#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #BULGARIA #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) anarchy.bg: #Russia, Appeal of activists from the eighth initiative group (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 This text was published on March 10 on the Instagram page of the group of the

Eighth Initiative, a feminist group organizing resistance against the invasion of
Ukraine. ---- List of related publications: ---- Waiting for the wheel of history
to turn ---- Why the Russian anti-war movement remains our greatest hope ---- For
the working class: along with Ukraine - Expect ---- On March 5, 2022, riot police
stormed the homes of our activists and those of other feminist movements, as well
as some strangers. An anti-war march across Russia was planned for March 6,
including a feminist march, which we all prepared together. ---- We believe that
the searches and arrests of feminist activists on the eve of this demonstration
are not a coincidence. They wanted to launch a preventive attack and succeeded -
on March 6, not everyone who took part in the march could count on our help or
coordination. We see the absurd and fabricated accusations of a "false bomb
threat" as an attempt to destroy our movement and silence us. But we will not
allow ourselves to be destroyed or silenced.

We are a popular and horizontal movement. No matter how much the security forces
want to "cut off the heads" of the Eighth Initiative Group (Feminist Resistance
to War) and our other comrades, they will not succeed. We don't have a cutting
head, we don't have leaders - and they will never understand us. Now we will
gather all our strength in a fist and continue to work - because for us this is
not a choice but an obligation.

Yes, the reality has changed. The risks are greater than ever and the work is
more difficult. We probably don't call you directly because you don't go out - we
don't want to involve activists in new criminal cases. Perhaps the best strategy
now is to carry out decentralized "guerrilla" action: continue to distribute
leaflets, disseminate information by all possible means and, above all, connect
with each other.

In the banner of our[Instagram]profile you can find a link to a page that hosts
our anti-war flyers. Green ribbons are a symbol of peace and anti-war protest.
Use them. In the same way, the Russian anti-war movement has one flag -
white-blue-white. Symbolism is very important for the protest, it is the main
pillar. We continue our struggle and urge you not to despair and not to give up -
but still be extremely careful. The bottom line is that we are millions and
common sense, conscience and truth are on our side. Thank you for everything you
do and for continuing to fight for peace with us.

Frozen time: Getting used to the horror and madness

This text was released as an episode on March 27, published by Autonomous Action,
a web platform created by the largest Russian-speaking anti-authoritarian
network. For the sake of brevity, we have omitted the section on news of state
repression, a very common column in the Russian anarchist publication.

A little more than a month of the so-called "special military operation" in
Ukraine and other pointless measures by the Russian authorities will be enough to
get many people used to them.

We are getting used to the reports and reports from Ukraine in the war, with
photos and videos of destroyed cities, with news of the deaths of friends,
acquaintances or famous people, with the flow of refugees, which has already
exceeded five million people. The number of people who have left their homes
since the beginning of "denazification" is more than eight million.

We are used to blocking social networks and certain websites in Russia, to
arresting and detaining people who oppose the war, to prosecuting for spreading
"false information" about the Russian army - there are already more than sixty
groups across the country. We are getting used to the mass expulsion from Russia
of activists, journalists, individuals and anyone who simply no longer wants to
live under the Putin regime. We are getting used to all the new sanctions, the
rise in prices, the empty shelves, the shortage of several basic products.

During the "denazification" of Kharkov, one of the 96 survivors of Auschwitz,
Boris Romanchenko, was killed in a bombing raid. Anarchist Igor Volokhov, who is
fighting the invaders within the territorial self-defense forces, died at the
same place under Putin's missiles. Also in the vicinity of Kharkiv, according to
the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Russian bombing damaged the Holocaust Memorial.

Oksana Baulina, a journalist with The Insider who was blocked in Russia, was
killed in an attack in Kyiv. She previously worked for FBK before being forced to
leave Russia due to the risk of prosecution. In Mariupol, the dead are buried in
the yards of destroyed residential buildings.

On March 21, the international company Meta was added to the list of "extremist
organizations". Its products (Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook, which were
previously blocked in Russia) have been and still are used by millions of
Russians, as well as by institutions, including government agencies and
state-owned enterprises. The decision should enter into force on appeal, the
outcome of which has been decided. Conclusion: Lawyers are still speculating on
the impact this decision will have on consumers and businesses.

The social network VK also blocked certain pages at the request of the Prosecutor
General's Office. These include, for example, the pages of the liberal political
scientist Ekaterina Shulman, the pages of the Left Socialist Action, the Union of
Democratic Socialists, the Yabloko political party, the DOXA student magazine and
our VK page for avtonom.org.

The court in Moscow considers, among other things, that the slogan "Fascism will
not pass!" Is "false information about the Russian army."

In Ufa, members of the Marxist circle were declared a terrorist group and sent to
pre-trial detention; they are accused of intending to overthrow the government.

