A-Infos (en) Russia, Avtonom: War and Peace: "Trends of Order and Chaos", episode 141 (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

In memory of anti-fascists ---- January 19 is the day of remembrance of 
Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova killed by the Nazis. 
Anti-fascist marches were usually held on this day, but in recent years 
the authorities, under the pretext of concern for the health of 
citizens, have limited the organization of commemorative events solely 
to the laying of flowers. This year, flowers were laid and candles were 
lit on Prechistenka not only in memory of Stas and Nastya, but also in 
memory of all the killed anti-fascists. Since then, fascist ideology 
under the guise of anti-fascism has become the ideology of the state. 
The slogan of the anti-fascist marches on January 19 still does not lose 
its relevance: "To remember is to fight . "

War
The war with Ukraine, which in Russia is forbidden to be called a war, 
is now in its second year. For the second winter in a row, Russian 
troops are trying to destroy the energy infrastructure so that the 
residents of Ukraine simply freeze to death. But come on, it just 
doesn't work out. Although, of course, there is war fatigue.

And having communicated a lot with Ukrainians, including refugees, well 
understanding why Dmitry Petrov died, who was for me an example of an 
anarchist-revolutionary, I will probably express the idea, unpopular 
among some anarchists, that we should just take it and make peace with 
this stage of the war will not work. Naturally, I am talking about this 
for Russians and foreigners not from Ukraine.

Ukrainians themselves will decide what to do. I believe that making 
peace now is at least giving Putin a break, allowing him to build up his 
military force, build better engineering structures, and no, not for 
civilians. This means leaving prisoners and non-combatants under fascist 
occupation, in torture cellars. It's like making peace with Hitler while 
he's in France or Poland. For an anarchist, of course, it makes no 
difference where the state border lies, just as there are no good 
authorities and police. But would you really give Poland or France to 
Hitler? Are you sure that Hitler is peaceful? What would the Poles and 
French say about this?

I have already referred to the history of World War II more than once in 
trends. For example, she talked about how Spanish anarchists 
participated in the French Resistance, including as independent partisan 
detachments, and even as part of the Free French they helped the rebels 
of Paris. Some of the anarchists who found themselves first in French 
and then in German concentration camps died there, and some lived to see 
victory.

However, if Putin immediately capitulates, then, of course, everyone 
will only be happy about such a quick end to the war. However, this will 
not happen. He and his circle need war at any cost. So the Russians can 
only increase all types of resistance and help the Ukrainians where 
possible. Resistance to the fascist regime in Russia itself is also an 
important contribution to the fact that peace will come sooner. War 
fatigue has already led to the Russian revolution, this is a good chance.

Anti-imperial alternative
Those who in Russia itself do not rely on the authorities, I believe, 
are not at all obliged to indulge the general fear that a country 
without a "strong hand" could fall apart. Well, definitely not what 
should frighten an anarchist is the collapse of a half-collapsed empire. 
Actually, what are people who are not familiar with anarchist theory and 
practice afraid of? They are afraid of interethnic massacres, banditry, 
hunger, devastation and other lawlessness. Such fears also have roots in 
Russian history. Including not so far away.

What can anarchists do against this? Well, firstly, if we again turn to 
history, there were examples of independent peasant republics in Russia, 
even a sailor's republic. And in the same Ukraine, the Makhnovists 
fought with the German occupiers, both the whites and the reds, and 
there were no problems with hunger. There was a famine under the Bolsheviks.

Mutual assistance and self-government are natural things not only for 
survival, but also for a normal life. Many people already have 
experience in volunteer organizations. And unlike the times of the civil 
war or the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have in our hands such an 
effective means of coordination as the Internet. So horizontal networks 
of communities and councils are what anarchists can and should teach, 
and not be afraid of ending up in anarchy. Are we anarchists or who then?

