Ukraine
The Greek Makhnovists
A short account of the role of the Black Sea Greeks in the Makhnovist movement.
Greeks had settled along the north coast of the Black Sea in what is now Ukraine and Crimea from at least the 5th Century BC. At the time of the Revolution of 1917 there were around 180,000 of these Pontic Greeks in the region.
Ivanyuk (?-1921)
A short biography of Ivanyuk, independent-minded Makhnovist commander, who died in the last major battle of the movement.
On 26 August we fought another battle…in which we lost our dearest fighters and comrades, Petrenko-Platonov and Ivanyuk”. Nestor Makhno, quoted in the History of the Makhnovist Movement, Piotr Arshinov.
Pravda, Simeon (Batko Pravda), 1877-1921
A short biography of Simeon Pravda, one of the most colourful of the Makhnovist commanders
Simeon Pravda was born into a family of farm-hands in Lyubimovka near Alexandrovsk. He became an anarchist-communist from 1904, and took part in armed actions against the Tsarist regime. He worked on the railway as a coupler at Gaychur station in 1905,and it was there that he was involved in an accident that led to the loss of both his legs.
Zhivoder, c.1883-1920
A short biography of Zhivoder, a revolutionary sailor who moved from Bolshevism to anarchism.
From Bolshevism to Makhnovism
Zheleznyakov, Nikolai Grigorievich (1893-1918/1919)
A short biography of Nikolai, the far less known brother of the anarchist Anatoli Zheleznyakov.
The other Zheleznyakov
Brova, Mikhail or Brava aka Batko Brova, ?-1921
A short biography of Mikhail Brova, Makhnovist commander, anarchist communist and associate of Maslakov
Mikhail Brova was born into a peasant family in the village of Novogrigorevka, in the Ekaterinoslav province of the Ukraine. From early childhood, he worked as a mechanic–locksmith at the station at Avdeevka Yuzovsky.
Budanov, Avraam, 1886?-1928/9?
A short biography of Avraam Budanov, who fought with the Makhnovists and continued an underground struggle after the defeat of the movement
Avraam Budanov was born into a peasant family in Slavyanoserbsk in Ekaterinoslav province. It appears that he came from the Bulgarian national minority in the Ukraine. From childhood he worked as a fitter in Lugansk. He became an anarchist-communist in 1905, and took part in revolutionary activities in the Donbas basin between1905-1907.
Vdovichenko, Trofim Yakovlevich, 1889-1921
A short biography of Trofim Vdovichenko, gifted guerilla commander and one of the most heroic figures of the Makhnovist movement
Trofim Vdovichenko was born into a family of poor peasants in Novospasovka in the Ukraine. He received a primary education. From 1910 he was a member of the Novospasovka group of anarchist-communists, alongside Viktor Belash ,Vassily Kurilenko, Luca Bondarets, Filipp Goncharenko, Vladimir Protsenko and Fomenko who also all had leading roles in the Makhnovist movement later on.
Brother, Can You Spare A Ukrainian Section? - Red and Black Notes
Article by Red and Black Notes on the fraudulent "Ukrainian section" of several Trotskyist internationals, which obtained much money from several competing tendancies by mouthing the correct slogans to the right people.
The little world in which the left ekes out its meagre existence recently saw a minor scandal emerge, when a Ukrainian Trotskyist organization affiliated to the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) simultaneously represented itself to several other left-wing and Trotskyist organizations as "their" sections.
Sacha Piotr (Sascha Pjotr) aka Alexander Shapiro aka Sergei 1889/1890-1942(?)
A short biography of the obscure figure of Ukrainian anarchist Sacha Piotr-real name Alexander Schapiro, active in the Ukraine, Russia, Belgium, France and Germany. He fought with the anarchists in Spain and was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz. Father of the gifted mathematican Alexander Grothendieck.
Alexander Schapiro was born into a Jewish family with a Hasidic background in Novozybkov in the Ukraine on October 11th 1889 or 6th August 1890. This is the date given by his son Alexander, but it is not clear whether this was by the Julian or Gregorian calendar! In addition the Red Cross report of 1957 on him give two different birth dates, one of 10/11/1889 and one of 11/10/1889!
