Marx Engels Institute

Matteo Capasso returns to discuss the war on Gaza. We also discuss how Palestine is at the heart of liberation movements against US imperialism.

In this episode I spoke to the Armenian journalist Alison Tahmizian about the recent Azerbaijani war on Artsakh. We discuss the history of the war, dating back to the late period of the USSR, and the role played by British imperialism in supporting the Azeri regime run by Ilham Aliyev. We also discuss the abysmal role played by current Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and how he has acted to undermine the sovereignty and independence of Armenia.

Be sure to follow Alison on twitter/X @alitahmizian

In this episode I spoke with Matteo Capasso, auther of the recently released book 'Everyday Politics In The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya'. We discuss the early years of the revolutionary process in Libya and how it tied into the global wave of revolution and coutner revolution.

In this episode I spoke to RT journalist Steve Sweeney who is currently reporting from the frontline areas of the Donbas. We talk about the almost decade long war that has been waged by the Ukrainian armed forces on the Russian and Russian speaking areas of the country. We also cover the latest updates from the frontlines.

Kit Klarenberg returns to the programme to talk about his own recent tangle with British "anti terror" cops as well as the various propaganda and narrative management techniques deployed by the British state.

Carlous Garrido, founder and editor of Midwestern Marx, joins us again.  

This time we are discussing his new book "The Purity Fetish and the Crisis of Western Marxism". 

Outro music is 'John Browns Body' as performed by Jim Knable

This is the first episode of what will be an ongoing series entitled 'Intrduction To Marxist Leninism'.

In this series I will be introudcing the key concepts of the Marxist-Leninist worldview by studying some classic texts from the great revolutionary thinkers of the last 200 years.

In this first episode I look at the 1913 work by Lenin 'The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism'. It is one of the best introductions to Marxism ever written and much can be learned from studying it.

Apologies for the sound quality on this reording as it was done whilst travelling and I had to use both phone and laptop to do so due to the laptop being rather deficient.

Outro Music is 'Glory to You, Great Soviet Union!' 

Performer: All-Union Radio Choir and Orchestra 

Composer: Alexander Kholminov 

Lyricist: Yuri Kamenetsky 

Episode Artwork is 'V.I.Lenin' by the Soviet Estonian Artist Elmar Yanovich Kits

Capitalism requires it's political superstructure to be continually refreshed and reorganised to reflect it's need to find new ways to attack the working class. This is where the need for commodified rebellions comes in.

In this programme I look at why this need arises and how the commodified rebellion has become a key part of bourgeois strategy in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Music for this episode is 'Lenin Gave Us Light' a song from Soviet Moldova 

Episode image is from a 'UK Uncut' protest in 2011 which serves as an effective example of a commodified rebellion

With the shotgun wedding of UBS and Credit Suisse along with the US governments intervention over Silicon Valley Bank another banking crisis may be upon us. But is this a new crisis or a renewal of an older one that began back in 2008? In this episode I explore why the need for US imperialism is to either find follow Andrew Mellons old advice to "liquidate capital, liquidate labor" to purge the system or to find new places to wage aggressive imperialist wars, or possibly both. I also look at why they have been constrained from taking the extreme actions the system requires thus far.

Outro music is The Hymn of the Paris Commune

In light of the recent developments in Georgia the subject of, so called, color revolutions is being widely discussed again.  In this episode I look at the origins of the color revolution strategy in places like Yugoslavia.  I then turn to look at the development of this tactic by US imperialism through the 1990s and how this tactic is able to exploit the weaknesses of the post-soviet states.  The failure of these attempts in Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and Nicaragua is also examined and how their relationship with the masses helps them to defeat this tactic.  

Episode image is taken from the demonstrations against Milosevic in 2000, one of the first successful color revolutions

Outro music is "Glory To The Party" a song of the Georgian Communist Party from the Soviet period. 

In this follow up episode on Scottish nationalism we examine some of the reasons why the British left has come to support this particular cause.  The reasons range from the ridiculous notion that Scotland is somehow more "progressive" than southern England to the equally ridiculous opportunist reasononing of the Trotskyites.  Many of the reasons are more about sounding "left" than they are about actually challenging British imperialism.  

