"Right now we are through a turning point in the history of Eastern Europe" - The Combat Organisation of Anarcho-Communists (BOAK) discusses the situation for Anarchism in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

From the telegram channel of Boak

 Be your own force

“...many of us anarchists, especially those who were a little bit theoretically determined, wasted time on false attempts to find in anarchism something super-perfect, for which there is no place in the life of the present. The place for it, they say, is only in the future, and it is not known in what forms.

Nestor Makhno. Memories.

Right now we are going through a turning point in the history of Eastern Europe. In the abyss of events, we can clearly distinguish the small black sail of the anarchist movement. In the Russian resistance, the actions of the Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists had a great resonance. In Ukraine, at the forefront of the fight against imperialism, groups of our like-minded people, both with weapons in their hands and in many “peaceful” spheres, are demonstrating an anarchist perspective in the context of current events. In the nationwide upsurge against the dictatorship in Belarus in 2020, which in this war echoed the echo of rail sabotage, the anarchists were one of the brightest and most articulate forces. These testimonies tell us about the relevance of anarchism in the current political realities.

However, those involved understand that in order to become a real factor of change and a force influencing the minds of the people and society as a whole, we still lack something. Maybe a lot.

Let's talk about one thing today. There are two approaches that seem to prevent our movement and the active people who make it up from adequately realizing themselves and building a line of action in the current moment. In fact, these are two sides of the same coin.

Now sometimes you can hear statements that “everything is lost”, “the anarchist movement in Russia and Belarus has been defeated, and in Ukraine it is incredibly weak” ... put your hands down, drain the water - write memoirs, but it’s better not to have them. And they say it just the same at a decisive moment. When the entire social reality of the region is staggering and can choose the most unpredictable trajectory (and this alone already gives the revolutionaries a great chance).

Belarus: A Tale of Two Flags

Belarus is an unfortunate country. Growing up it was often overshadowed sandwiched between Poland, Ukraine Russia and the Baltic states. It rarely made the news except for brief snippets about its heavy handed government and apart from the phrase "Europe's last dictatorship" I can't recall much about the nation I didn't stumble upon when looking up something else that turned out to have a connection to it. Until 2020, then at least Belarus for a few weeks became big news. The pressure had finally grown too much, one fraudulent election too many had sparked much larger protests than the usual suspects, mainly anarchists and football hooligans. 

These were massive demonstrations that kept growing, strikes paralysed the whole economy and Lukashenko the dictator since 1994 looked visibly rattled and shaky as he shuffled from one besieged stronghold to another in a helicopter while wearing body armour. It looked like he'd finally pushed his luck too far. But alas, his security enforcers remained loyal and the Russian Federation a nation with a very complex and bitter relationship with Belarus took advantage and sent vital support. And since then, while Lukashenko and the Belarusian government have lost their popularity and friends in Europe, they've gained a small following in the worst circles of the online "revolutionary" gossip network.

They have their work cut out for them as even amongst the dictators Lukashenko struggles to stand out. And he's also openly praised Hitler and condemned homosexual men in blunt terms, so its not hard to collapse attempts to make him look more than the cunning thug that he is. One key tactic has been to talk up the large state sector in the Belarusian economy, but even we concede that large state involvement in the economy is a good thing, its hard to overlook the fact that Lukashenko has been in power since 1995 and the economy has had a series of privatisations. Sell offs that benefit himself and his key cronies. 

Another tactic has been to go on the offensive, and its quite audacious. The argument boiled down to its essentials is to accuse the Belarusian opposition of being Nazis by association. The most symbol of the opposition to Lukashenko is the white, red and white tricolour. This flag is not new, it has a long history which I shall outline to the best of my ability. As to why this is key, well this image should explain much of it.

The image on the right is the main feature for now. Its a photograph of the collaborationist government established in Belarus between 1941-44 when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany. You may find it odd that the flag is in colour when the rest of the photo is in black and white, yes it has been edited, though the collaboration government did use the flag so it seems like the person who edited the image didn't trust the audience to make the connection without further elaboration. And further elaboration must be avoided at all costs.

