A-Infos (en) Russia, Avtonom: Solidarity is our weapon: "Trends of order and chaos", episode 146 (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Two years of war - Of course, we cannot remain silent about another sad 
anniversary. Two years since the start of the full-scale invasion of 
Putin's army in Ukraine. Two years ago, on February 24, 2022, almost all 
of us woke up to news of tanks, missiles and bombs. ---- But we also 
woke up to news about  solidarity  and resistance, that Ukraine and 
Ukrainians did not give up. And in the next two years, it was solidarity 
 and mutual assistance that allowed the Ukrainians to successfully 
resist the many times superior Russian military machine. Of course, NATO 
military assistance also plays a role, but any supply of weapons is 
useless if there are no people ready to stand up against the aggressor 
with these weapons in their hands. There were such people in Ukraine. In 
general, I personally am still in a state of admiration for Ukrainian 
society and its ability to unite around common values - even in 
conditions of mortal danger. It must be said that this admiration began 
10 years ago, with the Maidan of 2014. We'll talk about it more today.

By the way, a year ago, on February 24, 2023, we wrote that in many 
Russian cities people brought flowers to monuments associated with 
Ukraine, some were detained for picketing. In 2022, almost 20 thousand 
people in Russia were detained at protests against the war, and criminal 
cases were opened against just under 500 people for their 
anti-militarist position, including just over a hundred for direct action.

2023 did not bring an increase in the degree of resistance in Russia. On 
the anniversary of the war, about fifty people were detained on duty , 
and most of them came out to remember Alexei Navalny, and not to protest 
against the war. Such passivity is, of course, sad, but it is also due 
to the fact that many activists capable of resisting were either 
imprisoned or forced out of the country. And also because many activists 
decided that now the most effective way of resistance would be to take 
up arms and fight against Putin's occupiers in Ukraine. And this is 
exactly what the anarchists always meant by the words "direct action": 
don't say, but do what you have to do. And come what may.

Anarchists against empire
In Russia, anti-war and anti-imperialist actions on February 24 were 
practically impossible. But anarchists participated in such actions all 
over the world: Zurich, Warsaw, Vilnius, Vienna, Berlin , Oslo , Tbilisi 
and even Israel . Here, for example, is what the Israeli group "Compass" 
wrote:

" February 24 will mark 2 years since the start of the full-scale 
Russian invasion of Ukraine . Its main goal is the preservation of 
Russian military-political rule in Eastern Europe. Hundreds of thousands 
of people were sacrificed for this purpose, millions of refugees lost 
their homes.

This war did not start on February 24, 2022. And we understand that as 
long as Russian imperialism exists, there will be no peace either in 
Ukraine or in all regions under Russian influence.

We urge you to come to demonstrate solidarity with the Ukrainian people 
fighting for their right to exist. We refuse to turn a blind eye to 
imperialism, be it Russian or Western. Imperialism always means death 
and suffering for millions of people both in Ukraine and Palestine ."

And here's what the Antijob portal says , which has been dealing with 
the rights of employees in Russia for many years (by the way, Antijob 
regularly authores "Trends of Order and Chaos"):

"The war has been going on for 2 years already. A war that leads to the 
degradation of the economy and the impoverishment of people. A war that 
turns the Russian working class into disenfranchised cannon fodder. A 
war that forces it to fight for its own slavery and bring this slavery 
to its neighbors. A war against freedom, a war against common sense, a 
war against the future.

Over these terrible 2 years, we have repeatedly tried to convey this 
simple idea in our articles. We hope that they can give doubting people 
food for thought and help opponents of war convince their loved ones, 
friends, colleagues that it is not worth dying for Putin's palaces and 
the yachts of his oligarchs, that the Motherland is not the president's 
ass, and that the main geopolitical The enemy of Russian hired workers 
is "their" "native" government. "

We agree with the comrades from Compass and Antijob. But at the same 
time, it must be said once again that anarchists are not at all fans of 
the Ukrainian state. We can discuss for a long time the various 
decisions of Zelensky and the company, including those clearly made in 
their own interests, and not in the interests of the people of Ukraine. 
But still, the majority of anarchists analyzed the situation and decided 
to support Ukraine's resistance to Putin's imperial aggression. It was 
Russia that started the war. It was on Putin's orders that Russian 
troops went into Ukraine in 2014, and it is the Russian state that is 
ultimately the main culprit behind the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine. And 
it is Russia that brings authoritarian police rule to the surrounding 
countries in its worst form - in general, it brings outright fascism.

