This article offers an initial analyses the mass protests that began in Belarus following the presidential elections of August 2020. Written ‘in the heat of events’ it has the character of preliminary observations. The authors begin with the background and context of events and the outcomes of the economic and social development of the Republic of Belarus during the 25 years of rule by Lukashenko. A preliminary analysis of the social and class make-up both of the protesters and of those who at the time of writing remained a ‘silent majority’ is situated in the context of the contradictions within the Belarusian ‘power elite’. We attempt to distinguish the main factors behind the developments in Belarus and point to initial lessons of these events for social and humanitarian-oriented networks and organisations.
This paper argues the importance of using modern methodology of Marxist analysis for the study of imperialism and the so-called "empires". This methodology allows to show the mechanisms of economic, political, ideological, and so on manipulating the "periphery" from the "center" capital and the states. On this methodological basis it is proved that capitals and state machines of semi-periphery countries in general and Russia in particular are mostly objects of imperialist subjugation and manipulation and only in some rare cases these countries and their capitals are able to be subjects of the imperialist policy. The analysis of the contradictions in the relations of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the West is given. It is provided the system of political, economic and geo-political arguments proving that Russia as a rule does not act as a subject of the imperialist policy, and only in some cases (generally relying on the Soviet legacy) Russia is able to withstand the "rules of the game", given by the imperialist powers. It is argued that these some cases when Russia withstands the "rules of the game" is the main reason for the imperialist powers' diatribes against "Russian imperialism".
The limited ability of neoclassical "mainstream" to explain deep fundamental shifts in economic structures of the present day world determines the renaissance of alternative schools of economic theory, including Marxism. The article is aimed to show theoretical concepts of modern Russian neomarxism, which has a potential to explain the contradictions of the capitalist globalization, the tendencies of forming new types of socioeconomic relations, of the specific forms of transition economies in the post-socialist countries and basic causes of the birth and collapse of the socialist system.
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