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Title: To Our Comrades Everywhere Author: Alexander Berkman Date: November, 1928 Language: en Topics: letter Source: https://www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/progress-reports/alexander-berkman-to-our-comrades-everywhere-1928/
The anarchist movement is now living through a very difficult time.
Reaction is dominant, and as usual it is our comrades who suffer the
worst persecution. Moreover, the Russian Revolution and post-war
developments have created much confusion in our ranks: there are many
vital problems which urgently press for solution. This situation calls
for most earnest thought and the closest cooperation of our comrades
everywhere in solving the important matters at issue and bringing
greater clarity and activity into the movement.
But instead of the serious application demanded by our cause,
particularly at this time, we see the very contrary tendencies manifest
themselves. Our movement is torn by personal antagonisms, incriminations
and recriminations—the poison of petty and despicable personalities is
eating into the very heart of our movement and filling it with the filth
of irresponsible accusations and denunciations. It is clear what effect
such an atmosphere has upon our propaganda and how destructive it is to
our work.
This is the situation which unfortunately obtains of late in various
countries, as in Germany, Austria, and the United States. But
particularly has this plague infested the circles of our Russian
comrades in France, to such an extent indeed that we cannot keep silent
any more. We must speak out in the best interests of our movement, and
we hereby call upon our comrades to help put a stop to the spreading of
this virulent pest.
We refer here particularly to the case of Comrade Volin. For several
years now he has been made the subject of spiteful persecution by M.
Makhno, the sole reason for it being personal differences and envy. The
matter has been disgracing the Russian Anarchist refugee circles in
Berlin and Paris for a number of years and has been extremely harmful to
our propaganda. But now that persecution has culminated in a most
outrageous defamation of Comrade Volin by Makhno. In a booklet recently
published by the latter in reply to the Bolshevik Kubanin’s charges
against the Makhnovtsi, Makhno repeats Kubanin’s denunciation of Volin
as a renegade. Furthermore, Makhno’s own insinuations in this connection
virtually make Volin appear a spy.
We, the undersigned, unreservedly condemn these despicable tactics
within our ranks as unprincipled, irresponsible and most injurious to
the movement. Each of us knows Comrade Volin personally; we have worked
together with him in the movement for many years. We esteem Volin as one
of the most devoted and active comrades and as a man who has given the
best of his abilities and energies to the cause of Anarchism. We are
familiar with his year-long work in Russia, in America and in various
European countries, and we call upon our comrades everywhere to give no
credence whatever to the absolutely baseless accusations against him
either by his Bolshevik or “Anarchist” enemies. More: we earnestly urge
our comrades to help put an immediate stop to the vile and groundless
denunciation of our best comrades by backbiting and irresponsible
individuals. We must mercilessly hold up to execration such practices
and free our movement from this malign pest.
Fraternally,
ALEXANDER BERKMAN
Paris
November, 1928.