Situation in Northern Caucasus and Libertarian reaction

  This article was originally published in Avtonom #30 in the Autumn of 2008. whole issue is available in PDF format  here. It was translated for Abolishing the Borders from Below #35 in Autumn of 2009  with a number of mistakes  corrected and some information updated..

It is of little doubt that the total failure of any attempts to oppose the Second Chechen War was the most bitter defeat of the Russian anarchist movement during the past decade. A feeling of total powerlesness in front of the brutal realities of the Chechenyan meat-grinder was pressing so heavily on the imagination of anti-authoritarians during the first half of the decade, that the movement was onlyable to recovere slightly when the intensity of the war gradually calmed down. 

35 year-old comrade Lambros Foundas was murdered by cops on Wednesday morning in the suburb of Dafni (south Athens).

The police claims that he was a “terrorist” and that he was shot while trying to steal a car, and that was carrying firearms. Fountas was one of the over 500 anarchists arrested at the Polytechnic riots of 1995, in Athens.

Catalan anarchist prisoner Amadeu Casellas Ramon was released from prison at midday on Tuesday, 9 March!!!

The director of the penitentiary center at Girona (Catalunya, Spanish State) finally considered all the complaints and petitions submitted by Casellas' lawyers and concluded that Casellas had been imprisoned for 8 years too long, and ordered his immediate release.

On April , the 17, 2010 in Kiev will be held the second international tournament of mixed martial arts among the anti-fascists of Europe "No surrender!!

Currently there is a fabricated case against 3 antifascists going on Izhevsk, we raised funds for this in autumn: http://www.avtonom.org/old/index.php?nid=2530

During court proceedings, defence presented as a proof a phone conversation which took place 3rd of March between one of the accused anti-fascists (Mark Kolbin) and one of the alleged Nazi victims (Andrey Agafonov).

A British soldier who refused to return to duty in Afghanistan and went on to speak at anti-war rallies was sentenced to nine months' detention in a military prison on 5th of March. Support group in London is going to appeal, but it's not known whether that can change the situation. Though, people from all over the world already could show, how much solidarity can be effective, organised on 4th and 5th of March actions in support of Joe  in UK, Italy, USA, Germany, Greece, Russia and earlier, in January, also in New Zealand and Poland. Thanks to those people, charge of desertion was dropped and instead of 10 years detention in prison Joe was sentenced to 9 months.

In the modern world every single life is considered to be the highest value but wars are not on the decrease, people keep on dying and staying crippled, keep on running away from the places they were born because their homeland has turned to ruins. And those, who try to protest against war have arraignment, followed by prison sentence. We going to take issue with that! We support all soldiers-antimilitarists, who refuse to take part in military action!
Today, 4th of March, near the British Embassy was organised a picket in support of lance corporal Joe Glenton, one of those, who could say, what millions of people all over the world want to say. All those people want the same thing - to stop senseless wars and murders.

It is an open secret that the newly created centers for counteraction of extremism in Russia often become the tool of repression and work against civil liberties and initiatives. Doing their work the "fighters against extremism" don't despise to break the law brutally. In Petrozavodsk 3 young people became the victims of the police outrage.

On 5 March UK refusenik Joe Glenton faces court martial and possibly two years in jail for going AWOL (absent without leave). According to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), soldiers have gone on the run from their posts on more than 17,000 occasions since 2003.

 

WHY PICK ON JOE GLENTON? Because Joe has spoken publicly about his refusal to take part in the war and occupation of Afghanistan.   The steady drumbeat of attacks on civilians continues:  On 21 February, 33 civilians including women and children were killed in Uruzgan province in a NATO airstrike on a convoy of vehicles. When will the killing end?

On February 23 in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and several other former republics of the Soviet Union the holiday "Defender of the Motherland Day" is celebrated. As the name suggests, the holiday is celebrated by people who are serving or were serving in the Russian Armed Forces. This holiday is always full of patriotism and prevailing authorities do their best to fill people's heads with shit, making them to be ashamed of unwilingness of military service and to respect those who served in the armed forces, if not love it. Also 23 of February in 1944 is connected with violent department of Chechens and Ingushs to the Central Asia. As a resuls of this 1/4 of the departed died from cold and hunger.