I've seen the photograph on the right have a wide circulation, whenever anyone expresses criticism of the dictatorship which has oppressed millions for decades and is currently facilitating a brutal war of aggression against its neighbour Ukraine, someone will pop that photo into the mix. Its always a pathetic tactic to equate opposition to Nazis, but given how brutal the occupation of Belarus was with some estimates going as high as 25% of the population lost, and how committed its people were to partisan warfare its particularly vile.

Its also deliberately dishonest. It's true that the brief collaborationist government used that flag as its symbol but that's because it was already a common and recognisable symbol of Belarus and its people. The flag was designed in 1918 for the Belarusian People's Republic (also known as the Democratic Republic of Belarus). The designer was Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, who was a member of the Belarusian Socialist Assembly. When Poland and the Soviet Union invaded Belarus he left for Lithuania. He was arrested by the Soviet authorities when they invaded that nation in 1940, but was released and sent back to the Belarus Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). A year later after operation Barbarossa the German army installs a puppet government. This government widely adopts his design for flags and patches among other symbols of the Belarusian national movement. However, Duzh-Dushewski refused to collaborate and hid a Jewish family in his home. When this was discovered Duzh-Dushewski was sent to the Pravieniškės concentration camp in Lithuania. He survived the war, but in 1952 he was arrested by Soviet authorities again for the crime of Belarusian nationalism, he was sent to a labour camp but was released in 1955, he died four years later in 1959. In 2004 the Jewish community of Lithuania successfully petitioned the President of Lithuania to honour him for his activism during the war.

Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski (left)

This should be enough to knock this idiotic argument on its head, but there is even more historical evidence to consider. After the second world war the white,red, white flag became a common symbol amongst the Belarus diaspora and used by groups representing many political persuasions. It was censored in the Soviet Union until the 1980s when it became a symbol of opposition within the Belarus SSR. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 the independent Belarus revived the flag as its own, and it remained as such until 1995 when the recently elected Lukashenko changed it to the current official flag of Belarus. This again transformed the white,red,white tricolour into a flag of opposition and it has been used by many Belarusian groups ever since. And after 2020 has exploded in popularity.

But this still isn't the end of the story. See, if the Nazi's used it so it must be tainted forever, well the Lukashenko supporters have a major problem. The current flag of Belarus is this

Which is a copy of a Belarus SSR flag adopted in 1951

The only key difference is the removal of the hammer and sickle and star.

Why is this an issue? Well, like the white, red, white flag this one has a designer with an interesting history. Nikolai Husev is the designer of this flag. He was a supporter of the Communist party through his painting. When Belarus was occupied he collaborated, he painted portraits for German officers and Radoslav Ostrovsky the leader of the collaboration government, and even portraits of Hitler. 

A sample of Husev's work

Created in 1940 to celebrate Stalin

Portrait of Hitler commissioned in 1943 and displayed in Minsk

So, if a flag should be consindered beyond reclamation it would have to be the Lukashenko one, copied from the work of a collaborator, used by a tyrant whose openly praised Hitler, with no redeeming qualities.

The Russian Connection

Many if not all of the perpetrators of this terrible argument are weirdly supporters of the Russian Federation. This shows either they're extremely audacious or incredibly sloppy, the current flag of the Russian Federation is the white, blue and red tricolour. Like the Belarus opposition tricolour the Russian one didn't pop out of thin air in 1991. It has a long lineage and that lineage intersects with the Nazis.

Members of the Russian Liberation Army a pro Axis fighting force

The German army also occupy large parts of Russia during the Second World War, and during that period hundreds of thousands of Russians supported multiple collaboration organisations and fighting forces. Curiously  most of them had patches and emblems that seem very familiar.

Emblem of the First Russian National Army, estimated to have been 10,000 in size

Emblem of the Russian Protective Corps, a pro German anti-partisan unit

But that's in the past, what of today? Well, the Russian Armed Forces (RAF) have for a number of years been supplementing their forces with irregular private military forces, most of whom have very open and obvious far right links. 