In Khabarovsk, people anonymously announced a rally "in support of the Russian
army." Residents were invited to bring Ukrainian flags, portraits of Stepan
Bandera, Taras Shevchenko or other Ukrainian personalities to burn them solemnly
in exchange for sugar distribution. However, the event did not take place in the
end. Apart from the police and journalists, only a few people came to "fight the
Nazi snake" against some rare goods.

Sergei Savastianov, a communist lawmaker from Moscow, said Russian troops should
"denazify" the Baltic states, Poland, Moldova and Kazakhstan. This "Member of
Parliament" was supported by the "smart vote" in 2019.[9]

One of the journalists prosecuted for "false information", Alexander Nevzorov,
who became famous after the perestroika, tried to make public some evidence
dating back to the 1990s that could compromise certain members of the ruling
clique. But he rightly concluded that after everything they have done and
continue to do while in power, nothing can discredit them anymore.

Desertion and support for the "Special Operation".

Since the beginning of the war, a message has been received (not yet confirmed)
from Ukraine about a Russian warship whose crew refused to storm Odessa . Most
recently, the Russian press began to publish reliable reports about soldiers who
left their units, to search for conscripts whose participation in the "special
operation" was not recognized by the Ministry of Defense, for Russian officers
from various regions who refuse to take part in hostilities.

Recently in Karachay-Cherkessia, a group of brave women blocked traffic on a
bridge and demanded information about their relatives, who are participating in a
"special operation" and are no longer showing signs of life.

As we have noted before, the declaration of "denazification" and
"demilitarization" of Ukraine did not cause a "patriotic outburst", as happened
with the "reconstruction of Crimea" in 2014. In the last eight years, in addition
to hostilities caused by puppets. Kremlin in Donbass, we also experienced a
deepening economic crisis, falling average incomes amid rising prices, "the
optimization of education and health care[ie. austerity measures], raising the
retirement age and the extremely unpopular measures to combat Covid-19.
Popularity and trust in the authorities have plummeted .

Several surveys appear to show that 60-70% of respondents support the "special
operation" in Ukraine. However, sociologists who surveyed them say most of them
simply refuse to answer questions. As for those who express their approval, a
closer look reveals that they actually approve of the image sent by Russian
television, which shows "how Russian troops liberate Ukrainians from the Nazis."
It is no coincidence that the support for the so-called "special operation" is
directly related to the age of the respondents - in older groups people receive
proportionally more information about what is happening exclusively through
television. The Russians believe that TV propagandists sometimes do not trust
their Ukrainian relatives who survived the bombing.

Anti-war rallies and street performances continue in Russia despite bans, arrests
and administrative and criminal proceedings, but the number of people taking part
in them is incomparable to that between late February and early March. On the
other hand, green ribbons and anti-war leaflets and graffiti are much more common
in Russian cities than the Z letters on cars. We imagine that, at least for the
next few weeks or months, as the situation in Russia changes dramatically, the
protest will no longer be expressed so much in the form of mass rallies, but
rather with individual and anonymous direct action and growing sabotage.

There may still be people in power who have not completely lost touch with
reality, and this may explain why martial law and widespread compulsory military
service have not yet been declared in Russia - certainly for fear that this will
lead to sabotage on a much larger scale.

Censors want more censorship

Last week, the notorious Men's Movement was recognized as an "extremist
organization" and finally added to the list of banned organizations. However,
this decision by Russian law enforcement did not prevent these neo-Nazis from
supporting the Kremlin's "special operation" or informing the government to
persecute dissidents. Yesterday it was our turn: Pozdnyakov, the head of the
"men's state", called on his associates to write denunciations to Roskomnadzor
with a request to close the pages of avtonom.org due to our anti-war position.
Our public account in Vkontakte was already blocked on the territory of the
Russian Federation at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office on February
24. Currently, it is visible only outside Russia (or via VPN).

However, the Internet will only be used to view photos of cats. And it's better
not to even use it for that matter.

The blocking of Pozdnyakov's Telegram channel did not prevent him from reopening
new channels and public online chat rooms. The Taliban are also still banned in
Russia, which does not prevent their representatives from negotiating with
Russian authorities and being considered "normal partners." It is possible that
the neo-Nazis of the "male state" also dream of rising to the highest echelons of
Russian power. And in this atmosphere of madness it is not impossible to succeed.

Frozen weather

Although catastrophic events continue to follow one after another at breakneck
speed, time seems to be frozen in uncertainty. It is clear that the current
situation is unstable and will not continue indefinitely. But time cannot begin
again until it is clear when and how the current crisis affecting Ukraine, Russia
and the world will be resolved.

It is important to emphasize that in this context of war, repression and complete
uncertainty about the future, popular solidarity networks are playing an
increasingly important role. Networks of friends, volunteers and human rights
activists ensure that those arrested do not disappear. People help each other not
to remain pets of the detainees themselves. They find medicines, procure food
despite shortages, seek and disseminate information. Activist and association
networks are collecting aid for refugees abroad. Often these solidarity networks
function much more efficiently than state institutions or international
organizations, which have much more resources.

The future is of self-organization and self-determination!

  https://www.anarchy.bg/