A KRONSTADT MOMENT


For the Russian revolutionaries of 1917 there was a moment that rigorously interrogated their moral conscience, it took place in February 1921 at the Kronstadt naval base. Here the demands from delegates, amongst other things, were:-

 ‘Immediate new elections to the Soviets; the present Soviets no longer express the wishes of the workers and peasants. The new elections should be held by secret ballot, and should be preceded by free electoral propaganda for all workers and peasants before the elections. Freedom of speech and of the press for workers and peasants, for the Anarchists, and for the Left Socialist parties. The right of assembly, and freedom for trade union and peasant associations.’

In response Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolshevik leadership crushed the uprising with great brutality, ‘historians estimate that from 1,200–2,168 were executed after the revolt and a like number were jailed.’[1] It was a turning point and many supporters of the revolution began to recognise that it had been hijacked. Ever after moments of disillusion with Soviet Communism, from the 1930’s Stalinist purges, to the Nazi Soviet Pact and the invasion of Hungary in 1956, became for members of the party their ‘Kronstadt moment.’

Two important pieces written this week one brilliant article by Taylor Parkes http://thequietus.com/articles/18714-jeremy-corbyn-labour-election-rally-policies written in the closing days of the Corbyn campaign. The other written by Nick Cohen in The Spectator http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9637452/why-ive-finally-given-up-on-the-left/ 
I think the Taylor Parkes is better, more measured, more constrained, whilst Cohen’s article feels composed in the heat of the moment. Both articles however demand attention since they speak to a current ‘Kronstadt moment.’ As the Labour party elects a leader, fairly and with an overwhelming mandate, who apologises for Putin, Iran, and Hezbollah and is willing to share a platform with every variety of crank, Holocaust denier and hate preacher. Who goes on the propaganda channel of a country that executes gay men, a state that is grotesquely misogynistic, and that imprisons and kills trade unionists. A channel that peddles anti-Semitic fairy tales; and on this channel compares the death of Bin Laden with the flying of passenger airlines into tower blocks, - both it seems are equally “a tragedy.” * Labour party members know all this and yet still vote for the man. Well then something is truly rotten in the state of the Labour Movement. 
Shahrokh Zamani, 51, Imprisoned
in Iran for 11Yrs for trying to organise a
Trade Union. (He is now dead)
At this point anyone with an ounce of moral sensibility must ask themselves is this the kind of party I can support? Can I really support a Labour Party so indifferent, not just to its founding values, but to common decency?  

Of course in comparing these events to Kronstadt one risks accusations of being melodramatic. Still the open abandonment of Gays, women and Trade unionists in Muslim majority countries and the cuddly embrace of holocaust denying theocrats  is not nothing.
Of course talk, as Nick Cohen does, of ‘leaving the left’ is somewhat spurious, since I suspect, in truth, Nick isn’t going anywhere. I believe it takes more than the election of a Corbyn to shift a committed anti totalitarian social democrat, make them  leave the ground they stand on. It is the so called left that is marching away, back, back, back away from the ideals of Labours founding fathers.
I too am going nowhere, but intend to stick by my beliefs, in international solidarity with the comrades fighting tyranny and theocracy be they in Saudi Arabia, Putin’s Russia, Cuba, Venezuela or Iran. I am going to hold to the belief that human rights are indivisible and can be trumped by no religion. To believe that LGBT should enjoy those rights and that women should enjoy equality with men, and be free to choose any lifestyle, way of dressing or exercising their sexuality, career option, sports activity or political preference, whether they live in Iran or Pakistan, India or Indonesia. These are the deal breakers for me and it seems the current Labour party are not willing to meet these terms. In which case I say goodbye and stay where I am.

*He does not even enjoy the defence of appearing on this propaganda channel to plead the case of the oppressed trade unionists in Iran. On that he is silent. 




[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronstadt_rebellion

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