Antti Rautiainen

Repression targets Chita anarchists already jailed for war resistance and anti-regime graffiti

The regional prosecutor’s office for the Trans-Baikal region in eastern Siberia has submitted a petition to a local court to recognize the “Trans-Baikal Left Association” as a terrorist organisation. The petition refers to the telegram channel 75zlo, allegedly maintained by jailed anarchists Aleksandr Snezhkov and Lyubov Lizunova, which the petition asks to declare as “leaders” of this association.

Thousands of Russians have been fighting against the invasion to Ukraine. During first month of protests against the war, 15 000 people were detained. Small street actions are still sporadically taking place, although they are heavily persecuted. More than 300 people have been imprisoned for anti-war activities, including six anarchists and antifascists. What are the current anti-war initiatives in Russia to follow? How to support Russian anti-war movement, which is operating in more and more repressive circumstances? Why Russian anti-war movement has this far failed to change the course of war?

Two years of anti-government protests raise questions about organising around collective struggles

This article, edited and published by Freedom, has been adapted from a lecture given at anarchist days, Dresden, 21st September 2024. It has been updated with recent developments. The lecture is available on YouTube and Spotify.

Presentation in Apertus squat of Agrinion, Greece, 21 of June 2025. Presentation in English, translation to Greek.

Ελληνική περίληψη μετά το αγγλικό κείμενο του ιστολογίου.

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Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin outlined five goals for his war: Ukraine’s non-alignment with NATO; a change in Ukraine’s government; a severe limitation of Ukraine’s defence capacity; the seizure of Ukrainian territory (with international recognition); and the lifting of Western sanctions on Russia.

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A veteran of the anarchist and anti-fascist movement of Ukraine, Maxim Butkevich, has been a prisoner of war of the Russian army for two years. Anarchists could write more about him, and my text about him also comes late, but there is little that can be done to help him.

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June 11th is the International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason & All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. This action day has a long history, it was organized first time 20 years ago in 2004. In the first year, we managed to paint a graffiti to wall of one of the most guarded objects of Moscow, the US embassy.

The call for this years International Day of Solidarity is here.

And list of supported prisoners is here.

Anarchist group ANA Regensburg hosted my online-presentation on 16th of May 2024, in which I discussed tactics of anti-war activism in Russia, and reasons why the anti-war movement has not been able to make an impact to change the course of events yet. Cases of anarchists repressed for anti-war activities are presented, as well as strategies of support for political prisoners, and modest successes in supporting their struggles.

Listen in Spotify. Video embedded below. 

On April 19, Dmitry Petrov, a Russian anarchist fighting on the side of Ukraine, died in battle near Bakhmut. 

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For almost twenty years, Dima contributed immensely to the anarchist movement in Russia and Ukraine. Over the last ten years, we had only met once and our paths rarely crossed, so he may have altered his views on some questions. But, as his final message shows, in many ways, he remained unchanged.   

Anarchist anti-war action and the growing nationalism in Russia

Interview with Portuguese Mapa - Jornal de Informação Critica -paper, published in issue 35. Interview by Pedro Morais.

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Ever since the beginning of the Russian invasion against Ukraine, we have seen statements by anarchists, communists and leftists not from Ukraine, on how Ukrainian anarchists, communists and leftists should not defend themselves against attack of Putin, but lay down their arms and flee instead.

Podcast-versions: Soundcloud, Spotify

The results of the first 30 years of “democracy” in Ukraine are, to put it mildly, unconvincing. The economy and the media are in the hands of rival oligarchs, corruption is at staggering levels, economic development lags behind many African countries, and in addition, the country has become the center of the neo-Nazi movement around the world. And these problems are basically home-grown, not the result of the Kremlin’s intrigues.

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In April 2017, a bombing took place in the Saint Petersburg metro. The explosion killed 16 people and injured 103.

According to the pre-trial investigation, the suicide attack was carried out by Akbarzhon Dzhalilov and organized by the “Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad” jihadist group consisting of Uzbek fighters, active in Syria, previously with support from Al-Qaeda. The group however, did not claim responsibility for the attack.

In February, a critique of Moscow-based bands What We Feel(WWF) and Moscow Death Brigade(MDB) written by “Antifascist Subculture Worldwide”-collective appeared on the German website, Linksunten (in English). Both WWF, MDB (1) as well as 210 (2)  have since responded to the criticisms. I would like to add few points to answers of WWF and MDB.

Despite the bleakness of the situation in Ukraine, at least I was amused by the fact that Nazis were fighting on both sides of the front, killing each other.

But then I found out that some "anti-fascists" have been doing the same 1) 2) 3).

I am sure that in terms of the entire former Soviet Union only a minority of the Antifas is willing to die for Poroshenko or Putin. However, the scale of this problem is significant, and any attempts to react to it 4) also have their shortcomings 5).

On Friday, the 2nd of May, the House of Trade Unions in Odessa caught on fire. Altogether at least 42 people lost their lives during the clashes in the city, most of them in the fire and the others in streetfights. There is an excellent Russian language, eyewitness account of the events available here.