antifa notes

A bonehead in Odessa, Russia is dead after he and his 14 mates picked a fight with 5 antifa. Russian state media reports that the great majority of the boneheads, seemingly ever-patient and self-controlled, stood for hours as the five anti-fascist activists baited and yelled, shoved and provoked. A handful of boneheads used well-placed elbows while bottles were thrown only in response to vandalism…

On the 17th of April in Odessa 15 nazi-skinheads with the use of bottles and rocks attacked 5 members of the anti-fascist movement. Nazis ran up to the antifascists sitting on a bench near the “Orech” club and started shouting [threats] and Nazi slogans and started fighting. Earlier activists of «antifa» were often threatened by nazi-skinheads; anti-fascists were victims of nazi-attacks. Therefor they realized that any conflict provoked by nazis could be fatal. Protecting their lives “antifa” had to use a pen-knife (means of self-protection not prohibited by the law). Nazi-skinhead Maksim Chaika was wounded. He did not get proper medical aid and died. If the antifascists had not [fought] back protecting themselves they would have been in morgue. Ultrarights try to make benefit of the [incident] by [falsely] presenting the facts and cynically lying to the [public].

Ultraright propagandists declare that killing had political subtext. Actually 5 antifa had to resist 15 aggressive nazi-skinhead attack. The police confirm the fixed number of antifascists. Nazis are truing to present Maksim Chaika as a victim however it was him and his friends who started the fighting.

It is well known that Chaika himself and another Odessa nazis often threatened antifa activists. Were collecting info even addresses and made attacks [on] antifascists. Naturally nazis can reject unfavorable facts replacing them with their own falsification.

Mass-media also reproduce the myth that Maksim Chaika was an activist [in a] “patriotic organization”. [See : Ultra right-wing group asks Ukraine’s law enforcement to be impartial while investigating murder of nationalist in Odesa, Interfax-Ukraine, April 21, 2009.] It is well known that the social organization “’Sich” is a nazi-skinhead organization who were make onslaughts on racism basics. Criminal reports from all Ukraine have more and more facts about killings on racism basics. People who perform disagreement with anti-human ideology of nazism take even bigger risk to fall victims of the street terror.

Bands of neo-nazis do not keep in secret they are planning to revenge — we can see this info online: “We must do everything possible that the least of our blood to be shed and the most blood to be shed by the enemy. Our enemies should be killed first then our losses would be minimal”…

We – the activists of antifascist movement – express our sincere condolences to Maksim Chaika’s family and relatives. Those who make fools of young people with neo-nazi ideology and trend to gain money, power and glory are really guilty of Maksim Chaika’s death.

We demand from Odessa police comprehensive investigation of the incident and the conformation of the fact of necessary self-protection on the part of antifa.

We demand from all mass-media to resist all the provocations and to objectively present the event because the destinies of antifascists who are involved in this incident depends on this. More than this mass-media should oppose attends of definite political forces to cash on Maksim Chaika’s death.

Elsewhere in Russia (I should really go live there if I’m so in love with the place eh?) local anti-fascist activist Aleksei Olesinov received a one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of having incited a fight. Russian authorities cleverly avoided sentencing Aleksei on Hitler’s birthday, and also won a big fat prize after arresting and beating a number of people protesting on Aleksei’s behalf. Curiously, as of April 21 Aleksei was being held in the same prison, Butyrka (Butyrki), where Nestor Makhno spent a decade behind bars.

…The downfall of Makhno marked the beginning of the end for Russian anarchism. Three months later, in February 1921, the movement suffered another major blow when Peter Kropotkin, nearly eighty years old, fell ill with pneumonia and died. Kropotkin’s family declined Lenin’s offer of a state burial, and a committee of anarchists was set up to arrange a funeral. Lev Kamenev, Chairman of the Moscow Soviet, allowed a handful of imprisoned anarchists a day’s liberty to take part in the procession. Braving the bitter cold of the Moscow winter, 20,000 marched in the cortege to the Novodevichii Monastery, the burial place of Kropotkin’s princely ancestors. They carried placards and black banners bearing demands for the release of all anarchists from prison and such mottoes as “Where there is authority there is no freedom” and “The liberation of the working class is the task of the workers themselves.” A chorus chanted Eternal Memory. As the procession passed the Butyrki prison, inmates shook the bars on their windows and sang an anarchist hymn to the dead. Emma Goldman spoke at Kropotkin’s graveside, and students and workers placed flowers by his tomb. Kropotkin’s birthplace, a large house in the old aristocratic quarter of Moscow, was turned over to his wife and comrades to be used as a museum for his books, papers, and personal belongings. Supervised by a committee of scholarly anarchists, it was maintained by contributions from friends and admirers throughout the world.

Over the weekend, in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in the former Yugoslavia, anarchist troublemakers from Austria, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Serbia and Slovenia came together in solidarity: ‘Everywhere we are faced with a resurgence of fascism; sometimes it comes without disguise, while in other cases it is incorporated into the agenda of mainstream politics. As anarchists we understand that fascism is a defense mechanism of the state and capital to secure their survival. In time of one of capitalism’s inherent crisis, we already see this happening. We feel obliged to take part in the antifascist struggle, yet we also understand it as a necessary part of the struggle against capitalism. We have no sympathies for the liberal lamentations on racism and exclusion, whose only political mission is the reaffirmation of foundations of the future exploitation and discrimination…” (See also : Official Statement of the Front for Freedom of the World.)

In Australia, ‘Melbourne Dumb Punx’ and ‘Skin Heads Neither For Nor Against Racial Prejudice’ have issued a joint statement condemning participation by punks and skinheads in any activity other than posing for one another. And shopping. In addition, local scholars have angrily denounced Russian academic Boris Kagarlitsky for his scare-mongering, declaring that, ‘if he is so interested in Russia’, he too should ‘go live there’. One especially angry intellectual declared that “As I stated on the Bombshell forum Boris, you are a liar, a hypocrite and no better than the trash that you fight against”.

The Unknown War
Boris Kagarlitsky
Moscow Times
April 2, 2009

While economists debate whether the economic crisis has bottomed out yet and celebrities throw gaudy evening bashes and ordinary citizens count their shrinking incomes, there is a quiet but grim war taking place on the streets. Bands of fascists and anti-fascists are pitched in a brutal struggle that is rarely mentioned in public or in the mass media.

For some months now, fascist gangs have been attacking foreigners, minorities and immigrant workers, killing several people every month. Even members of anti-fascist organizations are counted among the murder victims. The anti-fascists are fighting back as their movement becomes increasingly large. It is worth noting that not a single murder has been attributed to the anti-fascist youth: Although they are also becoming more violent, there are limits to what they will do.

Meanwhile, ultraright radicals have gained unexpected allies among the authorities. As proof, the case against anti-fascist Alexei Olesinov, accused of hooliganism, has been needlessly dragging on for months. The case does not look very convincing. The “victim” never appeared in court, but the authorities continue to hold Olesinov in pretrial detention. In fact, he fell ill as a result of being incarcerated in a cold, damp cell with heavy smokers suffering from tuberculosis, and at the last court hearing Olesinov required emergency medical attention before the proceedings could continue.

Law enforcement authorities have shown little willingness to solve the murders of anti-fascists such as Alexander Rukhin, Stanislav Korepanov and many others. Lawyer Stanislav Markelov, who had represented a number of politically left-leaning defendants, and who had won favorable court rulings, was killed in January in Moscow.

At best, the authorities label both the radical aggressors and those who defend themselves as hooligans. An incident in which a bomb was placed under the door of an Armenian family was listed as “property damage,” even though a policeman was injured while diffusing the device. Authorities turn a blind eye to “pranks” such as the posting of Nazi symbols, minor public disturbances organized by hate groups and the shouting of insults at minorities. Regarding the fascist literature that can be purchased at practically every book kiosk in Moscow, the tolerance shown by authorities is simply touching. In contrast to Germany, where punishment is guaranteed for authors and distributors of similar publications, in today’s Russia, Nazi propaganda faces almost no limitations.

What’s more, authorities put up almost no resistance to Nazi rallies, but radical anti-fascists regularly encounter delays and bans. The latest such incident took place recently at the Plan B club in Moscow, where a concert was planned with the U.S. group Strike Anywhere, famous for its radical leftist views. Police cordoned off the club and conducted a search. More than 500 people, many of whom had simply come to hear the music, had to stand out in the cold to wait for the search to end.

For the sake of objectivity, it should be acknowledged that in recent months law enforcement agencies have stepped up their activity against neo-Nazi groups. Several prominent cases were solved, although in one bizarre incident, a suspect under arrest was able to elude his guards and escape during a re-enactment of the crime.

The deeper the economic crisis becomes, the more the authorities try to suppress any public disturbances by the uncontrollable elements of society. The question is: Is Russian society capable of determining who actually represents a threat to the public weal, and who does not?

Boris Kagarlitsky is the director of the Institute of Globalization Studies.

Is Russian society capable of determining who actually represents a threat to the public weal, and who does not? Good little punks know that such questions are best left to the authorities to resolve.