Debates on anti-militarism continue to shake the anarchist movement in the western part of the world. Often in these debates we can see some organisations from Ukraine or Russia show support for the ‘no war but class war’ position. Three and a half years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the anarchist movement is extremely divided. Previous strategies of ‘listening to local voices’ have mostly failed for those who were not interested in the first place. With more scandals certain to come in the future, it’s important to understand how we came to this point.

Original in english was first published in Freedom

More than 10 years ago, Russia annexed Crimea and occupied part of eastern Ukraine. Even then, the Kremlin cited various reasons for the occupation depending on the political views of its target audience. For the leftist/anti-fascist movement, Russian propagandists prepared a narrative that a fascist regime in Kyiv had seized power illegally. The 2014 invasion was presented as an anti-fascist action. Most anarchists and anti-fascists in the region had developed immunity to such lies over many years of propaganda. But for some Western anti-fascists and leftists, the presence of fascist flags during the Maidan protests was so shocking that they believed the story of a far-right coup without further facts.

Many anarchists in Ukraine at the time believed that to fight the Russian Empire, it was enough familiarise oneself with the situation in order to understand what was occurring in the country, and to provide facts what was happening. In Belarus, we had a similar idea of how to work with comrades in the West in the fight against Russian propaganda. This was: the truth speaks for itself, and those who insist on Putin’s position are just people who, for some reason, have not been reached by the facts. But, even then, we encountered people who knew better about what was happening in your own house.

I still remember how, at one presentation, an anti-authoritarian activist from Ukraine talked about Maidan and the situation after the protests, and a German expert responded by talking about how Kyiv was simply occupied by fascists. Attempts to prove him wrong were useless in that moment. Russian propaganda had already done its job. Back then, sitting at a presentation about Ukraine, it didn’t even occur to me that we were incredibly naive in our belief in critical thinking within the anarchist and leftist milieu…

After the full-scale invasion, I was one of those who insisted on the need to hear the voices of anarchists from Ukraine in order to understand the war and what we could do in this situation, depending on our capabilities. In my mind, such calls turned into the formation of permanent contacts between Western groups and activists from Ukraine/Belarus/Russia. And for a while, that’s what happened as people became interested, researched, and listened. But it didn’t last long. Soon after, self-proclaimed fighters with militarism within the anarchist movement appeared on the horizon. For them, the messages of Ukrainian and Russian anarchists were unacceptable. Instead of organising in solidarity, some Western leftists and anarchists decided to look for groups within Belarus/Ukraine/Russia that would fully correspond to their dogmatic perspectives on the war and the role of Western countries in it.

In Russia, such allies were found relatively quickly. For anti-militarists, the Russian organisation KRAS-MAT’s positions was easily integrated into the Western mothballed analysis of wars. They turned the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine into a clash between the ruling elites of both countries. Texts calling on Ukrainian society to lay down their arms and start fighting their own government began to spread across various anarchist and left-wing websites. The leftists and anarchists were not particularly interested in the criticism of KRA-MAT by other groups within the affected regions. The ideological proximity of the Western left to KRAS-MAT was more important than any political problems with the syndicate of academics, which had long since ceased to try to participate in the workers’ movement in Russia.

However, KRAS-MAT’s position was relatively weak even in the eyes of Western anarchists. After all, the organisation exists within the aggressor state, where resistance to the war is almost completely absent. In this situation, some left-wing pacifists and anti-militarists began to chaotically search for allies in Ukraine and Belarus who could confirm their political analysis of the region.

In 2022-2023, some pacifists and anti-militarists found the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement (UPM). The UPM has never declared its commitment to any leftist views, and a mixture of right-wing and left-wing ideas can often be found on the organisation’s information platforms. Moreover, Western leftists were not particularly bothered by the fact that one of the leaders of the organisation is the pro-Russian blogger Ruslan Kotsaba who was was expelled from the organisation in 2023. Nine months later he became part of the right-wing pro-Russian organisation ‘Another Ukraine.’

During the same period, European anarchists and leftists also discovered Assembly, another Ukrainian organisation. However, it was not the leftists who flocked to Assembly, but rather the authors of Assembly who, with the help of automatic translations, broke into leftist platforms such as libcom, completely filling the information field about Ukraine. The collective’s texts, often written in a sensationalist style, fit well with the old political analyses of leftists and some anarchist organizations in the West. For most activists, Assembly can be understood from this excerpt, which begins the story of resistance to mobilisation in Ukraine:

“Throughout the territory of the Gulag darkness in the middle of Europe, a people’s war against war is spreading. The heirs of the freedom-loving Zaporozhye Cossacks, Makhnovists, and rebels of Karmalyuk and Dovbush are responding with their own violence to the violence of the heirs of the NKVD, Gestapo, and Pinochet’s death squads. And we are only on the threshold of a full-scale round-up of conscripts, which is expected after July 16.”

In essence, Assembly does not write anything special. Rather, it collects discontent within Ukrainian society such as: the fight against corruption, resistance to mobilisation, the lawlessness of local officials. All of which is written about by the Ukrainian media and in social networks. The lack of criticism of the Russian regime and their attempts to put Russia and Ukraine on an equal political footing show, at least, Assembly’s unwillingness to understand the Russian world. The relative popularity of Assembly in Western circles has only reinforced the dogmatism of the group, which is completely removed from any anarchist organisations in the region. The only exception being their active cooperation with the aforementioned KRAS-MAT.

Activists from Ukraine and Belarus tried unsuccessfully to draw attention to the inadequacy of the Assembly. But, once again, they came up against an ideological wall. Assembly, like other organisations, proved to be much more convenient for Western anti-militarists than the objective truth, which requires much greater effort in constant research, discussions, and even trips to war-torn countries.

The situation in Belarus was even more complicated for the Western left than with Ukraine. After the 2020 crackdown on dissent and protests, there were only a few anarchist organisations left in Belarus and the leftist movement was largely absent and uninteresting. Belarusian anarchist organisations immediately condemned the war and called for resistance to Russian aggression. There were no equivalents of the Assembly or KRAS-MAT in the country. However, somewhere in the vastness of the internet and NGO business, the German left dug up Olga Karach with her project ‘Our Home,’ which since 2022 has been trying to sell stories to the West about mass resistance to compulsory military service in Belarus.

