The Trials and Tribulations of Hermann Duncker

 

Hermann Duncker was born in Hamburg on the 24th of May 1874 and died on the 22nd of June in 1960, he was buried in the Friedrichfelde Central Cemetry in Berlin. That was a turbulent time for most and especially politically active Germans. In summary Duncker was an active participant in the 1918 German Revolution, WWII and the Cold War, and was often in the middle of the action.

Hermann's introduction to socialism came from his wife Kate Doell who was a teacher and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The Duncker were from the SPD's first generation of Marxist activists after the Marx wing of theoreticians established a hold on the party leadership. He became an fervent supporter of the Marxist wing of the SPD, and in the run up to the First World War supported the anti-war minority alongside Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. He followed them in founding the Spartacus League and alongside his wife Kate were on the first Central Committee of the Communist Party (KPD). 

When the Nazis came to power Herman spent a year in a Concentration camp, caught in an early crackdown on political dissidents, but luckily he was released. Soon after the Duncker family went into protective exile, eventually settling in France. While supporters of the Soviet Union Stalin's growing paranoia and political maneuveres caused the Duncker family great distress. The Duncker's had become close to Nikolai Bukharin who was destroyed politically and then executed in 1936 during the Great Purge. The purge also targetted Herman's son Wolfgang was also attacked and persecuted while in the Soviet Union. Wolfgang died in the Vorkutlag Gulag in 1942, Herman and Kate found out about their son's fate years later. Things got worse for the family when the Soviet Union signed a pact with Hitler in 1939 with the support of the remaining KPD leadership in Moscow. The Duncker's found themselves again in an oppositional minority within their party. 

When France fell to the Wehrmacht Duncker fled through Vichy France to Casablanca before finally reaching the United States of America in 1941 after his wife Kate was able to obtain travel papers for him. While in the USA Herman joined the anti-Nazi Council for a Democratic Germany, a group that sort to unite the German diaspora in the United States in their efforts to oppose the Third Reich. Duncker's membership of this body demonstrates the extent of the rift between him and the Communist movement at this time, the Council was set up in 1944 in opposition to the Communist party dominated National Committee for a Free Germany which was founded in Moscow in 1943.

After the war in 1947 Herman and Kate returned to Germany and settled in the Soviet Occupation zone which became the German Democratic Republic (DDR) more commonly known as East Germany. They joined the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED), which was created out of a merger of the SPD and KPD, echoing a position Duncker had advocated in his time in the KPD during the Weimar Republic. Duncker returned to academics occupying several prestigious teaching positions, Professor and Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Rostock, Rector of the academy of the Free German Trade Union Federation etc. And in his last years was awarded several high honours including the Patriotic Order of Merit in 1955 and the DDR's highest honour the Order of Karl Marx in 1953. When he passed away in 1960 his body was interred in the Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetry, a graveyard reserved for high officials of the DDR and located close to a memorial dedicated to German Socialists.

His views and his circumstances would change often throughout his life which isn't surprising or unique, time and experience change us all. His life is interesting, and at time of writing getting easier to look up, more of his articles are being translated into English on the Marxist Internet Archive, and more biographical information is slowly popping up on wikipedia and an eclectic mix of socialist blogs and webpages. 

Personally speaking though, I think the main lesson to be learnt about the life of Herman Duncker is in his relationship and evolution through Marxism. I first became aware of Duncker when getting into a friendly disagreement with a Marxist who was making some pretty tall claims about Marxist cannon. I read the article that was sent my way, looked Duncker up, read what I could find about him, then started reading through a selection of the articles that had been translated and uploaded and found him an interesting fellow but was confused as to why he was being presented to me as evidence for the argument being made. Duncker was being held up as an example of "proper" or "real" Marxist thinking. The article in question was Duncker's What is Socialism? published in 1909. If you're wondering why I used quotation marks, its because what he meant by real Marxism was Marxist writing that tallied with his views on Marxism. Marxism is a fundamentally incoherent field of thought with over a hundred schools and doctrines all competing with each other. For what it's worth I agree that What is Socialism? did tally fairly well with his particular Marxism, (Socialist Party of Great Britain if you're curious) but sectarian arguments no longer really interest me.

What did catch my eye though, was the timeline of his life and political career and another article written in 1925 attacking his former mentors in the SPD called Ferdinand Lassalle's Centenary

 The leaders of social democracy, which pretend to be Marxist, indeed concealed both condemnations from the mass of their members for many years. The marginal notes were only published 16 years later, the letter to Kugelmann 17 years after the other letters had been printed.Even in the Marx-Engels correspondence certain very harsh expressions against Lassalle seem to have been suppressed by the publisher. This is how the socialist party of Germany guards against any wrong being done to its party saint Lassalle. As a matter of fact, the socialist party of Germany has much more in common with Lassalle than with Marx, although now it is far behind Lassalle in "practical politics" and can no longer claim to be heir to his views, for he was at least always a bitter opponent of the bourgeois party.

 Again the text isn't breaking new ground for me, but the passage quoted above did get my gears working. Duncker is discussing a little known fact about the history of the works of Karl Marx. While Marx was a live and for a number of years after his death the vast majority of his works were completely unknown to the world. It's known that his private correspondence remained private and that the last three volumes of Capital were published posthumously, but many including most Marxists I've met do not know that the majority of his published work remained in his study or at most received one or two very limited print runs before disappearing. And a number of those that did see some circulation while Marx was alive survive in history as edited versions republished by Engels after Marx's death. Here, Duncker is accusing the leadership of the SPD who took over the works and archives of both Marx and Engels after their deaths of using this access as leverage.

