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Kowalski
15th May 2010, 14:01
Hello, comrades! :thumbup1:

I found name of this forum at "Political Crossfire Forum" and of course decided to join :)

First of all I was pleased that security is respected here - have read 2 warnings already =) It's very good and important for us now. As for me, we have at our organisation enough hard rules for information security and I understand this thing, but I already had to become "half-public" because of actions and russian police's attention to us. So some details aren't secret already.



- Where are you from, whats the leftist scene there like?
- What branch of leftism do you subscribe to?
- How did you become a leftist?

So... I'm Michal Kowalski (and of course it's a pseudonym, lol, it's one of our rules to work only with pseud., skew encryption and sometimes IP-hiding). From Russia, originally from Siberia but now living in Moscow. I'm an activist of Revolutionary Communist Youth League (Bolshevik)
And my occupation there is international tasks mainly.

About Russia's leftist scene... well... We have now a serious crisis of left movement because of reaction period after USSR collapse. Organised leftists aren't enough strong and are very divided. There are:

- Official opportunism of so-called Communist Party of Russian Federation - heir to Gorbachev's CPSU.
The party gather in it's membership people without their checking in work and ideology, just for quantity. It's official parlament revisionist party with very ideological poor members and even nationalists within. But simultaneously try to kick out by administrative force some more left-wing comrades with real communist views. The main activity of the party are elections to official state structures. But a small group of communist comrades from it is working for useful things, they made internet red television for example

- Their communist youth, SKM-RF (Sodruzhestvo Kommunisticheskoy Molodezhi, Commonwealth of Communist Youth of Russian Fed.)
Opportunist and revizionist too, close to party's ideology. With a very poor discipline and theoretic studying (our without them at all).

- A few very little organisations with elderly members mainly, the fragments of fragment of Soviet-time's CPSU. Some of them named CPSU today.

- Several active but not very big organisations. There are:
1) The joint party RCWP-RPC (Russian Communist Workers Party - Revolutionary Party of Communists, is joint from former two parties).
Second after CPRF by members quantity, ideologically revolutionary marxist-leninist, can be called stalinist. Now is going through alternation of generations from soviet-time's comrades to more new.

2) It's youth organisation - RCYL(B), Revolutionary Communist Youth League (Bolshevik).
- Not very big yet but nowadays more fast growing organisation. I decided that it's the best of what exist in Russia and joined it a few years ago. Also revolutionary marxist-leninist, mostly pro-stalinist. As organisation based on democratic centralism. We have enough hard discipline, candidate period is now with ideological and organising exams at it's end. Is preparing for illegal circumstances - secrecy, obligatory usage of encrypting etc.
Now we are trying to start a regular communist school within our organisation with several directions of studying - mainly marxist theory and organizing, and also studying for propaganda, secrecy, some sports etc.

The main our activity now is propaganda for working and studying people, support of their organized movement, main task for today - to help them make their own organisations for struggle, independent from the state structures.
I'm a member of both RCWP-RPC and RCYL(B).

Also we have some other organisations in Russia - for example our most close ally the Communist Organisation "Iskra" ("The Spark").
- Is very close to us in ideology but has some different views on organising structure.

The Left Front - mainly formed by AKM ("Vanguard of Red Youth").
- Within this organisation there are very different activists from opportunist soc-dem to more left-wing, sometimes we cooperate with them. Hasn't strong discipline, some comrades from it interested in theory studyings, but the majority isn't.

And we have here also some trotskyist and maoist organisations, they aren't big too and I don't know them enough.

Ohhhh..... how a lot of I have written LOL
And here in Russia we have a lot of people with pro-leftist views but not organised yet and not theoretical educated. A lot of young people. The Crisis support this tendency.. Life in capitalism force people to become leftists...

So, my views are dialectical-materialist and of course atheist, marxist-leninist, pro-Soviet, mostly pro-stalinist (I don't agree with a part of his politics, but only with a part - I'm not agree with his national deportations for example, with the reform of Soviet system (from collective-based system to territory based). But mainly this politics was right. And of course I'm hardly anti-revisionist (soc-dem, Khrushev etc. - I'm strongly disagree with them).

How did I become a leftist... Well... It was very difficult :cool: Before it I was an anticommunist and even religious fundamentalist (Islamic :cool: )
But once I get a job...:thumbup1: We with my university campus room-mates were unskilled workers at the construction sites of capitalists' big expensive own houses in special capitalist guarded villages. And there worked not only students but also immigrant labourers from former south USSR's republics - like Ukraine, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. Some of them were my brothers in belief, muslims. But the work was too hard, especially for the migrants, and they lived directly at the construction site, in garages :blink: In extremely poor conditions.

So it was the time I felt the true class hateness against our bosses..... Gradually I sloped to the left... But when I told one of our islamic "expert" about my relations toward the rich people he told that if they were my brothers I mustn't hate them. And if the bosses oppress my guest-working brothers then I must tell them (bosses) that they aren't right :confused: I though they know it themselves enouth......
So I will not write a lot about all it but gradually I was disappointed in religion and understood that it's only a lie for making us more tolerant towards the ruling class.... I was trying to understand how world is if there is not God within... So I was reading marxist philosophic literature for that cause, about dialectical materialism at first. Then I gradually come to the communists and became a member of communist youth organisation. All this was a few years ago. And a few months ago I joined to the party too.

Uhh... :confused: That's the story! =)))))))))))))

If anybody will be in Moscow - welcome cordially ! :) It'll be nice to meet you, comrades))

hardlinecommunist
15th May 2010, 14:37
Welcome Comrade

Q
15th May 2010, 15:57
That is one long introduction!