Belarusian youth do indeed resist militarism, but this did not begin in 2022. It has existed for many decades. Websites and forums with information on how to avoid military service appeared in the early 2000s. But for Western activists, Olga Karach’s story seemed very plausible. Yet, the ideology of ‘Our Home’ can be described as… money. The project has been around for a long time and, during its existence, has managed to secure sufficient funds from European and American foundations for the development of democracy and human rights. But Olga Karach’s problems began after 2020, when Svetlana Tikhanovskaya appeared on the scene and dozens of new liberal organizations emerged to compete with ‘Our Home’s projects. For some time, Karach tried to fight Tikhanovskaya for leadership of the opposition, but she had relatively little chance, given that everyone within the opposition knew who Karach was. In November 2022, Pramen published an article about Karach with information that Western pacifists had begun to raise money for her projects. I personally had to communicate with some German leftists on this matter, but information about “Our Home” was largely ignored. Over many years in the NGO environment, Olga has become very skilled at selling the right messages to different political groups and seems to have become a regular contributor to the German anarcho-pacifist newspaper Graswurzel Revolution (Grassroots Revolution).

At the moment, I doubt that discussions or presentations can lead to a greater understanding of what is happening among the ‘skeptics’ of the struggle against the ‘Russian world’. Further, in many ways three years of discussions about the war in Ukraine have once again shown my own naivety and belief in anarchists. For example, somewhere in the past we lost track of the pro-Russian Stalinist organisation “Borotba” from Ukraine, which for many years reinforced myths about the Ukrainian fascist regime, and no amount of texts or public speeches could eradicate this myth. Borotba’s ties to the Kremlin went largely unnoticed by Western leftist structures, and the damage done by the organization to the anti-fascist movement in Ukraine and beyond remains significant.

For me, the situation in the anarchist movement is very reminiscent of something that happened to me in Greece. During one of my trips around the country, I had the good fortune to find myself in the same car as some Greek anti-fascists. It was a long journey, and I fell asleep quite quickly. Half an hour later, I was awakened by Russian Nazi rap. When I asked the Greek anti-fascists where they got such music, they replied that it was a gift from their anti-fascist friends in Donbas. When I told them that it was Nazi rap, they simply dismissed my comment. Fortunately, the Greek anti-fascists did not insist that we continue listening to the music of their friends from Donbas.

Examples from three countries with different political groups shows that the concept ‘needing to listen to voices from the region’ does not work in cases of ideological dogmatism. Western leftists and some anarchists are willing to work with openly fraudulent organisations, just to preserve old ideological principles. With this approach, and in an atmosphere of information warfare, it becomes relatively easy to find a person or a group who will repeat slogans that are convenient and completely ignore a significant part of the organised anarchist movement.

Более 10 лет назад Россия аннексировал Крым и оккупировала часть Восточной Украины. Уже на тот момент Кремль называл различные причины для оккупации в зависимости от политических взглядов целевой аудитории. Для левого/антифашистского движения российские пропагандисты подготовили историю о фашистском режиме в Киеве, захватившем власть незаконным путем. Вторжение в 2014 тогда преподносилось как антифашистское действие. Большинство анархистов и антифашистов в регионе разработали иммунитет к такой лжи за многочисленные годы пропаганды. Но для западных антифашистов и левых присутствие фашистских флагов во время Майдана стало настолько шокирующим, что некоторые поверили без дополнительных фактов в историю об ультраправом перевороте.

Многие анархист:ки того времени в Украине верили, что для борьбы с Российской Империй достаточно предоставления фактов о происходящем и возможности ознакомиться с ситуацией, чтобы понять происходящее в стране. В Беларуси у нас было приблизительно аналогичное представление о том, как работать с товарищами на Западе в борьбе с российской пропагандой: правда говорит сама за себя, и те, кто настаивают на позиции Путина являются лишь людьми, до которых по какой-то причине не дотянулись факты. Но уже тогда мы столкнулись с теми, кто знал лучше тебя, что происходит у тебя в доме. Я до сих пор помню как на одном из выступлений антиавторитарный активист из Украины рассказал про Майдан и про ситуацию после протестов, а немецкий эксперт начал рассказывать про то, что Киев просто оккупирован фашистами. Попытки доказать человеку обратно были бесполезны на тот момент. Российская пропаганда уже сделала свое дело.

Но тогда, сидя на презентации про Украину мне и в голову не пришло, что мы невероятно наивны в вере в критическое мышление внутри анархической и левой среды...

После полномасштабного вторжения я был одним из тех, кто настаивал на необходимость услышать голоса анархист:ок из Украины для понимания войны и того, что мы можем сделать в данной ситуации в зависимости от наших возможностей. В моей голове такие призывы превращались в формирование постоянных контактов между западными группами и активист:ками из Украины/Беларуси/России. И на какое-то время так и стало – люди стали интересоваться, исследовать и слушать. Но продолжилось это недолго. Довольно быстро на горизонте появились самопровозглашенные бойцы с милитаризмом внутри анархического движения. Для них сообщения украинских и российских анархист:ок были недопустимыми.

Вместо организации солидарности часть западных левых и анархист:ок решили искать внутри Беларуси/России/Украины группы, которые бы полностью соответствовали их догматическим перспективам на войну и роль в ней западных стран. В России таких союзников получилось найти относительно быстро – к счастью для антимилитаристов КРАС-МАТ стал той организацией из России, которая превратила нападение Кремля на Украину в столкновение правящих элит из обеих стран. Позиция КРАС-МАТ легко интегрировались в западный нафталиновый анализ о войнах. Тексты с призывами к украинскому обществу сложить оружие и начать воевать с собственным правительством начали расходиться по различным анархистским и левым сайтам. Самих левых и анархисто:к не особо интересовала критика других групп из региона в адрес КРАС-МАТ. Идеологическая близость западных левых к КРАС-МАТ была важнее каких-либо политических проблем с синдикатом академиков, давно переставшим пытаться участвовать в движении рабочих в России.

Но позиция КРАС-МАТ была относительно слабой даже в глазах западных анархисто:к. В конце концов организация существует внутри государства агрессора, в которой сопротивление войне почти полностью отсутствует[1]. И в такой ситуации некоторые левые пацифисты и антимилитаристы начали хаотически искать себе союзников в Украине и Беларуси, которые бы в очередной раз подтвердили бы их политический анализ в регионе. В период 2022-2023 часть пацифистов и антимилитаристов нашли для себя Український Рух Пацифістів. Западных левых не особо смутил факт, что одним из лидеров организации является пророссийский блогер Руслан Коцаба[2]. Сам УРП никогда не заявлял свою приверженность к каким-то левым взглядам, а на информационных площадках организации часто можно найти смесь право-левых идей.