Outro music is "Where Is Out James Connolly' performed by Andr Irvine

In the first part of our analysis of President Putins speech to the Russian Federal Assembly we examine the part of the speech dealing with the Ukraine war and special military operation.  This leads into a discussion of the class war that has been waged upon the Ukrainian working class by the oligarchy and why they turned to a coup when they couldn't get the EU agreement through in 2014.  We then turn to look at old man Bidens ramblings in Poland and his farewell to Zelensky in Kiev. 

Outro music is The International sung in Ukrainian 

In this special episode I look at the recent resignation of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.  What does this tell us about the state of the SNP? Could they have won a 2nd independence referendum? Why is the Scottish left so bought into the idea of independence?  All these questions and more will be addressed in this episode.  Due to the lenght of the episode there will be a second part of this released next week looking why petit-bourgeois nationalism has grown in Britain since the 1970's.

Outro Music is "Workers Song" by Dick Gaughan

In tonights bulletin we look at the recent purges in the Ukrainian government and ask what the hell the Americans are up to?  The tank based hysteria continues, largely fuelled by journalists who've never even played 'World Of Tanks'.  And we finally look at the bizarre and crazy world of Davos, Greta Thunberg and Keir Starmer.  

Outro Music is 'Plastic Man' by The Kinks

Will the classified documents stashed in his corvette's glove box spell the end for Joe Biden?  Have the Russians sacked their commander? Is British capitalism actually capable of waging a real war?  All these questions and more will be answered in tonights Red Star Radio bulletin! 

Episode Artwork is 'The First Red Army Soldiers in 1918' by the Soviet Russian Artist Ivan Georgievich Drozdov (1924)

What are the reasons behind the recent riot of Bolsonaro supporters in Brazil? What does this tell us about the nature of capitalist democracy in Brazil? Are there any comparisons to be made to the January 6th events in the USA? Or is such a comparison facile nonsense peddled by instagram influencers?  

Outro music is the anthem of the landless workers movement of Brazil 

In this special episode I look at the two speeches given by the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.  By reading through we can tell much about British capitalism and how the priorities of the ruling class are expressed by the politicians within the bourgeois state.  

Episode Outro is 'High Germany' by Martin Carthy

In this episode I look at the real meaning of Zelenskys Christmas in Washington, the sheer brute cynicism of the likes of Lindsay Graham and the return of Oliver North.  I then turn to domestic British politics and Rishi Sunaks proposed attacks on the right to strike.  I conclude by looking at the long term rates of poverty in Britain and why they never actually reduce over the last 30 years. 

Outro Music is 'Washington Bullets' by The Clash from the album 'Sandinista' (1980) 

Episode artwork is 'Winter Evening' by the Soviet Russian artist Viktor Bibikov (1971)

I star the bulletin tonight by looking at the latest from the war in Ukraine, including Putin visiting Minsk and the possible implcations of it.

The bulk of the episode thought is taken up with an examination of the strikes going on in Britain and why the labour party offers no way out for the working class.

Outro is 'The Red Flag'

With the German parliament recently passing a resolution proclaiming that the Soviet leadership in the ealry 1930's engaged in a deliberate policy of starvation in Ukraine it was clearly time to look at the mythology this resolution is based on.  Comrade Slava from the Chicago Workers School joins me for this episode where we examine why the 'holodomr' is a myth created by a combination of the Nazi regime, Ukrainian fascists, the Hearst press and reactionary British historian Robert Conquest.  We also examine why this myth has been sustained and how it is used by Ukrainian fascists to this day.  We also look at the role played by Trotsky in all this (and it's not a good one).  The final part of the episode deals with the reality of collectivisation, crop failures and the actual actions of the Soviet government in Ukraine and Moscow.  

