc), Peru

28. PML del Perú Partido Marxista Leninista del Perú (Marxist-Leninist Party of Peru)

29. PC (ML) Partido Comunista (Marxista Leninista) (Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist)), Dominican Republic

30. PCR-U Partido Comunista Revolucionario del Uruguay (Revolutionary Communist Party of Uruguay)

31. NCP (Mashal) Nepal Communist Party (Mashal)