В тот же период 2022-2023 европейские анархист:ки и левые открыли для себя еще одну украинскую организацию – Ассамблея. Правда тут уже не левые пришли к Ассамблеи, а скорее авторы ассамблеи при помощи автоматических переводов ворвались на такие левые платформы как libcom полностью забив информационное поле про Украину. Тексты коллектива, часто написанные в сенсационном виде, опять же хорошо вписываются в старые политические анализы левых и части анархических организаций на Западе. По сути ассамблея не пишет ничего особенного, а скорее собирает недовольство внутри украинского общества на своих ресурсах: борьба с коррупцией, сопротивление мобилизации, беспредел местных чиновников – об этом всем пишут и украинские СМИ и социальные сети. Но отсутствие критики в отношении российского режима, как и попытки поставить политическое равно между Россией и Украиной, показывает как минимум нежелание Ассамблеи разбираться в российском мире. Относительная популярность Ассамблеи в западных кругах только усилили догматизм группы, абсолютно отдаленной от любых анархических организаций в регионе за исключением активного сотрудничества с упоминаемым ранее КРАС-МАТ. Для большинства активисто:к понять ассамблею можно из вот этого отрывка, начинающего историю про сопротивление мобилизации в Украине:

“По всей территории ГУЛАГовской тьмы посреди Европы ширится народная война против войны. Наследники вольнолюбивых запорожцев, махновцев, повстанцев Кармалюка и Довбуша отвечают собственным насилием на насилие наследников НКВД, гестапо и пиночетовских эскадронов смерти. И это мы с вами лишь на пороге открытия полномасштабного отлова военнообязанных, что ожидается после 16 июля.”

Активист:ки из Украины и Беларуси пытались безуспешно привлечь внимание к абсолютной неадекватность коллектива, но наткнулись в очередной раз на идеологическую стену. Ассамблея, как и другие организации, оказались куда удобнее западным антимилитаристам, нежели объективная правда, требующая куда больших усилий в постоянном поиске, обсуждениях и даже поездках в воюющие страны.

Ситуация с Беларусью для западных левых была еще сложнее, чем с Украиной – в Беларуси после репрессий 2020 существовало всего несколько анархических организаций. Левое движение во многом отсутствовало и не представляло собой ничего интересного. Беларуские анархические организации сразу выступили с осуждением войны и необходимостью сопротивления российской агрессии. В стране не существовало аналогов Ассамблеи или КРАС-МАТ.

Но где-то на просторах интернета и НГО бизнеса немецкие левые откопали Ольгу Карач с ее проектом “Наш Дом”, который с 2022 пытается продать на запад истории о массовом сопротивлении обязательной военной службе в Беларуси. Беларуская молодежь действительно сопротивляется военщине, но это началось не в 2022, а существует уже многие десятилетия. Сайты и форумы с информацией о том, как избежать службы в армии появились в начале нулевых. Но для западных активисто:к истории Ольги Карач выглядела очень даже правдоподобно. Идеологию “Нашего дома” можно описать как... деньги. Проект существует уже давно и за время своего существования успел освоить достаточно средств из европейских и американских фондов на развитие демократии и прав человека. Но у Ольги Карач начались проблемы уже после 2020 – на арене появилась Светлана Тихановская и десятки новых либеральных организаций составивших конкуренцию проектам Нашего Дома. Какое-то время Ольга пыталась бороться с Тихановской за лидерство в оппозиции, но шансов у нее было относительно мало, учитывая, что все внутри оппозиции знали, кто такая Карач. В ноябре 2022 “Прамень” публиковал текст про Карач с информацией о том, что западные пацифисты начали собирать деньги на ее проекты. Мне лично приходилось общаться с некоторыми немецкими левыми на этот счет, но информацию по поводу “Нашего Дома” в основном игнорировали. За многочисленные годы в НГО среде Ольга отлично научилась продавать правильные месседжи для различных политических групп и, похоже, стала постоянной авторкой для немецкой анархо-пацифистской газеты “graswurzel revolution” (низовая революция).

Истории из трех стран с различными политическими группами показывают, что концепция “необходимость слушать голоса из региона” не работает в случаях идеологического догматизма. Западные левые и часть анархисто:к будут готовы работать даже с откровенно мошенническими организациями, лишь бы сохранить старые идеологические принципы. С таким подходом в атмосфере информационной войны становится относительно просто найти человека, а может даже и группу, повторяющих удобные для тебя призывы и полностью игнорировать значительную часть организованного анархического движения.

На данный момент я сомневаюсь, что презентации или обсуждения могут привести к росту понимания происходящего в среде “скептиков” борьбы с русским миром. И во многом 3 года обсуждений вокруг войны в Украине в очередной раз показали мою собственную наивность и веру в анархисто:к. Где-то в прошлом мы потеряли историю с про-российской сталинистской организацией “Боротьба” из Украины, которая на протяжении многих лет укрепляли мифы про украинских фашистский режим и никакое количество текстов или публичных выступлений не смогло искоренить этот миф. Связи “Боротьбы” с Кремлем прошлись по западным левым структурам довольно незаметно, а урон организации по антифашистскому движению в Украине и за ее пределами остается значительным.

Для меня ситуацию в анархическом движении во многом напоминает историю, которая случилась со мной в Греции. Во время одной из поездок по стране мне посчастливилось оказаться в одной машине с греческими антифашистами. Дорога была долгой и я довольно быстро заснул. Через пол часа меня разбудил... российский нацистский рэп. На вопросы о том, откуда у греческих антифашистов такая музыка, мне ответили, что им ее подарили их антифашистские друзья с Донбасса. Когда я и им сказал, что это нацистский рэп, от моего замечания просто отмахнулись. К счастью греческие антифашисты не стали настаивать на том, чтобы мы дальше слушали музыку друзей с Донбасса.

1: Тут стоит отметить, что часть российского движения и другие политические движения все же начали активно принимать участие в борьбе с войной – от акций саботажа до миграции в Украину и присоединении к добровольческим отрядам на украинской стороне. 2: Коцаба исключили из организации в 2023 году, 9 месяцев после того, как он стал частью правой пророссийской организация “Другая Украина”.

No time for history?

There is no point in delving too deeply into the history of the antigermans – a movement born out of authoritarian K-Groups (Communist Groups) critical of German reunification, the antigermans developed their ideology as a mixture of anti-nationalism and pro-Western stance. Antigermans not only stand for solidarity with Israel – more radical and reactionary parts of the movement support US imperial projects around the world in various forms. The pro-Zionist part of antigerman ideology can be seen as part of the struggle against antisemitism, but also as an attempt by certain parts of the communist movement to distance themselves from national liberation movements, including the Palestinian struggle for independence from Israel.

