The following is an ACG interview with the comrades of the Confederation of
Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists (CRAS), the Russian section of theanarcho-syndicalist International Workers' Association. We wanted to ask themabout their organisation, the situation in Russia, and their response to thecurrent war in Ukraine. ---- ACG: For people who don't know could you just saywho CRAS is and what are your aims? ---- CRAS: In short, CRAS is a smallanarcho-syndicalist organization, a kind of pre-union initiative. We have existedsince the mid-1990s, supported many labor and social conflicts, trying tofamiliarize workers with the ideas, practices and methods of anarcho-syndicalism.Our aim is to prepare the creation of an independent, class-based libertarianlabor movement in the region of the Earth that bears the name of Russia. We seeanarcho-syndicalism as a way to achieve our goal - anarchist communism.ACG: What was your group ‘getting up to' before the war, ie what activities haveyou done?CRAS: In the center of our activity is the support of the strike movement, socialprotests in urban areas, the fight against neo-liberal reforms of theauthorities. We have some experience in these areas. For example, we activelyhelped the occupational strike of the workers of the machine-building plant inYasnogorsk in 1999 - one of the few that was led by the workers' assembly. In themid-2000s, we participated in the movement against the construction of commercialhousing in Moscow, which destroyed the housing environment. In the 2010s, almostno demonstration against the destruction of affordable health care and educationtook place without our participation. In 2018, we were at the forefront of themovement against pension reform, calling for a general strike against thisneo-liberal reform. Unfortunately, our possibilities are very limited by therepressive laws on rallies and demonstrations, the dominance of bureaucratictrade unions and the general frustration of the population. But we do what wecan. Sometimes even more is possible. So, last year one of our comrades in one ofthe cities even became the inspirer of a small strike at his worker's place.ACG: Have you been contacted by other anarchist groups internationally? what kindof tangible solidarity would you like to see from other libertarian socialistmovements around the world?CRAS: We are a section of the International Workers' Association, ananarcho-syndicalist International, and participate in its work, in itsinternational campaigns and solidarity actions. We did not ask for any materialassistance for our activities. But for us it is always very important to exchangeinformation and experience of self-organization, which we can then share with theworking people of this country. In addition, it is always very important to feelthat you are not alone, but part of a world movement, a world process.It gives the feeling that you are fighting for a just reason, no matter how hardit is. And, of course, help can always be needed in case of repression.ACG: A very broad question I know, but from where you are what is the situationyou are up against and what forms of actions are your comrades engaged in?CRAS: Comrades who are members of the CRAS work in various fields and industries.Most of them are workers in the field of education and science, but there arealso workers in logistics, in a factory, etc. Unfortunately, we are all scatteredaround different enterprises and institutions, which makes it difficult forpossible joint actions in the labor sphere. In previous years, we were activelyoperating "on the street", but now it has become almost impossible. According toRussian law, any group street action must obtain prior permission from theauthorities, otherwise it is mercilessly dispersed, and its participants arearrested and put on trial. Already a few years ago, it became very difficult toobtain such permission even for a small solidarity picket, we were repeatedlyrefused. Since 2020, any street protests are generally prohibited under thepretext of a "pandemic". What remains is verbal campaigning, stickers,leaflets... And participation in larger protests when they take place. Forexample, now some of our comrades are participating in anti-war demonstrations.ACG: Have you been watching/aware of recent western media coverage? Are there anyrecurring things that the western media gets wrong or that people generally aregetting wrong/missing?CRAS: It would be difficult to demand objectivity and impartiality from thecapitalist and statist mass media, be they "Western" or "Eastern". Of course, inthe present war they take a partial and one-sided position. The blame is placedsolely on one side, and it all comes down to the presence of specific bad peoplein the top government leadership. Any systematic analysis of what is happening iscompletely or almost absent. And, of course, the idea of "collective guilt" ofentire population of a country for the actions of the authorities of this countryis completely unacceptable. We always say that ordinary people in any country areno more responsible for the actions of "their" authorities than a prisoner is forthe actions of the head of the prison.ACG: It has been reported that in Russia the media has concentrated on the factthat the Ukrainian military had imminent plans to invade Donbas, and has alsoreported that the US is involved in bioweapons development in the Ukraine. Whatcredence do you give to these reports?CRAS: Let us first explain how we generally see this conflict. We think, thereare different levels