Borotba

Association "Struggle"

Об'єднання «Боротьба»
Association "Struggle" Об'єднання «Боротьба»
Leaders	Serhiy Kyrychuk, Yevhen Holyshkin, Yevhen Vallenberh, Andriy Manchuk, Vasyl Tereshchuk, Viktor Shapinov, Denys Levin
Founded	2 May 2011
Split from	Organization of Marxists; Communist Party; Komsomol of Ukraine
Headquarters	Odesa
Newspaper	Borotba
Ideology	Communism; Marxism–Leninism; Stalinism; Anti-capitalism
Political position	Far-left
National affiliation	Anti-Maidan
International affiliation	World Anti-Imperialist Platform
Party flag
Website
	www.borotba.su
	Politics of Ukraine; Political parties; Elections;

The Association "Struggle" (Ukrainian: Об'єднання «Боротьба», romanized: Ob'yednannia "Boroťba"; Russian: Объединение «Боротьба») is a Stalinist^[1]^[2]^[3] organization operating in Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Dnipro in Ukraine.^[when?]

Draft Manifesto

The Draft Manifesto of the Organization declares:

Union “Borotba” stands for Revolutionary Marxism, and its most important task – to extend Left ideology implementing Marxist methodology in the political discourse of Ukraine.

The Manifest also states that the organization will support principles of anti-capitalism, internationalism, anti-fascism, political radicalism and gender equality.^[5]

History

Taking the name of oppositional political party in Soviet Ukraine, from 1920 until 1925, which had merged with the Ukrainian Communist Party in 1920,^[6] Borotba has been described as part of the emerging heterogeneous New Left in Ukraine.^[7] Its leader is the Russian, Victor Shapinov, formerly active in Russian Communist Workers Party before moving to Ukraine in 2005.^[8] The association was established in May 2011 by former members of the Stalinist wing of "Organization of Marxists" (a Marxist-Leninist group formed in 2007^[9]), the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) and its youth wing the "Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine, the "All-Ukrainian Union of Workers", the "Youth Association Che Guevara" and the "Youth against capitalism" movement, with some individual leftist activists also joining.^[8]^[10] The founding congress was attended by delegates from across Ukraine. International guests from Sweden and Russia were also present.^[10]

Borotba has cooperated with and received support from Germany's Die Linke^[11] and the Swedish Left Party's VIF aid organization. It also cooperates with the Left Front, a Russian opposition group.^[12]^[13]

Activities

When the Euromaidan movement started in 2013, Borotba were critical of it from the outset.^{[citation needed]} Some members of Borotba, including Dennis Levine, attempted to recruit protesters to the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Ukraine to fight against increased public transport costs in Kyiv. According to Svetlana Tsiberganova, they were attacked by the far-right.^[14]

Borotba claims that after the revolution of Dignity, far-right nationalists received too much power and control over important ministries and agencies including defense, anti-corruption and national security, education, agriculture and the environment, as well as the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.^[15] Borotba has condemned what they considered a "Western-backed"^[16] and "fascist" February 2014 "coup" in Kyiv and called for a socialist revolution in Ukraine against the government of "ultra-nationalists and Nazis".^[17]

Borotba's members took an active role in the riots in Kharkiv in March 2014.^[18] On March 15, Borotba, the "People's Unity" and other groups called a public meeting in Kharkiv. Borotba joined Anti-Maidan protesters in storming the regional administration building,^[19] which at that time was occupied by pro-Maidan activists, and their members are accused by other Ukrainian left organisations of taking part in the beating of pro-Maidan activists, including anarchists and the well-known Ukrainian author Serhiy Zhadan.^[20] Borotba justified their action by calling the occupants members of Right Sector.^[21]^[22] On April 15, 2014, Borotba's office in Kharkiv was raided by police, which seized 20 Molotov cocktails found on its premises.^[23]

In Kharkiv, Borotba activists claim to have printed 100,000 leaflets and 10,000 posters persuading the voters to boycott the presidential election in May 2014, since they considered it unrepresentative, radical rightist, and illegitimate.^[24]

