Episode 80: Interview with Ukrainian Socialist Maksym Shumakov

Brendan and Andrew welcome Maksym Shumakov, a young activist and leading member of the Ukrainian democratic-socialist organization Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement). Maksym answers a wide range of questions, including: What is life like now in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine? How can progressive, anti-imperialist people outside Ukraine support its fight for national self-determination? How have new forms of social organization and a new multiethnic, multicultural Ukrainian identity emerged as Ukrainians have risen up to resist Putin’s invasion? Why does Sotsialnyi Rukh calls for “complete victory and security for Ukraine”? Why is it important for socialists outside Ukraine to support this call, rather than calling for “peace” or “multi-polarity”? Why has Sotsialnyi Rukh criticized the international left for being ”helpless and disoriented” in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine? After the invaders are repelled, what social struggles lie ahead in Ukraine?

Marxist-Humanist Initiative’s editorial on Ukraine’s fight for national self-determination is cited during the segment.

In the episode’s current-events segment, the co-hosts discuss the pervasiveness of falsified evidence and other travesties in scholarly journals, with special emphasis on the recent New York Times essay by microbiologist-whistleblower Elizabeth Bik.

Radio Free Humanity is a podcast covering news, politics and philosophy from a Marxist-Humanist perspective. It is co-hosted by Brendan Cooney and Andrew Kliman. We intend to release new episodes every two weeks. Radio Free Humanity is sponsored by MHI, but the views expressed by the co-hosts and guests of Radio Free Humanity are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of MHI.

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