Over the years, with the decline of national liberation movements around the world, the main project of antigermans became support for Israel and their own version of the struggle against antisemitism. Support for the Israeli state very quickly turned into support for all the policies of the Israeli government, no matter how horrible they were. I've met quite a few antigermans who would describe themselves as pro-Zionists, and even some who call themselves “Zionists” without any connection to the Jewish community. Even though some of the criticism of Zionism is outright anti-Semitic, antigermans will put aside any criticism even if it comes from within the Jewish community itself. To label such criticism as anti-Semitic is an easy way out of any discussion or the need to critically examine one's own political views.

Quite often within the antigerman scene you can find racism against Arabs who are eagerly put into the “muslim” box. Relations with the Jewish left and anarchists are complicated. While most of them prefer to ignore anti-Zionist Jews, some parts of the antigerman movement do from time to time attack “wrong” Jews in an attempt to fight antisemitism.

Although the antigerman movement originally appeared among authoritarian communists, its ideology has spread to almost all left-wing and anarchist groups. In a few decades it has managed to become a dominant position on Middle Eastern politics. And even though there are fewer groups today that would describe themselves as purely antigerman, most anarchist and left-wing groups integrate an antigerman agenda into their politics. From the FAU to local anarchist organisations, a pro-Zionist approach can be found as the norm.

From the past into the future?

There was no deep analysis nor attempts to understand the whole complexity of reasons behind attack on 7 October by the german left. Support went straight to the state. Those killed by Hamas and it's allies automatically became “victims”, regardless of their political views on the situation. It was easy for the German left to ignore the calls for de-escalation from the families of the murdered.While the Israeli left and liberals were pretty sure that Netanyahu would escalate the violence in his own interests. While the families of the hostages were protesting against a right-wing government that was trying to use their families as a pretext for war, the German left was eagerly looking for an escalation against “Hamas”. The collective responsibility for Hamas' actions was easily placed on the shoulders of all those living in Gaza Stripe. “They voted for Hamas”, “If they want freedom, they should rise up against Hamas”, “They are anti-Semites who want to drown all the Jews” – these are just some of the ways in which people have been talking about the Israeli operation in Gaza. And I'm not talking about right-wing political movements, I'm talking about a lot of people who consider themselves left-wing or anarchist.

The war crimes committed by the IDF, which were broadcast live on Tiktok, were mostly ignored or made people feel 'concerned', but the general tendency to support the Israeli state continued. The attitude towards Palestinians within the German left remained hostile, while the gap between the reality of what is happening in the Middle East and the made-up world of politics in Germany grew wider. At this point, it is quite common for the German left to justify every questionable action of the Netanyahu government on the grounds of self-defence by the Israeli right. War crimes are considered fine as long as Israel is fights the bad guy – the collective Arabs who are all responsible in one way or another for the anti-Semitic past and present of Europe and the Middle East.

Interestingly, many political positions within the left-wing movement on Israel are in line with the ideology of the German state on this issue. With political parties changing in power, but hardly any of them critical enough to influence the situation in the Middle East in any way. In many ways, the demands and values of the antigerman movement are translated into state policies that ban certain events, withdraw funding from those supporting the boycott campaign, or deny entry to “undesirable” activists. This also applies to educational work – it is quite common for German left-wing projects on Israel to be funded by the German state. Obviously, these educational events are often an extension of political support for Israeli state policy extending it's influence to left-wing and anarchist circles.

With all this in mind, it is only logical that the German left these days prefers to ignore and sometimes proactively isolate leftists, anarchists and even liberals from Israel or Palestine who have something to say on the matter. Events of such activists are sabotaged or struggle to find space to speak [1] (despite the massive infrastructure of the left).  Repressions of activists organized by the German state in solidarity with the Palestinians or in protest against the policies of the Netanyahu regime are generally ignored, and foreign activists are left to their own, as the local left movement prefers to ignore the massive pressure building up on the Jewish and Palestinian diaspora. It is more common to see local antifascists protesting with Israeli flags at Palestinian or anti-Zionist Jewish demonstrations than to see them in any way showing solidarity with oppressed people in different parts of the Middle East.

The situation might have been different if the German left had had allies in Israel or Palestine to support in the struggle against Netanyahu and his war machine. But years of antigerman politics, mixed with ignorance of the situation in the Middle East, have put the German left in political isolation: they aren't really needed by the Zionist right, but they don't want to get close to any progressives from Israel or Palestine. The generational development of antigerman ideology makes cooperation with Israeli Jews or Palestinians even more difficult: the leftist and anarchist movement today mostly accepts young people who follow antigerman narratives and pushes those who might question them into the hands of authoritarian communists whose ideological approach to the situation in the Middle East hasn't changed since the death of Mao. As a result, there is very little chance that the situation will actually develop in a reasonable direction in the coming years.

After a year of violence and death, we're seeing pretty much the same mistakes that we've seen in relation to the war in Ukraine – ideology wins out over reality, while very few actually make an effort to understand the situation and develop a serious approach to it. The shock of the war and it's mobilization passes very quickly and most people within the left and anarchist circles fall back to ideological dogmas that were there when they joined political movements. In such an atmosphere, both the left and the anarchist movement are doomed to repeat mistakes and fall into the same trap again and again, unless we decide to make an effort to understand the crisis and develop answers to it according to our political values. Otherwise, in the coming storms of the future, we risk handing the world over to reactionary forces that don't hesitate to use violence and destruction to gain political power.

Through this crisis we can also see the growing gap between the German left and its possible comrades in the crisis zones. As wars and protests demand more solidarity and effort, we witness many abandoning critical politics in favor of the comfort offered by more and more reactionary governments of the so-called “first world”.

But I want to end by actually focusing on those who are trying to break with the antigerman past. There are groups all over the country who work on education, solidarity and cooperation with different Jewish and Palestinian groups. They invest their time in traveling to the occupied territories to get to know the local population and their struggle against state violence. These people, although very small in left and anarchist circles, still give hope that radical and revolutionary politics are alive even in Germany.

1: A lecture by the Jewish anarchist Uri Gordon, organized in Leipzig a few years ago, took place in a private room because no left-wing project agreed to allow him to give his lecture.

