Anarchist and international solidarity against Russian State repression

russia / ukraine / belarus | repression / prisoners | feature

Wednesday April 16, 2014 16:20

by Anarkismo.net Editorial Collective

Days after the Sochi Olympic Games, in the course of which the dictatorial Russian government allowed multinationals firms and other States to satisfy their capitalist pretensions by muzzling opposition and banning demonstrations, the repression of anticapitalists, anarchists, trade-union activists, and the feminist and anti-homophobe movements is still going on.

On the 24th February, 7 opponents to the regime have been sentenced for taking part in a demonstration against Putin in 2012, a protest which denounced the fixing of the presidential election by the State. They have been sentenced to up to 4 years detention in a camp for "mass disorder" and "violence against the forces of law and order". This political trial has been greatly criticized by the opposition who have gathered together in great number in front of the court to protest against authoritarianism and repression in the Russian State. In reply, between 200 and 400 people have been arrested with some being tried and given similar sentences. Among them are many anarchist comrades, but also anti-capitalists, feminists and anti-fascist activists.

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Anarchist and international solidarity against Russian State repression

Days after the Sochi Olympic Games, in the course of which the dictatorial Russian government allowed multinationals firms and other States to satisfy their capitalist pretensions by muzzling opposition and banning demonstrations, the repression of anticapitalists, anarchists, trade-union activists, and the feminist and anti-homophobe movements is still going on.

On the 24th February, 7 opponents to the regime have been sentenced for taking part in a demonstration against Putin in 2012, a protest which denounced the fixing of the presidential election by the State. They have been sentenced to up to 4 years detention in a camp for "mass disorder" and "violence against the forces of law and order". This political trial has been greatly criticized by the opposition who have gathered together in great number in front of the court to protest against authoritarianism and repression in the Russian State. In reply, between 200 and 400 people have been arrested with some being tried and given similar sentences. Among them are many anarchist comrades, but also anti-capitalists, feminists and anti-fascist activists.

The situation is increasingly difficult for our Russian comrades, especially since the Russian State, besides imposing constant violence by the police and the political and judicial repression of the "wilder" elements, is encouraging the far-right movements and legitimizing their actions.

We remember the story of our antifascist comrade Ivan Khutorskoi, killed in his flat by neo-Nazis in 2009. Anti-fascists, migrants, feminists, gays, lesbians and transsexuals are the first victims of murders, violence and intimidation by the fascists and the State. Hardly surprising when one considers that, for example, the persecution of homosexuals is legitimate in Russian law (thanks to the law against "homosexual propaganda").

But the anarchists wil not be beaten down. On 9 May last, some anarchist comrades who had organized a demonstration in Petrozavodsk against the war in Ukraine were kidnapped, beaten and abused by masked men. Those people, who used the same bludgeons as the police, did not hesitate to threaten the activists with death. The marches against the war were also observed and infiltrated by the State, the police and paramilitary forces.

While Russian imperialism strikes in Ukraine and in Crimea to preserve its political and economical interests in the region, the demonstrations by the oppositions are made impossible or allowed at the price of violence, imprisonment or death. The Western States prefer to focus their attention on intervention in Ukraine, to grab as much of the pie as they can against the Russian giant. But their silence is all to noticeable when it comes to the violation of human rights in Russia, in particular those concerning homosexuals, denounced by international bodies.

Against State terrorism, we bring our support to our Russian anarchist comrades and to the anti-capitalists, feminists and anti-homophobes, anti-fascists and trade-union activists. We support their struggles and the self-organization initiatives that they set up. We denounce the repression of the Russian social movements, the subjection and the expulsion of "unwanted populations" (migrants, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals...).

International solidarity must be our strength to fight the State, its freedom-destroying laws and the violence of fascist groups at its service. The Anarkismo network, which includes about thirty anarchist organizations around the world, calls for the end of repression in Russia, the abrogation of anti-homosexual laws, as well as all laws that violate the freedom of expression. We demand the liberation of all political prisoners.

Against repression and authoritarianism, international and popular self-defence and self-organization!

Anarkismo.net
Alternative Libertaire (France)
Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Italy)
Libertære Socialister (Denmark)
Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (Australia)
Prairie Struggle Organization (Canada)
Organisation Socialiste Libertaire (Switzerland)
Collectif Communiste Libertaire Bienne (Switzerland)
Coordination des Groupes Anarchistes (France)
Workers Solidarity Alliance (USA)