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From Freedom News

How Western leftists and anarchists found ‘convenient’ voices from Eastern Europe

~ Nikita Ivansky ~

Debates on anti-militarism continue to shake the anarchist movement in the western part of the world. Often in these debates we can see some organisations from Ukraine or Russia show support for the ‘no war but class war’ position. Three and a half years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the anarchist movement is extremely divided. Previous strategies of ‘listening to local voices’ have mostly failed for those who were not interested in the first place. With more scandals certain to come in the future, it’s important to understand how we came to this point.

More than 10 years ago, Russia annexed Crimea and occupied part of eastern Ukraine. Even then, the Kremlin cited various reasons for the occupation depending on the political views of its target audience. For the leftist/anti-fascist movement, Russian propagandists prepared a narrative that a fascist regime in Kyiv had seized power illegally. The 2014 invasion was presented as an anti-fascist action. Most anarchists and anti-fascists in the region had developed immunity to such lies over many years of propaganda. But for some Western anti-fascists and leftists, the presence of fascist flags during the Maidan protests was so shocking that they believed the story of a far-right coup without further facts. 

Many anarchists in Ukraine at the time believed that to fight the Russian Empire, it was enough to familiarise oneself with the situation in order to understand what was occurring in the country, and to provide facts what was happening. In Belarus, we had a similar idea of how to work with comrades in the West in the fight against Russian propaganda. This was: the truth speaks for itself, and those who insist on Putin’s position are just people who, for some reason, have not been reached by the facts. But, even then, we encountered people who knew better about what was happening in your own house.

I still remember how, at one presentation, an anti-authoritarian activist from Ukraine talked about Maidan and the situation after the protests, and a German expert responded by talking about how Kyiv was simply occupied by fascists. Attempts to prove him wrong were useless in that moment. Russian propaganda had already done its job. Back then, sitting at a presentation about Ukraine, it didn’t even occur to me that we were incredibly naive in our belief in critical thinking within the anarchist and leftist milieu…

After the full-scale invasion, I was one of those who insisted on the need to hear the voices of anarchists from Ukraine in order to understand the war and what we could do in this situation, depending on our capabilities. In my mind, such calls turned into the formation of permanent contacts between Western groups and activists from Ukraine/Belarus/Russia. And for a while, that’s what happened as people became interested, researched, and listened. But it didn’t last long. Soon after, self-proclaimed fighters with militarism within the anarchist movement appeared on the horizon. For them, the messages of Ukrainian and Russian anarchists were unacceptable. Instead of organising in solidarity, some Western leftists and anarchists decided to look for groups within Belarus/Ukraine/Russia that would fully correspond to their dogmatic perspectives on the war and the role of Western countries in it.

In Russia, such allies were found relatively quickly. For anti-militarists, the Russian organisation KRAS-MAT’s positions was easily integrated into the Western mothballed analysis of wars. They turned the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine into a clash between the ruling elites of both countries. Texts calling on Ukrainian society to lay down their arms and start fighting their own government began to spread across various anarchist and left-wing websites. The leftists and anarchists were not particularly interested in the criticism of KRA-MAT by other groups within the affected regions. The ideological proximity of the Western left to KRAS-MAT was more important than any political problems with the syndicate of academics, which had long since ceased to try to participate in the workers’ movement in Russia.

However, KRAS-MAT’s position was relatively weak even in the eyes of Western anarchists. After all, the organisation exists within the aggressor state, where resistance to the war is almost completely absent. In this situation, some left-wing pacifists and anti-militarists began to chaotically search for allies in Ukraine and Belarus who could confirm their political analysis of the region.

In 2022-2023, some pacifists and anti-militarists found the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement (UPM). The UPM has never declared its commitment to any leftist views, and a mixture of right-wing and left-wing ideas can often be found on the organisation’s information platforms. Moreover, Western leftists were not particularly bothered by the fact that one of the leaders of the organisation is the pro-Russian blogger Ruslan Kotsaba who was was expelled from the organisation in 2023. Nine months later he became part of the right-wing pro-Russian organisation ‘Another Ukraine.’

During the same period, European anarchists and leftists also discovered Assembly, another Ukrainian organisation. However, it was not the leftists who flocked to Assembly, but rather the authors of Assembly who, with the help of automatic translations, broke into leftist platforms such as libcom, completely filling the information field about Ukraine. The collective’s texts, often written in a sensationalist style, fit well with the old political analyses of leftists and some anarchist organizations in the West. For most activists, Assembly can be understood from this excerpt, which begins the story of resistance to mobilisation in Ukraine:

“Throughout the territory of the Gulag darkness in the middle of Europe, a people’s war against war is spreading. The heirs of the freedom-loving Zaporozhye Cossacks, Makhnovists, and rebels of Karmalyuk and Dovbush are responding with their own violence to the violence of the heirs of the NKVD, Gestapo, and Pinochet’s death squads. And we are only on the threshold of a full-scale round-up of conscripts, which is expected after July 16.”

In essence, Assembly does not write anything special. Rather, it collects discontent within Ukrainian society such as: the fight against corruption, resistance to mobilisation, the lawlessness of local officials. All of which is written about by the Ukrainian media and in social networks. The lack of criticism of the Russian regime and their attempts to put Russia and Ukraine on an equal political footing show, at least, Assembly’s unwillingness to understand the Russian world. The relative popularity of Assembly in Western circles has only reinforced the dogmatism of the group, which is completely removed from any anarchist organisations in the region. The only exception being their active cooperation with the aforementioned KRAS-MAT.

Activists from Ukraine and Belarus tried unsuccessfully to draw attention to the inadequacy of the Assembly. But, once again, they came up against an ideological wall. Assembly, like other organisations, proved to be much more convenient for Western anti-militarists than the objective truth, which requires much greater effort in constant research, discussions, and even trips to war-torn countries.

The situation in Belarus was even more complicated for the Western left than with Ukraine. After the 2020 crackdown on dissent and protests, there were only a few anarchist organisations left in Belarus and the leftist movement was largely absent and uninteresting. Belarusian anarchist organisations immediately condemned the war and called for resistance to Russian aggression. There were no equivalents of the Assembly or KRAS-MAT in the country. However, somewhere in the vastness of the internet and NGO business, the German left dug up Olga Karach with her project ‘Our Home,’ which since 2022 has been trying to sell stories to the West about mass resistance to compulsory military service in Belarus.

Belarusian youth do indeed resist militarism, but this did not begin in 2022. It has existed for many decades. Websites and forums with information on how to avoid military service appeared in the early 2000s. But for Western activists, Olga Karach’s story seemed very plausible. Yet, the ideology of ‘Our Home’ can be described as… money. The project has been around for a long time and, during its existence, has managed to secure sufficient funds from European and American foundations for the development of democracy and human rights. But Olga Karach’s problems began after 2020, when Svetlana Tikhanovskaya appeared on the scene and dozens of new liberal organizations emerged to compete with ‘Our Home’s projects. For some time, Karach tried to fight Tikhanovskaya for leadership of the opposition, but she had relatively little chance, given that everyone within the opposition knew who Karach was. In November 2022, Pramen published an article about Karach with information that Western pacifists had begun to raise money for her projects. I personally had to communicate with some German leftists on this matter, but information about “Our Home” was largely ignored. Over many years in the NGO environment, Olga has become very skilled at selling the right messages to different political groups and seems to have become a regular contributor to the German anarcho-pacifist newspaper Graswurzel Revolution (Grassroots Revolution).

At the moment, I doubt that discussions or presentations can lead to a greater understanding of what is happening among the ‘skeptics’ of the struggle against the ‘Russian world’. Further, in many ways three years of discussions about the war in Ukraine have once again shown my own naivety and belief in anarchists. For example, somewhere in the past we lost track of the pro-Russian Stalinist organisation “Borotba” from Ukraine, which for many years reinforced myths about the Ukrainian fascist regime, and no amount of texts or public speeches could eradicate this myth. Borotba’s ties to the Kremlin went largely unnoticed by Western leftist structures, and the damage done by the organization to the anti-fascist movement in Ukraine and beyond remains significant.

For me, the situation in the anarchist movement is very reminiscent of something that happened to me in Greece. During one of my trips around the country, I had the good fortune to find myself in the same car as some Greek anti-fascists. It was a long journey, and I fell asleep quite quickly. Half an hour later, I was awakened by Russian Nazi rap. When I asked the Greek anti-fascists where they got such music, they replied that it was a gift from their anti-fascist friends in Donbas. When I told them that it was Nazi rap, they simply dismissed my comment. Fortunately, the Greek anti-fascists did not insist that we continue listening to the music of their friends from Donbas.

Examples from three countries with different political groups shows that the concept ‘needing to listen to voices from the region’ does not work in cases of ideological dogmatism. Western leftists and some anarchists are willing to work with openly fraudulent organisations, just to preserve old ideological principles. With this approach, and in an atmosphere of information warfare, it becomes relatively easy to find a person or a group who will repeat slogans that are convenient and completely ignore a significant part of the organised anarchist movement.

Comments

silversurfer (not verified) Tue, 09/02/2025 - 15:37

"Damn those who talk about dogmas. There has yet to be a renegade who did not use this word. Mao Tse Tung compared it with “cow shit”. Well, bon apetit!"

A poignant quote from the Marxist Amadeo Bordiga which I think describes this disgrace of an article and this particular line of thought, which betrays the core anti-militarist and anti-statist/nationalist principles of anarchy.

anon (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 07:12

In reply to by BadImmigrant (not verified)

Unlike the Boridga-quoter, my reference point is Malatesta and other anarchist anti-militarists, and this article of yours wasn't for me either. Maybe I never would gave gotten into anarchism if the pro-capitalist, pro-state kind that you promote was the anarchism I encountered instead of Goldman's anti-militarist anarchism. I already live in a society that promotes militarism. I don't need to go looking around for anarchist militarism when militarism is already the mainstream. Your anarchism has nothing of its own to offer other than a rebranding of liberal capitalism.

silversurfer (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 11:33

In reply to by anon (not verified)

I quoted Bordiga not as a repudiation of anarchist anti-militarism or a shift towards Marxism but rather as a good quote to compliment that tradition, despite Bordiga's own squabbles with the Italian anarchists of his day. It is important for anarchists to understand their opponents found in other traditions and even use their insights for our means.

Wayne Price@ (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 15:49

In reply to by anon (not verified)

You refer to "Goldman's anti-militarist anarchism." Certainly she hated war and armies. But she supported the Spanish anarchists when they formed armed forces and waged war against the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War--she supported their military alliance with bourgeois nationalist and Stalinist military forces against the fascists.

(The problem with the mainstream of the Spanish anarchists was their political alliance with the liberal state, not their willingness to fight alongside the state forces so long as they were unable to overthrow and replace them.)

anon (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 20:55

In reply to by Wayne Price@ (not verified)

The anti-militarism of anarchists like Goldman, and many of the Spanish anarchists during the Civil War, was never against armed force as such but against the militarism of states. Spanish anarchists at first formed militias, rather than enlisting, and specifically argued for the abolition of the state army (this abolition of the army was an older demand related to the Spanish army's colonialism in Morocco). The slogan of some militias was "Militians, yes, soldiers, never!" For someone who talks as if they know something about anarchist history you seem to actually know surprisingly little about it, Mister Price.

anon (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 13:27

In reply to by Wayne Price@ (not verified)

“political alliance with the liberal state, not their willingness to fight alongside the state forces” is a distinction without a difference. Or perhaps you could explain what exactly this glibly tossed off phrase is supposed to mean?

Wayne Price@ (not verified) Fri, 09/05/2025 - 16:01

In reply to by anon (not verified)

During the Spanish Civil War the anarchists formed militia columns to fight the fascist military rebellion. Not being able to immediately overthrow the Republican state, they felt that the fascists were the immediately greater danger to the Spanish workers and peasants. So they fought in a military alliance with the state's regular armies against the fascists (as the Makhnovists had had military alliances with the Russian state armies against Polish and Austrian armies). The left wing of the anarchists (such as the Friends of Durruti group, but also others) did not criticize this policy. They did oppose the leading anarchists (of the CNT-FAI) for joining the Popular Front governments (in Barcelona and the national state) along with bourgeois liberals, social democrats, and Stalinists. They also felt that the mainstream anarchists missed opportunities for revolution (in the Barcelona May Days).