On May Day, Borotba members staged a rally in Kovalska Street in Odesa.^[25] Later in May, Borotba joined other Anti-Maidan parties (Yury Apukhtin's "Southeast" movement, the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine and the Communist Party of Ukraine) in rallying against the presidential elections.^[26] The leader of the Odesan regional organisation of Borotba, Aleksey Albu, fled to Russian-annexed Crimea, where he founded a "Committee for the Liberation of Odesa" on 24 May 2014 together with representatives of the Russian nationalist party Rodina and of the far-right organization "Slavic Unity".^[27]^[28]

Criticism

On March 3, 2014, several left and anarchist organizations in Ukraine, including the Autonomous Workers' Union, the "Direct Action" Independent Student Union and the Left Opposition socialist organization, criticized Borotba for cooperation with conservative, nationalist and fascist, pro-Russian groups in Ukraine and spreading "overt lies and fact manipulations".^[20] In a rebuttal, Borotba rejected the accusations as "hypocritical" and "irrelevant".^[29] Borotba states that it has regularly criticized Russian authorities and organized in solidarity with left-wing Russian organizations that met with repression from the Russian authorities.^[30]

After the circulation of these allegations, the regional coordination office of the German federal Die Linke party distanced itself from Borotba and its founding member Serhei Kirichuk, who is currently living in German exile.^[31] Die Linke cancelled several events with Kirichuk, such as a panel discussion in Hamburg on the 2 July 2014^[31] and in Kiel 3 July 2014.^[32] A book presentation which Kirichuk had helped to organise was also cancelled due to the author's ties to Russian neo-Nazi groups such as Russian National Unity and the anti-immigrant Movement Against Illegal Immigration, both of which have been banned by the Russian judiciary due to their extremist positions.^[33]

Kirichuk responded to many of the accusations levelled against the organisation, especially with regard to their support for separatists in the South and East of Ukraine, in an interview with Andrej Hunko of Die Linke.^[34]

Allegations of Kremlin support

In October 2016, the Ukrainian hacker group Cyber Hunta released more than a gigabyte of emails and other material from the office of Vladislav Surkov, one of Vladimir Putin's assistants. One of the leaked documents was a letter by Aleksei Chesnakov, a Russian political scientist and adviser to Surkov. In this email, Chesnakov provided Surkov with a list of influential media personalities upon whom Russian could count to amplify its propaganda throughout Ukraine. Three key members of the Borotba party were cited, including Borotba's leader Sergey Kiritschuk.^[35]