For an anarchist from Belarus, the very concept of censorship is not difficult to understand. Political contradictions become more important than any talk about freedom of speech and pluralism. It is not difficult to understand censorship from the so-called “left” wing of the political spectrum. Having been born in the Soviet Union and living under Lukashenko's “social dictatorship”, every politicized person understands that freedom of speech exists somewhere far abroad, while in Belarus it is necessary to keep one's mouth shut. However, getting censored by the left in Germany is a separate achievement for anarchists from Eastern Europe. It is a simple world in which anarchists fleeing persecution are once again shut up, not by authoritarian powers, but by those who, pretending to be comrades, bravely engage in solidarity sabotage.

That said, the German indymedia continues to be a pretty friendly place for so-called anti-militarists – radical left-wing arrogants who believe that the people of Ukraine and anarchists have no right to resist the Russian invasion with weapons in their hands. I don't know how many times I've had to listen to legends about the need for dialog within the movement and how ready these very antimilitarists are for it.The reality is much simpler, and the censorship of the call on indymedia once again shows that 2 years later no one is looking for dialog, but prefers consolidation of the information field with isolation of certain parts of the anarchist movement in the hope of their extinction.

Except that German leftists are betting on the mistaken notion that anarchists from Eastern Europe will shut up. The revival of the anarchist movement after the collapse of the USSR, as well as its further development, took place under constant conditions of censorship, repression, and attempts to isolate us from society. Those who remained active under Lukashenko's or Putin's regime can certainly find their way around the left liberal German political field. And many of us did not believe in left unity anyway, because, unlike many Western activists, we remember our history and those who destroyed anarchists after the fall of the monarchy in Russian Empire.

Для анархиста из Беларуси саму концепцию цензуры понять не сложно. Политические противоречия становятся важнее любых разговоров о свободе слова и плюрализме. Несложно понять и цензуру с так называемого “левого” крыла политического спектра. Родившись в совке и живя при “социальной диктатуре” Лукашенко, каждый политизированный человек понимает, что свобода слова существует где-то там далеко за границей, а в Беларуси необходимо держать язык за зубами. Однако попасть под цензуру левых в Германии – это отдельное достижение анархистов из Восточной Европы. Простой мир в котором бежавшим от преследования анархистам затыкают в очередной раз рот, но уже не авторитарные власти, а те, кто претворяясь товарищами смело занимаются саботажем солидарности.

При этом немецкая индимедия продолжает быть довольно дружелюбным местом для так называемых антимилитаристов – радикальных левых высокомеров, считающих, что у жителей Украины и анархистов нет права сопротивляться российскому вторжению с оружием в руках. Я не знаю сколько раз мне приходилось слушать легенды о необходимости диалога внутри движения и как к нему готовы эти самые антимилитаристы. Реальность намного проще, и цензура призыва на индимедии в очередной раз показывает, что 2 года спустя никто не ищет диалога, а предпочитает консолидацию информационного поля с изоляцией отдельных частей анархического движения в надежде на их вымирание.

Вот только немецкие леваки делают ставку на ошибочное представление о том, что анархисты из Восточной Европы заткнуться. Возрождение анархического движения после развала СССР, как и его дальнейшее развитие происходило под постоянными условиями цензуры, репрессий и попыток изолировать нас от общества. Те, кто сохраняли активность в условиях режима Лукашенко или Путина, уж точно смогут найти свой путь в либеральном немецком политическом поле. А в левое единство многие из нас и так не верили, потому что, в отличие от многих западных активистов, мы помним нашу историю и тех, кто уничтожал анархистов после падения монархии.

For over a week, hundreds of thousands of Germans have been taking to the streets against the far-right AFD, whose plan to deport millions of people has been exposed by journalists. Secret meetings in hotels with various types of fascists – these events happen regularly from time to time. But it is rare for the content of these meetings to be made public. The anger and frustration of certain parts of the liberal and left-liberal political spectrum is very clear – they don't want neo-Nazis or fascists to come to power in the country. And that is a good thing.

The general mood among a lot of people I'm talking to right now is positive. Finally, you have a lot of interest from different parts of society who are starting to pay attention to the rise of the far-right agenda in politics. It gives hope that there are some people who are ready to take action for a more progressive and free society, but I personally – I'm more of a glass-half-empty person in this context...

I went to one of the demonstrations this Sunday, which brought together tens of thousands of protesters. From the very young to the elderly, from the middle class to the workers. But the mood of the gathering was more like a happening than a strong protest. Lots of creative signs, smiles and a buzz of constant conversation. It's hard to estimate how many of those I saw at the event understand the gravity of the situation. One side of me loves to dismiss liberals as naive believers in the magic land of representative democracy, but on the other side there are certainly people who are starting to wake up to the smell of the burning house.

However, there is always the danger that this massive interest will fade very quickly and turn into some people voting for less conservative parties. From personal conversations, even some left-liberal groups think it makes sense to get involved in election campaigns in order to try to break with the extreme right. Of course, I have a problem with such an approach, considering that even without the extreme right in power they manage to manipulate centrists and social democrats to play their game. It is not the AFD or the NPD that recently closed Germany's eastern borders. It is the current so-called “progressive” government in its desperate attempt to stop the growing influence of the AFD in the former GDR region. The belief that you can fight the extreme right by adopting its political agenda but still maintain your own political views is stupid, to say the least. The best example of this is the Republican Party in the US, which traditionally leaned towards the extreme right, but completely lost its policies and principles (if there were any) after Trump came to power.

At the demonstration, I had a conversation with one of the organisers because the police were filming the demonstration all the time. The idea that these videos can be used later for political purposes if the AFD comes to power is very clear to me: the first step for the fascists is to figure out who they can attack without doing too much damage to the whole society, which can rebel. There was a random guy standing next to us who jumped into the conversation and started telling me that I shouldn't be afraid and that the police weren't going to do anything wrong. They were just protecting me...

It wasn't really easy to explain to this liberal guy that I wasn't afraid of the repression that might come with fascists. As a migrant, you don't have to be afraid to act. In fact, you learn to listen to the buzz that goes off every time you feel that the authoritarian dictatorship you left behind is coming to you at the hands of other people. You learn to listen and to act because, unlike many liberals, you learn that in this situation action is vital. So no, dear reader, as a migrant I'm not afraid of being such a person in Germany. But I know that in order to survive tomorrow I will have to act in the same way I had to act when I lived in Belarus. Worries about growing authoritarian tendencies in state and society are not fears. Fear paralyses. Instead, we will continue to act, even if we face a future that doesn't look bright at all.

