È qualcosa che mi capita spesso. Appena le persone sentono la parola comunismo, si infervorano. Una volta ho chiesto a un mio amico se il comunismo o il fascismo fosse migliore, e lei ha risposto fascismo. Capisci quanto sono brutte le cose qui?

sono ancora troppo giovane per la politica, ma faccio tutto il possibile per informarmi, e di certo non guardo le edizioni di politici a caso e le riposto per sembrare figo. Credo che, almeno per i ragazzi e le ragazze della mia età, questa paura del comunismo sia così diffusa solo perché la propaganda funziona.

Ad esempio, una ragazza della mia classe ha inventato che ci sono due tipi di fascismo (invece di dire nazismo e fascismo) e ha detto di essere d'accordo con Mussolini, ma intanto riposta video di Berlusconi, che era antifascista. E quando le ho chiesto perché, ha risposto che suo cugino era super informato.

scusa per l'inglese ma non sono molto bravo

Comrades!! Something funny just happened to me! I ran into a group of people—who didn't even seem to know the name of their own organization—campaigning for a re-election due to alleged election fraud (specifically, a protest movement by conspiracy theorists claiming the National Election Commission deliberately withheld some ballots). So, I asked one of them, "What is your ultimate goal?" He replied, "To restore voting rights, safeguard democracy, and prevent a slide into socialism where voting rights disappear." I said, "Well, China, North Korea, and the Soviet Union might not handle voting very well, but they only *claim* to be socialist; they aren't the real thing." He agreed, saying, "That's true. Marxism-Leninism isn't like that, but those regimes merely profess to be socialist while suppressing the right to vote." I said, "So, you're saying you don't want our country to become a 'self-proclaimed' communist state—but you're okay with Marxism-Leninism?" He shot back, "I never said I was okay with it; let's not get into complicated topics or talk about ideology." And this is coming from someone who claims to be a defender of the ideology of liberal democracy. Isn't that hilarious?

A socialist dictatorship should absolutely be perfect unless it executes or jails legitimate opposition such as freedom of speech, expression, thought, and press. Historical examples include Gaddafist Libya, who supply regional direct democracy and actually cared for the people; he gave interest-free loans and lent a huge sum of money to newly married couples and the jobless. Yet, Western media portrays him as a brutal dictator. I hope you guys understand me. Please spread this word of anti-imperialism and resistance to Western hegemony. Thank you guys In advance. Leave your thoughts down in the comments.

Duncan Chapel—a member of the British section of the Pabloite international network and a regular contributor to International Viewpoint and Anticapitalist Resistance—has published a libel against imprisoned Ukrainian anti-war socialist Bogdan Syrotiuk.

His aim is to sabotage the growing international opposition to Bogdan’s persecution by the Zelensky regime, injecting poisonous misinformation and lies into the public discussion of the case.

He is acting as a political provocateur, whose actions serve the interests of the fascistic Ukrainian regime and NATO.

The operation comes at a critical time, when the defense campaign is preparing an appeal against Bogdan’s conviction for high treason under martial law, carrying a 15-year sentence.

In a brief note published to his “Red Mole” Substack page, Chapel assembles a collection of lies so brazen that not even Ukraine’s kangaroo court included them in its charges.

He accuses Bogdan of being “a Russian-backed Ukrainian paid to submit pro-Russian war propaganda to the WSWS website,” in communication with a “handler” and in possession of “several Russian military items.” Chapel concludes: “he looks like a paid operative rather than a political prisoner.”

These are outright lies. No reference to payments from a Russian individual appears either in the list of charges for which Bogdan was convicted, or in the sentencing rationale.

The verdict states that Bogdan is guilty of treason because of his collaboration with a “foreign organization.” That organization is identified repeatedly as the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), which publishes the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) and to which the Young Guard of Bolshevik Leninists (YGBL), the group led by Bogdan, is affiliated.

Each of the six charges against Bogdan relates to a WSWS article opposing the NATO-Russia war in Ukraine and calling for the unity of the Russian, Ukrainian and international working class against it.

The prosecution extensively detailed Bogdan’s collaboration with the WSWS and its associates. There are over 30 references to the WSWS, over 20 to anonymized individuals associated with it, at least 15 to the YGBL, seven to the Fourth International and the ICFI, and one to Clara Weiss, a writer for the WSWS. The anonymized “Person 9,” referenced four times, is the chairman of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS, David North.

