As the Russian invasion of Ukraine proceeds, anarchists throughout Russia continue to mobilize in protest, joining thousands of other Russians. Here, we publish three statements from longtime Russian anarchist projects that offer some analysis of the situation in Russia and how the invasion of Ukraine might shift it.

Protests are scheduled in Russia for tomorrow (Sunday, February 27). We are still waiting for a report from our contacts in Ukraine, which we will publish when it arrives.

Russia itself has become an information battlefield in the course of the invasion. The Russian government has attempted to block access to Twitter so that Russians will not see what is happening in Ukraine or, for that matter, elsewhere in Russia. On the other side of the barricades, the Kremlin website was hacked. Whether the Russian people decide to support this invasion at great cost to themselves—or to oppose Putin’s agenda at great risk to themselves—may well determine what happens in Ukraine in the long run.

“Peace is a privilege reserved for those who can afford not to fight in the wars they create—in the eyes of madmen, we are just figures on a chart, we are just barriers in their path towards world domination.”

-Tragedy, “Eyes of Madness”

Solidarity actions continued today in Germany, Switzerland, and elsewhere around the world:

https://twitter.com/BlackMosqCrew/status/1497577214770094088

https://twitter.com/lora_radio/status/1497582576223010817

https://twitter.com/bad_immigrant/status/1497650635176660995

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Anarchist Militant’s Position on Russia’s Attack on Ukraine

The following statement appeared yesterday on the Telegram channel of Militant Anarchist [Боец Анархист], a collective in Russia whose name we have previously translated as “Anarchist Fighter.”

Our position on the events taking place in Ukraine is clearly evident in our previous posts. However, we felt it necessary to express it explicitly, so that something would not be left unsaid.

We, the collective of Anarchist Fighter, are by no means fans of the Ukrainian state. We have repeatedly criticized it and supported opposition to it in the past, and we have also been the cause of large-scale repression against the VirtualSim operator, done by the Ukrainian security services in an attempt to fight us.¹

And we will definitely return to this policy in the future, when the threat of Russian conquest has receded. All states are concentration camps.

But what is happening now in Ukraine goes beyond this simple formula, and the principle that every anarchist should fight for the defeat of their country in war.

Because this is not simply a war between two roughly equal powers over the redistribution of capital’s spheres of influence, in which one could apply Eskobar’s axiom.²

What is happening in Ukraine now is an act of imperialist aggression: an aggression that, if successful, will lead to a decline in freedom everywhere—in Ukraine, in Russia, and possibly in other countries as well. And it will also increase the likelihood that the war will continue and escalate into a global war.

Why this is the case in Ukraine is obvious, as far as we are concerned. But in Russia, a small victorious war (as well as external sanctions) will give the regime what it currently lacks. It will give them carte blanche for any action, due to the patriotic upsurge that will take place among part of the population. And they will be able to blame any economic problems on sanctions and war.

The defeat of Russia, in the current situation, will increase the likelihood of people waking up, the same way that occurred in 1905 [when Russia’s military defeat by Japan led to an uprising in Russia], or in 1917 [when Russia’s problems in the First World War led to the Russian Revolution]—opening their eyes to what is happening in the country.

As for Ukraine, its victory will also pave the way for the strengthening of grassroots democracy—after all, if it is achieved, it will be only through popular self-organization, mutual assistance, and collective resistance. These should be the answer to the challenges that war throws at society.

Furthermore, the structures created for this grassroots self-organization will not go anywhere once the war is over.

Of course, victory will not solve the problems of Ukrainian society—they will have to be solved by taking advantage of the opportunities that will open for the consolidation of society in the instability of the regime that comes after such upheavals. However, defeat will not only fail to solve them—it will exacerbate them many times over.

Though all these are all important reasons for our decision to support Ukraine in this conflict—let’s call them geopolitical reasons. But they are not even the primary reasons. The most important reasons are internal moral ones: because the simple truth is that Russia is the aggressor, that it pursues an openly fascist policy. It calls war peace. Russia lies and kills.

Because of its aggressive actions, people are dying and suffering on both sides of the conflict. Yes, even those soldiers who are now being driven into the meat grinder of war (not counting those bastards for whom “war is mother nature,” who, in our opinion, are hardly people at all). And this will continue until it is stopped.