At the same time, war does not bring anything good to those who 
participate in it - either side. It is important to realize that both 
sides are deteriorating, and the palm in the same war crimes can easily 
pass from Russia to Ukraine, under certain circumstances. For example, 
we know for sure that the Russian authorities forcibly evict 
pro-Ukrainian people from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. 
They also boast that they beat these people before expulsion. But what 
will happen when Ukraine (let's say) regains Donbass and Crimea by 
military means? Will we not see the same "filtration measures" with all 
the violence against pro-Russian residents? Although, perhaps, there 
will no longer be any civilians left there, but only scorched desert and 
ruins.

In general, " What are we fighting for?", as Vladimir Mayakovsky once asked.

Deserter's Day
Meanwhile, in Russia itself, the day of the start of the so-called 
"special operation" is not officially celebrated in any way. But on the 
previous day, February 23, militaristic propaganda, as always, unfolded 
at full capacity.

We want to share our own experience, so to speak. For several years now, 
some jingoistic patriots from an organization called "Moscow 
Suvorovites" have been regularly writing to Autonomous Action's mailbox. 
Don't ask why they send their propaganda to anarchists, who are 
certainly against Putin's war and are not known for patriotism in 
general - we don't know. But on February 23, another, so to speak, 
message came from them. We invite you to evaluate for yourself the 
degree to which these characters are fucked up. We quote part of the letter:

"Almost every family in our country is connected with the army, with the 
traditions, ideas and values of military patriotism, which is proven by 
the very history of the formation, development and strengthening of 
Russia. Our talented commanders and brave fighters have always defended 
their Motherland and more than once saved the world around us from 
conquerors. February 23 is the holiday of all who, remaining faithful to 
the Oath and not sparing their lives, defended Mother Rus', the Russian 
Empire, the Soviet Union, and today stand guard over Russia, fighting 
the Nazis of the entire Western world."

No comments. Mother Rus', the Russian Empire and the USSR against the 
"Nazis of the Western world." It's just some kind of WarHammer 40K 
universe, not in computer games, but in reality. Eternal war, 
homeland-death, saving the world around us from conquerors, even if the 
world does not ask for it at all. So the number of history lessons in 
schools is being increased by one and a half times . Apparently, they 
don't have time to talk about the eternal war and the great god-emperor 
Putin.

It is also interesting that the Russian army is rapidly becoming archaic 
during the war. Recently another high-tech radar aircraft, the A50, was 
lost . It seems that soon the Ukrainians (or their own air defense by 
mistake) will knock out all the Russian high-tech weapons, leaving only 
meat assaults, again in the spirit of Warhammer. This doesn't make it 
any easier for Ukraine, but the so-called "Russian Federation" still 
becomes a little less dangerous for the rest of the world.

Anarchists traditionally celebrated "deserter day" on February 23, 
calling for people not to join state armies and to avoid forced 
conscription. It seems that after the second year of the war, the 
aggressor's troops have already accumulated sufficient fatigue from 
sitting in wet trenches, and anti-war propaganda can be effective. 
Perhaps Russian anti-Putin activists should focus specifically on the 
disintegration of the Russian armed forces, emphasizing the fact that 
they certainly have nothing to fight for.

True, desertion from the Russian troops can be dangerous, unfortunately. 
A few days ago it became known that Russian special services shot in 
Spain the Russian military helicopter pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who several 
months ago flew his helicopter to Ukraine and surrendered. Apparently, 
they made him a Ukrainian passport under a new name and hid him in 
Spain, but this did not help, and Kremlin propagandists are already 
proudly declaring that "revenge is accomplished."

What can I say? It is sad that Ukraine and Europe did not provide Maxim 
with adequate security. On the other hand, such an operation clearly 
required a lot of effort from the Kremlin, and if such cases become 
widespread, then "you won't shoot everyone." And of course, take care of 
your own safety if you have reason to believe that you could become a 
target for Putin's pack. Twenty years ago, anti-fascists needed to be on 
guard in case of attacks by street Nazis: now, in Russia or abroad, they 
need to be on guard in case of attention from the FSB, GRU or SVR. The 
stakes are rising, but we are still opposed by fascists, only in 
different forms.

The beginning of the war: Maidan diary
As already mentioned, the war in Ukraine began in 2014, when the 
Ukrainians, during the Revolution of Dignity, overthrew the Yanukovych 
government, and he himself was forced to flee to Moscow, throwing a 
golden loaf. To mark the anniversary of the start of a full-scale war, 
"Dmitry Petrov's Maidan Diary" has been published: a frank and critical 
account of those events, written by the Russian anarchist Dima Ekolog. 
We highly recommend reading:

"One of the participants in the events of February 2014 was Dmitry 
Petrov, a twenty-four-year-old anarchist from Moscow. Dmitry was 
involved in various anti-fascist, anti-authoritarian and environmental 
actions, the founding of the Black Blog as a platform for reporting 
direct action, and the 2011-2012 Russian protest movement against 
falsified elections that kept Vladimir Putin in power.In early February, 
he traveled to Kiev, joining other Russian anarchists to support 
Ukrainians resisting a government that was directly linked to the same 
autocracy that anarchists were fighting in Russia. While participating 
in the Ukrainian uprising, Dmitry hoped to promote an anarchist vision 
of freedom.

