Russian Federation
Kremlin appoints new cabinet
By Andrea Peters, 28 January 2020
The turnover in the Russian government was concentrated in ministries responsible for domestic affairs
US troops confront Russian convoy near Syrian oil fields
By Bill Van Auken, 23 January 2020
Washington is occupying Syrian oil fields to deny resources to Damascus and continue its drive for regime change.
Russian Duma approves new prime minister
By Clara Weiss, 20 January 2020
Putin and sections of the Russian oligarchy regard Mishustin as better equipped than former Prime Minister Medvedev to carry out major attacks on the working class and to facilitate a closing of ranks in the ruling class.
Russian government resigns after Putin’s state of the nation address
By Clara Weiss, 16 January 2020
The resignation of the widely unpopular Russian government comes amid mounting social conflict and escalating war tensions between the US and Iran which threaten to draw in the entire South Caucasus region and Russia itself.
Kremlin maintains muted response to Suleimani assassination, insists on Iran nuclear deal
By Clara Weiss, 15 January 2020
An open war against Iran is likely to spread directly to the border of Russia, enflaming not only the entire Middle East but also the South Caucasus.
Erdoğan and Putin open TurkStream pipeline after Iran strikes US bases in Iraq
By Ulaş Ateşci, 11 January 2020
The opening of this strategic pipeline comes amid escalating conflicts over energy in the region and an esclalating conflict between the United States and Iran.
Russia, Ukraine reach last minute gas transit deal
By Jason Melanovski, 4 January 2020
The EU pushed for the Ukraine and Russia to accept a deal following the US announcement of sanctions against the Russian-German pipeline Nord Stream 2.
The impeachment crisis and US war plans against Russia
By Andre Damon, 31 December 2019
The ferocity with which the entire US national security apparatus responded to a temporary delay in sending anti-tank missiles and radar to Ukraine raises the question: Is there a timetable for using these weapons in combat against Russia?
The US sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the danger of World War III
By Peter Schwarz, 31 December 2019
The decision by the US Congress to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline underscores the danger of world war.
Iran, Russia and China hold joint naval drills in Indian Ocean amid US war threats
By Alex Lantier, 30 December 2019
The exercises are a signal that a US-led war targeting Iran could rapidly escalate into a global conflict involving the major nuclear powers.
Erdogan vows to send Turkish troops into Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 27 December 2019
The Turkish deployment in Libya will escalate increasing tensions involving Washington, Moscow and NATO.
German government condemns US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 pipeline
By Johannes Stern, 23 December 2019
The temporary halt to construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has dramatically intensified tensions between the United States and the European powers.
Vadim Rogovin’s Bolsheviks against Stalinism 1928–1933: Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition
A magnificent account of Stalin’s opponents in the USSR
By Andrea Peters, 21 December 2019
Stalin’s rise was neither foreordained nor a natural outgrowth of the October Revolution. The Great Russian chauvinist and bureaucrat secured power in ferocious conflict with the proletariat, peasantry and cadre of the revolutionary socialist movement.
US to impose sanctions on companies involved in European Nord Stream 2 pipeline
By Peter Schwarz, 13 December 2019
The sanctions against the joint Russian-Western Europe energy project underscores just how conflict-riven the relations between the members of the world's largest military alliance are.
New doping provocation against Russia prior to 2020 Olympics
By Kevin Reed, 12 December 2019
A four-year ban has been imposed on Russian athletes participating in international competition, including the upcoming Summer Olympics in 2020 and Winter Olympics in 2022.
Canadian government-sponsored Security Forum rails against “strategic adversaries” China and Russia
By Roger Jordan and Keith Jones, 27 November 2019
Trump’s National Security Adviser demanded Canada massively hike military spending, restrict Huawei, and militarize the Arctic to counter China and Russia.
France to host “peace summit” with Germany, Ukraine and Russia
By Clara Weiss, 19 November 2019
The summit is part of the effort of French and German imperialism to play a bigger role in Eastern Europe as tensions with the US are rising.
On the death of Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky (1942–2019)
By Clara Weiss, 19 November 2019
An understanding of Bukovsky’s life and role in politics over the past half century must be placed within the broader context of the development of the October Revolution of 1917 and the Stalinist reaction against it.
Former US Secretary of State Kissinger points to danger of “catastrophic” conflict between US and China
By Nick Beams, 16 November 2019
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has warned of an inevitable “conflict” between the US and China that “will be worse than the world wars that ruined European civilisation.”
Tens of thousands in Russia face medicine shortages as a result of Western sanctions
By David Levine, 12 November 2019
Between April and August 2019, two women from Moscow and one from Yekaterinburg were temporarily arrested and charged for illegally obtaining unregistered medicine.
Russia: At least 15 dead, five missing after illegal dam breaks in Siberia
By Clara Weiss, 22 October 2019
Both the dam and the construction of the shelters for the workers on the Seiba river near the village Shchetikino were in flagrant violation of the law and basic safety measures.
Russia, Ukraine carry out high-profile prisoner exchange
By Jason Melanovski, 14 September 2019
The prisoner exchange was strongly backed by France and Germany with media reports suggesting that French President Emmanuel Macron, in particular, played a central role.
New York Times: Main source for anti-Russia campaign may have been a “double agent”
By Andre Damon, 11 September 2019
The latest allegation reported by the New York Times Is a further exposure of the Democrats’ concocted claims of Russian “subversion” of the US political system.
Russia: Stalinist and far-right candidates win with backing from Navalny
By Clara Weiss, 11 September 2019
The Western media has desperately tried to conceal the right-wing character of the political forces that have made gains in the elections in Moscow and Khabarovsk.
Alexei Navalny, with backing of Russian Pabloites, shifts toward support for Stalinist KPRF
By Clara Weiss, 9 September 2019
Navalny, a right-wing stooge of US imperialism, is turning toward an alliance with those most experienced in politically disorienting the working class: the Stalinists and the Pabloites.
Russia and Turkey intensify military cooperation over US objections
By Ulas Atesci, 4 September 2019
Turkish purchases of Russian missiles and possibly fighter jets are fuelling tensions between Turkey and its imperialist allies in Washington and Europe.
Russia launches floating nuclear power plant amid new “scramble for the Arctic”
By Clara Weiss, 27 August 2019
The launching of the Akademik Lomonosov platform is part of an effort by the Kremlin to significantly expand its infrastructure in the region.
US escalates preparations for nuclear war with Russia and China
By Andre Damon, 23 August 2019
After withdrawing from the INF treaty, the US is accelerating its preparations to fight a nuclear war with China or Russia by testing and stockpiling dangerous new weapons in a nuclear arms race.
Macron-Putin meeting before G7 summit highlights global geopolitical conflicts
By Will Morrow, 23 August 2019
The meeting took place in the context of increasing calls centered in Paris and Berlin for the European Union to develop its capabilities to wage wars independently of the United States.
Questions continue over Russian nuclear accident
By Andrea Peters, 17 August 2019
The dangers associated with the rapidly accelerating global arms race are clear, even as questions remain over the nature of the nuclear explosion that occurred in Russia’s far north last week.
Explosions at Russian military facilities leave eight dead
By Andrea Peters, 13 August 2019
Bound up with the accelerating global arms race, blasts at a nuclear weapons testing facility in Russia’s far north and an ammunitions depot in Siberia have injured dozens.
Over 50,000 join opposition protests in Moscow
By Clara Weiss, 12 August 2019
While the ongoing crackdown against the opposition must be opposed, workers and youth must be warned about the right-wing character of the political forces behind the protests.
Russian authorities continue crackdown on opposition protests
By Clara Weiss, 5 August 2019
The violent crackdown on protests by the “liberal” opposition is aimed at intimidating all government opposition and preparing for the suppression of widespread resistance by the working class.