And its true that for much of the early days of Marxism the only people who had access to the majority of Karl Marx's works and ideas was a small group of intellectuals with the German Social Democratic movement. This changed in the 1930s, when the Soviet Union successfully bought the complete archives from the SPD leadership in exile, the Soviet Union then started printing and translating and releasing them. If you're wondering where I'm going with this I'll cut to the point. Herman Duncker an avid reader of theoretical works who took his knowledge seriously went from a Marxist Social Democrat to a Leninist, to a Stalinist at the same time his access to the works of Marx and Engels increased significantly.

There's a very alarming tendency in left wing circles to treat texts like holy relics and theoretical work like revelations. The argument being that through intensive study and reaching the "correct" interpretation of the learning will make one a better Marxist/Communist/whatever. However, Herman Duncker was a man who dedicated his life to this study and ending up supporting a brutal regime that murdered his own son! And the well from which he drew most of the material for his studies was the Soviet Union which at the time was led by Joseph Stalin. Popularising the works of Marx and Engels didn't cause a massive wave of anti-Stalin communist reaction, the dissident Marxists remained small and isolated.

So, this raises some questions, either the works of Marx and Engels lead logically to the Berlin Wall and the Gulag Archipelago, or the study of texts in a vacuum are insufficient for the task of building a movement of conscious revolutionaries aware of the dangers and the task of building a better world. I don't think the first option is quite true, you can certainly take bits and pieces from both to stitch together an argument for it, that's what Stalin and Marxism-Leninism i.e. Stalinism with pretensions does after all. Its also what most of the other Marxists do for their own ends, the Socialist Party of Great Britain member was happy to claim Duncker's early work when he felt it backed him up in an internet disagreement but didn't seem to bother knowing more about the man then that, or if he did know about Duncker didn't really care that his ideas and trajectory took him into the arms of the heretics.

The point of theory like all educational materials is that you're supposed to engage with it and not submit to it. One of Herman's articles that has been translated into English touches on this subject, How Should One Read? published in 1931. It sounds like an exploration of how to approach knowledge but is largely about how to access information quickly and often. The task of the reader (apparently) is not to evaluate the work being read but to try and fully absorb the authors argument in outline. Most of the advice is physical on how to build your own library and indexing system, he advocates reading and re-reading works and constantly adding notes and summarises on the key points of each passage. At no point does he talk about using critical thinking or checking the work you've been reading, the assumption is made that "important literature" which seems to mean Communist party approved literature is ultimately correct and the issue lies with the reader to work out the argument. There's a section on how to set up a study group whose sole purpose seems to be to make sure that each individual member can learn the correct argument being made by the text with the assistance of the others. 

The explanation for this frankly obsessive manner of rote learning is that Karl Marx did it, so the implication being that if it's good enough for him its good enough for you. 

It will be seen how one "grows into" a really good book and how it gives one new rays of light all the time. As for books one can only borrow, one should copy the important passages from them. At the age of seventeen, Marx wrote to his father "I have made a habit of making excerpts from all the books I read... and jotting down reflections underneath."Among the papers left by Marx there are 200 notebooks full of such excerpts. In this connection one should not forget to make a note of the origin of the passage extracted and possibly also the date of the excerpt

 

It will be seen how one "grows into" a really good book and how it gives one new rays of light all the time. As for books one can only borrow, one should copy the important passages from them. At the age of seventeen, Marx wrote to his father:"I have made a habit of making excerpts from all the books I read... and jotting down reflections underneath."Among the papers left by Marx there are 200 notebooks full of such excerpts. In this connection one should not forget to make a note of the origin of the passage extracted and possibly also the date of the excerpt.

 And then further supports this argument with a quotation from Lenin,

There will certainly be no lack of reading material as long as there is a genuine will to study. Serious and steady intent will help on to get over a single ruined evening and the technical difficulties. After all, what did Lenin say in his great speech to the Young Communists in October 1920:

"But you would be committing a great mistake, if you attempted to draw the conclusion that one can become a communist without acquiring what human knowledge has accumulated. It would be a mistake to believe that it is sufficient to learn communist slogans, the conclusions of communist science, and that it is not necessary to acquire the sum of knowledge of which communism itself is a consequence."

(Lenin's Selected Works: Vol. 9, p. 470, "Tasks of the Youth Leagues".)

The practically advice for taking notes isn't bad, it can help quite a few readers, I use a different system myself but if Herman's works for you than that's fine. My issue with Herman's advice is the end for his means, he wants Communist party members to read like this so they can obtain the "correct" message, its an argument for theoretical orthodoxy. The beginning of the article has a very interesting passage,

 When even so vain and affected a bourgeois scholar as Prof. Sombart does not feel embarrassed to admit, in a booklet, that he had read the "Communist Manifesto" a hundred times and yet still finds new stimulus in it, then a worker thirsting for learning cannot regard it as "beneath his dignity" to study over and over again writings like the "Manifesto" and many more by Marx, Engels, Lenin and others.

He wants his audience to read from an approve canon over and over again. That is how doctrine's form and I find the Lenin quote chosen to be very curious because in that passage he's saying  "But you would be committing a great mistake, if you attempted to draw the conclusion that one can become a communist without acquiring what human knowledge has accumulated." But Herman appears to have taken human knowledge and replaced with the knowledge promoted by the Communist party printing presses. The rare occasions he references literary work outside of this in the article he is always dismissive and hostile.