Therefore, we urge everyone who reads this, who is not unfeeling—to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people (not the state!!!) and support their struggle for freedom against Putin’s tyranny.

It falls to us to live in historic times. Let’s make this page of history not a shameful one, but one we can be proud of.

Freedom to the peoples of the world! Peace to the people of Ukraine! No to Putin’s aggression! No to war!

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黎明前的黃昏

以下文字在2022年2月27日以俄語播客的形式發佈於 Autonomous Action 網站。

戰爭

在星期四早上，普京發動了自第二次世界大戰之後在歐洲的最大戰爭。他隱藏在頓巴斯分離主義者的所謂利益背後。 儘管頓涅茨克和盧甘斯克絕對滿意於俄羅斯對它們國家地位的承認、軍隊的正式介入以及所承諾的一萬億盧布。令人想起許多個月以來，俄羅斯國內的租金和食品價格每天都在上漲。

克里姆林宮對基輔當局提出了荒謬的要求——讓我們先從「去納粹化」開始。確實，由於他們積極參與了2014年的廣場運動，烏克蘭的極端右翼在政治和執法機關中獲得了超大的地位。但在2014年以來烏克蘭的所有選舉中，他們只贏得了不超過幾個百分點的選票。烏克蘭總統是猶太人。烏克蘭極端右翼的問題必須解決，但這問題並不能以俄羅斯坦克解決。至於克里姆林宮對烏克蘭的其他指控——貪污腐敗、操縱選舉和不誠實的法庭——這些應是用來指控克里姆林宮自己更加洽當。現在，俄羅斯軍隊完完全全就是他國的佔領者——無論這與每個在偉大的衛國戰爭故事中長大的人的期望存在多麼的矛盾。

俄羅斯已處於被國際社會孤立的情況之中。 (土耳其總統雷傑普·塔伊普)埃爾多安、(中國共產黨總書記)習近平，甚至塔利班都在味籲普京停止敵對行動。 歐洲和美國每天都在對俄羅斯實施新的制裁。

當我們準備這篇文章時，戰爭的第三天即將來臨。俄羅斯軍隊相對於烏克蘭軍隊擁有明顯優勢，但戰爭似乎並不完全按照普京預計的發展。顯然，他指望在很少或完全沒有抵抗下，於一兩天內取得勝利，但烏克蘭全國境內都發生了激烈的戰鬥。

俄羅斯人民和全世界現在都在看著影片，顯示著砲彈擊中民居、裝甲車碾過老人家、屍體和槍擊。

俄通監(Roskomnadzor)(俄羅斯政府的聯邦通訊、資訊科技和傳媒監管局)仍在試圖威脅整個互聯網，要求「不要把這稱為戰爭，而是特別行動」。但很少人會再認真對待它們。只要俄羅斯的互聯網沒有完全關閉，就會有足夠的資訊來源。以防萬一，我們再次建議預早設置帶網橋的洋蔥路由器(Tor with bridges)、虛擬私人網路(VPN)和賽風(Psiphon)。

俄羅斯人民剛剛開始感受到制裁和戰爭的影響：週五，莫斯科的大部分自動提款機的紙幣都提清。為什麼？因為前一天，人們從銀行提走了1110億盧布：實際上就是他們所有的積蓄。 房地產市場崩潰，而住宅建築是俄羅斯經濟最重要的部分。外國汽車工業正在逐漸停止向俄羅斯運送汽車。美元和歐元的匯率受到中央銀行的人為約束。所有俄羅斯公司的股票都嚴重下跌。每個人都明白，情況只會變得更壞。

只有普京需要這個

俄羅斯人民對烏克蘭戰爭的反應與 2014年(烏克蘭革命後俄羅斯奪取克里米亞)發生的情況完全不同。許多人，包括為政府工作的名人，都要求立即結束戰爭。值得注意的是，被移除的俄羅斯電視明星伊萬‧烏爾甘特(Ivan Urgant)。

