From Anarchist Black Cross Belarus
In the 15 years of our collective’s existence, we have gone through several major political crises. During elections, protests, and political repression, the Belarusan anarchist movement has not met with isolation from its comrades. People from all over the world showed solidarity in the struggle against the Belarusan dictatorship and for a just and free society: from Los Angeles to Hong Kong.
During this period, we only rarely encountered people who tried to explain to us that the Belarusan regime is not really that bad, and that all the horrors are just liberal propaganda. Since 2014, we have met anti-fascists or anarchists abroad who somehow believed Russian propaganda about the LDNR. But until 2022, we rarely met “experts” on Eastern Europe who confidently told us about a reality that existed only in the realm of political propaganda.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation changed very dramatically. Suddenly, within the anarchist and anti-fascist movements, there appeared “specialists” of Eastern European realities who completely denied the facts in favor of a simplistic model of the world. Many discussions of the war as a conflict between NATO and Russia or the fascist regime in Kiev fundamentally ignore objective facts. In this text we would like to discuss how this attitude affects the development of international solidarity and how some anarchists choose to distort reality in the struggle for ideological supremacy.
International of Anarchist Federations (IFA)
In eastern Europe, few people have heard of the IFA, an international anarchist organization founded in 1968 in Italy. At the time of this writing, the federation consisted of groups from Europe, Asia, Central and South America. At one point it even included organizations from the former Soviet Union, including Belarus.
With the decline of the Federation of Anarchists of Belarus (FAB), our group became the IFA contact organization in the country. For many years we worked closely together: we visited comrades in different regions and together with other organizations we held infotours in separate countries. Up until 2022, we hardly had any serious political conflicts with IFA member organizations. The invasion of Ukraine has greatly changed the attitude of many International members towards our group.
One of the reasons lies in our initiative to hold informal online meetings with International members on the war in Ukraine: the main goal at that stage was to convey objective information about what was happening and to actively combat Russian disinformation. Such meetings were to take place every two weeks. Already at the second meeting, we encountered serious problems when some of the International’s participants started repeating Russian propaganda about NATO, fascism in Ukraine, and so on, almost word for word.
The series of online meetings ended rather quickly. On the one hand, the unwillingness of many anarchists to accept objective facts hindered them. On the other hand, some of the International’s participants insisted on formalizing such meetings, which we regarded as a blatant attempt to “bureaucratize” inconvenient information.
We encountered the problem of “selective bureaucracy” a year later, when at one of the formal meetings of the International we proposed to invite comrades from Ukraine and Russia to explain the situation in these regions and the possibility of interacting directly with local activists, rather than with information from social networks and dubious groups.
The participation of anarchists from Ukraine and Russia was blocked, and after several months of constant attempts to exclude people from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia from discussions of the war in Ukraine, we decided to withdraw from the International. [1]
This situation was the first in a long line of building barriers around the topic of the war in Ukraine by certain “expert” groups that prefer the same simplistic picture of the world. Unfortunately, in some countries, our former internationalist comrades play an active role in maintaining the myth of “NATO against Russia”.
The conflict within the IFA has shown us how fragile international ties are in the face of government disinformation programs, ideological dogmatism, and the unwillingness of many anarchists to understand complex international conflicts.
Book Fair and Congress
In the summer of 2023, we applied to participate in the Ljubljana Anarchist Book Fair, where we gave a presentation about repression in Belarus, with a separate block discussing how the war in Ukraine affects anarchists’ political struggles. When we saw the “no war propaganda” signs, our collective members were somewhat confused, knowing that the position of the organizers of the book fair on the war is ambiguous. We never realized who the posters were aimed at, although at one point we were worried that we would be told to remove brochures with interviews about the war from various anarchists in Ukraine and Russia.
At the event we met, among others, comrades who had previously organized benefit events and presentations for ABC. Some of them refused to talk to us at all, while others preferred to communicate in the format of political statements rather than dialog.
At the anarchist congress in St. Imier we began to speak openly about our fears that our political position on the war in Ukraine was affecting solidarity with repressed comrades inside Belarus: the more we try to question positions that do not take into account the situation in the region, the more “untouchable” we become in certain branches of the anarchist movement, which used to be ready to provide diverse support to comrades from the BUR (Belarus, Ukraine, Russia).
In Switzerland we also became aware that we started to be considered as militarists and supporters of the war in Ukraine, although nobody directly expressed it to us. We learned about this perception almost a year after our trip to Switzerland.
