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Title: An antifascist nation Author: Dmitry Mrachnik Date: 2 April 2022 Language: en Topics: anti-fascism, Ukraine, Russia, war Source: Retrieved on 3rd April 2022 from https://www.nihilist.li/2022/04/02/an-antifascist-nation-the-dramatic-change-of-narrative-in-the-russian-ukrainian-war/ Notes: Translated by Maryna Hladyrevska, edited by Romeo Kokriatski.
The undeclared war against Ukraine has been ongoing for the past eight
years. During this time, Kremlin propagandists have been relentlessly
forging an extensive narrative: Russia, being an international
peacekeeper and the “progenitor of communism”, is fighting Ukrainian
“Nazism,” and considers the Ukrainian revolution of 2014 to be a fascist
coup resulting in a Nazi junta. Ukrainian volunteers in Donbas are
Banderites (followers of Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist
movement leader in the 1940s), while Volodymyr Zelensky (being Jewish)
is just a toy in the hands of radical nationalists. Thus, according to
Vladimir Putin, the only reason for Ukraine’s constant and fierce
resistance to the full Russian military invasion of 2022 are
provocations conducted by Neo-Nazis.
The new round of the devastating war over the last month exposed how
blunt and corrupted the Russian regime is: they had not worked off
actual intelligence regarding Ukrainian moods and capabilities, but
relied on Russian state TV propaganda. As a result, the Russian army
started their offensive without adequate preparation, supply, and even
realistic operational objectives. This fish rots from the head down, and
said head believed that the Ukrainian army would not resist, and that
Ukrainian citizens will give Russian soldiers a warm welcome. Well, the
Ukrainians did indeed welcome them with palyanytsya (a traditional
Ukrainian bread and symbol of hospitality), but in a completely
different way. Russians can’t really pronounce this Ukrainian word
correctly, so it became a quick and precise background check when
identifying subversive Russian reconnaissance groups, and a popular joke
and meme.
Nevertheless, this vast narrative was wrecked, much like a ship led by a
self-aggrandizing and incapable captain. His crew was reluctant to
deliver bad news to him, and didn’t report on the oncoming blizzard and
the rocks in the distance. And just like that, the Russian assault on
February 24 turned out to be an impudent and powerless action. Putin
failed to persuade the global community that democratic and thriving
under the toughest conditions Ukraine is actually miserable and unworthy
of international support.
Russian state media relied on trumpeting the narrative of fascists among
the Ukrainian military and volunteer units, but managed to convince only
a marginal section of Western leftists. Such arguments as a “coup
d’etat” in Ukraine, or the “Kyiv Nazi junta” had been completely
disavowed during the past eight years of war. Moreover, thousands of
Europeans and Americans had visited Ukraine and made up their mind
according to their own experience — and their conclusions did not line
up with the Kremlin’s line
The fact that Ukraine is far from fascism can be easily substantiated by
our public life, inter alia, free elections, rotation in power, freedom
to protest, etc. A mass of research in recent years has revealed that
Ukrainians disapprove of hate crimes, even against marginalized groups.
Furthermore, prevalent attitudes regarding social and economic issues
tend toward the left side of the political spectrum.
Right-wing radical parties are not represented in the Ukrainian
Parliament, as they fail the electoral threshold, while the popular
liberal party Holos, or voice, leads its own parliamentary faction and
is remarkably vociferous about implementing relatively left-wing policy.
The ruling Servant of the People party has many specific post-Soviet
shortcomings, but it seems cautious during decision-making, and
responsive to public feedback. Certainly, there are solid grounds for
criticism, but obviously, it will not move towards authoritarianism,
despite holding a mono-majority, and its leader, President Zelensky, is
a living testament to that.
Violation of the laws and customs of war, and conduct of war crimes:
Russia had invaded Ukraine without any legitimate reason, it is
occupying our towns, conducting massed shelling and rocket attacks
against residential areas, commencing airstrikes on hospitals and
shelters; attacking humanitarian corridors. The Russian military commits
robberies, plunders civilian residences, and conducts other violent
crimes against civilians and their property, including widespread rape.
Russian troops are responsible for the forcible abduction of thousands
of Ukrainians to the Russian Federation; as well as for numerous cases
of kidnapping and torturing of mayors and councilors in small Ukrainian
towns.
Suppression of dissent in the Russian Federation: independent media in
Russia have ceased their activities; Russian censorship rules stipulate
that the war must be called a “special operation”, it is forbidden to
use the word “war” itself; there is a brutal crackdown on any anti-war
protests; independent reporting on, and protests against the war, are
criminalized with penalties of up to 15 years in prison.
Incitement of anti-Ukrainian hatred: Russian state media and authorities
disseminate conspiracy allegations that Kyiv is developing a biological
weapon of a selective ethnic anti-Russian nature; they depict the
Ukrainians as enemies of humanity, and conversely, accuse NATO of the
same. Russian propaganda turned out to be inspired by the Third Reich:
the speech Putin gave on the eve of the offensive is a clear paraphrase
of Goebbels’ pre-war oration.
The vulgarization of Russian patriotism: Russian “patriotism” is reduced
to the letter “Z”, this primitive symbol of military aggression. Since
the beginning of the invasion, it has evolved from a simple mark for
armored vehicles, into a contemporary swastika.
As it follows from these salient facts, notably the worship of this
concept of national supremacy, scathing intolerance to any kind of
dissent, hate speech in state media, and war crimes, Russia can be
safely declared to be a fascist state. We are witnessing one more
“killing joke”: the ideology of the USSR, for decades, was defined by
its opposition to fascism, while Russia had turned into a fascist
regime. This is not an ironic remark: any scientific definition of
fascism accurately describes what is happening in the Russian state
today. The only people resisting fascism in the 21^(st) century are the
Ukrainians — both ideologically and practically, armed either with guns
or our national flag. We are fighting fascism in terms of the global
order, because we are protecting democracy and human rights. We are
fighting fascism ideologically, as we stand for peace and mutual respect
among peoples. We are fighting fascism in the name of being, since we
believe that love defines life, not domination and hate.
Witihout exaggeration, Ukraine today is an antifascist nation. We are
standing on the front lines of a worldwide struggle against totalitarian
darkness and rage. Volunteers from all over the world come to Ukraine to
help us exterminate the fascist beast. There is no denying that our Azov
regiment was put on the map by right-wing rabble-rousers, but it has now
shifted its attitudes and taken a stand against fascism conceptually,
and practically. There is no chance you can find antifascists like us
anywhere else in the whole world. No one has embodied antifascism as
Ukraine has. There is no other country that has managed to incarnate
antifascism without any ideological bias, aside from the protection of
freedom and humanism.
Many of the world’s antifascists are merely LARPers. Occasionally, they
break into a scuffle with the others like themselves, but from the other
party. Few have taken direct action to protect themselves, their values,
and their communities like Ukraine has. They hate countries for no
reason, they support ones whom they have never met and know vanishingly
little about. It’s easy, safe, and pleasant to tackle imaginary fascism
in Germany or express support for Palestinian militants. However, waging
war against actual fascism is perilous (though also delightful at
times). Antifascists all over the world should revise their distorted
beliefs. Otherwise, they risk missing out on a crucial juncture of
history.