Members of the Wagner Group a mercenary group owned and operated in Russia and deployed worldwide including supporting the RAF in Ukraine and Syria

Now, despite the heavy associations and links I don't automatically assume everyone displaying a Russian or Belarusian flag is a Nazi or a supporter of some Eurasian off shoot. But I don't see how someone could do the same to Belarusians using the white, red and white flag but not in these two other cases, but that assumes that their argument is genuinely and not just a lazy example of propaganda. 

Also, thanks to my friend, for informing about Nikolai Husev.

Belorusoj engaĝiĝas por Ukrainio : « Lukaŝenko estas marioneto de Putin » - Belarusians Fighting for Ukraine: "Lukashenko is Putin's Marionet"

 

Military drills in Belarus

el neniam milito inter ni

 Belarusians Fighting for Ukraine: "Lukashenko Putin's Marionet"

 Belarus plays a key role in the war in Ukraine. Alexander Lukashenko the ally of Vladimir Putin has allowed the Russian army to pass through his country's territory to invade Ukraine. 

In Belarus the violation of human rights is routine. 

After the contested re-election of Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020 and the repression that followed there are estimates of over a thousand political prisoners throughout the country. 

Many Belarusians left the country and became refugees in Lithuania, Poland or even Ukraine. 

Today, several Belarusians have joined the fighting on the side of the Ukrainians.

Among them is Gleb, who just celebrated his 18th birthday. 

During the mass demonstrations in Belarus in the Autumn of 2020 he was arrested and tortured. He lived in exile in Poland until the start of the war in Ukraine.

 

That was a shock to all Belarusians, he said:

 

"First of all I'd like to say that all Belarusians are expressing their deepest apologies to the Ukrainians for allowing an attack by the Russian military forces that have crossed their territory". 

 

 "People will understand that Belarusians are not like Lukashenko, that they are fighting for justice". 

Gleb, Belarusian who has left to fight in Ukraine.

 

Last week Gleb crossed the border with seventy of his countrymen, they went to a training centre near Lviv, before going to defend the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

"When we understood that the war would start soon I promised myself this: If the Russians put one foot in Ukraine, I would go defend that land. I do not want my children to say later, that their father could've done something to oppose the Russians, but he did nothing. I have to try".

 

To try, and do everything possible, just as the exiled leader of the opposition party Svjatlana Tikhanovskaya, is doing now. In a video she spoke directly to Ukrainians:

"Belarusians believe that this is not a simple special military operation. Vladimir Putin has decided to bomb a peaceful population, and the Belarusian people are against that".

Svjatlana Tikhanovskaya

  

At all costs Belarusians want to break from Alexander Lukashenko and his authoritarian regime.

 

"We left our homeland because he suppressed us, when we struggled against Lukashenko's regime in 2020. We thank Ukraine for what its done for us refugees and the ability to breath freely". says a woman in a video filmed in front of the city hall of Lviv.

A man at her side added: "Lukashenko does not represent the Belarusian people, he is a usurper, a marionet of Putin. He represents only himself and his gang of bandits".

 

And the video concludes: "We are together. Long live Belarus! Glory to Ukraine!"

 

 

 

20/03/2022

Belorusio ludas ŝlosilan rolon en la milito en Ukrainio. Aliancano de Vladimir Putin, la diktatoro Lukaŝenko ebligis al la rusia armeo trapasi lian teritorion por invadi Ukrainion.

En Belorusio, malobservadoj pri Homaj rajtoj estas kutimaj. 

De post la kontestata reelekto de Aleksandro Lukaŝenko en aŭgusto 2020 kaj la represio kiu sekvis, la lando enkalkulas nun pli ol mil politikajn malliberulojn.

Multaj belorusoj forlasis la landon kaj rifuĝis en Litovio, Pollando, aŭ eĉ Ukrainio.

Hodiaŭ, kelkaj engaĝiĝas flanke de la Ukrainoj.

Inter ili, Greb, kiu ĵus festis sian 18-jariĝon.

