Masses Have Nothing to Gain from Russian Imperialismm here ♦ “Lesser-Evil” Imperialists here ♦
Niger Crisis: Masses Have Nothing to Gain from Russian Imperialism’s Rise in Africa
August 20— A military coup in Niger toppled its pro-US president on July 26. This is the latest anti-French, pro-Russian coup across the Sahel region of Africa. In Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and now Niger, masses welcomed military rule with chants against French imperialism.
Many there know French imperialism’s bloody history in Africa. More hate France’s corrupt neocolonial pawns today. On top of that, the racist abuse of African immigrants and their descendants in France.
Niger’s new rulers use this anger to mobilize “Volunteers for the Defense of Niger.” Their slogan is: “Down with France! Long Live Putin!” But the enemy of your enemy isn’t always your friend.
Putin’s shock troops are Wagner Group forces. From Syria to Ukraine to the Central African Republic, they’ve made their goals clear: Capture. Plunder. Exploit workers in gold and diamond mines and the timber industry to make super-profits.
These paramilitary forces extend Russia’s geopolitical influence by propping up friendly local rulers.
Imperialist Rivalry Now Means War
In 1494, the rulers of Spain and Portugal divided South America – as if it were theirs to divide! France and Britain divided the Sahel into “spheres of influence” with the 1885 Berlin Accord. That’s why Nigeria is English-speaking and Niger is French speaking even though people of the same ethnic groups live on both sides of the border.
By 1911, imperialists had almost the entire world divided amongst themselves. The main way for an imperial power to expand its “sphere of influence” is to fight another imperial power.
That caused the first world war. Britain and France competed in Africa but allied against the Ottoman, German, and Austro-Hungarian empires. Twenty million died so that Britain could claim control from the Suez Canal to Singapore, from Cairo to Cape Town. France consolidated its hold on west Africa and Indochina.
Imperialism also caused World War II. Did it start with Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939? The fascist attack on Spain in 1936? Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935? The Japanese invasion of Manchuria, China, in 1931?
Whatever we choose, the result was a defeat for Japanese and German imperialists. Great Britain and France, though on the winning side, lost much of their international clout. US imperialism emerged as the big winner.
But not forever.
World War: The Need and Opportunity for Communist Revolution
We’ve described before how World War I sparked a communist-led revolution in Russia. Between 1917 and 1923, mass strikes, mutinies, and attempted revolutions shook many more countries. These included Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary, Finland, Germany, Turkey, Ireland, Argentina, and Mongolia.
The communist-led Chinese Revolution of 1948-49 grew out of World War II. Massive anti-imperialist movements swept south and southeast Asia, the Pacific island nations, Africa, and the Americas.
These movements and revolutions did not fight directly for communism. We think that’s why the world today remains firmly in imperialism’s bloody grip.
Or is that grip so firm? Are we and the masses learning from the heroic history – and the mistakes — of our class?
The World Today: Use Red Flag to Unite the International Working Class
ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) is a Nigerian-led coalition allied with the West. It responded to the coup in Niger with sanctions. It has troops on standby.
A few thousand French and US troops remain in Niger. Their stated mission is to fight Islamic terrorists, now mainly based in the Sahel. If the new government kicks them out, things could heat up fast.
An ECOWAS military intervention would risk triggering a deadly regional war. That would be another proxy war between Russia and NATO. Libya, Syria, Ukraine, and now the Sahel: When would we start calling this a “world war”? When shooting wars break out between China and the US (with Japan and South Korea)?
The enemy of your enemy isn’t always your friend.
The Nigerien masses must defend themselves from their new pro-Russian rulers as well as from French-US puppets. The “Volunteers for the Defense of Niger” will learn this, better sooner than later.
Replacing one capitalist master with another can’t end the poverty and suffering that imperialism imposed on the once-prosperous Sahel. Only communist revolution can do that. We call on workers and soldiers everywhere to join ICWP!
Other articles in Red Flag explain what communism is and what we can do to bring it closer. Please read them, share them, and discuss them with friends. Do whatever you can to help build our international network of members and readers into a powerful revolutionary force.
The Perils of Uniting with “Lesser-Evil” Imperialists
A rising fascist wave was engulfing the world in 1935. The western imperialist powers were arming Hitler to march to the East to destroy the Soviet Union.
Soviet leaders did not think they could fight Nazi Germany alone. They led the Third Communist International to adopt the United Front Against Fascism (UFAF) line in 1934. This called on communists to unite with “anti-fascist” imperialists against German imperialism and its allies.
The Soviets tried to ally with the US, UK and France against Germany and its allies. They were refused.
Stalling for time to prepare for war, the Soviets signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler in 1939. It didn’t buy much time. However, it dealt a tremendous blow to the German communist party and the anti-fascist resistance in occupied Europe.
Germany invaded Russia in 1941 anyway. That year, the US, UK, and the USSR formalized an alliance. Soviet leaders expected to receive great help from this alliance. That didn’t happen.
It took tremendous commitment from the Russian masses and resistance fighters throughout Europe to defeat Hitler. Some twenty million civilians and eight million Russian soldiers died. Hundreds of thousands of communist-led resistance fighters lost their lives defeating fascism in Europe and the Philippines.
In 1943, the Red Army defeated the Nazi army at Stalingrad. Then they marched triumphantly toward Berlin, liberating all of Eastern Europe. Berlin fell to the Soviets in 1944. Only then, to prevent the Soviets from taking all of Europe, did the U.S. and Britain finally open the second front in Europe.
In 1945, the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, knowing that Japan was ready to surrender. The atom bombs, which killed hundreds of thousands, were meant as a threat to the Soviet Union. It was the opening shot of the Cold War. But the “United Front” line led the Soviets to support the bombings!
This goes to show the utter bankruptcy of the idea of a united front with “lesser evil” imperialists who quickly became the “greater evil.”
“United Front” Politics a Danger Today
Open fascism is again engulfing the world. Many now support Russia and China as “lesser evil” (or even good) alternatives to US/NATO imperialism. That includes reformist leaders like South Africa’s Ramaphosa and Malema.
Some don’t yet see that Russia and China are themselves imperialist. That Russian imperialism is fighting for profits and empire from Ukraine to Niger, Sudan and beyond. That China is fighting to be the world’s number-one imperialist exploiter.
We must learn from the errors of the United Front Against Fascism and not repeat them. There are no lesser evil imperialists! Our enemy is the capitalist imperialist system itself.
The masses defeated Hitler in 1945 and the masses will defeat fascism today–with communist revolution. We cannot unite with any capitalist or imperialist exploiter, or with their social fascist agents in the mass movement.
The Alternative: Build a Mass ICWP
The fundamental contradiction in capitalism is between the masses of wage slaves and all the capitalists and imperialists, who profit from our exploitation.
We must build collectives of one International Communist Workers’ Party worldwide to unite the mighty working class. We can and will take the lessons from the Russian and Chinese revolutions. Communist industrial workers and soldiers will mobilize masses for armed revolution to end fascism, capitalism and imperialism. Building comradely relations worldwide, we’ll build the communist world the working class deserves.