US scrapping of INF treaty heightens threat of nuclear war
By Bill Van Auken, 3 August 2019
The formal abrogation of the treaty declared on Friday sets the stage for the testing and deployment of medium-range missiles against both Russia and China.
1,300 arrested in police crackdown on liberal opposition in Russia
By Clara Weiss, 29 July 2019
The crackdown testifies to the extreme nervousness of the Kremlin and was meant as a show of force and a demonstration of the state’s readiness to violently repress any opposition, above all opposition coming from the working class.
Dangerous encounter of warplanes from four nations over Sea of Japan
By Ben McGrath, 25 July 2019
While the US was not directly involved, its aggressive military buildup in Asia created the conditions for the aerial standoff.
Beanpole (Dylda): Disturbing scenes of postwar Soviet life
By Clara Weiss, 17 July 2019
Russian director Kantemir Balagov’s film treats the damaged lives of two young women who have just returned to Leningrad (today St. Petersburg) from the front after the end of the Second World War.
Russian navy officer: Fire on Russian nuclear submarine could have led to “planetary catastrophe”
By Clara Weiss, 12 July 2019
A Russian newspaper reported that the cause of the fire on the Losharik was an electrical short-circuit that led to an explosion and spontaneous combustion of a lithium-ion battery that had been installed on the submarine.
Fourteen high-ranking Russian navy officers die in fire on nuclear-powered submarine
By Clara Weiss, 5 July 2019
The submarine disaster is a chilling reminder of the advanced state of the preparations for world war.
The Command (Kursk): A dramatization of the 2000 Russian nuclear submarine disaster
By Joanne Laurier, 4 July 2019
The Kursk’s sinking was bound up with both the decay of the Russian military and the catastrophic impact of Russian capitalism.
Russian-Georgian tensions escalate amid Iran war crisis
By Clara Weiss, 29 June 2019
The Western-backed anti-Russian protests in Tiflis are bound up with the escalating US war drive against Iran, which threatens to draw in the entire Caucasus region.
Destroyed 1923 pamphlet on Red Army, commissioned by Trotsky, reprinted in Russia
By Clara Weiss, 27 June 2019
The reprint makes available, after almost 100 years, an important historical document, the fate of which reflects the violent repression by Stalinism of genuine Marxist thought and politics, represented within the Soviet Union by Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition.
Destroyed 1923 pamphlet on Red Army, commissioned by Trotsky, reprinted in Russia
By Clara Weiss, 26 June 2019
The reprint makes available, after almost 100 years, an important historical document whose fate reflects the violent repression by Stalinism of genuine Marxist thought and politics, represented within the Soviet Union by Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition.
Four men charged with murder based on bogus MH-17 investigation
By Clara Weiss, 24 June 2019
Charges against pro-Moscow separatists were laid based on an “investigation” influenced by the Ukrainian regime, that produced no proof of Russian involvement in downing flight MH-17.
“Unfortunately, none of this happened”: Kirill Serebrennikov’s Leto (Summer), a take on the pre- perestroika period in the USSR
By Clara Weiss, 14 June 2019
Serebrennikov’s new film treats two of Russia’s most famous rock groups, Kino and Zoopark, in the early 1980s, while managing to avoid all the major questions of the time.
Russian journalist Ivan Golunov released after campaign against his arrest
By Clara Weiss, 12 June 2019
While supporting the US-led persecution of Julian Assange, Western media and politicians, as part of their campaign for regime change in Moscow, decried the arrest of Golunov.
US and Russian warships nearly collide in the Philippine Sea
By Kevin Reed, 8 June 2019
In an encounter coinciding with a visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping, a US warship nearly collided with a Russian destroyer on Friday in the Philippine Sea.
At least 116 injured in Russia factory explosions
By Clara Weiss, 4 June 2019
The blasts at the factory, which produces explosives for the Russian military, shattered windows in hundreds of buildings over a radius of at least 3 kilometers.
Russian health care workers protest over wages and staffing
By Andrea Peters, 31 May 2019
Part of a wave of ongoing protests against the deplorable state of public health services in Russia, workers in Penza oblast staged a “work-to-rule” strike in late May.
Russia: 98 arrested in opposition-led protests in Yekaterinburg
By Clara Weiss, 18 May 2019
The protests are led by right-wing nationalist forces aligned with Alexei Navalny’s US-backed liberal opposition.
The social crisis and the global eruption of US imperialism
By Bill Van Auken, 9 May 2019
Washington’s brazen and reckless military threats and provocations on a world scale are driven by deep-going social and political crises within the US itself.
Up to 400,000 jobs threatened as US sanctions deepen crisis of Russian auto industry
By Clara Weiss, 2 May 2019
In mid-April, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska declared that the Russian auto company GAZ might declare bankruptcy, wiping out hundreds of thousands of manufacturing and related jobs.
Defying US threats, Turkey vows to deploy Russian air-defence system
By Keith Jones, 12 April 2019
In a New York Times op-ed, senior Democratic and Republican leaders have signaled bipartisan Congressional support for the Trump administration’s threats to roil Turkey’s economy if it deploys the S-400.
“Independent” union in Russia facilitates closure of Ford factory
By Clara Weiss, 8 April 2019
The Inter-Regional Trade Union Workers’ Alliance (MPRA) has blocked opposition to the US-based auto giant’s plans to close three factories and exit the passenger car market.
The media and the Mueller report
By Barry Grey, 27 March 2019
The Mueller report is a political debacle for the Democratic Party, the New York Times and the bulk of the corporate media, which day after day pumped out unsubstantiated claims and outright lies.
Putin signs Russian internet censorship bills into law
By Clara Weiss, 22 March 2019
The two laws are part of an international campaign by the ruling class to crack down on the internet.
Russian Pabloites push for a “broad left” amid growing social discontent, advanced US preparations for regime change
By Clara Weiss, 20 March 2019
The ultimate aim of the Russian Socialist Movement’s proposed “broad left” is to divert the growing social and political opposition within the Russian working class into right-wing channels.
After ripping up of INF treaty
Pentagon escalating buildup on Russia’s borders
By Bill Van Auken, 9 March 2019
The top US commander in Europe told a Senate panel that the Pentagon needs more troops and more warships to counter alleged Russian “threats.”
One year since the Skripal poisoning
By Robert Stevens, 5 March 2019
Even now there is no concrete evidence linking the regime of President Vladimir Putin with the Skripal poisoning—or even proof that novichok was involved.
US missile treaty withdrawal sparks global nuclear arms race
By Andre Damon, 21 February 2019
A half-century after the Cuban Missile crisis brought humanity to within a hair’s breadth of destruction, Washington is fueling an even more dangerous global nuclear standoff.
Russia: University building collapses in St. Petersburg
By Clara Weiss, 19 February 2019
The building collapse in St. Petersburg is symptomatic of an epidemic of building collapses and fires, a direct result of the destruction of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the restoration of capitalism.
Prazdnik (Holiday): Film about social inequality in Russia attracts mass audience
By Clara Weiss, 18 February 2019
The film is a poignant indictment of social inequality and has been subject to a campaign of Russian government censorship.
US “Worldwide Threat Assessment” takes aim at China
By Andre Damon, 1 February 2019
The annual report reflects a bipartisan escalation of US efforts to block China’s economic, military and technological development.
Russian Duma plans internet crackdown as 12,000 truckers strike
By Clara Weiss, 30 January 2019
The legislation is part of a global assault on free speech on the internet and a censorship campaign against independent news outlets.
UK: More troubling questions emerge in the Skripal case
By Robert Stevens, 24 January 2019
Nothing has been heard from the Skripals since they were spirited out of hospital months ago in a military-type operation and taken to a secret location.
The US political crisis reaches fever pitch
By Patrick Martin, 18 January 2019
Both feuding factions of the US ruling elite are right-wing, anti-democratic and militaristic.