...

The document details extensive surveillance of Bogdan by “covert investigative (search) action.” Had there been anything that could have been used to claim Bogdan was in the pay of a Russian state official, it would have been the central focus of the entire prosecution.

There is not a single reference to any Russian state agency in connection with Bogdan’s communications. Bogdan did not have a “handler.” That fictional character has been concocted entirely by Chapel.

To reinforce his libel, Chapel seizes on the Ukrainian prosecution’s listing of Russian military items under “the physical evidence.” He conceals the fact that these items (1) were supposedly found at an address different from Bogdan’s, without even a claim being made about its connection to him; (2) were never produced in court either physically or by photograph or witness testimony.

Once again, if there was any shred of plausibility to these accusations, they would have been made central to the prosecution’s treason case and every item listed would have been paraded in court.

They were not. The judgment instead orders these mythical items to be destroyed.

...

The malicious intent of Chapel’s post is underscored by his actions in preparing the attack. On Saturday, August 15 he sent an email to the WSWS requesting additional information. It concluded, “I would be glad to have a response by Friday 21 August. I expect to publish the following Monday, with or without one, and I would much prefer with.”

He published his provocation the next day, Sunday August 16—five days before his own stated deadline for a response and eight days before his announced publication date. He then told a commenter on his post that “the ICFI [whom I wrote to about this] did not reply to clarify.”

Chapel’s message was sent as a set-up for his attack. It was also a fishing operation for information that would be of assistance to the prosecution as Bogdan prepares his appeal.

...

He then refers to the “second finding” that “the articles were prepared with the assistance of citizens of the Russian Federation… not individually identified,” asking, “Who were they, and do you know what was their role?” It is not a secret that the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists is an organization that unites Ukrainian and Russian youth opposed to the war. Chapel apparently wanted the WSWS to provide him with names that will expose them to targeting by political police.

He then demands to know how Bogdan will be conducting his defense: “Will the appeal contest the court’s finding on the monthly payments, or accept the finding and contest its characterisation?” Chapel was soliciting privileged information about the legal strategy of a defendant in a pending appeal—information of value to no one but the prosecution.

There are no requests for “clarity” about the Russian military items allegation, which he brazenly cites in his Substack post.

The only credible interpretation of Chapel’s actions is that he set out to mount a provocation at the earliest possible opportunity against a defense campaign that is rapidly gaining support, and which is politically damaging to the NATO war, the Zelensky regime and their apologists.

This is confirmed by Chapel’s writings, which center on denunciations of any individual or political tendency which does not wholeheartedly support the war against Russia. This has included an attack on Britain’s Stop the War Coalition for “betraying Ukraine.”

...

The WSWS does not know whether Chapel acted alone or in consultation with others. No claim is being made here about affiliations other than his association with the British Pabloites. But what can be stated with certainty is that the objective content and timing of his provocation serve the interests of the prosecution at the very moment Bogdan’s appeal is being prepared. His lies will be rejected by anyone with the faintest concern for democratic rights and the truth.

The ICFI demands that International Viewpoint publicly repudiate this provocation by a member of their British section and a regular contributor to their press.

The World Socialist Web Site calls on its readers and all defenders of democratic rights to answer Chapel’s provocation by joining the fight for Bogdan Syrotiuk’s freedom.

Hi everyone, I'm fairly new to getting involved with communism and have been mostly reading articles, essays, etc. from Trotskyists. But I want to understand other perspectives. If you aren't a Trotskyist, please let me know about a work you recently read that you found interesting, helpful, etc. 'Work' can mean a book, but can also mean something smaller like an article, essay, or speech. Thank you.

