What is the positive outcome of defending an authoritarian regime like Putin’s? I don’t see how that advances socialist goals in any way. I am learning that Zelenskyy and Ukraine are not as good as Western media describes, but I do not see how Putin is better. I’m interested in being part of Lemmygrad.ml, but not if it defends authoritarian regimes especially if they are not working towards socialism/communism. I want to work towards socialist goals, but I do not want to be used as a tool in some authoritarian geopolitical mess. Russia also gives me the impression of being colonialist but I’m not sure if that’s accurate

  • davel [he/him]@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
    16·
    5 days ago

    I will recycle my past answer.

    Honest question from a non-communist, based on your reply here. Does one need to support Putin to be a Marxist?

    In a word, no. In a few more words, support for Russia (not Putin, as historical materialists don’t subscribe to great man theory) is only a partial, temporary, tactical one, in the context of imperialist liberation. Russia is still a capitalist state, though, so it’s a two stage strategy: first liberate colonized bourgeois states from colonizer states, and second revolution within those liberated bourgeois states.

    Russia is an interesting case: it has already liberated itself from the post-Soviet “shock therapy” neocolonizers. This occurred during Putin’s administration, which is why he is especially hated by the US. So now the support for Russia is in the context of keeping the colonizers from recolonizing it, and supporting Russia to the extent that it helps other states liberate themselves. But Russia isn’t trying to “liberate” Ukraine, at least not all of Ukraine. It’s trying to resolve the genocidal attacks on the people of the Donbas, and it’s trying to resolve the imperialist military expansion at its border.