I did wonder why the Duncker's went to East Germany after the fallout of World War II and the Great Purge and the death of his own son. But I stopped wondering after reading How Should One Read? The main points of disagreement with the two parties he dedicated his life to, the SPD and then the KPD/SED were spurred by events that were largely unexpected and didn't have much theoretical preparation. The SPD participation in the German war government was surprising, the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939 came after three years of intense support for anti-fascist agitation, and the Great Purge not only targetted the Duncker family directly, it too arrived with little preparation. Outside of these major events he had been a loyal supporter of Lenin's and then Stalin's Communist movement which was never free of repression and power squabbles. If How Should One Read? is genuinely autobiographical it makes a lot of sense why he turned out the way he did.

Herman Duncker was a clever and brave man, he was not afraid to oppose the majority when he believed them to be wrong, but in the end he submitted and became another functionary in a repressive system that claimed many lives. Herman is a warning to us not to let our fixations become tools to ensnare us and betray the things that make us human. 

The Order of Karl Marx, I wonder if it was worth it?

A review of Esperanto Kaj Socialismo [Esperanto and Socialism] by Detlev Blanke

 

.

Esperanto kaj Socialismo? pri la movado sur la "alia flanko"(1), is a short piece of historical information about the Esperanto movement in the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War period. The author Detlev Blanke grew up in East Germany and was an active promoter of Esperanto at the time so the work is largely autobiographical. I won't pretend this isn't a text written for a small niche, but if you're interested in Esperanto enough to read works written in the language there is some value and interest to be found in these pages even if you had no interest in socialism or Eastern Europe.

I of course, am interested in both subjects, so I had a lot to digest. I would say an sperta komencanto, or a beginner with some experience should find the text readable with maybe a few pauses to consult a dictionary. A passage from the introduction struck me as interesting, most of the text was taken from a lecture and expanded with more detail. The subject of the lecture was about ideology and its relationship to Esperanto, and focused on what is commonly referred to as the "socialismaj landoj" socialist countries. Meaning of course nations controlled by Communist parties such as the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of Poland. But the extent to which these nations were socialist has been contested. Detlev Blanke has since come to the conclusion that these nations including the one he grew up didn't live up to those titles. He thinks that a more accurate description would be "soclandoj" a word I have a hard time translating into English. I suppose Socialette countries would be the most accurate way to do it. What he's done is reduced socialism to its root or germ, these nations didn't build a socialist society but Blanke believes the intention and aspiration to do so was genuine and had things developed differently they might have succeeded. 

Its a bit like how a novelette isn't just a short story, but a short story that has the potential to become a full novel. For example Stephen King's Cycle of the Werewolf, it has a full story structure and could be expanded into a longer work, and was though for film with the novelette being the foundation of the script for Silver Bullet. 

Esperanto and Socialism's main thrust is a history of the development of the officially approved Esperanto movement in East Germany and its connections with the wider "socialist" or more accurately pro-Soviet Union nations and their approved Esperanto movements. The text is acronym heavy and many names are called up but the layout limits the potential confusion. While the details of the benefits of working with the government will make some Esperantists envious, multiple school courses, subsidised travel, funding for diverse publications, conferences attended by important people etc. Blanke makes clear that these came at costs. The Esperantists of Eastern Europe had to conform to the limits of accepted behaviour and discussion. The Soviet Union was a major obstacle in this regard. Stalin's brutal repressions targeted the Soviet Esperantist movement, and while many of them were posthumously "rehabilitated" it was still a sore subject to give publicity to criticism of Stalin's rule in Brezhnev's Soviet Union. Another issue was language imperialism. This is a subject familiar to most Esperantists, and it wasn't much different on the other side of the Berlin Wall. The main difference was instead of having to contend with the popularity of English or French they had to deal with the pre-eminence of Russian. In addition to competing with Russian for space in international communications criticism of linguistic domination of Russian was also a contentious topic.

The limits on what could be discussed and obstinacy on behalf of the bureaucracy that controlled East Germany were issues that couldn't be tackled without direct opposition to the government, which given that these were all dictatorial societies with extensive police powers wasn't advisable. Still, the Esperantists of Eastern Europe were able to rebuild movements shattered by the Nazis and Stalin, and later Nicolae Ceaușescu who cracked down on Esperanto in the 1980s, and were able to make some space for international discussion, culture and debate and promotion of peace in international affairs.

 ___________________________________________________________

1: Esperanto and Socialism? information on the movement on the "other side" is how I translate the title into English

 

 

Helpu la Anarkismojn en Ukrino rezisti militon kaj vintran malvarmon! - Help Anarchists in Ukraine resist the War and the Winter cold!

 

Help Anarchists in Ukraine resist the War and Winter Cold!

Assembly is an online Anarchist communication group from Kharkiv, Ukraine (https://assembly.org.ua). Since the start of the aggression of the Army of the Russian Federation this group has firmly taken a stance in support of Anarchism and Internationalism, under difficult circumstances.

Under the bombs of the Russian Federation, they participate in actions of fundamental solidarity and civil resistance without sinking to support for the Ukrainian government. On the contrary, they maintain a critical stand regarding the Ukrainian state and its leaders (whether national, regional or local), have exposed corruption at various levels of the administration and internal war profiteers. Assembly continues to give information to the workers and criticises local bosses who profit from the situation to increase exploitation of Ukrainian workers. 

Assembly supports Anarchist, anti-state and anti-war principles loudly and clearly, while most "anarchist" individuals and groups jettisoned their principles as soon as the invasion began. 

Because of the Russian army's destruction of essential infrastructure these companions lack heating, and winter is especially severe in that part of the world. The energy crisis that already effects many of us will be even more severe there. That is why we have launched an urgent call for support of the members of Assembly, to help them with the approaching winter.

