Ukrainian Communists Under Attack by Fascism

[AProgressiveThinker]

The junta of Ukraine has banned Ukraine's Communist Party, and has disenfranchised 13% of the electorate meaning over 2 million people! Fight back!

[MNBrewer]

1. Pardon me if I don't get upset.

http://links.org.au/node/3993

"The CPU is accused of supporting "terrorism" and the separatism of eastern Ukrainian pro-Russian rebels. While the Ukrainian and international left should not have any illusions about the CPU just because of the “communist” word in its name, nevertheless, we should worry and actively oppose its ban, pushed forward in the context of a major anti-democratic assault after the president Yanukovych has been toppled down.

First of all, let me explain the political nature and position of the Communist Party of Ukraine. The CPU was revived in 1993 after its ban immediately following the failed attempt of the coup in the USSR in August 1991. Quickly it became the most popular party in Ukrainian politics and together with other left-wing Communist-successor parties gained over 40% of seats in Ukrainian parliament after the 1994 elections. It played a role of political representation of a wider popular opposition to the consequences of neoliberal reforms of the 1990s proceeding with privatization, deregulation and commercialization while gradually destructing the Soviet welfare state and lowering living standards.

By 2014 the CPU had lost its former support together with its, if somewhat old-fashioned, but still leftist position. Today’s CPU is a reactionary, bourgeois, culturally conservative, Russian nationalist party. It is not a communist party at all and it can be considered as a left party only by tradition or genealogy. For many years it used to be interested more in culture wars around identity, language, politics of memory, geopolitical orientation, even church schisms than in social-class issues or contact with organised labour.

No one among the Ukrainian left considers it a leftist party. It could be defended as "the only left parliamentary party" only by those who tried to prevent emergence of a genuine left party following a twisted sectarian logic. Sometimes the CPU was obscurantist and clerical even publishing overtly racist articles in the official party press. It used to sell the top party electoral list positions to the grand bourgeoisie."

[AProgressiveThinker]

2. I would like to see some evidence that it is a racist party...

But nevertheless, I agree that the CPU does support Russian nationalism but the class character of Russian nationalism in Ukraine has historically been anti-Capitalist so it shouldn't be assumed that this is a completely terrible thing. I don't agree with it, but historically, Russian nationalism has played a proletarian role in supporting a socialized economy, Soviet style central planning and welfare state etc. etc. This can be seen in the fact that the CPU upholds a socialist mode of production so it is a legitimately left wing party.

Either way, like you said, even if they were not a left wing party, it still is utterly disgraceful and reactionary that they have been banned by the Ukrainian fascist junta disenfranchising 13% of the electorate and this must be fought against.

[MNBrewer]

3. "must" be fought against?

meh...