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Russian anarcho-syndicalists: ‘Neither Navalny nor Putin’

KRAS, a section of anarchist international the IWA, has come out swinging against the false choice of a right-wing bigot or a murderous autocrat posed by recent protests — in the following statement the group explains why.

We, anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists, consider it completely unacceptable for ourselves to take any part in political shows organized by supporters of the right-wing populist Navalny, who is sadly “famous” for his openly nationalist, anti-immigrant, anti-Caucasian and anti-Semitic statements. To march in the ranks of the demonstrations they convened would mean – regardless of any excuses or “explanations” – to turn into the back of one of the political gangs waging a dirty and unprincipled struggle for power.

We, as anarchists, believe that both the current authoritarian regime in the Kremlin, which became the successor of Yeltsin’s neoliberal clique, and the opposing group headed by Navalny, which is now seeking to seize the leadership of the entire mass of disaffected, are just the spokesmen for the interests of the country’s true rulers – the dominant Oligarchy and its “Iron Heel”. Supporting any of these camps completely contradicts our anarchist convictions and our social revolutionary goal. Participation in the struggle for power between various parties, coalitions and cliques, and the transfer of more than justified social discontent of people into the rotten channel of politicking only distract the working class from the struggle for its true social interests, from the awakening of the labour class consciousness and, ultimately, from the social and personal liberation.

We, anarchists, stand for the immediate and unconditional release of all anarchist, left-wing radical and social prisoners who are languishing today in the dungeons of the Oligarchy. But we are convinced that such a result must be achieved on our own, without turning into actual voluntary or involuntary servants of certain alien contenders for political power for the sake of continuing the same anti-social and neoliberal policy in the interests of Capital.

We cannot fight side by side with those who did not interfere with the total privatization and destruction of affordable health care and education, who did not oppose the anti-human pension reform, who last year supported the introduction of a universal terrorist system of surveillance and house arrest under the pretext of “fighting the epidemic”. There is no “lesser evil” for us, and we do not enter into an alliance with the enemy – even when he is the enemy of our enemy.

No to political struggle — for social resistance!


This statement was first published on aitrus.info

Pic: The golden toilet brush has been used as a symbol by pro-Navalny protesters against corruption under Putin

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