Partner organizations
Before touching on our “commitment to militarism”, we would like to briefly discuss how Western anarchists and leftists find “alternative” partners in the region to confirm their political views.
In the situation with Ukraine, the main partner of the antimilitarists was the odious media group “Assembly” from Kharkiv, which prefers to disassociate itself from the rest of the anarchist movement and actively cooperates with the group of Vadim Damye, a Russian historian who has been spreading the myth of a fascist Ukraine since 2014. If you want to know more about the “Assembly”, ask Ukrainian anarchists.
In the case of Belarus, the situation became quite strange, as anti-militarists and pacifists suddenly started working with the controversial Olga Karach, a “professional” NGO activist with a dubious background, which was already entrenched before the events of 2020. People familiar with the political environment of Belarus have heard about Karach, and understand the danger of political interaction with this person: disinformation for Olga serves as one of the tools for building political power and raising money.
It turns out that the organization “Our House”, which Olga leads, is actively involved in creating a myth about a mass movement of deserters inside Belarus, who want to leave the country in an attempt to avoid mobilization. In November 2022, there were allegedly already tens of thousands of such evaders [2]. How many such souls Karach sold to the Western left remains a mystery to this day.
Using the example of the above-mentioned organization, it becomes obvious that in their search for new “partners” in Eastern Europe, leftists and anti-authoritarians are ready to work with dubious figures, as long as they confirm the facts necessary for their picture of the world. The criterion of trust becomes not an attempt to understand the real situation in the region and a desire to support the struggle, but rather interaction with those who confirm already existing misconceptions.
With this approach, some activist groups risk falling into the trap of fraudsters primarily interested in the money side of things. The inability or unwillingness to delve into certain issues makes anarchists easy prey for those who traditionally “dipshit” liberal and center-left political forces.
Does ABC-Belarus support the war in Ukraine?
A few months ago, ABC-Belarus applied to participate in a book fair in Berlin with an info table and/or presentation [3]. The organizers of the fair stated that they planned to pay much attention to the issue of the war in Ukraine. The response to our inquiry came categorically negative and contained the following wording:
“…You are in favor of the war in Ukraine, so we have nothing more to say…”
And it is obvious that this perception of anarchists from the BUR resisting Russian imperialism continues to strengthen in the minds of a part of the anarchist movement. Instead of critical analysis and attempts to build a dialog, we again and again run into a wall of blatant political ignorance. As a result, ABC-Belarus will not go to the fair in Berlin (our last talk in the city concerning the situation with repression in the country happened before the full-scale invasion began), and the organizers of the event will be able to conduct debates in an atmosphere of general “consent”, having secured themselves from the opposition of people who directly carry out activities in the BUR region.
As the war in Ukraine continues and Western activists become “tired” of the topic, we expect this approach to our collective to only increase, and “weeds” of misinformation and outright lies to grow in the place of solidarity.
We will not knock on the closed rooms of social centers in the west and try to tell the story of our struggle or repression against our comrades. We have plenty of room to direct our energies as it is. But do the people who censor solidarity groups realize that they would then have to take it upon themselves to support the repressed comrades with their own forces, if they are really committed to the ideas of internationalism and anarchism? It is then also the responsibility of such groups to inform the broader anarchist movement about the repression and to raise money for basic support for those who continue the struggle in prison.
In turn, we want to express our gratitude to those who are still supporting our collective and our comrades in Belarus, in Ukraine and in other Eastern European countries. Despite all challenges and obstacles, it is you who show an example of international solidarity and readiness to stand shoulder to shoulder in the most difficult moments of our struggle, no matter how many kilometers and walls separate us!
1: In case anyone doubts our membership in the International, the proof is at the link (website archive as of 2021) https://web.archive.org/web/20220616161216/http://i-f-a.org/members/
2: https://pramen.io/ru/2022/11/trusost-evropejskogo-patsifizma/
3: https://anarchistischebuechermesse.noblogs.org/
Comments
I was waiting for an
anon (not verified) Tue, 04/16/2024 - 16:08
I was waiting for an explanation of why you aren’t nato shills, and calling out the specific Russian propaganda you are concerned that anti-authoritarians have internalized. But it never came. Instead you just complain and complain about how you’re being victimized by the groups that don’t associate with you. I feel like this evasiveness doesn’t speak well of you and makes me understand the others’ hesitancy.
I genuinely would be open to a pro-Ukrainian take that was seriously of the “neither Russia nor NATO” position, which seems to me wholly appropriate for anarchists. I had even been wondering just recently about what has been going on with the famous Ukrainian anarchists we used to hear so much about, especially the ones in the national military - they seem to have mostly gone quiet lately. It seems like all you have to say is that Ukraine is totally not fascist and anyone who is critical of the war is brainwashed by Russia. That’s literally what liberals say here in the US… I’m not impressed.