仍然支持普京的絕大多數人也反對戰爭。普京的普羅支持者現在仍認為一切都已計算好，戰爭將不會長期拖延，俄羅斯經濟將會安然導過。的確是的，要生活在你的國家被一個狂人統治的理解之中並不容易——就像唐吉訶德擁有著百萬雄師(世界上最強大的軍隊之一)，和擁有著足以摧毀全人類的核武的唐吉訶德。即使只讀過二流政治科學家和哲學家的都難以理解，竟然有人會轟炸鄰近的兄弟國並摧毀自己的經濟。

沉迷於無限權力之，普京逐漸遠離現實：不同的故事提到，有需要與俄羅斯總統會面的普通凡人需要隔離檢疫兩星期，和普京接見他的部長和其家國家首腦時的超大長枱。

普京一向是一個會平衡安全部隊和寡頭政治階層利益的政治家。現在大總統已經衝出這一角色，走上了無邊無際的衰敗海洋上獨自航行。我們已準備好打賭一瓶最好的威士忌，大總統於不久的將來可能會遇上自己核心集團圈子的政變。

俄羅斯可能在2023年會遇到其他形式的權力體制和克里姆林宮會有不同的人物。將會是樣仍未可知。但現時，就是黎明前的黃昏。

就在此刻，反對戰爭的抗議正在俄羅斯各地發生。安那旗士在莫斯科，聖彼得堡，喀山，彼爾姆，伊爾庫茨克，葉卡捷琳堡及其他城市都參與其中。在俄羅斯，組織街頭抗議非常困難，充斥著種種行政和刑事條件，更不用說一如既往的警察暴力。但人民仍都會走出來。已有數千人被拘留，但抗議活動依然持續。俄羅斯反對這場戰爭和反對普京！見到適合的時候地點時，走出來吧。與朋友和志同道合的人組成團隊。社交網絡建議在星期日下午4時作為總動員示威抗議行動的時間。這日期和時間不差於其他任何時間。下載來自我們網站和社交網絡的反戰傳單分發和發布吧！

與此同時，烏克蘭安那旗士們正在投入在他們城市的領土防衛。現在對他們來說比俄羅斯人民更困難，但這是一個相同的防衛。這是捍衛反對獨裁統治的自由、這是反對被束縛的意志、這是普羅人民反對狂人總統。

回到你的羊群

如果普京突然奇蹟地找回他的理智，而戰爭在某一天結束，我們是否準備「回到我們的羊群」，就好像法國人所說的？我們很可能會被趕出歐洲委員會。因此，俄羅斯人民將失去引用歐洲人權法庭的機會，而克里姆林宮很快就會恢復死刑。

至此，讓我們以近年的氣氛回來看看現時的新聞：現在，國家杜馬(俄羅斯聯邦會議的立法機構下議院)正在採納一項法律，根據該法律，被徵召的兵員必須自行前往軍隊入伍辦公室報到而不是等待傳召。普京最近也提昇了警察的薪水。而檢察官的辦公室，正在上訴要求增加尼基塔·烏瓦羅夫的刑期， 他因Minecraft恐怖主義案件而著名，是來自坎斯克的安那旗士，而上訴要求刑期由五年增加到九年。

你自己會知道對這些情況可怎樣做。

自由歸於人民！帝國去死吧！

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The Anarchist Black Cross of St. Petersburg Statement against the War

We, the anarchists of St. Petersburg, strongly oppose the imperialist war of conquest unleashed by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine. There is no sitting on the sidelines in this conflict and there cannot be.

We believe that a military operation against Ukraine only serves to preserve the current political regime in Russia—to ensure that Putin, who has been in power for more than 20 years, who has unleashed several bloody military attacks, who has repressed dozens of journalists and anti-fascists and opposition activists, who has destroyed freedom of speech and human rights in Russia, who has plunged the vast majority of the population into poverty, can remain the president of the Russian Federation indefinitely.

Those who are culpable for the war crimes that are being committed right now before our eyes—rocket attacks on cities and villages, the killing of civilians, the use of prohibited ammunition—are not only those who give orders and participate in hostilities, but also those who support or excuse these actions directly or indirectly.

We urge everyone by any possible means to demand an end to the war and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine!

No Pasaran!

-Anarchist Black Cross, St. Petersburg