What Dmitry saw in Kyiv was both exciting and depressing. In his diary, 
he describes how militarism, nationalism, and hierarchical organization 
led the movement away from the profound social changes he sought. At the 
same time, he maintained faith in the potential of all people to 
collectively self-organize their lives, passionately advocating the 
solidarity of Russians and Ukrainians in resistance to all forms of 
oppression. In the face of fascist threats, he did everything possible 
to make room for anarchist ideas in the Maidan protests.

Dmitry's story in Ukraine did not end with this diary. Four years after 
the 2014 revolution, after learning that the FSB was interested in him, 
he returned to Kyiv to live in exile. Despite the unstable position of 
the emigrant, he continued to put his policies into practice: for 
example, in 2020, anarchists attacked the Investigation Department of 
the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kyiv as a sign of solidarity with 
the uprising in the United States after the death of George Floyd. When 
Russian troops invaded Ukraine in 2022, Dmitry helped form an 
"anti-authoritarian platoon" within the territorial defense forces of 
the Kyiv region; he died in the battle near Bakhmut in April 2023."

Putin's kowtowing to the West
A little funny. It turns out that Russian schools have received a manual 
for studying Putin's interview with the American conservative journalist 
Tucker Carlson. Carlson is a very right-wing guy, racist, sexist, 
doesn't like migrants, supports Trump, and so on. That is, he and Putin, 
of course, found each other, but it's still extremely funny that Putin 
is so childishly happy that at least one journalist from the United 
States interviewed him. It would seem, what does the "Orthodox collector 
of Russian lands" need some "American" and his questions? But no, it 
turns out that Vladimir Vladimirovich thinks this is such an important 
achievement that schoolchildren need to be told about it. This, of 
course, says a lot about the subconscious of both Putin personally and 
the Russian government as a whole. In words he is at war with the 
so-called "West", but in reality he is trying to pass for one of his own 
by any means necessary.

However, this won't help. From the point of view of the "West," Russia 
after the start of a full-scale war is toxic to the maximum extent, and 
not only from the point of view of the West. So Armenia is already 
further away from Russia and is freezing its participation in the CSTO, 
although it would seem to be one of the post-Soviet republics closest to 
the Russian Federation. Putin is showing more and more openly that he is 
closer to dictatorial oil-fuelled Azerbaijan than to comparatively 
democratic Armenia. The irony, however, is that Azerbaijan's main ally 
is Turkey, one of the main NATO members, with which Putin is allegedly 
passionately fighting. Well, again, propaganda is propaganda, and money 
is money.

This is also interesting by the way. There is such a Novolipetsk 
Metallurgical Plant in Russia, it belongs to billionaire Vladimir Lisin 
and makes a very good profit by supplying steel to the aggressor's army. 
Now justice is being restored, and the plant is receiving its dose of 
explosions from Ukrainian drones.

But Lisin's first public reaction was, unexpectedly, in the spirit of 
"we don't work for the military at all, only civilian orders, why blow 
us up?!"  It is, of course, completely impossible to believe that the 
country's largest steel plant does not supply anything to the army 
during the war. That is, billionaire Lisin is lying. I wonder now 
whether he will get anything for this from "patriotically minded 
citizens," or whether "patriots" understand well who they can jump on 
and who they can't? I'm betting on the second one. Lisin is not a "naked 
party", here you can get an answer. Cynicism, of course, is off the charts.

Repression and the Moon
We can talk a lot about repression, but we want to remind you that an 
international campaign has begun to send letters and postcards to female 
political prisoners. It will last until March 10. The organizers suggest 
writing to them by email if you want to join the announced events or 
spend the evening in your city. Let us remind you that if we talk about 
Russia, then you can support, at a minimum, Lyubov Lizunova , Valeria 
Zotova and Alexandra Skochilenko . Letters are extremely important for 
prisoners!

Meanwhile, instead of political repression and wars, humanity could 
devote more attention and resources to the development of the Moon and 
other corners of the Solar System. Maybe then the probes would land on 
the Moon normally, and not crookedly, like the Odyssey probe on February 
23 .

We are confident that if that same solidarity becomes our weapon, if we 
stand shoulder to shoulder against any form of oppression, 
discrimination and imposed control, then this will certainly happen. And 
then the "Era of a Disunited World" and the "Age of Splintering," as the 
science fiction writer Ivan Efremov called it , will finally end, and 
the real history of humanity will begin, when we will look at the stars 
together and build paths to them.

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!

Issue prepared by Mani

https://avtonom.org/news/solidarnost-nashe-oruzhie-trendy-poryadka-i-haosa-epizod-146
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