Similarly, in any war between the Palestinians and the Zionists, I want the Palestinians to win, but am not a political supporter of their nationalist-jihadist leaders and organizations, whom I hope the Palestinians will get rid of.

anon (not verified) Fri, 09/05/2025 - 18:08

In reply to by Wayne Price@ (not verified)

1) The anarchists did have the ability to overthrow the state, they chose not to for strategic reasons (perhaps mistakenly).
2) Several militias, even Durruti himself opposed militarisation (integration into the state army). They called for abolition of the army, not just non-participation of CNT-FAI members in government ministries. You are deeply misinformed about the Civil War.
3) You don't want the Palestinians to win if you don't support BDS, which you've said before on this site you don't in the case of the Ukrainian state (or any other resistance to occupation assumedly)

anon (not verified) Tue, 09/02/2025 - 15:46

Listen to voices, but not the voices you choose. Listen to the voices I choose for you. Anarchy is when you do stuff like slander Emma Goldman as being pro-German because she opposed World War One. Anarchy is when you're more against anarchists than you are against the State and the capitalist weapons industry.

BadImmigrant (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 03:00

In reply to by anon (not verified)

You see anybody talking about Emma Goldman?, World War One? World War Two? Some of us decided to fight in 2025.

And yes, there is a difference between organized anarchist groups and organized anarchist movement and couple of people you dig out of the internet just because they repeat your own political analysis that other challenge in the first place.

BadImmigrant (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 07:06

In reply to by Tim Declercq

Petrovichev had his own road from very weird russian centric ideas to taking arms to fight russian fascists. His life decision deserve criticism, discarding him as a nazi glorifier is a comfortable position to sit on.

Samoylenko was the person who made anti-authoritarian unit possible in the first place in case you are interested in history of organizing. His transfer with other people to Ukrainian Volunteer Army didn't affect his antifascist views or made him fight for fascism.

Tim Declercq Wed, 09/03/2025 - 07:36

In reply to by BadImmigrant (not verified)

Petrovichev was a convinced member of the OUN until his last breath, participated in UPA remembrance marches, and posed for photos with people from Maxim Martsinkevich to Mykola Kokhanivsky and everything in between. It is quite telling that you simply declare the population of Donetsk and Luhansk, who were mobilized into the DNR and LNR army and were fought by Petrovichev & co, to be "russian fascists" without the slightest shred of evidence while, at the same time, you make excuses for open and outright nazis like Petrovichev himself. In fact, I think this says everything there is to say about your position.

As for supposedly antifascist Right Sector commanders, I don't even know what to say here, maybe you can pull this stuff on the liberals I guess.

Funny thing is, if we actually take your advice and go listen to organized anarchist groups in the region, they extensively tell us about fascists making "attempts to continue their right-wing radicalism under anarchist banners, instead of "Glory to Bandera!" now shouting "Heil Makhno!"" (https://www.azarov.net/comprehension/practic/356-how-the-nazis-were-ask…). Well that seems eerily familiar here, doesn't it?

BadImmigrant (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 15:52

In reply to by Tim Declercq

Lol, if Azarov an anarchist, then why don't you ask then Zelensky about antiauthoritarian politics in the region? Just another proof of the point made in the text. You listen only to those who repeat your bias.
The rest is just bullshit not worth replying.

anon (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 19:30

In reply to by BadImmigrant (not verified)

The "point" here... is that you are openly turning Neonazi idiots into "antifascists" and "anarchists". Your bad rhetorical gymnastics aren't helping at making people look away from it.

anon (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 07:22

In reply to by BadImmigrant (not verified)

I didn't quote you talking about Emma Goldman, I drew an analogy, given your blathering about Russian propaganda. But here's another one for you. During World War Two, the German Nazis made propaganda films about British oppression of the Irish. Now the question becomes, does this mean that the British never oppressed the Irish? Or are you even denser than I imagined? Ukraine doesn't have to be a fully fascist state for anarchists to oppose the fascist organizations that do exist there and that some anarchists, like Samoylenko, serve as trusty soldiers.

Wayne Price@ (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 15:57

In reply to by anon (not verified)

You write, "Ukraine doesn't have to be a fully fascist state for anarchists to oppose the fascist organizations that do exist there...." Which is true.

