SAMIR AMIN
Moskow, march 2014
Russia
and the Ukraine crisis
The Euro
Asian project in conflict with the Triad imperialist policies
1.The current global stage is dominated by the attempt of historical
centres of imperialism (US, Western and central Europe, Japan –then after
called “the Triad”) to maintain their exclusive control over the Planet
through a combination of:
a- so called neo liberal economic globalization policies allowing
financial transnational capital of the Triad to decide alone on all issues to
their exclusive interests.
b- the military control of the Planet by US and its
subordinate allies (Nato and Japan) in order to annihilate any attempt of any
country out of the Triad to move out of their yoke.
In that respect all countries of the World out of the Triad
are enemies or potential enemies. Except those who accept a complete submission
to the economic and political strategy of the Triad. Such as the two new
“democratic republics” of Saudi Arabia and Qatar! The so called “international
community” to which the western medias refer continuously is indeed reduced to
the G7 plus Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Any other country, even when its government
is currently aligned, is a potential enemy since the peoples of those countries
may reject that submission.
2.In that frame Russia is “an enemy”.
Whatever might be our assessment of what was the Soviet
Union (“socialist” or something else), the Triad fought it simply because it
was an attempt to develop independently of dominant imperialism/capitalism.
After the breakdown of the Soviet System, some people (in
Russia in particular) thought that the “West” would not antagonise a
“capitalist Russia”. Just as Germany and Japan had “lost the war but won the
peace”. They forgot that the Western powers supported the reconstruction of the
former fascist countries precisely to face the challenge of the independent
policies of the Soviet Union. Now, this challenge having disappeared the target
of the Triad is to destroy the capacity of Russia to resist to a complete
submission.
3.The current development of the Ukraine tragedy
illustrates the reality of the strategic target of the Triad.
The Triad organized in Kiev what ought to be called a
“Euro/Nazi putsch ”. Yes they needed to achieve their target (separating the
historical twin sister nations –the Russian and the Ukrainian), the support of
local Nazis.
The rhetoric of the Western medias, claiming that the
policies of the Triad aim at promoting democracy, is simply a lie.
Nowhere the Triad has promoted democracy. On the contrary these policies have
systematically been supporting the most anti democratic (in some case
“fascist”) local forces. Quasi fascist
in the former Yugoslavia –in Croatia and Kosovo-, as well as in the Baltic
States and Eastern Europe, Hungary for
instance. Eastern Europe has been
“integrated” in the European Union not as equal partners, but as “semi
colonies” of Western and Central European major capitalist/imperialist powers.
The relation between West and East in the European system is somehow similar to
that which rules the relations between the US and Latin America! In counties of
the South the Triad supported the extreme anti democratic forces such as, for
instance, political ultra reactionary Islam, and with their complicity,
destroyed these societies : the cases of Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Libya illustrate
these targets of the Triad imperialist project.
4.Therefore the policy of Russia (as developed by the
administration of Putin) to resist the project of colonisation of Ukraine (and of other countries of the former Soviet
Union , in Transcaucasia and Central Asia) must be supported. The Baltic States
experience should not be repeated. The target of constructing a “Euro Asian”
community, independent from the Triad and its European subordinate partner, is
also to be supported.
But this Russian positive “international policy” is
bound to fail if it is not supported by the Russian people. And this support
cannot be won on the exclusive basis of “nationalism”, even a positive
progressive –not chauvinistic- brand of “nationalism”, a fortiori by a
“chauvinistic” Russian rhetoric. Fascism in Ukraine cannot be challenged by
Russian fascism. It can be won only if
the internal economic and social policy pursued promotes the interests of the
majority of the working people.
What do I mean by “people’s oriented” policy favouring the
working classes?
Do I mean “socialism”, or even a nostalgia of the Soviet
system? This is not the place to re assess the soviet experience, in a few
lines! I shall only summarize my views in a few sentences. The Russian authentic
socialist revolution produced a State
socialism which was the only possible first step toward socialism; after Stalin
that State socialism moved towards becoming State capitalism (explaining the
difference between the two concepts is important but not the subject of this
short paper). As of 1991 State capitalism was dismantled and replaced by
“normal” capitalism based on private property which, as in all countries of contemporary capitalism, is basically the
property of financial monopolies, owned by the oligarchy (similar, not
different from the oligarchies running capitalism in the Triad), many coming out
of the former Nomenklatura, some new comers.
The explosion of creative authentic democratic practices
initiated by the Russian revolution was then after tamed and replaced by an
autocratic pattern of management of the society, albeit granting social rights
to the working classes. This system led to massive depolitisation and was not
protected from despotic, and even
criminal deviations. The new pattern of savage capitalism is based on the
continuation of depolitisation and the non respect of democratic rights.
Such a system rules not only Russia, but all the other
former Soviet republics. Differences relate to the practise of the so called
“western” electoral democracy, more effective in Ukraine, for instance than in
Russia. Nonetheless this pattern of rule is not “democracy” but a farce
compared to bourgeois democracy as it functioned at previous stages of
capitalist development, including in the “traditional democracies” of the West,
since real power is now restricted to the ruling of monopolies operating to their
exclusive benefits.
A people’s oriented policy implies therefore moving away,
as much as possible, from the “liberal” recipes and the electoral mascarade
associated with it, which claims to give legitimacy to regressive social
policies. I would suggest setting up in its place a brand of new State
capitalism with social dimension (I say social, not socialist). That system
opens the road to eventual advances toward a socialisation of the management of
the economy, therefore authentic new advances toward an invention of democracy
responding to the challenges of a modern economy.
It is only if Russia moves along such lines that the
current conflict between on the one hand the intended independent international
policy of Moscow and on the other hand the pursuing of a reactionary social
internal policy can be given a positive outcome. Such a move is needed and
possible : fragments of the political ruling class could align on such a
programme if popular mobilisation and action promote it. To the extent that
similar advances would also be carried out in Ukraine, Transcaucasia and
Central Asia, an authentic community of Euro Asian nations can be established
and become a powerful actor in the reconstruction of the World system.
5.The remaining of the Russian State power within the
strict limits of the neo liberal recipe annihilates the chances of success of
an independent foreign policy, and the chances of Russia becoming a really
emerging country acting as an important international actor.
Neo liberalism cannot produce for Russia but a tragic
economic and social regression, a pattern of “lumpen development” and a growing
subordinate status in the global imperialist order. Russia would provide to the Triad oil, gas and some other
natural resources; its industries would be reduced to the status of sub contracting
to the benefit of Western financial monopolies.
In such a position, not very far from that of Russia to day
in the global system, attempts to act independently in the international area
will remain fragile to the extreme, threathened
by “sanctions” which will invigorate the disastrous alignment of the
ruling economic oligarchy on the demands of dominant Triad’s monopolies. The
current out flow of “Russian capital” associated with the Ukraine crisis
illustrates the danger. Re-establishing a State control over the movements of
capital is the only effective response to that danger.
Further readings :
Samir Amin, The
implosion of capitalism; Pluto and MR Press, London and NY, 2014
Samir Amin, What “radical” means in the 21 st century; Review of Radical Political Economy, vol
45, n°3, 2013.
Samir Amin, The Democratic fraud; Monthly Review, NY, vol 63, n°5, oct 2011
Samir Amin, Unity and Diversity in the movement to
socialism; Monthly Review, to appear
in the June 2014 issue.
Samir Amin, Russia in the global system; translated from
Arabic into Russian by Said Gafourov.