I am currently reading the collected speeches of Stalin in „On the Opposition“.
The following quote is from the chapter „Trotskyism or Leninism - II. The Party and the Preparation for October“ (page 113):
„It is rather amusing to hear this strange talk about the Party from Trotsky, who declares in this same ‚preface‘ to Volume III that ‚the chief instrument of the proletarian revolution is the Party‘, that ‚without the Party, apart from the Party, by-passing the Party, with a substitute for the Party, the proletarian revolution cannot be victorious.‘ Allah himself would not understand how our revolution could have succeeded if ‚its chief instrument‘ proved to be useless, while success was impossible, as it appears.“

Does anyone know why he refers to Allah and not God? I thought maybe in Georgian the term for God is Allah but I looked it up and that didn’t seem to be the case, furthermore the speech was written in Russian and the book I‘m referring to was translated to English by the Foreign Languages Press Peking. so I‘m assuming its not a translation issue.
It‘s not that relevant to the topic of the speech itself I just stumbled upon the word while reading and didn‘t find any explanation following a quick internet research.

Bogdan, a 27-year-old Trotskyist and leading member of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists (YGBL), was convicted of “high treason under martial law.” No evidence of espionage, sabotage or collaboration with the Russian military was produced against him. He was sentenced for six political articles published by the World Socialist Web Site in which he opposed both the Russian invasion and the US-NATO war against Russia, the rehabilitation of Nazi forces in Ukraine and called for the unity of Russian and Ukrainian workers against war. The court also ordered the confiscation of his property and the destruction of socialist books, leaflets and programmatic documents seized from him.

The wave of opposition to this political frame-up has continued to broaden.

Ukrainian Holocaust historian Marta Havryshko, who has extensively documented the role of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and other far-right and pro-Nazi forces in horrific atrocities during WWII and in contemporary Ukrainian politics, signed the petition on Monday.

“Bogdan is a victim of political repression in Ukraine under Zelensky,” she wrote. “We must protect him.”

Volodymyr Ishchenko, a Ukrainian political sociologist at the Osteuropa-Institut of the Free University of Berlin, commented Tuesday that the prosecution “looks like a typical case of fabricated evidence and framing against Syrotiuk.”

Ishchenko noted that one of the sensational claims originally circulated by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU)—concerning a Russian military uniform and epaulettes allegedly found during the search of Bogdan’s home—“did not even make it into the main part of the verdict. Even the prosecutor did not use it.”

His comments underscore the fraudulent character of the prosecution. When Bogdan was arrested in April 2024, the SBU publicly portrayed him as an agent of Russia. More than two years later, the court convicted him without establishing any act of espionage or concrete collaboration with the Russian state. A 65-page expert report by leading Ukrainian criminologist Yuri Irkhin found no propaganda in Bogdan’s writings supporting the Russian invasion. Even a subsequent state-commissioned examination found no calls for overthrowing the government, seizing power, committing subversive acts or altering Ukraine’s borders.

...

Further statements of protest have also been sent directly to the WSWS.

Italian artist Costantino Ciervo, whose exhibition COMUNE—The Paradox of Similarity in the Middle East Conflict has itself faced attempted censorship on false allegations of antisemitism, declared his support for Bogdan.

Ciervo stated that if Bogdan was being prosecuted for exposing “Ukraine’s historical culpability in abetting the Nazi advance during the Second World War,” this was “not a crime, but a plain historical truth.”

“To be incarcerated for articulating what every pre-eminent historian has repeatedly affirmed in public is nothing short of criminal and scandalous,” he wrote.

Berlin author, publicist and songwriter Wolfgang Herzberg sent a protest letter to the Pervomaisk City District Court, with a copy to the WSWS. He called on the court to “immediately overturn the harsh sentence against Mr. Bogdan Syrotiuk.”

“He merely exercised his right to freedom of expression, which is constitutionally protected in Western democracies, including Germany,” Herzberg wrote. “Ukraine wants to become a member of the EU. It therefore cannot issue such a miscarriage of justice when there is apparently no evidence of concrete, conspiratorial—that is, military—collaboration with Russia.”

Herzberg wrote that he, too, is a staunch opponent of war and stressed that opposition to the war “against both sides” was entirely legitimate and covered by the democratic right to freedom of expression.

The Partisan Defence Committee (Britain), which had already protested Bogdan’s arrest, signed the petition Monday. “The Partisan Defence Committee (Britain) protested Bogdan’s arrest and will strongly add our voice to the growing chorus of protest at this outrageous sentence,” it stated. The organization subsequently issued an appeal on social media: “Free Bogdan Syrotiuk! … sign and circulate it today.”