However, Ukraine does not have to be fully free of fascists for anarchists to oppose the imperialist invasion by Russia and support the Ukrainians fight against it.

anon (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 20:50

In reply to by Wayne Price@ (not verified)

Does Ukraine need Western anarchists' help? It's getting billions of dollars worth of arms from "our" Western governments. Meanwhile, Palestine can't even get food, and Western arms companies are supplying both Israel and Ukraine (and Ukraine is buying arms from Israel, giving Israel capital with which to make more arms to kill more Palestinians). Seems like it would make more sense and be more efficient for anarchists in the West to do something about the genocides their own governments are enabling in places like Palestine rather than add one dollar to a bucket that their governments have already put hundreds of billions in.

CalvinSmith Sat, 09/06/2025 - 11:36

In reply to by anon (not verified)

The problem would look very different to you if you were a ukranian anarchist who couldn't just leave ukraine. Thats what makes this whole discussion look bad in the end, you've got people playing internet activists and talking about sides who don't have a real stake in the conflict.

Tim Declercq Sat, 09/06/2025 - 12:05

In reply to by CalvinSmith

The workers of Donbass couldn't just leave either when the mobilization buses arrived on 21 February 2022 for what is probably, in a relative sense, by far the most extensive mobilization that happened in this war, with several industries seeing 50% or more of the workers mobilized and thrown into the trenches. But I've yet to see a single one of these Ukrainian anarcho-militarists as much as acknowledge these aspects of the war, let alone show any consideration for it.

To the contrary, they simply get declared "russian fascists" as per Bad Immigrant in this very thread, or even "Russian shit" or talked about in terms of "We want to go and kill some Russian pigs, because they're really fucking retarted. We want to kick their asses. We have an RPG and we will pow pow! Lots of fingers, legs, hands, and other shit." (timestamps 9:15 and 13:30 respectively here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsodbPkjO3c). Or whatever other nonsense they tell themselves to justify their glee in getting the opportunity to go shoot them all.

CalvinSmith Sat, 09/06/2025 - 15:53

In reply to by Tim Declercq

getting used by NATO, the united states, europe, the Ukrainian state or The Russian Federation in the end. The ideology bent doesn't seem important to me. The U.S. could have kicked the russians out of ukraine immediately if they indeed are "the bad guys", but it's more of a strategic issue for our government like with Israel: the U.S. only really likes Israel because they want a non-islamic ally in the middle east.

It's no surprise that anti-fa soccer hooligans seem mostly to be after a sense of belonging.

Le Way Sat, 09/06/2025 - 18:16

In reply to by CalvinSmith

True, it is predictable. We anarcho-nihilists entertain a non-engagement/non-transactional attitude to moralities, ethics and ideologies within the plenum. Our focus is spontaneous empathic response to confrontations with all beings, and so militaristic ventures siting certain moral/ideological excuses offend our basic premise concerning life and existence.

anon (not verified) Sun, 09/07/2025 - 11:22

In reply to by Le Way

So that's a question to the mods... has LeWay got a lifetime ticket in your new moderation approach? Just wanna know coz this site's going to a lower circle of the cesspool that I'd like to avoid. Thanks!

CalvinSmith Sun, 09/07/2025 - 14:08

In reply to by anon (not verified)

the approach at all since it was basically the same for years, and i thought maybe they were just lying and that was the "experiment", but i tried it and yeah, they are putting comments from un-registered accounts into queues. It's a little too early to know whether the site will stay the same, get better, or get worse...however, in some ways it makes sense, as the zero-identity approach is somewhat un-natural, where you can't attribute anything to particular posters, and it makes posting garbage incredibly easy.

I think a lot of the problem with website though is the articles, there's just too much vagueness to clear things up with a couple of internet posts. Unfortunately, i don't know how to fix the problem: i don't really know how to write "an anarchist article", i just still sympathize with anarchism more than mainstream liberalism or conservatism. Shit in general really is a horrible mess, it can't be fixed with reformist politics or asceticism.

