Criminal
01-16-2003, 09:44 PM
.http://flag.blackened.net/anarpics/makhno_flag.jpg
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/russia/makhno_notes.html
Nestor Makhno, whose picture is on my signature, has often been described as the Anarchist Lenin. He led a small but well organized group of freedom fighters who resisted both the Bolshiviks and the "Whites". His group were well noted for their devotion to the common people of Russia and the Ukraine. Their free lifestyle and unusual appearance made them compared to 1960s hippies.
The key Leninist defence of the actions of the Bolsheviks in the Russia and revolution is that they had no other choice. Complaints against the Bolshevik attacks on the pro-Soviet left are met with a mantra involving the white terror, the primitive state of Russia and the reactionary peasantry, the 14, 17 or even 27 invading imperialist armies and other such 'forces of nature' which we are to believe could only be met by a centralised authoritarian regime that would flinch at nothing in order to survive. But embarrassingly for the Leninists numerous examples exist both from revolutionary Russia at the time and from earlier and later revolutions that suggest far from state terror being the most efficient way of defending the revolution other methods existed which looked to the massive creative energies of the working masses unleashed by the revolution.
In geographical terms the most large scale example of this is found in the South Eastern Ukraine. For much of the Civil War this area operated without a centralised state apparatus on the basis of Free Soviets. The space in which this happened was created by a partisan force that instead of using the efficiency of executions for desertion, tsarist officers appointed over the rank and files soldiers wishes and saluting so loved by the Bolsheviks instead operated as a volunteer army with elected officers and a voluntary discipline. This movement was the Makhnovista, named for its commander, the Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno.
The Ukraine probably saw more fighting in the Russian Civil War then any other area. It was also the only area which anarchists managed to liberate, if only for a brief period. To do so they fought the Austrian and German armies, Nationalists, Bolsheviks and the White Armies of Denkin and then Wrangel. There were smaller skirmishes involving Cossacks returning to the Don and independent 'Green' bands. The anarchists fought all these various armies over the four years their movement was in existence. This war was not only bloody but saw constant shifts of fronts, advances and retreats and changes from near conventional war to mobile partisan war. The consequences of this was that no area of territory was a safe 'rear' area for any period of time and so little constructive activity was possible. Despite this and the many flaws of the anarchist movement their activity in the Ukraine demonstrated that an alternative to the supposedly necessary methods of the Bolsheviks did exists.
Two distinct aspects of the anarchist movement existed, a political and non-military structure called the Nabat (Alarm) federation which operated through the soviets and collectives and a military command structure known after is commander Nestor Makhno as the Makhnovschyna. It is useful to first summarise the military campaigns of these years in order to understand the limits to constructive activity that could be carried out. A brief idea of the depth of fighting in these years can be seen by considering the town as the centre of the Makhnovists, Hulyai Pole which changed hands no less then 16 times in the period from 1917 - 1921.
March 1917 Serbian troops
September 1917 Local Soviet power starts to develop
October 1917 Soviet power developed to the point where all landlords land confiscated.
15 March 1918 Austria
28 September Makhnovists
Late September Austrians
27 December 1918 Makhnovista
29 December 1918 nationalists
February 1919 Makhnovista
6 June 1919 Whites
October 1919 Makhnovista (as part of Red Army)
January 1920 - Red Army takes Hulyai Pole, Makhnovista only hold it briefly over the next nine months
September 1920 Whites (Wrangel)
October 1920 Makhnovista (as part of Red Army)
November 26 1920 Red Army after surprise attack
December 6 1920 Makhnovista
Mid December 1920 Red Army
March 1917 - February 1919
Makhno spent the years from 1910 to 1917 in Butyrki prison, Moscow doing hard labour because of his anarchist activities before this period. With the February revolution he along with many other political prisoners was released and spent the first three weeks of March 1917 working with anarchists in Moscow
He returned to Hulyai Pole on 24 March and because he was the towns only returning political prisoner immediately came to prominence. He founded a Peasants union within a week and soon the propaganda of the anarchist group became popular enough that the Serbian Machine Gun company quartered in Hulyai Pole joined the May Day parade. In this period he also played a role in the strike of wood and metal workers and peasant rent strike in June. In August he initiated a meeting of local landlords and took all their ownership documents, a district peasant meeting then decided to divide all land equally.
During the Konilov affair the anarchists in Hulyai Pole organised a "committee for the Salvation of the Revolution" and the seizure of weapons off the local army. [1] By the 25 Sept./8 Oct. final last of the land was taken off the landlords and divided between the peasants.
There followed a brief period when constructive activity was begun, also marked by the first major military operation when on 29 Dec./11 January 1918 Makhno led 800 from Hulyai Pole to Olexandrivske to aid in the disarming of Cossacks. Some 250,000 roubles were taken from banks for distribution to the peasants and significantly a food for textiles transfer arranged with a Moscow factory. However on March 3 the Bolsheviks signed the Brest - Litovsk peace treaty thus handing the revolutionary Ukraine over to Austria without making any attempt to first arm the population. Within a week Austria had conquered the entire region, and had begun the repression of the revolution.