– you can make an online donation using their platform: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/mutual-aid-alert-for-east-ukraine/

  – You can also send checks in European currencies to the CNT-AIT (mention “Solidarité Ukraine” on the back) al CNT-AIT, 7 rue ST Rémésy 31000 TULUZO.

– you can make a bank transaction (in Euros) to the following account (please send an e-mail to contact@solidarité.online to let us know about the transaction):

IBAN: FR81 2004 1010 1603 1175 7H03 7 45 BIC: PSSTFRPPTO

Account holder: CNT-AIT / Bank: Banque Postale

The companions of Olga Taratuta

http://nowar.solidarite.online/blog contact@solidarite.online

 

Assembleia estas reta anarkiisma amaskomunikilaro el Kharkov, Ukrainio (https://assembly.org.ua). Ekde la agreso de la Rusa Federacia armeo, ĉi tiuj kunuloj tenas firme la anarkiisman kaj internaciistan standardon en dramaj cirkonstancoj.

Sub la bomboj de la Rusa Federacio, ili partoprenas en agoj de bazsolidareco kaj civila rezisto, sen sinki en subtenon por la ukraina registaro. Male, ili konservas kritikan starpunkton al ukraina Ŝtato kaj ĝiaj estraroj (de nacia ĝis regiona kaj loka), elmontrante la korupton de la diversaj niveloj de administrado kaj de enlandaj militprofitantoj. Assembleia daŭre donas informojn al laboristoj kaj kritikas lokajn estrojn, kiuj profitas la situacion por ekspluati eĉ pli la laboristojn.

Assembleia subtenas laŭte kaj klare la anarkiismajn, kontraŭ-statismajn kaj kontraŭ-militismajn principojn, dum la plej multaj el la “anarkiismaj” individuoj kaj grupoj en Ukrainio ĵetis ĉiujn principojn eksterŝipen tuj kiam la invado komenciĝis.

Pro la detruo de esencaj infrastrukturoj fare de la rusa armeo, la hejtado certe mankos al la kunuloj, dum la vintro kutime estas aparte severa en ĉi tiu mondoregiono. La energiproblemo, kiu jam influas multajn el ni, ekestiĝos tie eĉ pli dramece. Tial ni lanĉas urĝan alvokon por solidareco kun la kunuloj de Assembleia por helpi ilin kiam la vintro alproksimiĝas:

– vi povas fari interretajn donacojn sur ilia platformo: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/mutual-aid-alert-for-east-ukraine/

  – vi ankaŭ povas sendi bankĉekojn en eŭroj pagotaj al CNT-AIT (menciu “Solidarité Ukraine” sur la dorso) al CNT-AIT, 7 rue ST Rémésy 31000 TULUZO.

– vi povas fari banktranspagon (en eŭro) al la sekva konto (bonvolu sendi retmesaĝon al contact@solidarité.online por informi nin pri la banktransigo):

IBAN: FR81 2004 1010 1603 1175 7H03 7 45 BIC: PSSTFRPPTO

Konto posedanto: CNT-AIT / Banko: Banque Postale

La kunuloj kaj kunuloj de la iniciato Olga Taratuta

http://nowar.solidarite.online/blog contact@solidarite.online

 

 

Text of the Soviet directive “On Preventing the Mass Exodus of Peasants From Ukraine,”

'Crossection in Vinnitsya, 1939'. It shows the massacre made by Stalin when thousands of Ukrainian were killed during the Great Purge in 1937-1938. By William Kurelek (1927 -1977)

 

The following text is an English translation of a directive that lead to the deaths of over 3 million Ukrainians. In the 1930s Soviet agricultural policies combined with poor conditions for harvesting caused the collapse of agricultural production in many areas of the Soviet Union but especially in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Southern Russia. The population in the these areas went looking for food, often travelling vast distances on foot, some with their families others leaving them behind in the hope of sending food back. 

In the Russian Empire you required special papers to travel within the Empire, a sort of internal passport. This was kept by the Soviet Union, so what the starving were doing was illegal. It was also causing embarrassment and was a potential source of unrest. The document below is the official response from the Soviet authorities to this crisis. By refusing to let the starving leave they were condemned to die. This was remembered as the Holodomor, which comes from the Ukrainian for killing by starvation. Its been a mark on the legacy of Stalin and the Soviet Union for decades and is slowly being recognised internationally as a genocide.

 

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE CPSU (B)

COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS OF THE USSR

DIRECTIVE of January 22, 1933 No. 65/sh

IN CONNECTION WITH THE MASS EXIT OF PEASANTS OUTSIDE UKRAINE

January 22, 1933.

Rostov-Don, Kharkiv, Voronezh, Smolensk, Minsk, Stalingrad, Samara

N. 65/w

The Central Committee (b) and the Council of People's Commissars reported that a mass departure of peasants "for bread" to the Central Choir, the Volga, Moscow region, the Western region, Belarus began in Kuban and Ukraine. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR have no doubt that this departure of peasants, as well as the departure from Ukraine last year, was organized by the enemies of the Soviet power, Socialist-Revolutionaries and agents of Poland for the aim of campaigning "through peasants" in the northern regions of the USSR against collective farms and against the Soviet power in general. Last year, the party, Soviet and Chekist bodies of Ukraine missed this counter-revolutionary idea of the enemies of Soviet power. Last year there can be no repetition of last year's mistake.

The first one. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR prescribe the regional, regional executive committee and PP of the OGPU of the North Caucasus to prevent the mass departure of peasants from the North Caucasus to other regions and entry into the region from Ukraine.