References

^ ^a ^b "Заява лівих і анархістських організацій України з приводу об'єднання "Боротьба" (укр., русский) | Автономна спілка трудящих | Автономный Союз Трудящихся | Autonomous Worker's Union". 2018-02-14. Archived from the original on 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
^ ^a ^b "Наследие Троцкого. Работа над ошибками | Altleft | Альтернативные левые". 2023-04-20. Archived from the original on 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
^ ^a ^b "Боротьба и Сурков: документальные подтверждения сотрудничества - Нігіліст". 2023-04-13. Archived from the original on 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
^ "Paris Declaration: The rising tide of global war and the tasks of anti-imperialists". World Anti-Imperialist Platform. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Ideology". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ "Lenin: Draft Resolution on the Ukrainian Borotbist Party". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
^ Ishchenko, Volodymyr. "Ukrainian New Left and Grassroots Social Protests: A Thorny Way to Hegemony". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ ^a ^b Butterfield, Greg (2014-10-22). "The left in Ukraine and the origins of Borotba". Workers World. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
^ International Council of Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People ""Organization of Marxists" Is Born in Ukraine" North Star Compass July/August 2007, Vol. 15, No. 11-1
^ ^a ^b History of the organization Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Official site of the "Borotba" Association, accessed on 15 May 2014.
^ "DIE LINKE in Bremen: Authentische Informationen und Einschätzungen aus der Ukraine". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ "Our partner in Russia is the Left Front, many of their activists are in prisons now and we are showing our solidarity with them" http://www.andrej-hunko.de/7-beitrag/2120-they-hate-us-because-we-are-communists
^ Röstlund, Lisa; Putilov, Egor (11 March 2015). "AFTONBLADET AVSLÖJAR: V gav bistånd till pro-ryssar". Aftonbladet.
^ http://www.liva.com.ua/not-my-war.html Not My War, by Svetlana Tsiberganova
^ Roger Annis. "Popular Rebellion Deepens in Eastern and Southern Ukraine as NATO and the Kiev Government Step Up Attacks", truth-out.org (13 May 2014). Retrieved 24-08-2014.
^ Bill Van Auken, "The International Socialist Organization and the Ukraine crisis", World Socialist Web Site (16 April 2014). Retrieved 24-08-2014.
^ The government of ultraliberals and Nazis Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Official site of the Borotba Association, accessed on 15 May 2014.
^ (in Russian) Григорий Пырлик. «Боротьба» за Юго-Восток. Кто, сколько, зачем, Mediaport, 22 March 2014.
^ Borotba during the protests in the Southeast Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Borotba.org: Kommunique Nr.6, accessed 4 July 2014 (Russian). Russian text: Координатор харьквоской «Боротьбы» Денис Зайцев: «Сегодня, ударная группа харьковской «Боротьбы», вместе с другими антинационалистическими силами взяли штурмом областную госадминистрацию. Translated: Coordinator of Kharkiw group of Borot'ba, Denis Zajcev: "Today the hit group of the Kharkiw Borot'ba took over the regional administration together with anti-nationalist groups"
^ ^a ^b Statement of left and anarchist organizations about Borotba organization, Official site of Autonomous Workers' Union, March 3, 2014, accessed on 20 May 2014.
^ Facenews: "Police abandoned administration building, it is guarded only by Right Sector" http://www.facenews.ua/news/2014/190937/
^ Borotba during the protests in the Southeast Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Borotba.org: Kommunique Nr.6, accessed 4 July 2014 (Russian)
^ "У Харкові міліція знайшла "коктейлі Молотова" під проросійською організацією (Фото)". 24tv.ua. 2014-04-15.
^ Ukraine: 'Socialist prospects in south-eastern Ukraine', Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal, May 25, 2014.
^ May Day rally of 'Borotba' union in Odessa Archived 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine, GuardianWitness.
^ "East Ukraine's Kharkov region to hold independence referendum - movement “Southeast”" Tass 18 May 2014. Apukhin, the leader of the “Great Russia” NGO, is a pro-Putin activist ("Yuri Apukhtin: “We have nothing to do with the European civilization. We are completely different.” Archived October 31, 2014, at the Wayback Machine" nahnews.com.ua 20 December 2013
^ (in Russian) "On Crimea, a committee for the liberation of Odessa was founded Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Website of Borot'ba", accessed 11 July 2014
^ (in Russian) Representatives on the run founded a "Committee for the Liberation of Odessa" on Crimea. Quote: "The Organisation was created by a member of the city council of the party "Rodina" (homeland), Aleksandr Vasilev, a member of the regional council, leader of the regional organisation of Bor'ba (Russian name for Borot'ba) Aleksey Albu and the leader of the "Odessian Squad" Dmitry Odinov, who at the same time is member of the extreme right wing 'Slavic Union'." ipress.ua (22 May 2014). Accessed 11 July 2014.
^ Statement of the union ‘Borotba’ over recent smear campaign against anti-fascists in Ukraine: "We are not part of the movement that takes sides according to orders given from NGOs. We are not part of the movement that tries to hide left symbolic and social slogans in current situation. We are not part of the movement that buys into nationalist and patriotic hysteria spreading all over the country. We are not part of the movement that tries to defend the coup on behalf of Nazis, oligarchs and IMF. We are not part of the movement that tries to diminish the role of Nazis in Euromaidan or even whitewash their image when even mainstream western media show far-right paramilitaries roaming over the streets." [1]
^ "БОРОТЬБА солидарна с протестами в России (+ВИДЕО)". Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ ^a ^b Vom Maidan in den Bürgerkrieg? Archived 2014-07-22 at the Wayback Machine From Maidan to civil war? (German) DIE LINKE Landesverband Hamburg, accessed 4 July 2014
^ Bündnis Friede, Freiheit, Brot Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Kieler Friedensarbeit, accessed 4 July 2014
^ (in Russian) От мелких мошенников до убийц. Очерк о политической эволюции сталинистов на примере организации Боротьба Nihilist.li: From petty criminals to murders. Essay on the political evolution of the stalinists at the example of the organization Borot'ba. English translation
^ "They hate us because we are communists", Interview with Sergei Kirichuk by Andrej Hunko (09.07.2014). Retrieved 24-08-2014.
^ Tsalov, Yordan (2020-07-28). "Andrej Hunko and the Party Borotba: Propaganda from the Kremlin to the Bundestag". Bellingcat.