As for the fears... after attending the demonstration, after being confronted again and again with certain types of German leftists and liberals, my fear is that when the time comes for them to raise their voices, when I am being repressed, they will be silent, as many of them have been throughout the history of the region.

As a lot of things happened, I would like to share my personal experience and criticism of these events from the point of view of the participants. During BAB and St.Imier I had a lot of contacts with comrades from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to gather some extra information and try to understand how things were developing. The whole text will be primarily focused on coverage of the war in Ukraine and situation in Belarus during those events.

Balkan Anarchist Bookfair 2023

Let's start with a short introduction. Balkan Anarchist Bookfair is an event organized by different parts of the Balkan Anarchist Network. The location of the bookfair is constantly changing between different countries: last year it was organized in Cluj, Romania, this year in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Depending on the region of the Balkans and the time of the event, it can attract very different people, both politically and geographically. For example, the closeness of Ljubljana to Central European tourist destinations and German-speaking countries attracted a lot of anarchists on holiday and German-speaking activists to the event. This certainly had a certain influence on the discussions that took place during the book fair, sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, bringing all the baggage of Western European activism to the Balkans.

From the very beginning, the organizers of BAB made their position on the war very clear, equating anti-militarism with a defeatist position in the war in Ukraine. This anti-militarism found a lot of space in the program, with a “main event” on Saturday called “Balkan Anarchists against War” (most of the talks and discussions during BAB had parallel events at the same time, but this was the only one on the program from 16 to 18).

It is hard to say that there was anything new in the panel discussion. Abstract statements about how bad wars are were made in public, where there were no people who would advocate wars. And although the event was supposed to be very theoretical, there were certainly people who had something to say about the war in Ukraine. For example, an activist from Serbia who called for an end to sanctions against Russia and called the 2014 Maidan uprising a coup. The same activist who was seen in a picture together with the Serbian far right under the Russian imperial flag (the full statement of this person can be found here – https://bab2023.espivblogs.net/program/balkan-anarchists-against-war/theses-on-the-war-in-ukraine/). The event itself ended with not a single comment from the audience allowed in the first place (and later moved outside the main building of BAB for informal discussion).

The general mood was that the comrades organizing the panel discussion were not even interested in the thoughts of the people in the audience, as they already knew everything about the wars and how they affect societies.

It is very interesting how some comrades from the Balkans draw the Yugoslavian war every time the situation in Ukraine comes up. At the same time, they ignore the fact that every war has it's own structure, reasons for military conflict and the situation of ordinary people in it. After 17 months of full-scale war in Ukraine, certain groups of anarchists still fail to grasp that there are so many different ways to fight against war. From Russian Z patriots who are shouting that they want this war to stop, that why more troops should be sent, to the Ukrainian workers who are volunteering to drive the Russian invaders out of their homes. Laying down arms and dying in the cellar after being tortured by the Russian military or political police is only one of the directions we can take as anarchists.

Interestingly, there was little to no Ukrainian presence in the conversations about the war. In fact, in the first days of the bookfair there were rumours that Solidarity collectives were told that there was no place for them in the event (this was later confirmed by some comrades). And this seems to be a systematic approach in the circles that call for stopping arms deliveries to Ukraine and support so-called “defeatism”. While insisting on their unique knowledge gained from the experience of the Balkan wars, the anarchists deny the same unique experience to the comrades in Ukraine and prefer not to listen to what they have to say in the discussion on war and militarism.

In general, the issue of war in Ukraine was silently present in many parts of the program. Even the presentation by the Anarchist Black Cross Belarus, which had a small part about the war in Ukraine, provoked more discussion about the war than about the repression of comrades or the political crisis in the country.

It's strange to see so many people wanting to talk about the issue, but so few people willing to organize events to actually do it (not theoretical discussions about anti-militarism, which most anarchists support).

To be honest I was glad to leave BAB behind. I had a lot of weird interactions: from comrades I haven't seen so many years who pretend that they don't know you to the people who wanted to explain you the whole world by completely ignoring objective facts not only about the war, but many other topics. The only good part of the whole event was to see that despite certain positions of the organizers there are still a lot of people who standing strong in solidarity with people in Belarus and Ukraine.

St. Imier

If the meeting in Ljubljana was confusing, the gathering of thousands of anarchists in St.Imier was overwhelming. With more than 400 workshops/presentations/discussions, it was easy to leave in very different worlds. From anarchist individualism to social struggles around the world.

One comrade joked at the beginning of the gathering that they had managed to put together a complete program that included stretching, yoga, self-care sessions and only concerts in the evening.

The reality was very different and most of the events were completely full. Sadly, this was my main experience of the event – arriving for a presentation/workshop only to find that there was no room left. Considering that the program was self-organized with very little input from the organizers, there were a lot of great presentations and talks that could satisfy the curiosity of activists from all over the world.

There were some confusing events about COVID-19 and some other issues, but the general level of cringe was at a manageable level. After all, the anarchist movement attracts people from very different social and economic groups. The reasons why these people participate in the movement are also very different depending on the region.

The most complicated issue for me and many other comrades was once again the war in Ukraine. Before the event, I was told that there was some struggle to actually get a good place and time to discuss the war organized by people from Ukraine/Belarus. The comrades had to make some extra efforts to make things happen. I later found out that this was because some of the people in the organizing circles were actively trying to prevent voices from Eastern Europe from being heard by a large audience. Fortunately, there were enough people in the organizing crew who, with a bit of a fight, managed to get big rooms for at least some of the events.

And if the discussion about Belarus didn't generate so many comments about the war this time, there were several events where smaller groups of people tried to sabotage any conversation by shouting. The arguments of the shouters were always the same, and they were not really interested in listening to anything that was said before or after their attempts to disrupt the event.

The panel discussion of several ABC groups and Solidarity Zone in the big hall was a concentration of different tactics of sabotage trying to prevent people from Ukraine/Belarus/Russia from speaking. Starting with a small group of Germans who tried to put their anti-militarist posters next to the stand of the Solidarity collectives during the event (which provoked a conflict with some Ukrainian comrades not because of anti-militarism, but because of the kind of anti-militarism these people stand for), and ending with people shouting in their language without any translation at the people sitting on the panel. The most disturbing and heartbreaking moment was certainly when at least one so-called anarchist laughed during the moment of silence in memory of comrades and other people who fell victim to Russian imperialist aggression. I'm not sure if there is any political movement in the world that can tolerate such ignorance and arrogance. And even in such a situation no violence was used against this person by the Ukrainian, Belarusian or Russian comrades.