Second. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of People's Commissars order the Central Committee of the CP(b)U, Balitsky and Redens to prevent the mass departure of peasants from Ukraine to other regions and entry to Ukraine from the North Caucasus.

Third. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of People's Commissars order the PP of the OGPU of the Moscow Region, the Central Emergency Committee, the Western Region, Belarus, the Lower Volga and the Middle Volga to arrest the "peasants" of Ukraine and the North Caucasus who have made their way to the north and after the counter-revolutionary elements are

Fourth. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of People's Commissars order the TO of the GPU Prokhorov to give an appropriate order under the TO system of the GPU.

Pre-Commarch of the USSR B. M. Molotov

Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) I. Stalin

(RGASPI. F. 558. Op. 11. D. 45. L. 109-109 ob.)

Directive of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR in connection with the mass departure of peasants outside Ukraine

January 23, 1933.

1.     ⁠Send the following directive to all regional committees and regional executive committees (see annex).

2.     ⁠To propose an authorized drug committee (i.e. Lavrishchev) and the South ZhOKTO GPU to immediately give instructions to all railway stations to stop selling tickets outside Ukraine to peasants who do not have a certificate of the RICs of departure or industrial and construction state organizations that they have been recruited for certain works outside Ukraine.

Secretary of the Central Committee of the CP(b)U M. Khataevich

Application Regional committees, regional executive committees

Mass trips of peasants to the Moscow and Western regions began from some regions of Ukraine following the example of last year. CCHO, Belarus 'for bread'. There are cases when the whole leaves almost all individuals and part of the collective farmers. There is no doubt that such mass trips are organized by the enemies of the Soviet power, Socialist-Revolutionaries and agents of Poland for the aim of campaigning 'through peasants' in the northern regions of the USSR against collective farms, against Soviet power. Last year, the party, Soviet and Chekist bodies of Ukraine missed this counter-revolutionary idea of the enemies of Soviet power. This year, this error should not be repeated.

The Central Committee of the CP(b)U and the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR offer:

1.     ⁠Immediately take decisive measures in each district to prevent the mass departure of individual collective farmers, based on the Balitsky directive sent through the GPU.

2.     ⁠Check the work of all kinds of recruiters of the slave force for export outside Ukraine, take it under strict control with the suspension from this work and the removal of all suspicious counter-revolutionary elements.

3.     ⁠To launch extensive explanatory work among collective farmers and individuals against unauthorized departures leaving the economy and warn them that if they go to other areas, they will be arrested there.

4.     ⁠Take measures to stop the sale of tickets outside Ukraine to peasants who do not have certificates of the RICs of the right to leave or industrial and construction state organizations that they have been recruited for certain work outside Ukraine. Relevant instructions are given through the IPNKPS and the transport GPU.

5.     ⁠Report no later than 6 p.m. on January 24 briefly the actual situation with the mass departure of peasants in your area.

Secretary of the Central Committee of the CP(b)U Khataevich

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR B. Chubar

 

 

Центральный Комитет ВКП(б)Совет Народных Комиссаров СССР
Директива от 22 января 1933 года № 65/ш
в связи с массовым выездом крестьян за пределы Украины

22 января 1933 г.

Ростов-Дон, Харьков, Воронеж, Смоленск,
Минск, Сталинград, Самара

N. 65/ш

До ЦКВКП(б) и СНК дошли сведения, что на Кубани и Украине начался массовый выезд крестьян «за хлебом» в ЦЧО, на Волгу, Московскую обл., Западную обл., Белоруссию. ЦК ВКП и Совнарком СССР не сомневаются, что этот выезд крестьян, как и выезд из Украины в прошлом году, организован врагами Советской власти, эсерами и агентами Польши с целью агитации «через крестьян» в северных районах СССР против колхозов и вообще против Советской власти. В прошлом году партийные, советские и чекистские органы Украины прозевали эту контрреволюционную затею врагов Советской власти. В этом году не может быть допущено повторение прошлогодней ошибки.

Первое. ЦК ВКП и Совнарком СССР предписывают крайкому, крайисполкому и ПП ОГПУ Северного Кавказа не допускать массовый выезд крестьян из Северного Кавказа в другие края и въезд в пределы края из Украины.

Второе. ЦК ВКП и Совнарком предписывают ЦК КП(б)У, Балицкому и Реденсу не допускать массовый выезд крестьян из Украины в другие края и въезд на Украину из Северного Кавказа.

Третье. ЦК ВКП и Совнарком предписывают ПП ОГПУ Московской обл., ЦЧО, Западной обл., Белоруссии, Нижней Волги и Средней Волги арестовывать пробравшихся на север «крестьян» Украины и Северного Кавказа и после того, как будут отобраны контрреволюционные элементы, водворять остальных в места их жительства.

Четвертое. ЦК ВКП и Совнарком предписывают ТО ГПУ Прохорову дать соответствующее распоряжение по системе ТО ГПУ.

	Предсовнарком СССР
	В. М. Молотов

	Секретарь ЦК ВКП(б)
	И. Сталин

(РГАСПИ. Ф. 558.Оп. 11. Д. 45. Л. 109-109об.)

Директива ЦК ВКП(б) и СНК СССР в связи с массовым выездом крестьян за пределы Украины

23 января 1933 г.

1. Послать всем обкомам и облисполкомам следующую директиву (см. приложение).

2. Предложить уполнаркомпути (т. Лаврищеву) и ЮЖОКТО ГПУ немедленно дать указания всем железнодорожным станциям о прекращении продажи билетов за пределы Украины крестьянам, не имеющим удостоверения РИКов о праве выезда или промышленных и строительных государственных организаций о том, что они завербованы на те или другие работы за пределами Украины.

