Situation in RUSSIA and anarcho-communist militants strugle (from russian section of IWA)

I think that the problems with legal registration of magazines are similar in many countries. The UK is probably the exception. In France you must have a legally responsible editor to publish a newspaper. In Turkey, the situation is the same. Also if something is not legal you can not get it (legally) printed or sold in bookshops.

For us it raises two problems, one financial, and one legal. To publish a magazine you must have an office. We have one, but it is a great expense for a small organisation. Secondly, we run our paper illegally. It allows us to say what we want. Our theoretical magazine is legally registered. This means that we (or more to the point the designated individual) can be prosecuted for things that are in there. In the new issue there is one article that in our opinion is in violation of article 301 of the penal code. This means we are liable to prosecution. The chance, however, is small.

Which is in the end what it comes down to. I am sure there will be more problems in Russia than France.

Devrim

When I hear about problems like this, I feel deeply embaressed that I have not done more in a country where opression of this type is not (yet) present. Thanks for the update comrade, and much luck!

On behalf of CRAS-IWA, I`m mandated to inform that information sent by mmagid doesn`t reflect the real condition in Russia. We lives in a police State, of course, but his info is very exaggerated. We canned print our paper "Direct Action International" normally, without any difficulties defined by mmagid. The comrades which has problems, is now in our organization of CRAS-IWA and haven`t problems. Moreover, I know, that the organization of Magid (MPST, group which was in the CRAS but disaggreed with 2:1 majority of his members) printed his paper without problems one or two weeks ago... Russian anarcho-syndicalists are grateful to foreign comrades for help in many past years. But now, we don`t need any financial or technical aid... May be, practical one - in organizing the real practical unions instead of little propagandist groups which only participate in "external struggles". We need in particularity information about syndicalist work in education and science. Our contact is: comanar30@gmail.com

About class struggle... We don`t have information about some strikes in Ingushetia or Chechya. Past winter, there are big social protests in one other republic in Caucasus, in Daghestan, where the population protested because of lack of electricity and warm...

As to class and union struggle... Yesterday, a "day for defense of work" was organized by reformist trade unions. A little "alternative" union confederation VKT organized pickets against companys of temporary work. We from CRAS-IWA participed in a such picket in Moscow showing solidarity with rank-and-file workers and distributiong leaflets with explanation what are the anarcho-syndicalist unions and methods (also internationally). Big meeting organized by official trade unions confederation FNPR was a shame: they re-oriented all from economical questions to support of Russian politics in Caucasus. We were of course not let in, but we distributed many leaflets among rank-and-file workers

For those of us that are interested in the subject but can only read little Russian, there is a thread in the CNT-AIT Caen forum (http://cnt.ait.caen.free.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4322). maggid and unforaisraruso are sharing their point of view there sometimes in English, sometimes in French and sometimes in Russian. As far as I got it, among the Russian IWA neo-foraistas there is a heavy dispute over the question of anarcho-internationalism versus anarcho-tribalism or anarcho-etnicism. This question seems to be a major problem for workers in Russia.

Well... I`m very, very strange man... And also dozen mans and womans which voted for expulsion of Magid are very strange, yes. And also the majority of anarchist community in Moscow outside of CRAS (as many people from Autonomous Action, organizations which is several times attacked from Magid and which pay him with the same)... Only Magid is OK. Everytime and for ever!!!!

Good... With the ethnicism of some people, it is clear more or less. It is sufficient to say that the man (defended by Magid with a so strong passion solidarized himself with comments of national-anarchists posted here, on libcom, in one of precedent discussions (about "national anarchism"). Magid doesn`want believe that the idea of ethnical identity and of possible creation of "free communes" on ethnical base isn`t compatible with anarchism. Let him go his way... But without CRAS. It was decided by majority of our members.

As for procedure questions... We can of course give the names of people which voted in CRAS referendum. People which voted for the expulsion and also which voted again. 11 from 18 people in Moscow voted for, majority of others abstain. Even 2 of 8 members of ex-syndicate of Magid voted for his expulsion. People had enough with him and his intern "activity"...

The entire procedure history in his version is a pure nonsense. Yes, the CRAS-IWA has since some years ago only one interprofessional union in Moscow and some individuals in other cities. And in this situation a decision was taken that further decisions at level of entire CRAS should be taken by referendum of all CRAS members. But it didn`t abolish the princip of autonomy of unions. So all decisions about Moscow organization were taken by members of Moscow organization only, not from entire CRAS. And it was decided that this situation is provisory only - until the emergency of new unions; after this the local conference and also a new congress shoild be prganized immediately.

On the other side, the process of clarification in the interprofessional union in Moscow, MPST was relative slow. In May, 4 of 12 members decided to form a new branch union iniciative in the education, science and technics, FRONT. The building of this union didn`t need the permission of resting MPST members because the previous decisions didn`t abolish the freedom of unions in the CRAS. Well, in our statutes is written that new unions must be adopted by the congress. But it is about people which isn`t members of CRAS yet, for the potential newcomers. These 4 people were yet members and so they don`t need any adaptation, according to statutes. In the world praxis of anarcho-syndicalism, one part of members of primary interprofession union (sindicato de oficios varios) can freely form a branch union without need to obtain permission from the SOV. Because they are yet in the organization. The contrary situation would be totally centralist - more centralist as it in the "Communist Party of Soviet Union"!

According to statutes, our unions are autonomous in adopting new members and only new groups of members or new individual members must be adopted by entire organization. It is not wonderful that our organization made it. 4 people which distanced themselves from the MPST some months or years ago in protest against sectarist position, authoritarian style or nationalist expressions of Magid (for ex., against participation in the broad antimilitarist activities, or - in style of Heidegger - about "selfness of every nation") joined as making return in the CRAS. It was a kind of "little historical reunification" for save our organization from ethnicist deviation and for renew it activity after some years of stagnation with ritual repetitions of methods which didn`t give a real growth of our influence in the workers movement. Then some new people came. And at least, 2 members of resting MPST went also in opposition to Magid`s line.

Acting in accord to our Statutes, we proposed to organize a conference of Moscow CRAS organization with delegates from both unions (FRONT and MPST) and from individual members. But this was no possible because Magid and his group in the MPST started to boycott us, paralyzing the normal organic activity of CRAS. It was ground for organize a referendum about expulsion... It was organized fully in accord with our statutes. Moreover, we think that ethnicist and their defenders can`t be members of anarcho-syndicalist organization. Our internationalism isn`t "inter+nationalism"