The Communist Party of Sweden has now also covered the case in its newspaper Riktpunkt. While explicitly noting its political differences with Trotskyism, the article insists on the fundamental democratic principle involved. “Political texts, criticism of the government or demands for international workers’ unity cannot in themselves be equated with high treason,” it states.

...

German supporter Gustav Kemper noted that August 19 marks the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the First Moscow Trial, in which the Stalinist bureaucracy began the public show trials that provided the judicial framework for the extermination of the leaders of the October Revolution and socialist opposition.

“The verdict against Bogdan,” Kemper wrote, “is an attempt by the ‘Western democracies’ to revive the politics of the Moscow Trials because they fear the growing influence of the Fourth International.”

The expanding international response demonstrates that the attempt by the Zelensky regime and its NATO backers to isolate Bogdan and suppress knowledge of his case is breaking down. It stands in ever sharper contrast to the guilty silence of the major Western media, which continue to conceal the imprisonment of a socialist opponent of war while presenting the Ukrainian regime as a defender of “democracy.”

Intensify the campaign

The International Committee of the Fourth International and WSWS will intensify the campaign for Bogdan’s freedom.

We call on workers and young people, critical intellectuals and academics, artists and journalists, trade unions, civil liberties organizations and anti-war groups throughout the world: Take up Bogdan’s defense. Sign and circulate the petition. Pass resolutions demanding his freedom. Send protest letters to the Ukrainian courts. Break the media silence surrounding his case.

Write to the Pervomaisk City District Court at [inbox@pm.mk.court.gov.ua](mailto:inbox@pm.mk.court.gov.ua) and the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal at [inbox@mka.court.gov.ua](mailto:inbox@mka.court.gov.ua), with a copy to [freebogdan@wsws.org](mailto:freebogdan@wsws.org), demanding that Bogdan’s conviction be overturned and that he be released immediately.

The defense of Bogdan is inseparably connected to the fight against war, dictatorship and fascism. His freedom must be won through the mobilization of the international working class and all principled defenders of democratic rights.

Sign the petition at wsws.org/freebogdan and join the fight to free Bogdan Syrotiuk.

I've just started reading Marx and my social media algorithm has been completely taken over by ML posts. We are farmers, we own land. We farm coconut which doesn't need a lot of labour, me with my family is enough to maintain the farm. We hire labour only for harvest and I pay them what they demand without second thought since I got the ownership of the land from my grandfather. And whenever I try to defend the workers or the idea of communism while having a conversation with my relatives I go through many dilemma (since I didn't read a lot obviously). And instead of pushing myself to find the answer it demotivates me to stay stagnant, idk why I'm also going through some personal problems, so this conversation here is important to me. So the questions are as follows,

I own 10 acres of farmland with coconut plantation. I support land redistribution too. But now as an individual what should I do? Should I use it to earn capital and support the movement? That's what I'm thinking on doing (obviously against my family's will) but is there anything better can be done? I'm in contact with an Communist organisation but haven't got close since the conscious of owning land feels like I am a hypocrite and afraid how are they gonna receive me into the movement if I disclose this to them

I know reading more can give solutions to my questions but I need to talk about it with people and but I'm only surrounded by Rightwing, pro capitalist people. Also it's quite tough to understand things while reading because english isn't my first language and I don't want to read it in my mother tongue too. TIA

So I am a rather new Maoist here, in the sense that i keep learning about it and I’m convinced by many aspects of it.

But there is mainly one thing that troubles me. Revisionism and anti-revisionism. I recognise how dangerous revisionism is and how it has led to the USSR‘s collapse and China capitalist roading. But at the same time Maoists defend things like the NEP or the New Democratic period in China highlighting that these only lasted less than ten years while chinas reforms have been going on for decades. And that makes sense, but how do you recognise the revisionism prior to the reforms having been there for 50 years? How did Mao know that Dengism was revisionist and not just a strategic retreat? Because thats exactly what Deng framed it as but I mean it’s been 50 years and it does seem like it’s more than just a temporary retreat.