I Agree
Wayne Price (not verified) Tue, 04/16/2024 - 16:49
In reply to I was waiting for an by anon (not verified)
I have to agree with this anon. While I am sympathetic to the views of the writers, they are very unclear about their views on the Ukrainian-Russian war. Is this because of poor writing, political confusion, or deliberate obfuscation ? I don't know.
I mean let’s start with the
anon (not verified) Tue, 04/16/2024 - 20:16
In reply to I Agree by Wayne Price (not verified)
I mean let’s start with the title. What “ideology” is being called out here? Because the text just talks about “disinformation” and “so-called experts”, etc. What are the authors trying to say? What sort of critiques are they facing? There’s something, again, very liberal expecting to get sympathy just for expressing indignation. If you want to just run around asking people to feel bad for you without explaining your reasoning, @news ain’t the place!!
The position of the group
anon (not verified) Wed, 04/17/2024 - 01:46
In reply to I Agree by Wayne Price (not verified)
The position of the group didn't change as far as I know. Here is their statement on it - https://abc-belarus.org/en/2022/06/10/statement-of-the-abc-belarus-on-t…
You can also get a feeling of their position from the talk in St.Imier.
Revolutionary defeatism
anon (not verified) Wed, 04/17/2024 - 11:37
In reply to The position of the group by anon (not verified)
This is the exact type of shit I’m always calling out when Luke and Wayne post it here. First there’s the insinuation that someone is telling them to “stop resisting”. Who? I do wonder what has happened to the Ukrainian anarchists - has the government thrown them all into the front lines where they’ve perished? Have the survivors converted to nationalism? Seriously - has anyone heard from them? I get that Ukrainians and Belarusians are in a very different situation than me as a USian and I have actually not called on any of them to stop resisting - rather I have called for the states and social movements in the sphere of influence that I actually live in to stop supporting the war. If we’re all anarchists, shouldn’t we all oppose the USian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, and all other states from wherever we are? Where is the contradiction here? Where is the “call to stop resisting”? Saying that opposing the nato effort in Ukraine is pro-Russian seems VERY similar to the idea that western Zionists trying to undermine our own states’ and civil societies’ support for Israel is the same as being pro-Hamas. This piece even alleges that nato in ukraine is a “myth”! I’m sorry but… what?? Almost every weapon that Ukraine has today was provided by a nato country. It’s more of a myth to accept the idea that the western alliance is merely some kind of benevolent, non-aggressive weaponry charity.
Further they completely deny that the Ukrainian state has committed abuses and war crimes since 2014. This is also unconscionable to the point of sounding like state propaganda. It seems like they can’t tell the difference between rejecting Russian rule and embracing the rule of Kyiv/Kiev to the point of sanitizing and denying its state crimes. Again this is like saying that if you have any differences with Iran or Islamist politics, then it follows that you must deny or justify all the abuses and atrocities of the Zionist state. Only the crudest minds could accept this (of course, we know that in the societies around us many do…)
Which brings me to one more odd thing, I also noticed that the authors refer to themselves as Belarusians “in exile”, so where are they now based actually? In a NATO member state no doubt..?
"Stop Resisting?"
Wayne Price (not verified) Wed, 04/17/2024 - 12:32
In reply to Revolutionary defeatism by anon (not verified)
As I wrote, I find this statement , from the Belarusian anarchists, to be unclear at best about their position on the war (unlike their earlier statement, which was, however, limited). So I can't defend it as it is. However I am cited by name, so:
(1) I am not "for" NATO. I have, however, repeatedly said that the Ukrainians have the right to take arms and other aid from wherever they can. This would be true even if Ukraine was an anarchist-communist commune-of-communes rather than ruled by a bourgeois state. The reason being that there is no African commune to aid them, and that otherwise they would lose to Russian imperialism.
(2) Similarly I am not for campaigning for US support to Ukraine. But unlike you I would not campaign against it either. No doubt the US state is motivated by its imperialist interests (with disagreements within its establishment, as we see in Congress). But my concern is for the Ukrainian people and I would not fight to end their military supplies. If there were a longshore strike on the docks, I would urge the workers to let arms for Ukraine go through--for the sake of the Ukrainian workers and people, not for the US arms manufacturers.
