Interview with a Ukrainian Anarchist

With the Euromaidan protests in Kiev escalating into the ousting of a president and a Russian invasion/declaration of independence in the Crimea, SchNEWS interviewed a member of Ukrainian student anarchist group DIRECT ACTION.

Firstly what's the situation now in Kiev?

Right now in Kiev everything's quiet, the new government has successfully established itself. It was very unpopular at the beginning but the Russian intervention in Crimea has changed everything, and now most critics have decided to support "their" government however bad it is. The police are patrolling the streets together with the Maidan self-defence units, and it has been announced that they [the units] may be somehow merged into the police forces.

What are the anarchists and leftists doing at the moment? What kind of projects are you active in?

Most anarchists and leftists have returned to criticizing the new government, the wave of patriotism and the austerity measures they are trying to push through. In one way or another different groups are trying to promote the social-economic agenda which has been strikingly absent in the protests so far. We are talking about resisting the austerity, demanding free public transit, opening all the raw data in the books of public offices etc.

Is the Ukrainian far right stronger after victory at Maidan? Do you experience more problems from neo-Nazi and fascist groups than before? We hear a lot of stuff in the news about the far-right taking over the government in Ukraine- what is the real situation?

Yes, the far right will definitely now become stronger. They have successfully forced their way into "respectable" politics now. Also, they will be much more threatening in the streets. I'm not sure they will give up axes and bats and return to gas sprays as their weapon of choice now. So, yes, the left will be hard-pressed in the streets - especially given that many Nazis are eager to infiltrate the police forces. So, we'll have fascists in the cop uniform.

How can anarchists and anti-fascists in different countries support your efforts?

Right now the biggest threat to the left is the Russian invasion. Even if it stops on Crimea, it is a very powerful factor of consolidation around the government. Many people say that they won't criticize the government, that everybody should support it right now. So, obviously, the patriotism stirred by the invasion is playing into the hands of the ruling class. The left forces abroad should condemn the war and show solidarity with Ukrainian workers, and not the nationalist and neoliberal government. We can fight our local nazis, but Putin's "protection" will be much worse.

Do you think civil war or war with Russia are going to happen or is it still possible to avoid it?

We all hope this can be avoided, of course. I personally think it is unthinkable to have a full-fledged military conflict on a large territory in the centre of Europe with 15 atomic reactors and a bunch of strategic energy routes. It's much worse than Yugoslavia which wasn't so important from strategic point of view. I think that under the most likely scenario Russian troops will stay in Crimea and it will be an unrecognized semi-independent territory, like Abkhazia in Georgia - at least that's Putin's strategy now.