of conflict and different levels of inter-capitalistcontradictions. At the regional level, today's war is just a continuation of thestruggle between the ruling castes of the post-Soviet states for the redivisionof the post-Soviet space. Contrary to popular myth, the Soviet Union collapsednot as a result of popular liberation movements, but as a result of theactivities of a part of the ruling nomenklatura clans, which divided territoriesand zones of influence among themselves, when the usual and established methodsof his domination were in crisis. Since that initial division, which was based onthe then balance of power, a constant struggle for the redistribution ofterritories and resources has developed, leading since 1991 to constant warsthroughout the post-Soviet region. At the same time, the ruling classes of allpost-Soviet states (all of them, to one degree or another, come from the Sovietnomenklatura or its successors) have adopted militant nationalism in ideology,neoliberalism in economics, and authoritarian methods of management in politics.The second level of conflict is the struggle for hegemony in the post-Sovietspace between the strongest state in the region, Russia, which calls itself aregional power and considers the entire post-Soviet space as an area of itshegemonic interests, and the states of the Western bloc (although here, too, theinterests and aspirations of the United States and individual European NATO andEU states may not be exactly the same). Both sides seek to establish theireconomic and political control over the countries of the former Soviet Union.Hence the clash between NATO's expansion to the East and Russia's desire tosecure these countries under its influence.The third level of contradictions is of an economic-strategic nature. It is nocoincidence that modern Russia is called "an appendage to the gas and oilpipeline." Russia plays today on the world market, first of all, the role ofsupplier of energy resources, gas and oil. The predatory and completely corruptruling class, purely parasitic in its essence, did not begin to invest in thediversification of the economic structure, contenting themselves withsuper-profits from oil and gas supplies. Meanwhile, Western capital and statesare beginning the transition to a new energy structure, the so-called "greenenergy", aimed at reducing the consumption of gas and oil in the future.For Russian capital and its economy, this will mean the same strategic collapsethat the fall in oil prices once caused for the Soviet economy. Therefore, theKremlin seeks to prevent this energy turnaround, or slow it down, or at leastachieve more favorable conditions for itself in the redistribution of the energymarket. For example, looking for long-term supply contracts and better prices,pushing out competitors, etc. If necessary, this can involve direct pressure onthe West in various ways.Finally, the fourth (global) level is the contradictions between the maincapitalist superpowers, the United States in retreat and China in the advance,around which blocs of allies, vassals and satellites are forming. Both countriesare now vying for world hegemony. For China, with its "one belt, one road"strategy, the gradual conquest of the economies of Asia, Africa, Latin Americaand the penetration of Europe, Russia is an important minor partner. The responseof the United States and its allies in the West is NATO's expansion eastward,reaching out through Ukraine and Georgia to the Near and Middle East and itsresources. This is also a type of "belt" project. He finds resistance fromimperialist rivals: China and Russia, which depend more and more on him.At the same time, the domestic political aspect should not be overlooked. TheCovid crisis has exposed the deep internal instability of the political, economicand social structure of all the countries of the world. This also applies to thestates of the West, Russia, Ukraine, etc. The deterioration of living conditions,the growth of prices and social inequality, the massive indignation of thepopulation with coercive and dictatorial measures and prohibitions gave rise towidespread discontent in society. And in such situations, the ruling classes havealways resorted to tried and tested methods to restore the notorious "nationalunity" and the population's confidence in power: by creating the image of anenemy and whipping up military hysteria, even a "victorious little war".In the light of this general analysis, your specific questions can also beanalyzed. Was Ukraine preparing a strike in the Donbass? Theoretically, inprinciple, Ukraine has never ruled out the scenario of the reintegration ofterritories that Croatia once used against the Serbian Krajina. But was theUkrainian state going to do it at the present moment? We are not included in highoffices and general staffs, therefore we cannot answer this question. As forreports of biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine, we are also unable toverify them.A war is going on, and military propaganda from any side can never be trusted.In addition, these accusations are too reminiscent of propaganda rumors about thepresence of weapons of mass destruction, which were used by the US and itssatellites to invade Iraq.ACG: Do you think that Western Imperialism/NATO actions created the circumstanceswhere a war was inevitable?CRAS: Let's put it this way: the sides provoked each other, trying to lure theother into a trap. As the head of Ukraine's delegation to the NATO ParliamentaryAssembly, Yegor Chernev, explained on February 12, Western states