It is all very well for you to say that you do not call on the Ukrainians to "stop resisting." But you want them to not fight in the existing army (under conditions where a revolutionary militia is not possible). You want them to stop receiving arms from NATO (if NATO stops sending arms, then they won't receive them). And so on, all opinions which would cause Ukraine to lose, making resisting useless.
And yes, Ukrainian atrocities (which have happened) should be cited and condemned, their perpetrators brought to justice.
I have actually not said one
anon (not verified) Thu, 04/18/2024 - 12:28
In reply to "Stop Resisting?" by Wayne Price (not verified)
I have actually not said one word what Ukrainians “should or shouldn’t do.” I have said what I think western anarchists should do against our own states’ imperial designs. I do have a certain heavy skepticism of why “self-proclaimed” anarchists should fight in a state army, alongside Nazis, in alignment with the US and its global empire, in a conflict between two states that both have severely right wing politics - but even so I have always taken care to indicate that is not my main concern. It’s interesting how important it seems to be for you to keep repeating this canard, as if you can’t “support the Ukrainian people” without conflating anyone who disagrees with you as “supporting Putin.”
i was assuming this article
chud (not verified) Wed, 04/17/2024 - 04:17
i was assuming this article was gonna elaborate on the "objective facts" that are being ignored. instead i read about how some book fair and groups that aren't interested in associating with the people that wrote this article.
what's the Russian disinfo, myths and propaganda? all it says is a russian historian "has been spreading the myth of a fascist Ukraine since 2014." the article tells me to go ask Ukrainian anarchists if i want to know more, but the article is the one who brought it up to begin with and implied they were going drop some objective facts on the reader.
there are not a lot Belarusians that are deserting after being conscripted and others are trying to get out conscription by attempting to leave Belarus? it says that's disinfo and a myth spread by someone named Olga Karach to cash in off the west.
it kind of seems like the person that wrote this thinks their words are objective facts and they don't need to elaborate on anything they claim.
this article doesn't make any sense to me.
That Ukraine has been entiely
anon (not verified) Wed, 04/17/2024 - 08:25
In reply to i was assuming this article by chud (not verified)
That Ukraine has been entiely fascist since 2014 would be over-the-top, but the way these people are attempting to dismiss as myths what everyone has seen about the Neonazis and how huge they were in Ukraine since Euromaidan reeks of some not too sophisticated deceit...
ABC Belarus has also failed to substantiate how these supposedly anarchist militias fighting for the Ukrinian military are "anarchist". Just a buncha dudes in balaclavas and with guns aren't anarchist just coz they said so. Imagine if we'd apply the same lousy criteria to all the Western Marxoid college kids!
So I dunno, guise... Think your own shit maybe? I mean, clarify your positions and show us where is the anarchy in Ukraine?
the basic gist is that the
anon (not verified) Wed, 04/17/2024 - 14:36
the basic gist is that the *framing* of Russian fascist imperialism in the region since the mid-90s as an "inter-imperalist" conflict between "NATO and Russia" is actually Kremlin propaganda. The bandits who rule Russia have a vested interest in resuscitating the corpse of "anti imperialism" because it allows them to hide their military adventures behind a radical-sounding discourse. as USians, we do not stand in any meaningful place to fight against Russian elites, and we should instead focus on destroying the US empire as well as materially aiding and uplifting the voices of embattled comrades elsewhere in the world...including in Ukraine.
Inter-imperialism?
anon (not verified) Thu, 04/18/2024 - 12:30
In reply to the basic gist is that the by anon (not verified)
I think you meant to say anti-imperialist there, because inter-imperialism is what Wayne says. I always find it a bit laughable to equate the two “empires” as if imperialism is simple an ideology and doesn’t account for the fact that there is only one empire in the world that has hundreds of military bases around the globe, spends more on its military than the rest of the world combined, etc
There are "great powers" that
anon (not verified) Thu, 04/18/2024 - 14:27
In reply to Inter-imperialism? by anon (not verified)
There are "great powers" that used imperialist strategies for managing assets and frontiers. Its not a question of ideology but it is somewhat uneducated on the topic to claim that the United States is the only Empire in the world at present. In The Classical period of imperialism which actually predates capitalism by several centuries and even millennia, the world was carved up by many rival Empires as is discussed at greater length in the the continuing appeal of nationalism. In our time it is quite clear that there is the United States which acts as a global hegemon, but there is also Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, all acting as Junior partners in a planetary geopolitical game
“The only empire in the world
anon (not verified) Thu, 04/18/2024 - 14:48
In reply to There are "great powers" that by anon (not verified)
“The only empire in the world *that has hundreds of bases*,..” etc. Read better. Although I do think it should be clear that the vast difference in scale between the US empire and others does put it in a different category. It’s something like imperialism on steroids, hyper-imperialism - it has capacities that none of its competitors comes anywhere close to, which is why it’s the keystone of the global political and economic system. Or is that wrong because of something primitivist Perlman said about something that happened thousands of years ago
as was made clear in the
anon (not verified) Thu, 04/18/2024 - 19:41
In reply to “The only empire in the world by anon (not verified)
as was made clear in the first gulf war, and has been made clear by many conflicts since then that contravene US interests -- it is not important at all to match the military capacity of the US in order to subvert its rule. if you control biological weapons, chemical weapons, OR ANY nuclear arms, you are essentially untouchable. why? because US interests extend to every corner of the globe in a way that makes nuclear arms worthless. morever, as i said before, it is clear that the US is the global hegemon. but that does not mean that competing imperialist interests do not exist. i think you know that what i am saying is correct. saudi, turkish, french, russian, fascists carving up the planet with their insane adventures and bloodlust do not simply bend the knee the man in the oval office.