Well, let's say anarchists are not afraid of anarchy, but citizens of 
the empire are. Although for me, what could be worse than war? Okay, 
let's remember, we study Comrade Kropotkin's ideas on federalization. 
Who wants a soft transition to further self-government, so here you go, 
and here anarchist thought has worked.

The examples of Rojava and the Zapatistas do not inspire confidence in 
everyone, since they are constantly trying to destroy both the Kurds and 
the Indians of Chiapas. Well, why not make the presence of nuclear 
weapons an advantage instead of a problem? Of course, all sorts of 
Western capitalist ministers there are afraid that nuclear weapons will 
end up not in a single country, but in some communes or even federal 
republics that they do not understand. But on the other hand, at this 
particular moment, nuclear weapons are in the same hands, and these 
hands periodically threaten nuclear war, according to the principle "I'm 
crazy and I have a grenade." Well, why not declare to the newly formed 
republics, federations or communes that "we are not crazy, but let the 
nuclear bomb serve as a guarantee of non-aggression for now, and in 
general, let's agree on general nuclear disarmament"? Fairy tales? Well, 
somehow more real than Mrs. Shulman's fairy tales. All this can become a 
very real "road map".

Protests in Bashkortostan
Let's return to the current situation. Disintegration into national 
republics is quite likely. The authorities are afraid of this. 
Unfortunately, people's legitimate dissatisfaction with the current 
lawlessness quickly turns into nationalist channels than into concepts 
of class struggle . On January 19, an article dedicated to the protests 
in Bashkortostan was published on our website .

The thirst for justice and protest against lawlessness is a 
revolutionary engine, but flirting with nationalist ideas can lead such 
a movement not to the destruction of injustice, but to the creation of 
new injustice, this time in relation to people of other nationalities.

White scarves
At the moment I can't say anything good about the movement of the 
mobilized wives "The Way Home" . Why? It would seem that this was a 
spontaneous movement of women also tired of the war. But what are they 
asking for? I would strongly welcome the demand to bring their husbands 
home. But they demand to replace them. On other military personnel. In a 
dispute with representatives of Putin's campaign headquarters, where one 
portrays a good investigator, the other an evil one, the "Way Home" 
activist demands that the mobilized men be replaced with contract soldiers.

The Way Home movement uses white scarves, like the Mothers of May Square 
. During the dictatorship, Argentine women in white headscarves demanded 
to know the fate of their husbands and children kidnapped by security 
forces. They did not demand that their relatives-prisoners be replaced 
with someone else.

As the Russian army kills and kidnaps Ukrainian children , the women of 
The Way Home ask to replace their husbands at the front rather than stop 
the war and withdraw the troops. Whether this will be the next step in 
their overall demands is not yet clear. Although some wives of those 
mobilized, unfortunately, it is too late, they understand that the best 
thing a mobilized person can do is to leave the unit. That is, to 
escape. Perhaps many have seen the appeal of Maria Ishkova from St. 
Petersburg, whose husband died before the New Year.

"I came to celebrate the New Year with my husband. Yesterday my husband 
passed away. My colleagues called me and told me that he died yesterday. 
Women, I ask you, if you have the opportunity, save your men. I am very 
sorry that I did not I had time. I just didn't have time. You don't have 
time, every day can become fatal.

The only option is to escape. Probably, we ourselves are to blame for 
everything. I was not interested in politics, what was happening in the 
state, laws, I was not interested in anything other than "work-home, 
work-home." And so I lost my most beloved person. And now I'm awake. Our 
loved ones die simply for nothing. Nobody needs this."
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Well that's all for today! We remind you that in Trends in Order and 
Chaos, members of Autonomous Action and other authors give anarchist 
assessments of current events. Listen to us on  YouTube ,  SoundCloud 
and other platforms, visit our website  avtonom.org , subscribe to our 
e-mail newsletter!

The issue was prepared by Nina T.

https://avtonom.org/news/voyna-i-mir-trendy-poryadka-i-haosa-epizod-141
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