Volodya Vagner is a freelance journalist and author based in Sweden, with an interest in labor, social movements, and radical politics, especially in post-socialist Eurasia. He has written for outlets including Novara Media, Open Democracy, and VICE.
In Sweden, thousands of migrant construction workers have to deal with employer blackmail and attempts to cheat them out of their pay. Unrepresented by the traditional trade unions, they are resorting to more direct forms of class struggle.
In Ukraine, organized labor has rallied behind the resistance against Russia’s invasion. But rather than reward its contribution, the government is using the war to push through anti-labor measures, posing a long-term threat to workers’ right to organize.
Vladimir Putin promised to “denazify Ukraine,” but this week he suppressed Russia’s own watchdog monitoring the far right. Unable to crush Ukraine, his government has turned its fire on domestic critics of war and nationalism.