Sekve al la grandaj manifestacioj de la aŭtuno 2020  en Belorusio, li estis arestita kaj torturita. Li travivis la komencon de la milito en Ukrainio el sia ekzilo en Pollando.

Tio estis ŝoko por ĉiuj Belorusoj, li diras.

« Antaŭ ĉio mi dezirus diri, ke la Belorusoj prezentas siajn plej profundajn ekskuzojn al la Ukrainoj, ĉar ili ebligis atakon de la militaj rusiaj fortoj, kiuj trapasis ilian teritorion. »

 

« La homoj komprenos, ke la Belorusoj ne similas Lukaŝenko-n sed ke male, ili batalas favore al justico. »         

Gleb, Belorusa, kiu foriris batali en Ukrainio

 

Pasintsemajne, kun sepdek el siaj samnacianoj, Gleb trapasis la landlimon, por atingi trejncentron apud Lvivo, antaŭ ol iri defendi la Ukrainian ĉefurbon, Kievo.

« Kiam ni komprenis, ke la milito baldaŭ komenciĝos, mi promesis al mi tion : se la Rusoj metas unu solan piedon en Ukrainion, mi iros defendi tiun landon. Mi ne volas, ke miaj infanoj iam diru : mia patro povus provi ion kontraŭ la Rusoj, sed li nenion faris. Ni devas provi.»       

Provi, kaj eĉ fari ĉion eblan, kiel faras nun la gvidantino de la belorusa ekzilita opoziciino, Svjatlana Ciĥanovskaja . En video, ŝi rekte parolas al la Ukrainoj :

 

« La Belorusoj opinias, ke ne temas pri simpla speciala operaco. Vladimir Putin ja decidis bombadi pacan loĝantaron. Kaj la Belorusoj kontraŭas tion. »      

Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa 

 

Belorusoj ĉiapreze volas apartigi sin de Aleksandro Lukaŝenko kaj de lia aŭtoritata reĝimo. 

« Ni forlasis nian patrion, ĉar ili subpremis nin, kiam ni luktis kontraŭ la reĝimo de Lukaŝenko. Ni dankas Ukrainion, ke ĝi donacis al ni rifuĝon kaj la eblecon libere spiri », deklaras virino en video filmita antaŭ la urbodomo de Lvivo en Ukrainio.

Viro siaflanke aldonas : « Lukaŝenko ne reprezentas la ukrainan popolon, li estas uzurpanto, marioneto de Putin. Li  reprezentas nur sin mem kaj sia grego de banditoj. »

Kaj la video konkludas : « Ni estas kunkune. Vivu Belorusion, gloron al Ukrainio ! »

Retired Belarusian Colonel calls on soldiers to defy criminal orders

 

 

 

Video link

 

Translation:

Full Translation:

Best of health my dear defenders of the motherland. Making this address to you is a Lieutenant Colonel of the reserves Sahashik Valerij Stepanovich.
I’m introducing myself because I’ve quit quite a long time ago. Some of the current airborne forces may not know me, although everyone must have heard about the Black Hawk trials. All the current bravery and mastery has originated from there, and also you must have heard about how the 38th airbourne Briansk brigade used to run 10km and at the end in full personal would swim in a lake all year round, well I’m exactly the guy that for 4 years in a row would run at the front of the brigade and would be the first to jump into the lake. I am the Black Hawk number 1.
All of the most important things in life all happen impromptu and unexpectedly. It’s impossible to prepare yourself to be a hero. In the life of every person a situation may suddenly arise in which he must act here and now, and either get written into the history books, or wait for a more appropriate moment. Although usually fate gives you a chance to do a real hero deed only once.
I had served in the airbourne forces for a quite a long time. More than 10 years only in the Briansk brigade, from Kombat to the Brigade commander. Those who have met me won’t let me lie to you, I was one of the most fanatically devoted officers to the forces and a patriot of my motherland, I’ve never know anything but military service. Materialism has always been foreign to me, I’m saying this to counter any attempts at claiming that I sold out for this speech. My biography has zero cases that would allow to have any suspicion that I can sell out, and in my age people don’t change.
Airbourne force were everything in my life. All years after I quit I continued to help my brigade. In front of my house there’s always been a flag *Not sure here, maybe Belarus flag* with the flag of the VDV (airbourne forces). And the reason why I took it off is a different story related to the events of the 2020, we won’t talk about that for now.
For now I’ve decided to record the first video in my life because my comrades, guys in the blue vests, same as I wore all my life are sitting in the forest on the Ukrainian border. And its looking like shortly they can be accomplices in some very bad actions which can have catastrophic consequences for our country, and fatally burry the glory and tradition of our forces, that were built up by many generations of Airbourne troops. It’s possible that a lot of them will not get back home alive.
Russian army, which has a huge combat experience is experiencing hell for 3 days straight The number of dead is counted in thousands, hundreds have been captured, the hospitals on the borders are filled with wounded, none of the missions of this operation have been accomplished, at the moment neither Kiev nor any other of the regional centers have been captured.
Russian army is quite run down, while Ukrainians who have endured the first most difficult days have successfully mobilized, organized themselves, polished of the logistics, got support of the whole world, moral as well as technical combat equipments, and most importantly saw, that the aggressor attacking them are just ordinary people, stoped being scared, felt the taste of victory.
This army won’t retreat and won’t surrender. Russians have become victims of their own propagandists that promised them, that the people of Ukraine will meet them with bread and salt, like liberators, but by now you know everything, although you’re prohibited from having smartphones, you’re still in your motherland, in contact with friends and relatives, you’ve had time to weight and analyze everything, do any of you have any doubt that your entry into Ukraine will be any better then the New Years offensive of Grozny of 1995.
Info wars is a scary thing. Propagandists in an agile way have learned to produce a bait and switch of values, learned to replace white with black and the opposite… I don’t want to get into politics, it has always been foreign to me, but to every thinking person, 3 things should be quite obvious. 1. Ukraine has never threatened Belarus and isn’t threatening it now 2. There are not Druggies or nationals in the Ukrainian government and if they were they were fairly elected in free democratic elections. 3. Belarusian forces have absolutely no right to enter the Ukraine, furthermore it is directly prohibited in the Belarusian constitution.
It’s not our war. You will not be defending your motherland, your home, your family. You won’t gain any glory in this conflict, only shame, humiliation, blood, death and the status of a hated outcast nation for centuries to come.
Brothers find a way not to take part in this dirty business. Father commanders, will you be able to live with the fact that you put down the boys for nothing, how will you look mothers into their eyes, that gave you their sons.
Separately, I’d like to address the people who have a lot of influence, to the war chiefs with big stars. For many of you I was a commander, a mentor, a friend. In my memory you are responsible, decent war commanders, who are able to quickly navigate in a difficult surroundings, smartly analyze the situation and calculate the consequences of different decision which are in front of you.
Guys, at the end of the day, those are your direct personal responsibilities. This is what the motherland has been nurturing you for, for so many years for. However hard you are pressured, be a real man and do a real manly thing, make the right decision, fill yourself with real civil courage, don’t send the boys to slaughter, sometimes the highest hero deed, is just to say no. And enter the history as a person who saved hundreds if not thousands of lives and relations with a brotherly nation. And even if you get fired believe me you will be heroes.
I salute you.

 

Update:

 *Spoken to some Belarusians, he is who he says he is and is a retired/reserve colonel, and was involved in the protests in 2020 in Brest. However, his role was to negotiate between the authorities and the protesters, and most of them accuse him of stalling and being an obstacle. He had close connections to Viktor Sheimin a powerful and ruthless key Lukashenko ally. Curiously, he fled the country soon after and hasn't been back since. So this video could be one of three things, he's had a genuine change of heart, he's convinced his old bosses are doomed and is trying to appeal to the opposition, or he still has contacts with some key Belarus officials and is using his platform to reflect opposition within it to being sucked into a bloody conflict.

Second Update: