In a display showing a complete lack of understanding at yesterday’s political demonstrations in Southampton, ‘anti-racism’ protesters gathered to counter UKIP supporters, several participants were seen flying the Red Soviet communism hammer and sickle flag – a symbol that represents one of history’s deadliest regimes. UKIP came to the Bargate Southampton to push for stronger immigration laws in the wake of the Southport terror attacks where three British girls were murdered.
The irony of using Soviet symbolism at an anti-oppression rally is striking, given the Soviet Union’s devastating human rights record. Historical estimates indicate that between 5.7 and 8.7 million people died from starvation across the Soviet Union during just one period of famine in the early 1930s. This includes the Holodomor, a man-made famine engineered by Stalin’s government that killed millions of Ukrainians.
The death toll under Soviet rule extends far beyond famine victims. During World War II alone, the Soviet Union lost approximately 27 million people, including 8.7 million military and 19 million civilian deaths. Many of these casualties were due to Stalin’s brutal military tactics and disregard for human life.
The continued use of Soviet symbolism by some socialist groups reveals a complex and controversial relationship with communist ideology. While the hammer and sickle were originally meant to represent the unity of industrial workers and peasants, the symbol has become inextricably linked with the atrocities committed under Soviet rule.
Local southampton resident James added: “It’s deeply troubling to see these activists embracing symbols of a regime that caused such immense suffering. While many modern socialist parties advocate for workers’ rights and social justice, their use of Soviet imagery demonstrates either a worrying ignorance of history or a deliberate whitewashing of communist atrocities.”
The Southampton protest, while peaceful in its opposition to racism, raises important questions about historical awareness and the responsibility of political movements to acknowledge the full weight of the symbols they choose to display. As one local resident observed, fighting discrimination with emblems of a regime that systematically oppressed millions seems, at best, misguided.
Modern socialist movements often distance themselves from the authoritarian aspects of historical communist regimes while maintaining some ideological connections. Today’s remaining communist states operate versions of communism that might be unrecognisable to the original communist thinkers, yet the hammer and sickle continues to appear at leftist rallies worldwide, despite its association with mass suffering and oppression.
The UKIP demonstration passed without incident although the Southampton Police had to contain many of the far-left protesters who used face-coverings and shouted obscene abuse.