Sources used in this episode:

Fraud, Famine and Fascism - Douglas Tottle

The 1932 Harvest and the Famine of 1933 - Mark Tauger

Natural Disaster and Human Actions in the Soviet Famine of 1931-1933 - Mark Tauger

Another View of Stalin - Ludo Martens

Blood Lies - Grover Furr

Stalin-History and Critique of a Black Legend - Domenico Losurdo 

Stalin The Temporary Holder of Ukraine - Leon Trotsky 

Outro music is 'You Glorious Soviet Ukraine' 

Episode Artwork is 'Sunny Day Before Spring' by the Soviet Ukrainian artist Victor Puzrykov

As the Kiev regime prepares another doomed offensive in Zaporozhye I ask what, what the hell are they doing?  The Saudis realign but remain the same collection of ultra reactionaries they always have been. The Serbian ruling class wait and watch whilst trying to avoid a shooting war with NATO over Kosovo but the wars fuelled by US imperialism in the former Yugoslavia cannot remain frozen for too much longer as the American empire visibly falls apart.  And finally a look at why the British trade union leaders are paying Keir Starmer to kick them in the balls. 

Outro Music is 'The Future' by Leonard Cohen

Episode Artwork is the work 'Paratroopers' by the Soviet Russian Artist Pyotr Tarasovich Maltsev

In this episode of the bulletin I consider the latest discussion around the potential end point for the Russia-NATO war in Ukraine that have emerged recently.  I then look at the farcical "coup" that was reported to have been foiled in Germany this week, how there's always a pro-fascist section of the bourgeoisie and how the secret services of captialist states always play a role in the running of reactionary organisations.  I conclude by looking at the recent comments from Olaf Scholz regarding Germany as a guarantor of European "peace and stability". 

Episode artwork is the work 'Kiev 1942' by the Soviet Ukrainian artist Viktor Puzrykov

Episode Outro is 'Trans-Europe Express' by Kraftwerk

In this episode of the bulletin I look at the likely effects of the G7 oil "price cap" and how it isn't likely to lead to the results it's originators desire.  I also look at the drone attack on airfields inside Russia and how this is being played out as a propaganda operation in the British bourgeois press.  

In the final part of the programme I look at how the government and security services have been using the clowns from Extinction Rebelliona and Just Stop Oil to soften up public opinion for more repressive measures to be taken against the working class.  

Outro Music is "American Ruse" by The MC5

Episode Artwork is the work 'Into the Night' by the Soviet Russian artist Vladimir Alexeyvich Vasin

In this episode I examine the latest from the Russia-NATO war and other related stories.  As the Russian armed forces reach almost full strength the NATO "allies" plot to dismember Ukraine and Moldova.  Meanwhile both Angela Merkel and Oscar Lafontaine have given interviews recently which both demonstrate the stagnation and decay of German capitalism.  

Outro Music is 'A Man Out Of Time' by Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Episode Artwork is 'The Storming of the Reichstag' by the Soviet Russian Artist Mikhail Ananievich Ananiev

In this episode I look at the latest news from the ongoing battles around Artemovsk/Balhmut and the rumours of it's imminent fall to the Russian forces.  I then look at the latest comments from a western official who's been revealed to be a fool, this time it's the Pope revealing himself to be in the Josep Borrel school of thought.  I then turn to look at the various displays of idiocy over the protests in China and how the schemes of imperialism fit into this.  

Episode Outro is 'If I Should Fall From the Grace of God' by The Pogues

Episode Artwork is 'Short Break From The War' by the Soviet Ukrainian Artist Viktor Ivanovich Tolochko

In this episode I look at the fate that has befallen those who have provided themselves and their movements as allies to the US imperialists.  This is relevant not only to the fate of Zelensky but also to the latest selling out of the Kurds in Syria by the US.  It is also something that has relevance to the current violence in Iran that is taking place in Iranian Kurdistan and the Balochi region in South East Iran, on the border with Pakistan.  I also discuss the Soviet policy on national minorities and defend it against the misrepresentations of it that have come from Russian nationalists and western "marxists".  

Episode Artwork is the work 'Marshal Georgy Zhukov' by the Soviet Russia artist Vasily Nikolayevich Yakovlev

Episode Outro is 'Theme from the Long Good Friday' by Francis Monkman

In this episode I look at the latest from the Russia-NATO war before turning to related issues including Boris Johnsons recent interview on CNN.  I then exa,ine why the European nations were so weak and how Borish Johnson's interview confirmed much about this.  I also look at the falling apart of Moldova and the risks of the Romanian intervention there before concluding by looking at the latest from the CSTO summit in Yerevan. 

Episode Artwork is 'Burning Berlin' by the Soviet Russian artist Boris Mikhailovich Nemensky

Episode Outro is 'Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time' by Gang Of Four