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I hate! On war in Ukraine

Writing from a critical position is not something to be widely appreciated in turmoil times. For some hysterical idiots I’ve succumbed to the fascists, for others–betrayed the Fatherland. Time is now precious and to be used efficiently. This is why I respond to all in a single post. I hate the Euroidiots who started all […]

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Crimea—Not “Ours” or “Yours”

Events in Ukraine are moving at a terrifying speed. This statement was prepared by the editors of the OpenLeft in the morning of March 1st, 2014. Today, March 2nd, at 2 pm, Russians in different cities will hold rallies against a possible Russian intervention into Ukraine. The Ukrainian peninsula has had the misfortune of finding […]

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Ukraine has not experienced a genuine revolution, merely a change of elites

by Volodymyr Ishchenko, The Guardian, 28.02.2014 Two popular labels are being ascribed to events in Ukraine: it was either a democratic – or even social – revolution, or it was a rightwing – or even neo-Nazi – coup. In fact, both characterisations are wrong. What we have have seen is a mass rebellion, overwhelmingly supported […]

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Ukraine has not experienced a genuine revolution, merely a change of elites

by Volodymyr Ishchenko Two popular labels are being ascribed to events in Ukraine: it was either a democratic – or even social – revolution, or it was a rightwing – or even neo-Nazi – coup. In fact, both characterisations are wrong. What we have have seen is a mass rebellion, overwhelmingly supported in western and […]

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Bosnia: possibility of an event

Not so long ago in Utrecht, I participated in a discussion about the JMBG protests[i] that took place in Bosnia-Herzegovina in June 2013, about activism in ethnically divided and transitional societies, and about the role of the international community in all of this. The participants were activists and professionals of various profiles, from young Dutch […]

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The Mass Popular Uprising in Bosnia-Herzegovina: 20 Years After the War

by Gal Kirn Year 1995, Dayton, Ohio. The end of three year war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is announced, the end of the war that in the most brutal ways materialized the idea of “end of history” with the global triumph of liberal democracy and transition to capitalism. Many “ordinary” citizens thought everything was […]

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Bringing the class back in(to what?): A response to F. Poenaru

In his recent analysis of events in Ukraine, Florin Poenaru raises several points whose relevance goes well beyond the specific situation in that country. They speak to important problems that concern the (re-)building of the revolutionary Left in post-socialist Eastern Europe more broadly. This piece responds to some of these points in an effort to […]

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Tell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories”: Lessons of Revolutionary Struggles for Bosnia and Beyond (Part 2)

“Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children.” –Amilcar Cabral   Let’s state things plainly: Bosnia is a semi-colonial […]

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Venezuela: A Year after Chávez

Almost a year has passed since the death of Hugo Chávez on March 5, 2013. Arguably this has been the most difficult one for the Bolivarian Revolution. Many people, both on the left and the right expressed doubt that there could be Chavismo without Chávez. Perhaps a year is still too short of a period […]

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To make sense of Ukraine, we need to bring the class back in

Viktor Yanukovich started his career as a thug and he remained a thug as a political leader. His regime was corrupt, patriarchal, authoritarian, inefficient and class-biased. He definitely had to go. But whoever is cheering his departure following Saturday’s vote of the Ukrainian Rada is plainly mistaken. He was deposed not as a result of […]