Being in the middle of some discussions about the war, I noticed how little effort people made to understand the situation. Their approach, as well as their lack of solidarity, was most likely decided in the first days of the full-scale invasion (not to mention that some believed in the myth of Nazi junta in Ukraine since 2014). The texts they read from the 19th century seem to define what they do in the reality of the 21st century. And it is not about the core principles of anarchism, such as solidarity, equality and freedom, but about some text analyzingz wars of the past, which is used as a universal approach to the wars of modernity.

Talking about militarism in anarchist circles these days seems to be a hidden way to deny solidarity to the Ukrainian people. And this happened both during the Balkan Anarchist Bookfair and in St.Imier. We see some anarchists who prefer to ignore calls to support their comrades in favor of quoting from the higher theoretical chair. It is unclear how to proceed with people who deny the dangers of ethical cleansing in favor of their own ideas floating in the clouds.

With the ecological catastrophe unfolding before our eyes, we are looking at a future full of wars and conflicts. And if we, as anarchists, aren't able to find answers to the coming challenges that will plague humanity for generations to come, then we will fade into history without the possibility of real change. Same as anarchists of the 19th and 20th centuries, we should remember that the road to liberation is the road that involves constant learning.

Moving on to the comrades who spoke about the issue – most of them were great and continued to address the questions coming from different directions, including the anti-militarist camp. The presence of the topic during the event was much stronger than at the Balkan Anarchist Bookfair and you could see how many people are actually still paying attention to the war in Ukraine and trying to do their best to support those who are fighting in different ways against the Russian imperialist project.

The summer of 2023 showed that the anarchist movement is still in crisis. Some pretend that after COVID-19 and during the war in Ukraine we can continue working as usual. Others have completely lost faith in the struggle and have drifted into civilian life, probably hoping to have a few years of peace before the whole global system starts to fall apart.

But there are also people who continue the struggle despite the challenges, trying to resist war, economic crisis, ecological disaster and state repression. From Chile to Belarus, from Chiapas to the Philippines, there are thousands upon thousands who still carry the flame of revolution and freedom in their hearts, and as long as these people fight, anarchism will live.

At that point I already knew that being politically active in Belarus does involve a certain level of police violence, doesn't matter how radical you are. By that time already several politicians and a journalist were murdered by the regime, and it was quite common to be beaten up by the police. Of course, it depended on the current relationship between Lukashenko and EU/USA. Meaning if there is a phase of friendship you might get out quite ok, but if belarusian regime is now in the phase of being close to Putin, than it means violence without consequences for the cops.

For us as young activists starting to organize, it meant that during the training on how to behave during the arrest, the questions of violence were always on the table. Some of the educators would even say “if you were beaten up, try to put blood on the detention protocol to use it later in the court”. Of course this kind of advices wouldn't help you in the court that has decision about your sentencing even before the court starts (most of the decisions are made not by judges, but rather by political forces, including political police officers), but it does create a certain atmosphere of what to expect in case you are caught during your next illegal action. And let's be clear here for the western reader – “illegal” in Belarus meant pretty much all political actions apart from 2-3 officially allowed ceremonial demonstrations happening for the last 20 years or so.

So with that in mind there was a bit of confusion but no surprise getting in a situation where cops would try to smash your head with a book of penal law, trying to make a point that you are not as smart as they are, because they have power over you. Paradoxically, violence was also something that brought me back to black panthers history. The same way as in the past, riot cops would argue with each other that they have to be done with me faster, because one of them has a date with his new awesome girlfriend. Or another case when the cop friendly told me that he is living just couple of house away from me. Half an hour later, he and 4 more cops were beating me and the other comrade with batons in the police station for not signing the police protocol.

There is a certain narrative these days in the liberal media among others that situation started getting bad in Belarus only after the protests in 2020. And although the shit did get on a different level, belarusian society and activists in it were living with police violence for generations, not talking only about regime of Lukashenko, but also the soviet regime and the Russian Empire before that. The state was beating, torturing and killing it's opponents for generations. Former cops are openly talking about training the use of violence on the prisoners (with belarusian riot cops and special task forces both practicing that), so when the time comes they won't have a barrier to smash your head against the wall. The violence of belarusian dictatorship was always there, it's just that recently the regime removed any breaks from the police actions.

And this is an important lesson for anarchists all around the world. If you are not experiencing police violence at this point of your activism, it doesn't mean that it won't happen. It is very hard to live through the violence that you don't expect, and it is just a little bit easier to go through this hard time when you know what to expect. And trust me “democratic” institutions do not protect you from police brutality and quite often encourage it against you under the banner of fighting “extremism” or some other bullshit as we all know that the only way to stop police violence is to abolish the police.

I wanted to write this text for many months. It's been almost a year since Belarusian regime captured and tortured anarchist activists Evgeny Rubashko. We know each other many years, and I feel that it is somehow my responsibility to tell at least some parts of his story, so the world know what an amazing person he is. He is not the only close comrade siting in prison in Belarus right now, and I hope in coming weeks I will find time and energy to write more about the anarchists of Belarus who dared to stand up against the dictatorship despite all the risks.

As many activists from 00s, we both came to anarchism through punk hardcore scene. However, we got to know each other not through hardcore but anarchist activism. Somewhere around 2011 he joined cooking Food Not Bombs in our groups and through many cooking sessions we did become good friends even though he was not a great cook at the beginning...

How did it work? Every 3-4 weeks we would pick two huge pots, one for soup|porridge and one for tea, and cook for around 30-40 people who would come in the center of Minsk. There were more groups cooking, so the food within Food Not Bombs initiative was spread on weekly basis three times a week to those in need in different parts of the capital. I'm writing “was” because in 2021 initiative decided to stop working: with almost no activists left in Belarus and more pressure from the police it became very hard to keep going.

After cooking, you would have 3-4 people carrying this incredibly heavy pots through the city. Even now, writing about it makes my hands start shouting at me “never again”. You take public transport, as the kitchens are normally far from the place of the food distribution. We would buy the food for our own money even in the times when we had some financial troubles ourselves. And E. was among those dozens of activists who would do this kind of activism for years. No glory in it, just solidarity with those who are in need. It is hard to remember how many people went through Food Not Bombs help, some of them died, but others managed to dig their way out of absolute poverty.