External links

[:0-1] "Заява лівих і анархістських організацій України з приводу об'єднання "Боротьба" (укр., русский) | Автономна спілка трудящих | Автономный Союз Трудящихся | Autonomous Worker's Union". 2018-02-14. Archived from the original on 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2023-12-17.

[:1-2] "Наследие Троцкого. Работа над ошибками | Altleft | Альтернативные левые". 2023-04-20. Archived from the original on 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2023-12-17.

[web.archive.org-3] "Боротьба и Сурков: документальные подтверждения сотрудничества - Нігіліст". 2023-04-13. Archived from the original on 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-12-17.

[4] "Paris Declaration: The rising tide of global war and the tasks of anti-imperialists". World Anti-Imperialist Platform. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

[5] "Ideology". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[6] "Lenin: Draft Resolution on the Ukrainian Borotbist Party". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 2023-03-04.

[7] Ishchenko, Volodymyr. "Ukrainian New Left and Grassroots Social Protests: A Thorny Way to Hegemony". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[workers.org-8] Butterfield, Greg (2014-10-22). "The left in Ukraine and the origins of Borotba". Workers World. Retrieved 2023-03-04.

[9] International Council of Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People ""Organization of Marxists" Is Born in Ukraine" North Star Compass July/August 2007, Vol. 15, No. 11-1

[History-10] History of the organization Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Official site of the "Borotba" Association, accessed on 15 May 2014.

[DLB-11] "DIE LINKE in Bremen: Authentische Informationen und Einschätzungen aus der Ukraine". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[12] "Our partner in Russia is the Left Front, many of their activists are in prisons now and we are showing our solidarity with them" http://www.andrej-hunko.de/7-beitrag/2120-they-hate-us-because-we-are-communists

[Afton150311-13] Röstlund, Lisa; Putilov, Egor (11 March 2015). "AFTONBLADET AVSLÖJAR: V gav bistånd till pro-ryssar". Aftonbladet.

[14] ttp://www.liva.com.ua/not-my-war.html Not My War, by Svetlana Tsiberganova

[15] Roger Annis. "Popular Rebellion Deepens in Eastern and Southern Ukraine as NATO and the Kiev Government Step Up Attacks", truth-out.org (13 May 2014). Retrieved 24-08-2014.

[16] Bill Van Auken, "The International Socialist Organization and the Ukraine crisis", World Socialist Web Site (16 April 2014). Retrieved 24-08-2014.

[17] The government of ultraliberals and Nazis Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Official site of the Borotba Association, accessed on 15 May 2014.

[18] (in Russian) Григорий Пырлик. «Боротьба» за Юго-Восток. Кто, сколько, зачем, Mediaport, 22 March 2014.