	Секретарь ЦК КП(б)У
	М. Хатаевич

Приложение

Обкомам, облисполкомам

Из некоторых районов Украины начались по примеру прошлого года массовые выезды крестьян в Московскую, Западную обл. ЦЧО, Белоруссию 'за хлебом'. Имеют место случаи, когда цела покидаются почти всеми единоличниками и частью колхозников. Нет никаких сомнений, что подобные массовые выезды организуются врагами Советской власти, эсерами и агентами Польши с целью агитации 'через крестьян' в северных районах СССР против колхозов, против Советской власти. В прошлом году партийные, советские и чекистские органы Украины прозевали эту контрреволюционную затею врагов Советской власти. В этом году повторения этой ошибки не должно быть допущено.

ЦК КП(б)У и СНК УССР предлагают:

1. Немедленно принять в каждом районе решительные меры к недопущению массового выезда единоличников колхозников, исходя из разосланной по линии ГПУ директивы Балицкого.

2. Проверить работу всякого рода вербовщиков рабсилы на вывоз за пределы Украины, взять ее под строгий контроль с отстранением от этой работы и изъятием всех подозрительных контрреволюционных элементов.

3. Развернуть широкую разъяснительную работу среди колхозников и единоличников проти самовольных выездов с оставлением хозяйства и предостеречь их, что в случае выезда в другие районы, они будут там арестовываться.

4. Примите меры к прекращению продажи билетов за пределы Украины крестьянам, не имеющим удостоверений РИКов о праве выезда или промышленных и строительных государственных организаций о том, что они завербованы на те или иные работы за пределы Украины.

Соответствующие указания даны по линии ИпНКПС и транспортного ГПУ.

5. Сообщите не позже 6 час. вечера 24 января коротко фактическое положение с массовым выездом крестьян по вашей области.

	Секретарь ЦК КП(б)У
	Хатаевич

	Председатель СНК УССР
	В. Чубарь

Ukraine War Stories

 

 Ukraine has a large IT sector including game development. Many companies and teams have been disrupted and even destroyed by the Russian Federation's invasion in February 2022. It shouldn't be surprising that some of these game devs in Ukraine would turn to their skills and make something dealing with those events. Conflict creates an explosion in every other art form, protest music, graffiti, photography, novels and memoirs, and past conflicts do get depicted in video game form. Though its still rare for one to be made about an ongoing conflict in the early days of the fighting.

Ukraine War Stories (UWS) was released on Steam on the 18th of October by Starni Games. I was not familiar with them until last Winter, looking them up they seem to operate exclusively on the Steam platform and have previously released a series of games called Strategic Mind. Before tackling the game its best to address in the Elephant in the room. This game was made as propaganda to encourage sympathy for the people of Ukraine. Its released for free and has many language options, propaganda is a term that is loaded with negative associations, but it doesn't automatically mean its dishonest. The game is open about its intentions and point and view, and while the events and characters are fictional they all have basis in fact. On the game's start screen their is a page dedicated to showing the sources for all the events it depicts.

 Its open in its intentions, its transparent and shows the evidence it uses to inform narrative decisions. I don't have a problem with this. Ukrainians have a right to express themselves and deal with traumatic events in anyway they choose and the team working on this game have taken steps to ensure that the game is educational and stays close to accurate depictions of events. It at no point tries to present a "Russian" view of the conflict, but it doesn't have to. If a Russian game dev team wished to make such a game and they showed the same level of fact checking and transparency I wouldn't begrudge its existence.

UWS is a visual novel type of game with a simple resource and morale system, where the player progresses through three narrative scenarios set in three different parts of Ukraine, Hostomel, Bucha and Mariupol. These names should be enough to alert the player that they will be experiencing some horrific scenes, but just in case that isn't clear the game documents sexual violence, torture, psychological torture, and crimes against humanity and war. Its not a pleasant experience. I have completed all three scenarios at the time of writing this, there are multiple endings depending on choices and the management of resources but I don't want to play again, it left me feeling very raw and vulnerable.

The Russian characters unsurprisingly do not come across very well, they're all military and they're essentially brutal thugs. Unfortunately their behaviour tallies very closely with the sources and investigations into the conduct of the Russian military including in the towns and cities the game is set. I say unfortunately not because of the damage done to a nebulous concept of "honour" but because this means that while playing you are reminded that when a drunken Russian volunteer leer at a young woman, or a Kadyrovite (Chechen loyal to Chechen pro Russian leader Akhmat Kadyrov) beats a teenager for not answering a question he couldn't understand fast enough, these aren't like the zombies and mutants in a typical survival horror game, these scenes represent real events and real victims. If UWS had been made before the invasion I would've written it off as Ukrainian-ultra nationalist propaganda, but the links section and my own knowledge of the conduct of this war dispel that. 

To give just one example, in the Bucha episode of the game there is a collaborator who goes around talking to the Russian Armed Forces and was a supporter of the Russian World concept. He was based on a real person and his fate matches that of his real life counter part. If there had been no war and a game had this character I would scoff at how unbelievable it is that a person could walk through the rubble of his home town and praise and support an army that was seizing his neighbours, but it happened.