I actually don’t know what
anon (not verified) Thu, 04/18/2024 - 21:35
In reply to as was made clear in the by anon (not verified)
I actually don’t know what you’re saying is correct because I’m not even sure what your point is supposed to be, and because you seem to not know that France and the Saudis are close and crucial allies of the US. Also the US had no problem subsidizing the Turkish invasion of Syria even though things may have been shifting more recently, they have also been a key regional ally and major recipient of military aid.
Anyway what is it that you’re saying about the Gulf War? It seems to illustrate the opposite of the point you seem to be trying to make about it since Iraq was supported by the USSR, and with that over, the US crushed them almost immediately after they moved on Kuwait.
the whole comment section
agree (not verified) Sat, 04/20/2024 - 20:17
In reply to the basic gist is that the by anon (not verified)
the whole comment section seemed wanting to have ukraine as total fascist, i dont think many comrades there have more options in terms of defending themselves from the invasion and how to get weapons. its easy to say "no war but class war" that ancient slogan, geopolitics in middle east, or even many anarchists uncritical support of kurdish, in which The western militaries have supported, i think these eastern europe comrades also voicing decades of russian terror to them, and if youre anti nato, then bring the fucking war back home dear western anarchists,
- faraway global south
What very few people are
anon (not verified) Fri, 04/19/2024 - 05:57
What very few people are conscious of is the ideology of the corporate consumerist global empire willingly and fervently supported by the majority in the dumbed-down Western democracies. Their "bases" are the malls, shopping centres and stock exchanges of the world.
The revolution lies in living a humble parochial lifestyle, not taking up arms against an insurmountable majority of zombies. Even Rick from the Walking Dead knows this!
Dear defender of the
frs (not verified) Sat, 04/20/2024 - 00:54
Dear defender of the Ukrainian people Wayne!
Tell me please, have you been to the occupied territory of Ukraine at least once? What is so terrible about the Russian takeover that you consider the extermination of all Ukrainians in the war and the devastation of the entire country to be a more preferable option? Are you afraid that if Ukraine capitulates, the Kremlin will attack you personally, so you proceed from the principle “it’s better for you to die than for me”?
Wayne here!
Wayne Pwrice (not verified) Wed, 04/24/2024 - 19:00
In reply to Dear defender of the by frs (not verified)
Yes, of course I’ve been to Ukraine, I speak Ukrainian fluently and I know Ukrainian history going back to 482. Yet, somehow all I know and all I’ve been able to say is that Russia is fascist and if you question the US/NATO agenda in Ukraine than you are supporting Ukrainian genocide, because Putler is the same as Stalin and both of them wanted nothing more than to get rid of Ukraine for some reason. Don’t ask me why, because any challenge to my knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian history only causes me to ignore all subsequent comments. Bye!!! (PS - I don’t care about Palestine except as far as I can compare it to Ukraine, and please ignore the Ukrainian government’s strident proclamations of solidarity with Israel! Don’t ask what the difference is between two countries trying to exterminate an ethnic minority that doesn’t want to be ruled by that particular ethnic majority state.)
THANKS WAYNE!
frs (not verified) Fri, 04/26/2024 - 07:02
I'm completely satisfied with your hysteria. What was required to be proven: you simply have nothing to answer!
Then why don’t you visit our Berdyansk yourself? Here it will quickly become clear to you where fascism and stalinism are, and where is ordinary peripheral capitalism of ex-USSR ^___^
When can I expect you here?
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