[KharkivRAB-19] Borotba during the protests in the Southeast Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Borotba.org: Kommunique Nr.6, accessed 4 July 2014 (Russian). Russian text: Координатор харьквоской «Боротьбы» Денис Зайцев: «Сегодня, ударная группа харьковской «Боротьбы», вместе с другими антинационалистическими силами взяли штурмом областную госадминистрацию. Translated: Coordinator of Kharkiw group of Borot'ba, Denis Zajcev: "Today the hit group of the Kharkiw Borot'ba took over the regional administration together with anti-nationalist groups"

[avtonomia.net-20] Statement of left and anarchist organizations about Borotba organization, Official site of Autonomous Workers' Union, March 3, 2014, accessed on 20 May 2014.

[21] Facenews: "Police abandoned administration building, it is guarded only by Right Sector" http://www.facenews.ua/news/2014/190937/

[borotba.org-22] Borotba during the protests in the Southeast Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Borotba.org: Kommunique Nr.6, accessed 4 July 2014 (Russian)

[23] "У Харкові міліція знайшла "коктейлі Молотова" під проросійською організацією (Фото)". 24tv.ua. 2014-04-15.

[24] Ukraine: 'Socialist prospects in south-eastern Ukraine', Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal, May 25, 2014.

[25] May Day rally of 'Borotba' union in Odessa Archived 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine, GuardianWitness.

[May2014rally-26] "East Ukraine's Kharkov region to hold independence referendum - movement “Southeast”" Tass 18 May 2014. Apukhin, the leader of the “Great Russia” NGO, is a pro-Putin activist ("Yuri Apukhtin: “We have nothing to do with the European civilization. We are completely different.” Archived October 31, 2014, at the Wayback Machine" nahnews.com.ua 20 December 2013

[ReferenceA-27] (in Russian) "On Crimea, a committee for the liberation of Odessa was founded Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Website of Borot'ba", accessed 11 July 2014

[ipress.ua-28] (in Russian) Representatives on the run founded a "Committee for the Liberation of Odessa" on Crimea. Quote: "The Organisation was created by a member of the city council of the party "Rodina" (homeland), Aleksandr Vasilev, a member of the regional council, leader of the regional organisation of Bor'ba (Russian name for Borot'ba) Aleksey Albu and the leader of the "Odessian Squad" Dmitry Odinov, who at the same time is member of the extreme right wing 'Slavic Union'." ipress.ua (22 May 2014). Accessed 11 July 2014.

[Bor-SC-29] Statement of the union ‘Borotba’ over recent smear campaign against anti-fascists in Ukraine: "We are not part of the movement that takes sides according to orders given from NGOs. We are not part of the movement that tries to hide left symbolic and social slogans in current situation. We are not part of the movement that buys into nationalist and patriotic hysteria spreading all over the country. We are not part of the movement that tries to defend the coup on behalf of Nazis, oligarchs and IMF. We are not part of the movement that tries to diminish the role of Nazis in Euromaidan or even whitewash their image when even mainstream western media show far-right paramilitaries roaming over the streets." [1]

[30] "БОРОТЬБА солидарна с протестами в России (+ВИДЕО)". Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[Vom_Maidan_in_den_Bürgerkrieg-31] Vom Maidan in den Bürgerkrieg? Archived 2014-07-22 at the Wayback Machine From Maidan to civil war? (German) DIE LINKE Landesverband Hamburg, accessed 4 July 2014

[32] Bündnis Friede, Freiheit, Brot Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Kieler Friedensarbeit, accessed 4 July 2014

[Nihilist-33] (in Russian) От мелких мошенников до убийц. Очерк о политической эволюции сталинистов на примере организации Боротьба Nihilist.li: From petty criminals to murders. Essay on the political evolution of the stalinists at the example of the organization Borot'ba. English translation

[34] "They hate us because we are communists", Interview with Sergei Kirichuk by Andrej Hunko (09.07.2014). Retrieved 24-08-2014.

[35] Tsalov, Yordan (2020-07-28). "Andrej Hunko and the Party Borotba: Propaganda from the Kremlin to the Bundestag". Bellingcat.

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Borotba

Draft Manifesto

History

Activities

Criticism

Allegations of Kremlin support

See also

References

External links

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