 There's an argument in games design that video games should always be enjoyable to play, UWS is an assault on that concept. I would not wish to make the acquaintance of anyone who would play this game for escapism or thrills. The characters while a little clunky at the beginning grow into human beings with complex thoughts and needs and no matter how good a player is at managing morale and resources they all go through a form of hell along with friends and loved ones. I suppose the question is why make this game? The developers of UWS use their Steam developer update system to keep their fans informed about conditions for civilians outside of the combat zone with their discussion of power cuts and having to source generators and heating for their building. The game is open about attracting support for Ukrainians, in addition to the page documenting their sources there is a `support UA` page that has links to many charities working to support refugees and other victims of the ongoing conflict. 

However, for me there is another reason why UWS deserves to be played, though I would recommend taking some precautions to prepare for it and keep in mind the extreme content it deals with. I'm fortunate enough not to know what its like to live under occupation, some of my family live in Northern Ireland during the Troubles so I have some knowledge of what that might look like, but in my own life I very rarely have to deal with the police and authorities never mind a conflict in my vicinity. This is unusual as many parts of the world are not so fortunate. In the UK and Europe we treat the people who face these horrific catastrophes very poorly. As societies we begrudgingly allow a minority of them safe harbour in our nations, donate through private and government agencies to organisations offering support closer to the battle lines, and use soft power to encourage the belligerent parties to eventually give peace a change through a drawn out process of de-escalation. 

Ukraine has been held up or criticised as an exception, and while its true that the level of direct support from the USA, UK and EU has been greater than other victims of aggression around the world I wouldn't say its been without drawbacks. In the UK while a home stay policy was implemented the government refuses to wave visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees a requirement that has delayed thousands from finding safety, and the EU is constantly struggling with certain member states (mainly Hungary) delaying or weakening its initiatives and support. And in general while sympathy remains high I've noticed that the tendency to view Ukrainians as somehow different from "normal people" remains as a source of distance.

But the ordinary people who suffer most from these crises are viewed as abstract numbers and burdens to be suffered. UWS offers an opportunity to close the distance a bit and see what an ordinary Grandfather, a teenage boy and a Doctor experience when nation states resort to naked force to achieve their ends. Since I have no direct experience to compare UWS too I can't say with certainty that it gets it 100% right, but it has left me thinking a lot more about people in Ukraine and other parts of the world a lot more than I do usually. Though I do know some Ukrainians from before the war so that has also helped me move beyond national categories and numbers on charts.

 The point I'm trying to make is that war is awful, and the injuries it creates go further and run deeper than most realise. But war continues to happen and yet much art dealing with war as a subject quite often glorifies and glamourises it. Especially in video games, some of my favourite games have you single handedly take on the entire armed forces of Bad-Guyania, without qualms. So, as horrible as games like UWS are to experience I think it occupies an important position. Its closer to This War of Mine in its effects and intentions and while it feels wrong to say I'm glad This War of Mine and Ukraine War Stories exist, since they were inspired by real atrocities and trauma, I think if we're every going to seriously challenge the system that encourages and perpetuates militarism and conflict works like them will play an important part in convincing the population that its important we do.

A quick note:

Steam Russia does not allow Ukraine War Stories to be accessed despite a full Russian language version being available. This is a great shame as I've seen what Russian official media and much of its unofficial Telegram channel media says about the conflict. Ukraine War Stories could do a lot to puncture that veil and expose a Russian audience to more information.

Conquest of Synthehol - Star Trek on Anarchism

 

 I've been watching Star Trek again, Season 3 episode Allegiance surprised me. I remembered liking bits of it but I'd forgotten a good chunk of it. The plot is an mystery involving the abduction of captain Picard. He finds himself in a sort of holding cell with three other abductees, meanwhile an imposter is giving strange orders on the Enterprise. 

Two parts of the episode stood out to me as being unusual. One of them was a line of dialogue Picard throws at the culprits of the kidnappings, "Imprisonment is an injury no matter how you justify it". Seeing a common argument of prison abolition on a network TV show was quite the surprise. The second surprise was that this episode examines Anarchism. The purpose of the abductions was to conduct an experiment to observe attitudes towards authority. Picard and his fellow prisoners were chosen as representatives of differing attitudes towards the concept.

 The prisoner representing Anarchism is Esoqq a member of the Chalnoth species, his people reject authority. Usually when Anarchism gets a little exposure in the mass media its as a cautionary tale about the dangers of Anarchy. Anarchism is shown to be a chaotic dog eats dog world a primitive social darwinist playground. Allegiance is a bit different. We do get the standard lamentation over the loss of law and governance, but that view point doesn't come from Picard or Starfleet, it comes from another prisoner Kova Tholl a Mizarian. Both the Chalnoth and Mizarian peoples appear for the first time in this episode, they're depicted as the polar opposite in values and philosophy. While the Chalnoth respect fighting and reject authority the Mizarians value peace so much that they always collaborate with the established authority, including their occupiers.

"My given name is Esoqq, it means fighter."
"I bet half the names in the Chalnoth language mean fighter."
"Mizarians, your names all mean surrender!"

Esoqq and Kova Tholl

Picard is essentially occupying the role of middle ground between the two extremes. Which is fairly typical of episodes of Science fiction. Though what surprised me is that of the two Esoqq is treated more charitably. 

The Alpha Qaudrents Errico Malatesta

Esoqq in his own words concedes that he has enemies and has killed some of them, and he also wields a nasty looking knife and he growls his lines. But of the two he's the more proactive one, he works with Picard on their escape attempts and his rejection of authority isn't the typical "Fuck you! I won't do what you tell me, whatever you tell me" caricature. Its more like he's open to working with others if he thinks it makes sense. A distinction betwee working with rather than for. He doesn't obey Picard he remains suspicious of him but can be reasoned with. Meanwhile Kova Tholl advocates capitulation and defends the unseen captors and extremely reluctantly gets involved. Even Picard the view point character for the audience displays an attitude of incredulousness that borders on open contempt when Tholl explains the Mizarian philosophy. "None! in the past 300 years of Mizarian history you've been conquered six times".

