Last week members of International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS) interviewed Boris Litvinov, secretary of the Donetsk branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and Tatiana Desyatova of the CPRF Moscow Interbrigade.
How is the work of the Donetsk CPRF progressing?
The CPRF’s work continues in the Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine, including participating in elections. We discuss improving the party’s structure and its integration into the electoral system. Many young people and students, including those who are fighting on the front line, and people over 40 with memories of the Soviet Union, are joining. Many people working in science and education have realised that the communist ideology is correct, and that they were deceived over the past 25 years. This was shown in the recent Duma elections. These groups – young people, scientists and people fighting on the front line, realise that ours is the only ideology which fully explains the situation they find themselves in today.
Does Europe want an endless war in Ukraine?
Yes, Britain France and Germany want to prolong the war against Russia for as long as possible. Their leaders have openly declared that they will be able to fight Russia in 2029-30, and they have just allocated $90 billion to prepare the military and material base in Ukraine. The plan is for Ukraine to weaken Russia, after which the European NATO states will be ready to continue the war.
Their leaders said openly after the Minsk peace talks that they were prolonging the talks to build up military support for Ukraine. Then during the Istanbul peace talks, Boris Johnson declared that Ukraine must go on fighting, if necessary to the last Ukrainian soldier.
At the recent Valdai Discussion Club Putin stated that Russia has no intention and no interest in attacking any other country. Many countries and people around the world are suffering from the sanctions on Russia and now the USA is planning secondary sanctions to punish any country which trades with Russia. The NATO states are now instigating extremely dangerous provocations. Finland has now suggested closing the Gulf of Finland to Russian shipping, through which 50-60 per cent of Russian oil and gas is exported. Putin has also warned that if NATO attempts to blockade the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, Russia will respond with “the most serious weapons”. We remind you of the phrase “don’t wake the Russian bear” – if you force him out of the forest, you will live to regret it.
How are conditions in Donetsk province?
During the past 12 years people have got used to war. The most difficult problem at the moment is water. Ukraine has targeted and destroyed the water system, and we only get tap water once every three days, for sanitation, not for drinking. Two large power stations have also been attacked so that when there is water the electricity goes off. But people are used to these problems.
In the last few months the drone attacks have stepped up – often 30 every night. When they approach it is very stressful for everyone and it is very easy to mistake other sounds for drones. And of course all these drones are supplied by NATO countries.
There is enough food – vegetables, meat etc – and the transport system is working, but sometimes there are problems with petrol. One of the biggest problems is the roads. The Russian government has built many new roads but Ukrainian drones are now chasing vehicles on the roads – buses, cars and ambulances – so drivers are recommended to drive at 75 miles an hour.
What is your opinion on the recent arrests of CPRF activists in Moscow?
All other parties, religious groups etc are able to hold large public events, but 60 people were arrested at a CPRF rally. For us such restrictions aren’t new, we’ve experienced them for several years, so these arrests didn’t come as a surprise. In our opinion United Russia (the ruling party) is not actually a political party, it is actually a group of people with no ideology, membership or structure. For us, the final aim is communism. For them the final aim is capitalism, the interests of the oligarchy, and increasingly the international oligarchy. But they can’t openly state their true aims. Young people working in science and education can’t see their future with United Russia. However, many people have been influenced by anti-communist propaganda and the mass media, or simply prefer to do nothing, to sit on a sofa drinking beer.
How important are international connections with Donetsk?
We regard international relations, such as with the New Communist Party of Britain, as extremely important. These parties are able to make genuine information about Ukraine available to a Western audience. International delegations are also important as they are able to see the situation in Donetsk with their own eyes, and we regard them as very welcome visitors.
What can we in the imperialist countries do?
This is very simple. In 1918-20 when Soviet Russia was attacked, workers around the world heard the message - “we want peace, not war”. We suffered the loss of millions of people in both the first and second world wars. We don’t want to attack anybody. We want to to develop trade and international relations, but unfortunately we have been attacked by NATO. We would like a return to 1991, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, and we don’t want any NATO countries on our border.
How will Donetsk be rebuilt in the future?
We regard education as one of the important foundations for the future. The question of retaining young people is not unique to Donetsk, but the effects of war make the problem considerably more difficult. We are also worried about the growth of fee-paying higher education providers. We don’t accept that access to high-quality education should depend on peoples’ ability to pay. So it’s not simply about physical reconstruction, we need to provide young people with a perspective for the future, and this relates to questions about capitalism and socialism, and the social and economic direction that Russia and the Donbas should take in the years ahead.
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