[Marxism] Lenin on the invasion of Poland?

[Adam Berg]

Thank´s for putting attention to this text, Paula!

I haven´t read it before.

I'm afraid I can´t grant you the favor of finding other examples where Poland itself is described as imperialist..

We'll have to be content with your interesting quote on "Polish imperialism’s conditions" from http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1920/nov/21.htm , for now.

As far as I know, it´s a lot more common for Lenin to describe Poland in this context and similar cases not as "imperialism per se", but as "bulwarks of bourgeois reaction" ( http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/jul/x01.htm ) or "vassal states of [Entente] imperialism" ( http://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/1st-congress/international.htm  ).

All in all, Lenin's view on these matters adds up to a position where democratic demands (including national self-determination and independence) must be subordinated socialist demands - if such a contradiction would surface as a practical concern.
Plus, of course, the fact that national movements and small nations may be used as "vassals of imperialism", as mentioned above.

"The several demands of  democracy,  including       self-determination,  are  not  an absolute, but only a small       part of the general-democratic (now: general-socialist)       world movement. In individual concrete casts, the part       may contradict the whole; if so, it must be       rejected. It is possible that the republican movement in one       country may be merely an instrument of the clerical or       financial-monarchist intrigues of other countries; if so,       we must not support this particular, concrete       movement.."
http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/jul/x01.htm

/Adam

Paula <Paula_cerni at msn.com> wrote: Adam wrote
> I'm looking for documents and texts by Lenin and/or the RCP(b) commenting 
> the Soviet invasion of, and war against, Poland during the Polish-Soviet 
> war 1919-1921.

Adam, may I ask a favor.

In this speech 
(http://boston.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1920/nov/21.htm), given 
November 1920, or earlier, Lenin appears to describe Poland as imperialist.
He says : "Though Polish imperialism's conditions have impelled it to go to 
war against Russia-despite this-the French imperialists' plans have 
collapsed, and as a result we now have gained something more than a mere 
breathing-space". He goes on to explain that "Of the small states formerly 
belonging to the Russian Empire, Poland has been among those that have been 
most of all at odds with the Great-Russian nation during the last three 
years, and made the greatest claims to a large slice of territory inhabited 
by non-Poles."

If, in the course of your research, you come across any discussions about 
whether or not Poland was an imperialist nation at the time, I would be 
grateful to know.

Many thanks,
Paula 


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