Today, 23 of february at 10.30 a.m. about 30 anarchists attacked central Moscow military headquarter. Antimilitatists threw light bulbs and bottles filled with red paint to the building. Emblems symbolized victims of military system.

We have posted on the ridiculous case of Vsevolod “Seva” Ostapov on two previous occasions. Yesterday, February 17, the whole ugly story came to a (we hope, temporary) conclusion in a Moscow court. Below, you’ll find translations of some of the coverage in the non-state-controlled press. We begin, however, with a short video by Grani-TV.Ru filmed outside and inside the Moscow courthouse where Seva was handed a one-year suspended sentence for the crime of being savagely beaten by the police. Seva himself, his lawyer, his parents, and his defenders share their impressions of the trial before and after the sentencing. The video also includes brief footage of the judge reading out the verdict. (In Russian)

Freedom of speech is general right, which is guaranteed by the State, but no one guaranties the freedom after you would say something. Heightened attention of the State locked on "thoughtcrimes" and rumbles of opposition of all kinds leads us to think...

A British soldier who refused to return to duty in Afghanistan and subsequently spoke at anti-war rallies today admitted going absent without leave after a more serious charge of desertion was dropped.

On 6th January 2010 the police arrested 23 people in Ankara (Turkey) by using brutal force.

Year and two days ago, human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and anarchist journalist of Novaya Gazeta, Anastasia Baburova were shot in cold blood in center of Moscow.

Sad anniversary two days ago, 19th of January, became biggest manifestation of solidarity with Russian anti-fascists ever – actions were organised in more than 30 cities in Russia and around the world.

On January 19, we opened a street-art exhibition on the outer wall of the State Museum of Political History (the former Kschenssinska mansion) in Saint Petersburg. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of our friends the civil rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and the journalist Anastasia Baburova.

Today, 15 of January, over against the embassy of Great Britain there was a picket in support of lance corporal Joe Glenton, that was organised by anarchists involving members of "Autonomous action".
Activists showed their solidarity to Glenton's decision, unwraped the banner "It's better to be deserter, than to be killer" and passing out antiwar leaflets.

German-Ukrainian blogger Alexander "shiitman" Volodarsky

15th of December of 2009 regional court of Primorsky overturned sentence of anarchist anti-fascist Yuri Mishutkin, who was 12th of October given a one-year probational sentence according to statute 108 part 1 of the Russian criminal codex (manslaughter due to exceeding necessary limits of self-defence).

From time to time, we should meet to discuss perspectives of our movement in the framework of global capitalism, evaluate successes and failures of our fight and plan new struggles. For this purpose, we invite you to the “Libertarian communism 2010” forum to be organised in Moscow.

Ivan “Vanya Bonecrusher” Khutorskoy was shot in Moscow by an unknown nazi assassin on the 16th of November 2009. This interview with him (where he uses a pseudonym) was published on the punxunite.ru website on the 29th of September this year. Take the time to read it in order to know about this man and his ideas, share it with your friends and translate it.<

In evening of 17th of November, friends of Ivan Khutorskoy, anarchists and anti-fascists gathered at metro station "Tsvetnoy Boulevard" to gather financial support to family of Ivan. At least 400 people gathered there.

Yesterday evening, Monday the 16th of November, 26 year old anti-fascist Ivan “Vanya Kostolom” Khutorskoy was shot to death at the entrance to his home at Khabarovsk street in the east side of Moscow; according to some information with two shots to his head. 

 My assumption of guilt

On the arrests of the suspected murderers of StanislavMarkelov and Anastasia Baburova 

In Izhevsk, officers of Centre of Counteraction Against Extremism (CPE, new Russian political police, formed in January of 2009) are falsifying a case against members of Autonomous Action.

They postponed sentencing the woman who was convicted for ecoterrorist assault on Washington University. Prosecution has some additions to this case.