Brother, Can You Spare A Ukrainian
Section?
The little world in which the left ekes out its meagre existence
recently saw a minor scandal emerge, when a Ukrainian Trotskyist
organization affiliated to the Committee for a Workers' International
(CWI) simultaneously represented itself to several other left-wing
and Trotskyist organizations as "their" sections.
Although many of the organizations conned have grudgingly admitted
earlier suspicions, it seems that the deception was discovered when
one group shared information with another, and both organizations
identified the same 'comrade' as one of their members. Quickly the
entire house of cards collapsed, as organization after organization
moved to distance themselves from their former comrades. The CWI also
distanced itself, by suspending the section and announcing a
full-scale inquiry into the activities of its Ukrainian group.
Among those organizations conned were the International Bolshevik
Tendency, the League for the Revolutionary Party, the
Internationalist Group, the Socialist Labor Party, News &
Letters, Workers Power, the International Bureau for the
Revolutionary Party, and the Socialist Party of Great Britain. While
the SPGB was quick to level the accusation that the entire operation
was simply a typical Leninist trick to obtain funds for the CWI, they
have offered little proof and other organizations have not been so
forthcoming in their accusations. The extent of the CWI's involvement
remains to be seen, but many have found the denials issued by the
organization to be less than forthcoming, especially since senior
members of the CWI group in Ukraine were involved in the
deception.
Two obvious questions spring to mind in this juicy affair. The
first, is why anyone would go to such trouble for what seems to be
little gains? While "western money" no doubt travels much further in
the former Soviet bloc, none of the organizations involved in the
scam were exactly flush with cash. The IBT have admitted their
material aid to the group was paying the rent on an office for a few
months, and other groups have made similar admissions. The SPGB on
the other hand provided a computer. Even so, apart from the scale of
the deception, this is hardly the stuff of which great scams are
made. A well-planned pyramid scheme would likely have brought much
greater returns, without the need to study the ins and out of the
feuding international Trotskyist movement. And study they did. By
their own account, the IBT were quite impressed with the group's
understanding of programme.
The second question is why so many organizations, including
Trotskyists, DeLeonists, left communists, Marxism-Humanists, and
Imposssiblists and possibly others were so successfully conned?
There's an old adage, that if something sounds too good to be true,
it is. The LRP in their statement argue that it was their
internationalism that was their downfall. They were committed to
building an international organization, and thus it was easier to con
them.
But more likely it was the lure of the former Soviet Union. For
its entire existence, the Soviet Union was a major focus for
political organizations, pro or con. And while the Ukrainian
tricksters were no doubt skilled in their deception, their masquerade
as revolutionaries echoing the worldview of various western leftists
made a powerful catch.
Whether opportunism and corruption fueled this group, or whether
it was the work of the State or the Russian mob (as some have
suggested) remains to be seen. However, the lesson seems to be, the
next time someone approaches your group to sell you a used political
party. Hold onto your wallet. Caveat emptor!
A collection of articles and links to statements on the fraud may
be found at the International Bolshevik Tendency web site
Originally published in Red & Black Notes #18
(fall 2003)
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