Statements by Movement of Irkutsk Anarchists and Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists, translated by CrimethInc.
In the current situation around the Wagner mutiny, there is no side we can choose but ourselves.
We do not flatter ourselves: the onset of this moment could take some time. From the February revolution (during which the generals participated in removing the Tsar) to the October revolution, nine months passed. From the Kornilov rebellion to October, two months.
neither the Putin regime nor Prigozhinsky are our friends. In this fight between two cannibals, anarchists should stay away—let them bleed each other as much as possible.
It makes more sense to “support” Putin because this conflict is not happening in a vacuum and its outcome also is important to the conflict between Russia and NATO. Wagner winning would probably represent – at best – another 1993 and may in fact be much worse depending on the influence of genuine Nazis. Mutual destruction would also, much more directly, represent another 1993 because it would mean NATO can roll in whether via tanks or corporate stooges and take over.
Third campism is trot bullshit and should not be supported.
I find it extremely curious how it’s “both sides suck” when it’s Putin vs Prigozhinsky, but it’s “the Ukrainian state has a right to exist” when it’s Putin vs Zelensky. From a previous article where they interviewed one of the same anarchist orgs:
So the Putin regime is bad for the transformation of Russia to “a neo-Stalinist concentration camp,” Prigozhinsky is bad for being some merc loudmouth who wants to raze Kiev to the ground, but the Zelensky regime is good for wanting to liquidate ethnic Russians living in the Donbas. But then again, crimethinc has always been sus for almost always toeing the Western line.
Are the stalinists in the room with us right now?
lmao
True that its better that Putin beats Wagner than the other way around. But what does “support” mean here beyond pointing out that lone fact? Russian anarchists and communists aren’t going to commit any material support for Putin and probably shouldn’t. So why confuse the public?
I mean, one of the groups is calling for attacks on rail and oil infrastructure, which is pretty clearly taking sides against Putin without a mass movement capable of picking up the pieces. Imo this is a bad call outside of the core of empire, akin to extending the sanctions from the bottom up.
