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Title: To comrades in Russia Author: Tekoşîna Anarşîst Date: August 6, 2020 Language: en Topics: Tekoşîna Anarşîst, letter, Russia Source: Retrieved on 2020-10-10 from https://tekosinaanarsist.noblogs.org/post/2020/08/06/to-comrades-in-russia-the-letter-from-tekosina-anarsist/
We watched the «Network» case process until the end. We wish comrades to
be strong, and use the time in prison to learn, educate, maintain and
develop revolutionary spirit and human dignity, and come out of that
ordeal stronger than before. We wish freedom for all as soon as
possible. The torture can break, injure and kill people, but it can
never kill our ideas.
We know that strong dilemmas arose during the process. We are aware that
many people stopped supporting certain defendants because of their
deeds, attitudes and decisions before and during the «Network» process.
And as the trial has come to an end, we would like to wish something to
our comrades in Russia.
All of us and particularly comrades in post-soviet countries need to
analyze the «Network» case and learn from its contradictions. The case
has been devastating for a lot of people and drew a lot of resources.
Now the challenge for comrades is how to grow stronger from the last
years and keep a strong spirit. We all need to think, how to approach
the events and outcomes of the case, thinking as a movement that is
responsible for comrades in it, and not only as individuals and groups
of friends. The repression is a part of our reality in the struggle for
a society without the state. We have to count on it and be ready for it.
It also means consciously not creating an illusion that we might avoid
repression from the Russian or other states, if we are «good enough»
from their point of view, not „bad enough“ to get jailed. No matter what
we will do, comrades, we won’t be good enough for the Russian or any
other state. And that‘s not what we should be trying to do. We need to
leave behind the categories and dichotomies of legality and illegality,
imposed by the legislation. With all the trials of recent years and just
simply every day life, people in Russia again and again experienced the
injustice of the corrupted legal system. Instead of legality, they can
relate much more to a sense of legitimacy. Many of our comrades can
understand that very well after the «Network» case, too. As long as we
struggle to change the country, that path will mean a lot of sacrifices
and militancy in confrontation with the police state of Russia. And it
means that more comrades will face prison and more contradictions and
challenges will arise in front of us. We must be ready and be able to
face contradictions and such problems we saw in «Network» case head-on,
not allow that to create division between comrades and cracks in our
culture of solidarity.
We need to be able to struggle for real change in a long-term
revolutionary organizing which frame goes beyond our life-times. For
that, there is a need to find solutions to the conflicts, contradictions
and divisions of past decade, which we could see grow in Russian,
Belarusian and Ukrainian anarchist milieu. That milieu has to be less of
«a scene» and needs to start developing into a movement. We already know
it can‘t be a political party, but also it needs to stop reproducing
toxic dynamics that we learned in capitalist society. Such movement
cannot be authoritarian. It must have autonomous women and non-male
structures that would ensure inclusivity, variety of experiences and
approaches that would address the issues of oppression that women and
LGBTQIA face. Not on a liberal or parliamentary, but on a social,
liberatory and radical level. Issues of patriarchy have been one of the
central problems of anarchist movements in post-soviet countries and
they have to be addressed as fundamental problems of our society.
Simultaneously, people in Russia are facing a brutal police state and
it’s inherited ex-GULAG prison system, monstrous and ridiculous trials
and a reality of surviving in capitalism. For years now, we all watch
the chauvinist conservative trend siding and growing with the orthodox
church and hegemony of the political regime of the Russian state. To be
able to survive that and build a revolutionary movement, we have to
develop effective liberatory (libertarian) mechanisms to deal with our
internal issues and foster our organizational structures. We cannot
fight each other, instead we need to build comradeship and be able to
struggle collectively for a better and more free life.
Because of such and many other problems named above, we can feel alone,
alienated, disconnected from revolutionary organizing. And then, when
the police state knocks on the door – we are not ready, because we do
not have a strong movement behind our backs. A movement, that is able to
give a serious reason and motivation to struggle, and stand our ground
in the face of the state machinery. For that reason, struggle should
also be accessible and understandable for different people with
different capacities and needs. If we don’t have that, with next waves
of repression we will see more Russian comrades leaving the country in
the face of repression, unable to rely on and defend themselves within
any kind of organized movement. Moreover, we need to build a different
approach and become militant organizers that would constitute such
movement. Without militants, we can’t have a long-lasting and strong
organization and movement. And without organization, without movement,
we can’t have militants — only individuals that will struggle as
semi-isolated participants of the “scene” or circles of friends, until
they burn out like matches. It eventually results in comrades leaving
the dreams and practice of the revolution, comradeship and struggle for
life in freedom, in favor of securing their own private life and
personal survival in capitalism.
There is a need of a strong movement in Russia, that would provide solid
political and social basis for the people to organize themselves. It
needs a solid political foundation and perspective, a deep analysis and
understanding of the current reality and situation. In Russia and other
post-soviet countries, we cannot ignore the fundamental problems of
prison and judicial systems, patriarchy and misogynistic, homophobic
violence, cruel struggle in economical realities of capitalism and it’s
impact on ecology. The reality which we live in is formed by these and
many other problems such as Russian colonialism, and we need to make
this understanding to be the holistic, inter-connected basis of the
struggle. In such basis, we want to recognize cultural, linguistic,
physical, material and spiritual patterns as equal aspects of
resistance. It brings new dimensions and changes fields of the struggle.
What does self-defense mean to us, if we recognize that the existence of
the state and it’s institutions, patriarchal mindset in all everyday
relations, and coercive authority are the social warfare itself? We need
to put self-defense at the core of our revolutionary culture.
Whenever we establish mechanisms that ensure prevention of hierarchies
and give power to the communal processes, it is self-defense. When we
survive repression and defend people on the inside of the state
apparatus and build support networks, we practice self defense.
Protection units and defense structures that wage collective physical
defense are probably the most widely recognized form of self defense.
When we are able to create strong communal bonds and mutual care,
growing confident in our competence, we lay the foundation of self
defense. Establishing autonomous women and non-binary structures to
ensure inclusion and actively work on the patriarchal, capitalist
patterns within ourselves and our comrades, we battle the strongest
enemy inside of us, in the interest of self defense and comradeship. A
connection, relation, bond to the land and nature in all her forms and
keeping it safe is self defense. Remembering our comrades that lost
their lives or defending other people, nature and society, as well as
supporting those who fell in captivity, means self-defense. A strong
spiritual, mental and physical health is foundational for self defense,
as well as mechanisms that will help us to heal, recuperate and
reconcile with ourselves and communities around us. Creating our
channels for propaganda, media and communications is a vital part of
self defense. When we study and train to gain knowledge and expertise,
strong focused education is an ultimate condition of successful self
defense. And sometimes the most effective self-defense is an offensive
attack.
To conclude, we wish success and strength to our comrades in Russia and
all post-soviet countries. Take care of each other, so we all can be
strong together! No constitution or laws, no state or it’s leaders can
give freedom, justice and equality to the people. We can only build it
together.
Tekoşîna Anarşîst,
July 2020