Welcome :)

Kowalski
15th May 2010, 16:02
That is one long introduction!
i tried to answer the questions of the forum =)

Tavarisch_Mike
15th May 2010, 17:35
Drasvitsie! and welcome :)

Nolan
15th May 2010, 21:56
Hi and welcome!

Sentinel
15th May 2010, 23:10
Thank you for a very informative and interesting post, welcome to RevLeft and I hope that you stay around! :)

It is good to see that you disapprove of the ideological quality of the CPRF. I've heard that their line on the rights of minorities (homosexuals in particular) isn't very progressive, and that some prominent members of the youth federation even have participated in anti-gay violence alongside with ultrarightists.

That said, I have to admit that I have a lot to learn about the situation in Russia, and that most of what I have heard is second hand knowledge from reading articles etc. It would be very interesting to hear your views on this issue.

As you probably have noticed we have a Russian language forum here as well -- not that you'd need it as your english is excellent, but perhaps you can help make it more active by inviting your comrades to post there.

Spawn of Stalin
15th May 2010, 23:12
Welcome and long live Stalin

Sentinel
20th May 2010, 00:04
Discussion on homophobia in Russia split into this a new thread. Link (http://www.revleft.com/vb/russian-left-and-t135701/index.html)

Kowalski
20th May 2010, 10:03
Ok, I'll answer there. But anyway, really I don't think that ban threatening is smth that "helps constructive dialog", and of course it isn't even comradely. And how do you expect I'll say what I think if you are going to ban me for it?... :confused: It's a strange practice. It seems very nice when somebody accuse "the terrible stalinists" of "totalitarism" and the next moment ban somebody another for words like mine. I'm just really confused.

gorillafuck
22nd May 2010, 04:13
Can't this site let Kowalski post around the forum for a little while and not be so quick to restrict him? I think that if he stuck around, he might see why it's important to go against oppression of gays.

FSL
22nd May 2010, 05:01
Can't this site let Kowalski post around the forum for a little while and not be so quick to restrict him? I think that if he stuck around, he might see why it's important to go against oppression of gays.

Sometimes people here think with a very "west-centered" mind.

Should someone who lives in the US and opposes abortion be restricted? I'd say yes. Should someone who lives in Nicaragua or Guatemala be treated in the same manner if he agrees?
Does the fact that these societies are radically different than what most of us have seen even come into consideration?

AK
29th May 2010, 13:02
Banned already?

Welcome and long live Stalin
Chronological thinking fail.

Nolan
31st May 2010, 04:42
We're never going to get anywhere with the working masses if we get all Spanish Inquisition about a comrade disagreeing about the importance of homosexual liberation. Since when is homophobia (or perceived homophobia) a bannable offense?

SocialismOrBarbarism
31st May 2010, 06:17
We should at least have some sort of protection period where people that are still leftists but hold some incorrect views can have time to participate in debates and be exposed to different information etc. without being banned before they really have any opportunity to learn and reconsider their position.

Nolan
31st May 2010, 06:44
We should at least have some sort of protection period where people that are still leftists but hold some incorrect views can have time to participate in debates and be exposed to different information etc. without being banned before they really have any opportunity to learn and reconsider their position.

This. I shudder to think how many potentially good comrades we've lost due to some admin's kneejerk reaction. Kowalski could have been shown why LGBT rights are important. His views are extremely common among workers (and many are outright homophobic). We won't solve the problem by pretending it doesn't exist and holing up in our cozy little forum where everyone's ideology is pure. Wondering why the modern left has been alienated from the working class? This is one reason.

You've just put the Russian left that much further in the hole. In their situation, every single communist is worth more than ten of us westerners. Showing one why homophobia is reactionary could have a huge impact on their friends and comrades, and maybe even help pull the Russian left out of the post-USSR rut.

AK
31st May 2010, 08:54
We should at least have some sort of protection period where people that are still leftists but hold some incorrect views can have time to participate in debates and be exposed to different information etc. without being banned before they really have any opportunity to learn and reconsider their position.
I think a similar strategy should be used by revlefters when we get a fash on the forum - as long as his name isn't "whitepride88" or something similar and they don't spam "Sieg Heil" - then we should attempt to "convert" them or something, rather than scream abuse at them as soon as they register. A few reactionaries genuinely come to revleft to learn leftist ideas. If teaching doesn't work then there's always stockpiled abuse we can throw at them :)

EDL in peace is a good example. He seems to be working class guy who has been blinded by nationalism, but - islamaphobia aside - when he shared his ideas with us, alot of us did nothing but shout abuse at him.

sanpal
1st June 2010, 15:23
It seems it is not the best decision of Admins to ban Kowalsky. Sorry after his first post there was none who could let him know beforehand to avoid such theme for benefit of more important theoretical questions. And not to provoke him to it.

FinnMacCool
1st June 2010, 15:44
I strongly disagree with the choice to ban this user. He wasn't even really given a chance.

RedScare
1st June 2010, 23:33
I strongly disagree with the choice to ban this user. He wasn't even really given a chance.
I agree. We're never going to change things if all we do is accept only those who we agree with perfectly. Seriously, give them a chance to learn at the very least. This guy seemed perfectly reasonable in most other respects, his homophobia was probably more due to cultural factors more than anything else. :blink:

comradeRed:)
2nd June 2010, 00:11
Hey comrade! Long live lenin!!!

AK
2nd June 2010, 08:20
Hey comrade! Long live lenin!!!
Chronological thinking fail.

Nolan
3rd June 2010, 16:08
Chronological thinking fail.

You're right...He's quite dead, you can even see for yourself if you go to Moscow. How about Long live the memory of Lenin?

Ventadv
18th June 2010, 00:40
Привет, сибиряк. Я с Дальнего востока, тоже планирую в Мск осесть.