Marx Engels Institute

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

In this episode of the bulletin  I look at the role of the press in maintaining the rule of the capitalist class.  This is after a brief overview of the latest from the frontlines in Ukraine and the always revolting role being played by a certain Boris Johnson. 

Outro music is 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' by Gil Scott Heron

Intro is Malcolm X speaking on the power of the press

Episode image is from 'Citizen Kane' by Orson Welles

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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