There is just no escaping the absolute inadequacy of statism and nationalism for resolving questions of social justice. Here the Anarchist tradition has an old proposal that looks much more promising.
It has been days since the invasion of Ukraine. The forces of imperialism, militarism and fascism are once again at Europe’s doorstep. Driven by the rhetoric of “blood and soil”, Vladimir Putin’s megalomaniac desire to redraw some lines on a map and etch his own name into the history books has brought death and destruction back to Eastern Europe, killing thousands and uprooting the lives of millions.
We must make it clear: this is not a Russian invasion of Ukraine, as it has often been called. This is Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The vast majority of Russians want nothing to do with this war and have been protesting against it since the very first day. Our own anarchist comrades in Russia have participated in the protests, even in the face of a far-reaching and violent crackdown against them. It also seems that even the soldiers of empire, themselves largely conscripted into the Russian military, neither want nor understand this brutality.
It is Putin’s disgraceful ambitions and sickening ideology that has brought this war upon us. It is he that stands responsible for the bloodshed unleashed upon the Ukrainian people. And it is the Ukrainian people, like their Russian siblings, that have risen up against the dictator.
Even before Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the mobilization of Ukrainian citizens into the state military, the people were taking up arms and preparing themselves for the worst. The Ukrainian people know full well that this war does not stop at their own borders, but will continue on and on until we’re all dead. We should have learned nearly decades ago that appeasement does not work, you cannot put an end to a fascist’s ambitions by giving them what they want. The line must be drawn here, we must make a stand and declare that they shall not pass. Not now. Not ever.
The spirit of Nestor Makhno, Ukraine’s foremost anti-imperialist hero, lives on in everyday Ukrainians. Those that have consciously taken up his legacy, today’s anarchist partisans, are themselves fighting on the front lines in defense of their freedom. Makhno may have died, but the Makhnovists live on. The Revolutionary Insurgent Army may have been defeated, but the revolutionary insurgency prevails.
From the barricades in Kyiv, the Resistance Committee has formed to coordinate the libertarian resistance to Putinist imperialism, in struggle for our long-held goals of liberty, equality and solidarity. While they temporarily find themselves fighting alongside the Ukrainian military, not really having much of a choice in the matter, they have also made it clear that they are fighting “not to protect the Ukrainian state, but to protect Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian society.” Likewise, our Nihilist friends have also taken up arms against the empire, as have the militants of Revolutionary Action. Outside of armed resistance, Ukrainian anarchists are also organizing a solidarity operation to ensure the distribution of aid to refugees.
We stand firmly with our Russian and Ukrainian friends against the tyranny at their door. We stand against the dictator, his lackeys and enablers. We stand against empire, war and reaction. For decades, we have championed the slogan of “No war but the class war!” and it is more relevant now than ever. This does not mean we are simply shrugging our shoulders, glibly muttering “both sides are bad” and ignoring the real suffering being felt in Eastern Europe. Not even close. It is a recognition that this imperial conquest is being driven by the blood-thirst and greed of a powerful few. It is a recognition that the war can only be ended when these tyrants are themselves put to the sword.
In order for this war to end, the Russian people must rise up and overthrow their dictator, just as the Ukrainian people have risen up to resist him. For this war to end, Russian soldiers must stop shooting their fellow men and turn their weapons on the monsters that command them. For this war to end, we must all work to extinguish the vile instruments we call “governments”, the ones that make war possible in the first place. ■
GLORY TO THE ANARCHISTS!
DOWN WITH THE DICTATORSHIP!
DEATH TO THE OPPRESSORS OF THE PEOPLE!
Emma Hayes (26 Feb 2022)
If you are able to provide materials solidarity please do so via these channels.
The Resistance Committee
https://operation-solidarity.org/donate/
https://t.me/theblackheadquarter
There is just no escaping the absolute inadequacy of statism and nationalism for resolving questions of social justice. Here the Anarchist tradition has an old proposal that looks much more promising.
In 2020, a record number of around 100,000 people6 lived in occupations in Belo Horizonte alone and the state of Minas Gerais had the second largest housing deficit in the country, with 500,000 homeless families.
This denial undermines solidarity and risks pushing trans people who aren’t white and able-bodied out of trans liberation movement spaces.
The Man Came Around is a game of complex moral decisions, where you attempt to navigate across a militarised border with a group of people fleeing an authoritarian regime. Organise sat down with its developer, Thierry, to talk about indie game creation, the game, and the all-too-real politics and events that inspired it.
Means and Ends is as robust as its research and the argumentation is as clear as the general prose styling.
On the morning of 19 September 2023, he was driving to an appointment with his probation officer when he was pulled over and arrested by an armed police unit in-between the Forest of Dean and Gloucester.