Cooking Food Not Bombs back in the days was also a political discussion club of its own. There were some really heated debates on capitalism, anarchism, private and public property and hundreds of other topics. Naturally, there were a lot of fights about politics that would always end when we start carrying the bloody pots. Physical suffering was a reuniting factor in this work.

But what really created a bond of comradery with E. for me was an accident that happened in 2012 during one of the hardcore concerts in Minsk. Both of us with some hundreds of other punks were arrested by the cops. During arrest there was a small hustle with the cops and I got beaten up (but could still walk :)). When we arrived to the police station, the violence continued. I'm not going to describe everything that happened that night to us, but at some point we are standing in the corridor, maybe 20-30 people. Some waiting for the fingerprints procedure and others for the pigs to take our statements. In this setup, cops are very unhappy with me for denying giving the fingerprints. So one of the riot cops comes to me (I'm already standing on my knees) and starts beating me from behind, standing on my legs and smashing my head against the wall. I kind of protest this, but it is a bit hard. And what is playing in my head the first 15-20 second of this beating is that nobody is protesting or trying to do something. I did have a slight fear that I'm going to die on this spot to be honest, but then Genia started protesting – he is just standing next to me, and he is the only person that dares to start shouting at the pig. This finally gets attention away from me and back to him. All the other friends I knew from punk movement were just standing faces to the wall and not doing anything.

The violent pig goes away, but they also take away Genia to another room. He came back quite fast and was surprised – the pig told him to stay calm, but they didn't beat him or did anything to him.

This situation created a bond for me that lasts till today. I know that I can count on him in these kind of situations. And even though I went to the hospital that night, and he went to pre-trial prison, I found one of the close comrade that I'm still proud to know.

Since then, we went through a lot of ups and downs in our lives. I left Belarus, and he stayed longer but in 2019 decided to leave as well to go to the Netherlands. The reason at that point was not really political pressure, rather he was trying to help a comrade who couldn't get a good medical treatment in Belarus. With his engineering degree, it was easy for him to move to EU. A bit more than a year after that, he decided to come back to Belarus. One of the reasons was for sure the rising tide of Belarusian protest movement, but the other side of the story was that Genia never managed to get close to the anarchist movement in the Netherlands. Political cultures in Belarus and Netherlands are very different, as well as the reasons people find themselves politically involved. Many activists from Eastern Europe struggle to adapt to the western anarchist movement.

Coming to Belarus in September 2020 he just jumped into the fight against the regime, doing everything possible to contribute to the struggle. When we met in Minsk in Autumn the same year, he was hopeful and excited that the things are going good. We all had this weird thing in the head, all believing that the change is coming. Just a small push and we are done here. Some people call it hope.

Despite all the violence and atrocities against anarchists, he stayed in the movement and showed a lot of comrades an example of courage and dedication. He was several times arrested during the protests. The last time for participation in defending the square of Roman Bondorenko, standing his ground even when there were just several dozen people left at the square, deciding to stay till the end.

We met last time in summer 2021 just a couple of weeks before his arrest. At that point, he came for some time out of Belarus, but was planning to go back to the country. The resistance was not active anymore, but there was a hope that the new fire will start.

Reading the stories of comrades being tortured provokes in me mostly anger. The situation with Genia was no different. He was tortured, and I was fucking shaking reading those details. But at the same time, I knew that he gave hell to those pigs. He was always a bold chap who could point the pig at their place. I'm pretty sure for his boldness he is still getting in trouble in the prison right now, but this kind of boldness is something that makes this world change.

Right now I'm isolated from him, taking in account that there is no mail communication with the prisoners. Writing him is like writing in one direction without knowing if he ever will be able to get the message.

With all that said, I am proud that I met this person on my own anarchist road. He is fucking amazing and I really hope that many will get to know him in the nearest future, when the prison of belarusian regime will fall.

Hey, btw, don't forget to donate to ABC-Belarus. The group is supporting anarchist and antifascist prisoners. They are in need of 25 000 euro, so drop them some coins at firefund.net/abcbelarus

Today a group of prominent authors and cultural personalities published an open letter to still German chancellor Olaf Scholz, calling him to stop any further delivery of weapons to Ukraine as this can provoke the third world war. This position is not new. In fact, there are a lot of politicians who still believe that their actions can provoke Putin and “force” him into starting the war with NATO countries.

During my long ride through the country, I witnessed a conversation on radio with one of the people who signed this letter – Alexander Klug, quite a famous writer and philosopher in Germany who I haven’t heard anything about. But my ignorance of German culture and philosophy is something directly connected with hardships of dealing with local language.

Mister Klug was trying to explain himself and the reason why German government should push for the peace treaty instead of supporting Ukrainian government or Ukrainian people. The argument was that if the support will be too much, the bombs will start falling on the heads of the citizens of the first world, the position that I despise deeply: seems like a lot of Europeans are ready to sacrifice anybody and anything from so-called “third world” for their calm and nice life.

Alexander was born before the second world war, and by the age of 13 he saw the German capitulating to the allies. After remembering this story, he was trying to push the idea that maybe giving up for Ukrainians is not such a bad idea, as it will bring back peace to Europe like in Germany in 1945. At that point I was quite shocked hearing that the prominent leftist/liberal philosopher was comparing situation of Ukraine with Nazi Germany. This is a crucial mistake that shows voluntary ignorance.

I guess a lot of people love to compare the current war with the second world war. I will try to translate my thoughts in the same way. Calling Ukrainian people to give up right from the comfort of German territories now in order not to anger Putin is equal to call French, British or soviet people to give up their fight with Hitler during the second world war while sitting in US before it joined the war at all.

Now I’m pretty sure that during the second world war there were such pacifists as well. But almost 85 years since the beginning of the second world war, many thought that we have learned our lessons… Such monsters like Putin can not be stopped by talks and gestures of good will. I guess you all heard that Kyiv was bombed during UN general secretary visit… who was just a day before that in Moscow.

Putin and his surrounding are ready to drown millions of people in blood just to make a point of his own political power. This kind of dictators can be stopped only by mass efforts of people from different countries all around the world. And if the price of this fight is a couple of bombs falling now on European cities, then it is not even a price, as solidarity requires you to step out of your comfort zone. If activists in Europe start following these ideas of pacificism by any means, we will lose all the freedoms that were conquered in the last centuries with blood and energy of the working people of this planet.

So do not listen to those who are trying to convince you that resistance is going to make things worse. Resistance is the reason why we still have our lives and freedoms. And to the people who are ready to surrender to Putin even before the fight starts, I can only answer that it is better to die fighting than spend the rest of your life on your knees.