were presentingthe Kremlin with a choice: "dare a large-scale invasion, or permanently retreatand lock themselves inside their own country." And further: "There is no need topanic, even if Putin tries to slip out of the American trap and still gives theorder to invade. Our army is ready to give the Russians a hell of a reception,and the West's sanctions response will quickly bury the Russian economy. And thenRussia may collapse, and we let's get peace..." We don't know if that's what NATOreally intended. But it is clear that even if this was the case, the Kremlingladly jumped into this adventure, since it is in line with its hegemonic plans.ACG: What is your view of the Donbas question?CRAS: Separatism in Donbas emerged from the so-called "Anti-Maidan", that is,from the movement of 2013-2014 against the liberal-nationalist "Maidan" rebellionin Kiev and its seizure of power. If Maidan was inspired by Ukrainiannationalism, then Anti-Maidan was led by Russian nationalists and received thesupport of the Kremlin. In other words, no matter what regional contradictionsand language problems existed in Ukraine before 2014, the current conflictbetween the Ukrainian state, on the one hand, and the regimes in Donetsk andLuhansk, is a conflict of two nationalisms, in which forces from outsideconstantly interfere. Neither side was willing to make concessions. Thegovernment in Kyiv categorically rejected not only the idea of a federalstructure, but did not even want to grant limited autonomy to the Donbass. Fortheir part, the leaders of Donetsk and Luhansk were not going to return toUkraine and dreamed of joining Russia. The intensity of this conflict has variedover the years, but in the last couple of months before the Russian intervention,it again escalated significantly. The parties fired at each other, and, accordingto the OSCE mission, the number of incidents amounted to many hundreds. This wasthe pretext and prelude for the Russian invasion.ACG: What is the impact of fascism in Russia? What do you understand about theinfluence of fascism in Ukraine?CRAS: Today, in general, it is very difficult to talk about what fascism is, moreprecisely, about where the line lies separating fascism from modern bourgeoisdemocracy. Yes, in fact, this line has always been unsteady, as Malatesta spokeabout. For example, we believe that today the processes of creeping fascisizationare going on all over the world towards an "emergency state". But be that as itmay, it cannot be argued that fully-fledged fascist regimes exist in Ukraine orin Russia today. In both countries, authoritarian nationalist forces are inpower, pursuing neoliberal and repressive policies. Another thing is that in bothcountries there are also openly fascist and neo-Nazi groups that do not even hidetheir historical continuity. And they are to some extent integrated into thestructures of power and repressive bodies. Therefore, when it is said in Russiaabout the Ukrainian pro-fascist detachments Azov, Aidar or Freikorps, it isreasonable to ask why they are silent about the fact that the Russian fascistparamilitary party Russian National Unity from the very beginning supportedRussian separatism in the Donbass, and now the fighting in Ukraine, and, forexample, the head of the Russian space department, Rogozin, in the past led theRussian ultranationalist Rodina party, which during this period demanded a ban onall Jewish organizations in Russia. And why are the Bandera marches in Ukrainebetter than the ideas of the Russian fascist philosopher Ivan Ilyin, who is lovedin the Kremlin, or the pro-fascist and antisemitic "Russian Marches"?ACG: Are you in contact with comrades in Ukraine? If so have they said anythingspecific around International Solidarity?CRAS: We were in constant contact with Ukrainian anarchists before this war, andwe continue to maintain information exchange with some of them even now.Unfortunately, the Ukrainian anarchist movement is strongly split into variousgroups and currents. Many of them now actually supported the Ukrainian state andeven joined military formations. We denounce this practice as a departure fromanarchism and internationalism. Others take a more internationalist stance,opposing both states and now working primarily in the field of humanitarianassistance to populations suffering from war. We try to maintain contacts withthem, as well as with individual Ukrainian opponents of the war. We consider thisextremely important precisely from the point of view of internationalism andsolidarity. After all, we are against any war - with the exception of a class war!ACG: Based on your experiences do you have any advice for the movement in Britainmoving forward?CRAS: It is difficult for us to give any specific advice to anarchists inBritain. If we are talking about the current situation and the war, it seems tous very important that anarchists oppose the support of any belligerent state,oppose any nationalism, including the so-called "national liberation". Today weclearly see what tragedies these ideas lead to: Donbass declares about "nationalliberation" from Ukraine, Ukraine - about "national liberation" from Russia,Russia - about "liberation from neo-colonial dependence" from the West, etc.There is not and cannot be any "lesser evil". And anarchists around the worldshould remember this and act accordingly.https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/03/18/interview-with-cras-russian-anarcho-syndicalists_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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