An objective critical and constructive analysis of Russian reality is typically impeded by widespread myths. Most notably, there is the myth of the totalitarian sole dictator – the omnipotent Russian president. The demonic image of Vladimir Putin is also inextricably linked to the notion of the...
Left-wing theorician Boris Kagarlitsky has been arrested in Russia on Tuesday on a charge of “justifying terrorism” based on his discussion about the motivations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Crimean Bridge explosion. We at transform! europe call for his immediate release. Read below the appeal by Rabkor to free Boris.
What would have been the potential benefits for Russia, if its attack on Ukraine in February 2022 had been a success? Jürgen Klute asks this question in order to take another look at the causes of the war and thus also at possible ways to end the conflict peacefully and in the long term.
Jan van Aken, a former member of the German Bundestag for DIE LINKE and an expert on peace and security policy at the Rosa- Luxemburg-Foundation, reflects on the reasons why EU sanctions against Russia have failed so miserably.
For over a decade, Russian antifascists have commemorated January 19 as their day of solidarity. This is the date when in 2009, in the center of Moscow, the human rights and leftist activist Stanislav Markelov and the journalist and anarchist Anastasia Baburova were gunned down by neo-Nazis.
In the new episode, the Cross-Border Talks speak with Russian historian and socialist Felix Levin about Russia's social, economic and political situation. What is the attitude of Russian society towards the war in Ukraine, and why it is very difficult to trust official public opinion polls? You can see this and more in the video.
Katja Woronina addresses how Russia's political power system controls and influences political and social movements or parties and how this fact affects the Russian extreme right.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has cast a light on the web of ties between influential individuals (and politicians) in Russia, Europe and the US. This not only involves oligarchs and manipulative energy tactics, but Russia’s special relationship with the far-right around the globe.
‘Russia’s political capitalists waged war in order to survive as a class, to continue accumulating wealth through the exploitation of the state’ – says Volodymyr Ishchenko, a research associate at Freie Universität Berlin. However, this war may equally bring about a fall or a radical transformation of the whole post-Soviet order.
It seems to me that after almost four months of war in Ukraine we have to take a step back and see which of the actors involved are benefitting from the conflict. However, it becomes clear very quickly that nobody is getting anything out of this and that we are experiencing the suicide of the reason.
The 4th Russian Social Forum took place from 1 to 4 May during the days of the World Social Forum in Mexico City and was closely linked to it — both thematically and in terms of the circle of participants.
Can we rejoice at the end of one war while another is raging? Writing about 8 May is difficult this year. Obviously its most important message must be: Stop the killing in Ukraine! Return to the negotiating table!
NATO is an imperialist organisation, dominated by the USA and responsible for innumerable wars of aggression. The dismantling of this political-military monster generated by the Cold War is a fundamental requirement of democracy. Its weakening in recent years has led Emmanuel Macron, France’s...
Speech of the founder of the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto and of the Partito di Unità Proletaria, former MEP Luciana Castellina, at the 'Europe for Peace' rally on 5 March in Rome.
transform! europe is issuing a Peace Manifesto advocating for an end of the Russian attack on Ukraine, peace and a deeper understanding of the current conflict.
In a statement issued by the WeltTrends Institute, notable German academics call on the German government to stop participating in the "escalation of the conflicts between NATO and Russia, currently centred on the Ukraine conflict".
The Left is calling on EU leaders to work to avoid further escalation and confrontation with Russia and pursue a policy of immediate reconciliation in order to avert war and guarantee security in Europe.
On 19 September 2021, 450 members were elected to Russia’s State Duma. This was the eighth such election to be held in the history of the Russian Federation. Half of these candidates were elected directly via their constituency (first vote), the other half were chosen via lists of candidates from...
There will be a number of important elections on the European continent this year. Somewhat out of sights of mainstream media and EU citizens are the elections to the highest legislative body in the Russian Federation – the Duma. What are the issues involved?
In the latest issue of the European Journal of Life Writing, guest editors Agnieszka Mrozik and Anja Tippner explore the role of autobiographical writing in commemorating the past as well as in demonstrating the demise of socialism, as represented in contemporary literatures in Czech, Polish, Romanian, and Russian – supported by transform! europe.
On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany began its war of extermination against the Soviet Union, displacing and killing millions. The date also marks the beginning of the extermination of Europe’s Jews. Russian-based historian and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Shveitser, analyses the geopolitical situation preceding the German attack.
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany began the attack on the Soviet Union with “Operation Barbarossa”. From day one, the fascist aggressors terrified the civilian population in this war of predation and extermination. War and occupation killed 27 million citizens of diverse nationalities on Soviet Union territory alone.
Review of the latest book of Jan Campbell, chairman of the Institute of the Czech Left, an observer organisation of transform! europe. The publication presents the author's reflections on the 100th anniversary of the founding of communist parties in various countries, under specific consideration of the Communist Party of China.
Some weeks ago, Vladimir Putin met with Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, Russia. At first glance, Putin-Lukashenko's talks were informal and even accompanied by leisure activities in the fresh air, which signaled a good mood in relations between the two countries and leaders. But appearances can be deceiving, and sometimes they are deliberate.
The constitutional reform that Vladimir Putin presented on 15th January 2020 was a surprise, especially for those who are not following Russia’s domestic political developments. The possibility of a significant transfer of powers from the president to the Duma (parliament) has been discussed repeatedly over the course of the past year.
Oleg Nikolaevich Smolin's talk at the Russian Social Forum on the current social and economical conditions and the widespread poverty - also among the working population - in Russia. With an introduction by Jirí Málek.
The plebiscite about Vladimir Putin and his course was endorsed by the election. However, it is clear that Putin must address a series of problems in his fourth presidential term from 2018-2024.
On the background of this year’s 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution Jiří Dolejš contemplates the role of revolutionary turmoil and its impact on the human society as well as the requirements under which a real change can be achieved.
This year’s parliamentary elections in Russia did not promise any big surprises. In the end, there was at least one: a landslide victory for the pro-Kremlin political party United Russia (Yedinaya Rossiya) which took 76 % of seats in the Russian parliament or State Duma.[1]
A lot of discussion has been going on regarding the Russian foreign policy and its military potential. The aim of this article is not to analyze the state and potential of the Russian military technique, but to look into the economic strengths and weaknesses of this huge country.
Comrades!
Today, we activists of left-wing organizations of Russia turn to you for solidarity and support!
In Russia, an open strife between a broad democratic movement and the corrupted authoritarian oligarchical regime is broken out. The authorities rigged the results of parliament and...
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, relations between Russia and China have undergone a transformation. Over the past 25 years, the two countries that have been rivals for centuries, have been able to find compromise, and, today, even forming a strategic partnership - with major consequences also for Europe.
There has been a lot of talk of a new Cold War between the West and Russia, even though the metaphor itself is not appropriate in today’s globalised context. It is not a very fitting analytical description. Firstly, there is no clear ideological and systemic struggle between Russia and the West.