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Title: Dark Enlightenment for Ukraine
Author: Dmitry Mrachnik, Alexander Volodarsky
Date: 29 November 2017
Language: en
Topics: Ukraine, nationalism, fascism
Source: Retrieved on 5th February 2022 from https://www.nihilist.li/2017/11/29/dark-enlightenment-for-ukraine/

Dmitry Mrachnik, Alexander Volodarsky

Dark Enlightenment for Ukraine

Recently we’ve published a series of texts about a techno-fascist

philosophy with the pathetically funny title Dark Enlightenment. This

philosophy born in the US, denies democracy and equality, preaches

racism, absolute market freedom, «traditional values» and the

subordinate position of women. It’s alternative self-name — neoreaction

— speaks for itself. The adepts of the Dark Enlightenment are sure that

they are creating an influential secret society that works to restore

the social foundations of the time of absolute monarchy, while promoting

transhumanism and other high-tech ideas about improving humanity.

Furthermore this is not the story of a couple of freaks — the philosophy

is successfully developing, there are influential intellectuals among

its creators and supporters, including it should be separately

highlighted Nick Land. He combines neo-reaction with accelerationism,

and in the formulation of his ultra-capitalist and misanthropic ideology

relies (this is not an abusive language, Land is an honest and open

misanthrope), among other things, on Marxist and Deleuzian theory.

However, Land himself repeatedly admits that the union of religious

fanatics, racists and neo-futurist technocrats is situational and

temporary — they will kill each other if they have to share one state.

He hopes for the possibility of separating different branches of

neoreactionaries for life in different states. However, it is much more

likely that he (like other adherents of the technocratic direction, who

are the driving force of the neoreaction) hopes to simply dispose of the

dull comrades-in-arms after his hypothetical victory.

Neoreaction does not have a political dimension, remaining rather a

concept, a philosophy. There are no parties and movements behind it,

however, it has a serious influence on the modern far right — Alt Right,

which is the breeding ground for their ideological base: white

nationalism and male supremacy.

It turned out that we publicised the criticism of the Dark Enlightenment

not in vain, since this philosophy found its followers in Ukraine. Thus,

the Kiev-Mohyla Academy allocated a platform for its propaganda — on

November 24, a lecture «Philosophy of Dark Enlightenment: A Conservative

Challenge in the 21^(st) Century» was held in the walls of the

wannabe-oldest Ukrainian University. It was none other than Eduard

Yurchenko, the former ideological member of the Party of Regions, the

most prominent speaker of the Ukrainian Monarchy Club (curiously, which

monarchy he plans to revive in Ukraine?), The follower of the

pro-Kremlin philosopher Alexander Dugin and a supporter of the

counter-revolutionary, «traditional» values. Now this person is in the

party National Corps, where he tries to play the role of an ideologist,

promoting in his own way ideas that are in vogue among Western far

rightists. Obviously, within the framework of the lecture it did not

critically analyze the dark enlightenment, but, on the contrary, its

enthusiastic apologetics.

The reasons that prompted Yurchenko to leave the party of former

President Yanukovych and join the far-right National Corps party, which

is connected with the Azov regiment, are obvious. Yurchenko found a new

force, which, in his opinion, would be able to embody his reactionary

utopia. Reading his texts, we can say with confidence that he has

remained completely faithful to the old ideas. Some of them can be read

on the website of the Ukrainian traditionalist club, where you will

discover a lot of interesting things about the need for friendship

between Malorussia («Little Russia» — russian chauvinist title for

Ukraine) and Russia, and about the horrors of revolutions that should be

countered by the lost values ​​of elitism and monarchy. UTC’s ideas in

this regard strongly echo Russian imperial nationalism, which has

similar positions, but does not rest on the abstract tradition, but on

the example of a very concrete Russian Empire.

Considering the values ​​of the Dark enlightenment, as well as the values

​​of Yurchenko himself, it is not difficult to imagine what nonsense came

from the rostrum, courtesy of the Academy. First, the lecturer scares

listeners with the nightmares of a decaying West, which absorbs our

homeland, and then offers medicine — the acceptance of the hackneyed

«traditional values», only in a slightly mystical science fiction shell.

The usual tactic of reactionaries at all times is to intimidate people

with progress and offer salvation in exchange for freedom. It’s

ridiculous that Yurchenko himself, with his naphthalene monarchic

values, in the event of the victory of the neoreaction (which is

impossible, but we will address this another time) will at best be fuel

for the bioreactor — born a few centuries too late those rigid

conservatives are only interested in Dark Enlightenment as a tool for

confronting the left. In the posthuman world of technical singularity

(as well as on the way to it) there simply is no place for the romantic

fetishes of traditionalists. Yurchenko looks just as miserable as an

anarchist engaged in the propaganda of Bolshevism.

It is unlikely that this lecture was very interesting for students — for

activities related to Ukrainian traditionalist club, it would have been

attended by Yurchenko himself and his clones. They profess a cockeyed

version of fascism that could seriously interest the students of

Kiev-Mohyla Academy. The proximity of Eurasianism and the Russian World

will frighten off a public brought up in national-democratic traditions.

State patriotism is more important for most of them than the «white

race», and the word «Tradition» is associated more with ukrainian ethnic

embroidery than with Dugin’s rehashes René Guénon and Julius Evola. One

could ask the leadership of Kiev-Mohyla Academy whether they were

ashamed to arrange such an event within their walls. But we will not,

because we know: no, not ashamed. Academy got rid of this banal human

feeling. The administration, which gave the title of honorary professor

to the out-of-the-way anti-Semite, Sergei Belokon, which invited far

right ethicist Irina Fariion. The administration, who has tolerated

violence in her territory (including far right attacks on it’s own

students and teachers), has long been able to overcome the pitiful human

sense of shame by approaching, thus, to the ideals of the Dark

Enlightenment.