As far as popular programming goes this episode, once you get past the needle teeth and jagged dagger is a more nuanced look at Anarchism than most media even media that is consciously exploring political themese would do. It isn't perfect, Esoqq comes from what appears to be an extreme individualistic and violent place, but they have managed to develop space travel and have at least some knowledge and connections to the rest of the galaxy. Trek has a spotty record when dealing with politics in more substantial ways then moral criticism, I would put Alliegiance with its commentary on imprisonment, ethics and authority in the better half of the mix.

War on Christmas, the Agacher strip clash

 

President Sankara in front with beret visits Agacher during conflict in December 1985

 

On Christmas day 1985 the West African nations of Mali and Burkina Faso found themselves in a military conflict. The dispute was called by some African leaders as "the war of the poor" due to the economic conditions within both countries and became known commonly as the Agacher strip War. The Agacher strip was a territory bordering both nations, in the furthest north of Burkina Faso and as part of Mali's southern border. The clashes lasted five days before the International Court of Justice arbitrated. Casualties are had to accurately but are estimated as high as 300 including civilians and military. 

The situation was essentially powder keg next to an open flame. Agacher was a porous border, people living their often crossed what was suppsoed to be the recognised border. Cattle farmers would trespass to graze their cattle on the best lands in the area. And the territory was beleived to be rich in natural resources. Both nations had been pursuing their claims to the territory for many  years with sporadic shooting in 1974. But relations between Mali and Burkina Faso were especially poor by 1985. Burkina Faso's leader Thomas Sankara had publicly urged on revolution in Mali during a period of unrest 

“The other peoples who are on our borders also need a revolution […] I want to talk about Mali. […] The revolution of the people of Burkina Faso is available to the people of Mali who need it. Because he alone will allow him to fight against hunger, thirst, ignorance; and to fight above all against the forces of neocolonial and imperialist domination”.

Speech from September 1985, machine translated from French

Meanwhile Sankara suspected Mali's leader Moussa Traore of working with Burkinabe exiles and the Ivory Coast against him. Further aggravating the situation was the Burkina Faso census being conducted at the time which included the communities in Agacher and border settlements claimed by Mali. Burkina Faso also deployed soldiers to the area without notification resulting in confrontation with Mali authorities. Burkina Faso announced it would withdraw its soldiers but had not done so by the time the conflict had started.

On the 25th of December Mali launched its offensive, over five days its forces successfully occupied a large part of the strip with the Burkinabe forces lead by Blaise Compaore forced to disperse and resort to ambush and delaying tactics. On December 30th a truce sponsored by African leaders was struck and held. In January 1986 the two countries began desecalting, prisoners were exchanged and eventually a time table for withdrawing forces was agreed. Both governments accused each other, Burkina Faso stated it was the victim of aggression while Mali maintained that its operation was to protect its territorial integrity. By that December the International Court of Justice had decided to split the territory roughly in half with Mali taking the West and Burkina Faso the east. Both nations accepted this proposal and that was the end of hostilities between the two countries.

The reason I'm outlining this short conflict is the connection to Thomas Sankara. Thomas Sankara was Marxist revolutionary and statesmen who came to power through a coup d'etat in the former French colony of Upper Volta in 1983. In 1984 as part of Sankara's reforms the country was renamed to Burkina Faso. Sankara's charisma, interventionist policies and lack of readily available information about him or his time in government (in English anyway) and his tragic end, deposed and killed in 1987 in another coup d'etat by his close colleague and fellow band member Blaise Compaore, created the perfect conditions for a posthoumous cult of personality. Sankara is extremely popular today amongst certain left-wing circles and while its difficult to find information about in English, its almost possible to find even mild criticism.

So, I think the Agacher Strip, both the long running dispute and the conflict it birthed are an excellent demonstration of reality. It is possible that Thomas Sankara was truly as selfless and brilliant as he is presented by his admirers. But he was also the leader of a government and a nation state and an active participant in the international community. This means that ultimately his personal qualities aren't of much importance because both he and the Burkinabe revolution he promoted had to work within a system that constrained and limited them. 

As seen by the dispute over territory in Agacher. Two nations wanted to augment their security and natural wealth fought over a territory both had claimed. While Sankara had encouraged Malians to oust Muossa Traore in speeches and print there was no serious attempt to link the struggle for control of Agacher to a revolution in Mali. And Mali despite gaining the upper hand against the armed forces of Burkina Faso made no attempt to deliver a serious blow to Burkina Faso, its forces remained within the territory that was disputed. And after the International Court of Justice recommended splitting the territory both sides agreed and scaled back their aggressive measures. Both governments came to an agreement they could live with at the cost of a few hundred of their citizens. 

Furthermore, despite Sankara being an open Marxist with close co-operation with Cuba the Cold War dynamics of East vs West played no role in this conflict. Moussa Traore had taken steps to improve relations with France but his regime and especially its military relied heavily on the Soviet Union. The air force that bombed Burkinabe positions and villages flew Mig-21s and its tanks and equipment were also from the Soviet military. There were at least 50 Soviet military advisers present in the country at the time of the conflict offering support as well.

MiG-21 in the service of the Malian air force

Ultimately it didn't matter that Sankara was in power at all. The tensions between the two nations predated him and they were fought by means that trump ideological postures and by diplomacy and force, the tools available to all states and endorsed by the international authorities so long as they occurr in the proper manner.