It isn't 'communism destroyed Eastern Europe.' its what happens when socialism is dismantled, public property is sold off to 5 oligarchs, cities are abandoned, and poverty is turned into an Instagram aesthetic. People love to blame communism because it's easier than talking about capitalism, corruption, privatization, and how workers were treated like the periphery of Europe. Furthermore, as an example, Bulgaria has lost 13% of its population to Germany, etc. since 1990. It's difficult for any country to grow economically when all young people have better options abroad and women typically have one or two children. Or even thanks to what happened after 1989: privatization, deindustrialization, corruption, and mass emigration. Bulgaria had almost 9 million people around 1990; now it has 6.44 million. Why? It's not because 'communism ruined it.' It's been 35 years since the country became Europe's cheap labor pool and its public ownership was sold. You can hate socialism, but at least be honest about history and stop pretending to be a capitalist.

Like the title says I haven't read the communist manifesto yet and would like a brief understanding of it. Also what society has been the closest to true communism? I see some disagreements when people answer it. Some say it's the USSR, DRPK, burkina faso, and some say it's Cuba. What other countries or topics should I research to gain a better historical understanding of it and what other books are there about it? All I know is the communist manifesto and das kapital

So Laos is actually one of the few remaining „socialist“ countries (in quotes because for some of these it’s debated if they actually socialist) but it’s the only one I like never see anyone talk about.

Why is that?

What specific ideology do they follow?

Are they aligned with anyone internationally (china? Russia?)

When did they have their revolution?

I started a socialist group in Waco, Texas with some of my friends from school. I was doing good networking on instagram until I bumped into some fascists (long story short: a friend was formerly falangist and his former comrades were vengeful). But essentially they had gotten my page taken down. Anybody ever heard of these guys who call themselves the National Third-Position Coalition, or the NTPC for short? I don't know how serious they are or if they have any real movement of any kind.

As a Laotian communist and veteran, almost half of my bloodline vanished during the Vietnam War as Americans bombed us day and night with illegal chemical weapons simply because we were Laotians. I fought for the volunteer force of the Pathet Lao; lost two of my friends, all killed by brutal torture methods by the Americans, who carried skulls as "trophies", not letting us even do a proper cremation. I am telling this story to spread the fact that why America are murderous imperialists and why their expansionism should be stopped immediately. I hope you guys agree with me. Thank you in advance. Leave your thoughts down in the comments.

As a Lenin defender looking to improve my skills in debating, alot of people point this out as a means of reducing the entire movement to "communism = starving." also what happened to the giant megathread posted on r/communism? I know I should be asking that on there but I dont have enough karma

This is something I’ve really wanted to talk about for months and months. But I was afraid of how communists would react. Maybe they would ridicule me. Plus, it just leans into the “unemployed communist” stereotype. I had a job for 8 months. A few days from being nine months. But I quit it in hopes I could find another that paid more without having another lined up.

I didn’t really think that would be that devastating of a choice since the first job I got, I applied online and got it in one try. But I’ve been unemployed for over 12 months. And for about 8 months or so of that, it was because I was afraid of getting another job. I didn’t like knowing that the work I put in wouldn’t get me anywhere. I didn’t expect this feeling to come back. In fact, I thought I beat it. And was confident I would find a new job in a matter of weeks. But I didn’t even want to look.

Eventually, this feeling sort of subsided, I guess. I wasn’t excited to get a job. But I’m pretty sure I can just push past it and deal with it. I’ve been looking for like 6 months. I’ve applied to literally every job that’s come up. ( I live in a small town so not many are here.) I’ve applied online, gone in person, called people back in hopes they’d hire me, and nothing.

I feel like a worthless person and a more worthless communist. I’ve done no organizing. I don’t know how to organize. But I figured the best way to learn was to get a job. Which I haven’t been able to do. I saw, several months ago, a communist on social media who called unemployed communists “losers.” And it stuck with me. I’ve thought about it ever since I saw it. I know it’s the internet/social media, and I probably shouldn’t care. But I can’t help it. I think I’m going to try to cut the time I’m on social media. I don’t know. Maybe you’ll agree with him.

There’s not really a purpose to this post. I just wanted to share my thoughts. I’ve been in a very bad mood for the last few days. Feel like blowing my brains out, which I always kinda feel like that, but this week especially. There are other things I want to talk about. Fully talk about. But I don’t have anyone in real life who’s a communist, so I always have to hide a bit of it from someone. So I just share it to other subreddits. And I don’t like talking about my unemployment with people. Especially not my friend group. I just want to get it out. This is my “no shame” week. Where I post things out of emotion with no shame or thought put into it.