Makhno left the Ukraine top reach Moscow only to find the Cheka had attacked the anarchists there, killing or wounding 40 anarchists and taking 500 prisoner. Despite this Makhno met Lenin in Moscow who arranged for fake passport so he could return to the Ukraine. He did so at the end of June
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/russia/makhno_notes.html
Nestor Makhno, whose picture is on my signature, has often been described as the Anarchist Lenin. He led a small but well organized group of freedom fighters who resisted both the Bolshiviks and the "Whites". His group were well noted for their devotion to the common people of Russia and the Ukraine. Their free lifestyle and unusual appearance made them compared to 1960s hippies.
The key Leninist defence of the actions of the Bolsheviks in the Russia and revolution is that they had no other choice. Complaints against the Bolshevik attacks on the pro-Soviet left are met with a mantra involving the white terror, the primitive state of Russia and the reactionary peasantry, the 14, 17 or even 27 invading imperialist armies and other such 'forces of nature' which we are to believe could only be met by a centralised authoritarian regime that would flinch at nothing in order to survive. But embarrassingly for the Leninists numerous examples exist both from revolutionary Russia at the time and from earlier and later revolutions that suggest far from state terror being the most efficient way of defending the revolution other methods existed which looked to the massive creative energies of the working masses unleashed by the revolution.
In geographical terms the most large scale example of this is found in the South Eastern Ukraine. For much of the Civil War this area operated without a centralised state apparatus on the basis of Free Soviets. The space in which this happened was created by a partisan force that instead of using the efficiency of executions for desertion, tsarist officers appointed over the rank and files soldiers wishes and saluting so loved by the Bolsheviks instead operated as a volunteer army with elected officers and a voluntary discipline. This movement was the Makhnovista, named for its commander, the Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno.
The Ukraine probably saw more fighting in the Russian Civil War then any other area. It was also the only area which anarchists managed to liberate, if only for a brief period. To do so they fought the Austrian and German armies, Nationalists, Bolsheviks and the White Armies of Denkin and then Wrangel. There were smaller skirmishes involving Cossacks returning to the Don and independent 'Green' bands. The anarchists fought all these various armies over the four years their movement was in existence. This war was not only bloody but saw constant shifts of fronts, advances and retreats and changes from near conventional war to mobile partisan war. The consequences of this was that no area of territory was a safe 'rear' area for any period of time and so little constructive activity was possible. Despite this and the many flaws of the anarchist movement their activity in the Ukraine demonstrated that an alternative to the supposedly necessary methods of the Bolsheviks did exists.
Two distinct aspects of the anarchist movement existed, a political and non-military structure called the Nabat (Alarm) federation which operated through the soviets and collectives and a military command structure known after is commander Nestor Makhno as the Makhnovschyna. It is useful to first summarise the military campaigns of these years in order to understand the limits to constructive activity that could be carried out. A brief idea of the depth of fighting in these years can be seen by considering the town as the centre of the Makhnovists, Hulyai Pole which changed hands no less then 16 times in the period from 1917 - 1921.
March 1917 Serbian troops
September 1917 Local Soviet power starts to develop
October 1917 Soviet power developed to the point where all landlords land confiscated.
15 March 1918 Austria
28 September Makhnovists
Late September Austrians
27 December 1918 Makhnovista
29 December 1918 nationalists
February 1919 Makhnovista
6 June 1919 Whites
October 1919 Makhnovista (as part of Red Army)
January 1920 - Red Army takes Hulyai Pole, Makhnovista only hold it briefly over the next nine months
September 1920 Whites (Wrangel)
October 1920 Makhnovista (as part of Red Army)
November 26 1920 Red Army after surprise attack
December 6 1920 Makhnovista
Mid December 1920 Red Army
March 1917 - February 1919
Makhno spent the years from 1910 to 1917 in Butyrki prison, Moscow doing hard labour because of his anarchist activities before this period. With the February revolution he along with many other political prisoners was released and spent the first three weeks of March 1917 working with anarchists in Moscow
He returned to Hulyai Pole on 24 March and because he was the towns only returning political prisoner immediately came to prominence. He founded a Peasants union within a week and soon the propaganda of the anarchist group became popular enough that the Serbian Machine Gun company quartered in Hulyai Pole joined the May Day parade. In this period he also played a role in the strike of wood and metal workers and peasant rent strike in June. In August he initiated a meeting of local landlords and took all their ownership documents, a district peasant meeting then decided to divide all land equally.
During the Konilov affair the anarchists in Hulyai Pole organised a "committee for the Salvation of the Revolution" and the seizure of weapons off the local army. [1] By the 25 Sept./8 Oct. final last of the land was taken off the landlords and divided between the peasants.
There followed a brief period when constructive activity was begun, also marked by the first major military operation when on 29 Dec./11 January 1918 Makhno led 800 from Hulyai Pole to Olexandrivske to aid in the disarming of Cossacks. Some 250,000 roubles were taken from banks for distribution to the peasants and significantly a food for textiles transfer arranged with a Moscow factory. However on March 3 the Bolsheviks signed the Brest - Litovsk peace treaty thus handing the revolutionary Ukraine over to Austria without making any attempt to first arm the population. Within a week Austria had conquered the entire region, and had begun the repression of the revolution.
Makhno left the Ukraine top reach Moscow only to find the Cheka had attacked the anarchists there, killing or wounding 40 anarchists and taking 500 prisoner. Despite this Makhno met Lenin in Moscow who arranged for fake passport so he could return to the Ukraine. He did so at the end of June