US, Turkey clash over Turkish plan to buy Russian S-400 missiles
By Baris Demir, 15 January 2019
The US team is expected to warn Ankara that Washington will not tolerate a Turkish purchase of Russian air defence systems.
US intelligence think tank conducted “false flag” operation impersonating Russian election interference
By Will Morrow, 31 December 2018
New Knowledge sought to influence the 2017 Alabama election and make it appear that Russia was intervening to back the Republican candidate.
Yet another murder that wasn’t: The Perepilichny case and the anti-Russia campaign
By Clara Weiss, 24 December 2018
The Perepilichny case is the latest stark example of the propagation of “fake news” in the anti-Russia campaign.
A closer look at American “democracy”
By Barry Grey, 20 December 2018
The population is given the opportunity every two or four years to go to the polls and vote for one or the other corporate-controlled party. This is what is called “democracy.”
Russian television’s Trotsky serial: A degraded spectacle of historical falsification and anti-Semitism
By Fred Williams and David North, 19 December 2018
The eight-part mini-series, now available on Netflix, is an exhibition of the political, intellectual and cultural depravity of all those involved in its production. This comment was originally posted in November 2017.
In Defense of Leon Trotsky presented at Moscow Book Fair
By our correspondents, 15 December 2018
The publication of the book is of particular importance in Russia and met with significant interest among attendees of the book fair.
Russian workers strike against social misery and austerity
By Clara Weiss, 13 December 2018
The crackdown on the strike in Kamchatka reflects the fear within the Russian oligarchy that the development of the class struggle internationally will sooner rather than later drive Russian workers into open struggle.
US-Russia tensions mount over warplanes in Venezuela
By Bill Van Auken, 12 December 2018
The flight of the Russian warplanes to Caracas follows the provocative US Air Force overflight of Ukraine the previous week.
Washington’s ultimatum on INF treaty heightens threat of nuclear war
By Bill Van Auken, 6 December 2018
While charging Moscow with violating the accord, US imperialism’s real aim is to build up its own forces for aggressive war against both Russia and China.
Merkel backs Ukrainian provocations against Russia
By Peter Schwarz, 1 December 2018
Chancellor Angela Merkel has sharply attacked Russia at the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum, declaring that Putin is fully responsible for the present conflict.
Trump cancels G20 meeting with Putin amid rising tensions
By Andre Damon, 30 November 2018
The United States is on a course for conflict not just with Russia, but with China and the European Union.
Ukraine’s provocation in the Azov Sea
By Clara Weiss and Andre Damon, 29 November 2018
The Ukrainian military, with the support of high-level figures within the US state, has instigated a major international crisis ahead of this week’s G20 summit.
Russia fires on and captures Ukrainian Navy ships
By Clara Weiss, 26 November 2018
A military escalation in the Azov Sea was prepared over months, with a series of provocations by the Ukrainian regime that enjoyed the support of the EU and US imperialism.
“Trident Juncture” manoeuvres begin: NATO rehearses for war against Russia
By Philipp Frisch, 25 October 2018
The month-long manoeuvres in Norway heighten the danger of war between NATO and Russia.
Thousands mourn victims of school shooting in Crimea
By Andrea Peters, 23 October 2018
Twenty-one people are now dead as a result of a mass shooting at a vocational college in the Russian territory of Crimea.
Trump says US will withdraw from Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty
By Alex Lantier, 22 October 2018
As it targets Russia, China and other major powers, Washington is scrapping the entire framework of nuclear arms control that emerged from the Cold War.
A color revolution in the making: Vladimir Kara-Murza and Keith Gessen at Columbia University
By Clara Weiss, 22 October 2018
The event at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute was a stark testimony to the advanced preparations for a US-backed color revolution in Russia.
Russia: Putin ally Kudrin pushes for rapprochement with the imperialist powers
By Clara Weiss, 13 October 2018
Underlying the push toward improving ties with imperialism are the growing class tensions in Russia itself.
