Motions on Russian Imperialism

—excerpt from minutes of 2014 IBT Conference, 18 April 2014

Motion by Lichtenberg on Russia:

That we endorse the political thrust of the following documents:

  1. “Is Russia imperialist?” by Riley.
  2. “Why Russia is not imperialist” by Breitman.

Passed

Counterposed Motion by Bill, Dorn, Decker, and Briggs on Russian imperialism:

  1. We reaffirm Lenin’s Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism including its designation of Russia at the time as an imperialist power.
  2. We accept Trotsky’s discussion of Russia as an imperialist power, subject to great combined and uneven development, as described in the History of the Russian Revolution.
  3. We affirm that Russia today is an imperialist power, also subject to great combined and uneven development.
  4. We note that inter-imperialist rivalries between Russia and American-led western imperialism are an important feature of contemporary international politics.
  5. To the extent that those inter-imperialist rivalries approach armed conflict we are for the defeat of imperialism on both sides.

Defeated