Belarus

Jauhen Rubashka’s last word in court

no good deed goes unpunished

from Anarchist Black Cross Belarus

My worldview – how I think and what I believe – is a purely personal matter. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus applies so far only to actions. But let’s get back to anarchism. What does the public prosecutor mean by it? The overthrow of the state system, inciting social hatred, riots, extremist destructive activity. What do I mean by it? Solidarity and mutual aid, personal and collective freedom and responsibility, rejection of oppression in its many forms. As an anarchist, for 10 years I’ve been cooking for the homeless and poor people on the streets of Minsk, which the “welfare state” does not care about, unlike military parades. As an anarchist I have been involved in various educational, social and environmental projects. As an anarchist, I contributed to the preservation of the Kotovka Square in Selkhozposelok. As an anarchist, I do not consider it acceptable to kill and exploit animals. As an anarchist, I am ready to simply help a person in any way I can.

Anarchists convicted in ‘Pramen case’

Write an anarchist prisoner today!

from Anarchist Black Cross Belarus

On April 22 the verdict was pronounced in the so-called “Pramen case”. Aliaksandr Bialou, Jauhen Rubashka, Artsiom Salavei were sentenced to 5 years in prison, another Artsiom Salavei – to 4.5 years. The gravamen is unknown, since the trial was held in camera.

Interview. Anarchist prisoner Zhenya Rubashko

Write an anarchist prisoner today!

from Anarchist Black Cross Belarus

...about detention, being under arrest, and his fighting spirit

On Friday 22 April this year anarchist comrade Evgeniy Rubashko along with 3 other anarchist comrades was sentenced to 5 years of penal colony for participating in protests in 2020 and being part of Pramen anarchist collective. This interview was taken before sentencing in January 2022, where we tried to talk to him about his political views and the situation in prison.

Money for anarchists, necklace for Lukashenko

"Alexander Lukashenko is the leader of a dictatorship that defends its existence by torturing and imprisoning the opposition. It is good not to forget this, which is why an unusual ‘necklace’ has been created for Lukashenko. It is only a drawn one, but perhaps one day someone will make him a real one."

from Lukáš Borl

Some time ago, a decision was made to raise funds for the anarchists being prosecuted in so-called Belarus. First there was a tattoo fundraiser and later a fundraising D.I.Y. book published under the title “Words Against Isolation or As Long As There Are Prisons, Let’s Write Letters.” So far, these activities have raised 700 euro. These funds will support five anarchists convicted for their willingness to resist the dictatorship. Namely these people: Nikola Dziadok (sentenced for 5 years), Sergei Romanov (sentenced for 20 years), Igor Olinevich (sentenced for 20 years), Dmitri Rezanovich (sentenced for 19 years) and Dmitri Dubovsky (sentenced for 18 years)

News from Belarusian prisons, March 2022

Write an anarchist prisoner today!

from Anarchist Black Cross Belarus

On 11 March anarchist Mikita Jemialjanau was convicted by judge Aksana Ratnikava for “a malicious violation of the imprisonment regime” (article 411, part 2 of the Criminal Code) to two additional years of imprisonment. Taken together with the rest of his initial sentence, it amounts to three and a half years of imprisonment. Court proceedings took place at the territory of prison nr. 4 in Mahilioŭ. Mikita acknowledged facts of minor insubordination to prison administration (e.g. refusal to name himself during the check-up), but refused to acknowledge any guilt. He explained that all facts of insubordination took place in protest of violation of his rights by prison administration (e.g. right to correspondence, religious rights). He repeatedly refused to stand up in presence of the judge, also when pronouncing his last word.

And After the War?

from CrimethInc.

The Prospects for Social Struggles in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has thrown Eastern Europe into disorder, disrupting an already volatile world order. But what will follow the war? And how will the outcome shape the prospects for revolutionary movements in the region?

Message from a Belarusian Anarchist fighting in Ukraine

from alasbarricadas, English translation by cretin via raddle

European democracy is terrible, but what is much more terrible is what the so-called 'Russian world' is bringing from the East. The remnants of freedoms and rights that the working class won in Europe, after a long struggle, will be completely destroyed by the Russian dystopia, transforming everything around it into a concentration camp, as they have already done in Belarus, Russia, and partly, in Kazakhstan. Mikhail Bakunin in his work "Federalism, Socialism and Anti-Theology" wrote: "We are firmly convinced that the most imperfect republic is a thousand times better than the most enlightened monarchy, for in a republic there are moments when the people, though eternally exploited, are at least not oppressed, whereas in monarchies they are constantly oppressed". So, Russia today is this incredibly aggressive monarchy.

We and the War

from Pramen

Over the past month you have seen that our team publishes information extremely rarely, and on the site itself news almost does not appear. This is due directly to the events taking place in Ukraine. Some of our comrades are involved in one form or another in the fight against the Russian invasion, and the focus of our collective has shifted to just that. Not on the publication of articles and political perspectives, but on the practical use of our skills against the “Russian world”. The very Russian world, which the Belarussian dictatorship is a representative of.

Interview with an anarchist activist from Kyiv

from ANIKA

At the beginning of the war we sent some questions to an anarchist activist in Kyiv to get some information about the situation in the Ukraine. The Following interview processed the last three weeks. We asked questions as Activists of the local anarchist network of Karlsruhe called ANIKA. We asked the questions two days before the russian federation began the war. We got the Answers on march, 20th 2022.

Solidarity in an Age of War and Displacement

from CrimethInc.

Anarchists Confront the Weaponization of Refugees on the Poland-Belarus Border

Nearly four million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded. But these are hardly the only refugees fleeing war-torn countries today. Starting in 2021, the government of Belarus has cynically used thousands of refugees displaced by wars in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, and elsewhere as a weapon with which to exert pressure on the European Union. EU governments have responded callously, leaving these refugees trapped in limbo between two militarized borders and establishing a restricted zone to ensure that observers could not see them dying. Despite this, anarchists organized in the No Borders Team network have defied the restrictions to provide assistance to the refugees in the name of a world without borders. We spoke with anarchists mobilizing on the border between Poland and Belarus to learn more.

Communique from Operation Solidarity, Ukraine

"Greetings, comrades!

We are the Ukrainian anti-authoritarian volunteer network, “Operation Solidarity”.

Since the first days of escalation by Russia, we have taken part in the resistance against the invasion, as have the majority of Ukrainian anarchists and anti-authoritarian left activists because we believe that this war is imperialist and usurping.

Let’s sabotage the war / Let’s light the flame of practical internationalist solidarity

from Athens Indymedia, translated by Act for freedom now!

Taking Responsibility – Let’s sabotage the war / Let’s light the flame of practical internationalist solidarity

As part of the oppressed, our struggle must be transnational, class and revolutionary. We stand beside the social base of Ukraine that is experiencing the death politics of the rulers, migrating and dying. We stand with the social base of Russia that sees its life impoverished, that is experiencing a barrage of racism from liberal and “peace-loving” European governments, that is imprisoned for protesting and that is dying on the front. As anarchists our struggle is anti-state, anti-fascist, anti-national and anti-militarist. Internationalist solidarity with the combatants in Urkania and Russia, with those who position themselves in the war with class and revolutionary projects and those who experience migration and persecution.

Global Solidarity: Against the States and the Militarization of the Planet

from CrimethInc.

A Video Presentation with Speakers from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia

With the Anti-Authoritarian Movement Athens and Nosotros EKX, we co-hosted a video presentation in which anarchist organizers from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia speak about how people are experiencing and resisting the invasion in each of those countries, and what solidarity could look like elsewhere around the world.

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