The Deprogram Podcast

But as it stands, what do the people of Ukraine gain from this war? Will Putin bring any liberation to them? Will he improve their lives in any meaningful way?

I mean, I'd argue that eastern Ukraine and the ethnic minorities of Ukraine gain a hell of a lot from the war, including liberation and an improvement in their livelihoods (mainly, by being allowed to live without persecution, as second-class citizens, and facing constant atrocities from the Banderite govt).

The Russian proletariat- as well as that of the global south, and even arguably (IMO accurately) those of the imperial cores- also stand to lose much, if NATO is allowed to neuter Russia and point a metaphorical gun point-blank to its head- in this sense, the conflict is not only existential for all Russians (as IMO the goal of all this, ultimately, was always to further loot, destroy, carve up, and enslave Russia and destroy domestic bourgeois resistance under Putin that had risen up post-collapse to avoid being completely colonized by the west), but it also comes very near being existential to all of humanity as well.

My problem is… as I’ve said, Putin sucks basically. He’s a reactionary himself. A different flavor, I suppose, but a reactionary is a reactionary in the end and a capitalist country is a capitalist country.

And honestly, while I get where you're coming from- I can't fully agree with this sentiment. You read Putin right, sure- but I would argue that neither all reactionaries, nor all capitalists, are equal.

Putin and the Russian state may be capitalist, but they are not imperialist (the highest form of capitalism, and the global system and imposition of it as such). And- largely because they are not imperialist, they do not act as the enforcers of imperialism, nor the proliferators of reactionary regression across the world; they aren't the ones backing literal Nazis across Europe and fascists across the globe, they aren't the ones supporting pretty much every anti-indigenous movement worldwide either, nor the ones spreading and supporting jihadi terrorism, tribalism, cartels, and missionaries.

They aren't the ones trying to destroy AES and anti-imperialist (even if not socialist) resistance across the globe. And while they did certainly attempt to join the league of imperialists (in fairness, at least partially because that was probably the only "peaceful" option they saw left as NATO kept creeping nearer), ultimately they- like, increasingly, the rest of the world- found themselves forced into a common cause with AES and the anti-imperialist struggle all the same.

Putin and the current state of Russia should not be blindly trusted, sure. I'd argue no one should- but a reactionary capitalist with their track record deserves the extra scrutiny. But I don't think they're remotely akin to the forces of international reactionary-ism and capitalism; they are not imperialists, and they are not aspiring towards imperialism, nor feasibly able to pursue it.