The ideas of the leader of Russian Social Democracy, Vladimir Lenin remain influential among the radical left to this day. Yet rarely considered are the views of those Marxists from among the majority oppressed nations of the Russian Empire. Republished here is an analysis of Lenin’s theory of the national question by the Ukrainian Marxist Andriy Karpenko
THE NATIONAL QUESTION IN UKRAINE
Ukraine, an area the size of France, is one of the richest territories in Europe in terms of its natural resources, farming land and minerals. The irony of history is that is has been pillaged by neighbouring states who have denied it self-determination and confined the Ukrainians to the lower sections of the social structure.