Kremlin suffers defeats in regional elections
By Andrea Peters, 6 October 2018
The electoral upsets that took place in September come as evidence mounts of growing discontent with Russia’s ruling party.
US, UK and NATO allies ramp up anti-Russia offensive over “cyber spying” and Skripals
By Robert Stevens, 5 October 2018
To frame the demand for the seven arrests, the US utilised all the material gathered by its NATO allies against Russia over the Skripal/novichok affair.
Washington threatens preemptive strike against Russian missiles
By Bill Van Auken, 3 October 2018
The threat by the US envoy Kay Bailey Hutchison to “take out” Russian missiles raises the specter of a nuclear Third World War.
Russian Duma rams through pension reform amid mass opposition
By Clara Weiss, 29 September 2018
The passing of the reform, the most unpopular measure of the Russian government in decades, sets the stage for a sharp escalation of social and political conflicts in Russia.
Vadim Rogovin and the sociology of Stalinism
By Andrea Peters, 25 September 2018
September 18 marked the 20th anniversary of the death of Soviet Marxist historian and sociologist Vadim Rogovin, the author of a seven-volume series on Stalinism and the Marxist opposition to the Soviet bureaucracy.
“History never teaches anyone anything”
Russian neo-Stalinist defends Partido Obrero’s “refounding” of Fourth International
By Bill Van Auken, 24 September 2018
Said Gafurov, a former advisor to Vladimir Putin, defends the PO's policy on the basis that the struggle of Trotskyism against Stalinism has lost all political significance.
New documents on Yeltsin-Clinton conversations further expose US “meddling” in Russian politics
By Clara Weiss, 22 September 2018
The Clinton Foundation has released hundreds of pages of documents about conversations between US president Bill Clinton and Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
New York Times’ fraudulent “election plot” dossier escalates anti-Russia hysteria
By Bill Van Auken, 21 September 2018
The Times regurgitates unsubstantiated claims that Russia “hijacked” the 2016 election and carried out a “stealth cyberage Pearl Harbor” to further an agenda of criminalizing domestic dissent and censoring the internet.
Russia implicates pro-NATO Ukrainian regime in MH17 shoot-down
By Kumaran Ira, 20 September 2018
Using serial numbers provided by European investigators, Moscow gave evidence that the missile that shot down MH17 was held not by Russian, but Ukrainian forces.
Moscow blames downing of Russian plane near Syria on Israeli “provocation”
By Bill Van Auken, 19 September 2018
The killing of 15 Russian military personnel off the coast of Latakia has ratcheted up dangerous military tensions in Syria.
Japanese prime minister seeks improved relations with Russia
By Ben McGrath, 17 September 2018
Japan is coming under increased pressure as a result of Washington’s protectionist measures, which are compounding instability throughout the Asia Pacific region.
China and Russia strengthen ties to counter US threats
By Peter Symonds, 13 September 2018
After their meeting, neither Xi nor Putin named Trump but they left no doubt that their closer ties are a reaction to Washington’s punitive measures.
Russian government cracks down on protesters during regional elections
By Clara Weiss, 12 September 2018
The crackdown on supporters of Navalny is meant to intimidate the millions of Russian workers and youth who oppose Putin’s pension reform.
Putin backs widely hated Russian pension reform
By Clara Weiss, 5 September 2018
The pension reform, with or without Putin’s proposed changes, is an aggressive move by the oligarchy in its class warfare against Russian workers.
Amid NATO threats, Russia launches largest war games since World War II
By Alex Lantier, 1 September 2018
The exercises come amid an escalation of military conflicts and tensions across Eurasia imminently posing the danger of a direct clash between the main nuclear powers.
Manila moves toward major arms purchase from Russia
By Joseph Santolan, 25 August 2018
The Pentagon, which has been systematically escalating military tensions with Russia, has not taken kindly to Washington’s former colony improving relations with Moscow.
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