Le Way Sun, 09/07/2025 - 15:46

In reply to by CalvinSmith

To me it's primarily a source of ideas and an opportunity to interact with 'rebels' living within an increasingly corporatist hegemony which has even enveloped Left/Right/ duplexities into its customer base.
I would prefer a site for "Family orientated solar powered primitivists who hate authoritarian ideologies and the capitalist industrial military complex" better, but they don't exist, and this site is the closest I can find, though JZ is appealing.
The recent militaristic direction is just another fear/control mechanism, like the cold war, same players doing the same stuff, getting everyone riled up(narco-politics) and having their free will smothered by authority, and whoever gets sucked into that game is the fool.

anon (not verified) Sat, 09/06/2025 - 21:46

In reply to by CalvinSmith

If I was in Ukraine and thought the best of bad options was to join the army,
1) I wouldn't be looking for handouts of a few bucks from a tiny number of Western anarchists, I'd be looking for some of those billions of dollars worth of weapons from Western states.
2) I would admit that I was in a state army doing state army work, not doing anarchy. Seems like there are a lot of soldiers in the Ukrainian army not claiming to be anarchists. Some are even claiming to be fascists and still getting anarchists to join them. So this proves that even if joining the army is necessary, it's not necessary at all to try to sell state army work as anarchy.
3) People all over the world have a stake in the Russia-Ukraine conflict because Western governments are sending billions of bucks in weapons there, Ukraine buys Israeli weapons, Ukraine armed Saudi Arabia and Myanmar, and Ukraine now buys 100% of its uranium for its nuclear plants from one Canadian company because of the war, just for example. The stakes are high for us, including when Western nazis go to Ukraine and gain experience and inspiration and then come back here and try to murder us.

Leon Czolgosz (not verified) Sat, 09/06/2025 - 01:47

In reply to by anon (not verified)

I sPeaK aS a gHoSt, oOoh nOo dOnT kiLl pReSidEntS I wAs aN anArChiSt wHo sHoT PreSidEnT MckInLeY iT wAs aWefUl VioLenCe gUnS aRe bAd PleAsE dOnT sHoOt cApiTaLiSts, pLeeAse dOnT iT dOeSn't cHanGe aNytHinG iN tHe eNd,p aNd I gOt EleCtawCutEd

anon (not verified) Tue, 09/02/2025 - 21:14

I’ll take anti-militarism, even that of “fools”, over nationalism (or any other common front-ism), even that of “anarchists,” any day, thanks !

BadImmigrant (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2025 - 03:02

In reply to by anon (not verified)

Well it's interesting that in your head nationalism is what on the opposite side of the anti-militarism, while I mistakenly thought that it is militarism... Never the less, nobody I didn't call to become a nationalist, nor anarchists from Ukraine or Belarus call you to become one

anon (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 13:16

In reply to by BadImmigrant (not verified)

Fighting in the army of a national bourgeoisie and its state (let’s specify exactly what is meant here by “militarism” then, regardless of which “side’s”), repeating its discourse (perhaps with a few key terms substituted), is not NOT nationalism, even if you call it “national liberation” or “solidarity with the People of _____” or what have you

anon (not verified) Tue, 09/02/2025 - 23:26

Now listen, I'm not a racist, but my father always warned me about the ignorant Statist, god-fearing, illiterate peasants of Slavic origins, during the Yugoslavian Civil war, with their sour grimacing facial expressions, a humorless nasty spiteful and stubborn warmongering tribe who foment hatred and genocidal purges against their neighbors.
And so the old man was correct, and father's day approaching, I wish to toast his accurate descriptions of the people who inhabit the northern regions of Europe.

anon (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 13:21

In reply to by BadImmigrant (not verified)

Apparently, since I think a sincere racist would have unhesitatingly characterized Slavs as asiatic rather than as of (“northern,” that is, eastern?) Europe

Mods doing the math on ironic racism like the lady in the meme with diagrams slowly covering her face

Le Way Wed, 09/03/2025 - 15:43

I'm now leaning towards a psychological perspective on world politics, and applying this methodology to my analysis, and to my surprise, it fairly well covers the whole arena of nationalist power politics, from the leader right down to their minions and supporters. Basically, it is a narcissistic dynamic, a charismatic psychopath devoid of empathy manipulates on a grand scale their fawning sources of approval by whatever means. I've always stated that Western capitalism is a narcissistic construct evolved from feudal monarchies.
Left, right or inbetween, all "leaders" are basically narcissists who despise the truth and compassion in the quest for power.

CalvinSmith Wed, 09/03/2025 - 16:44

In reply to by Le Way

true in the sense that our modern social landscape in driven by optics and images, and ultimately what makes representative democracy a "tyranny of the majority". Capitalism does benefit from narcissism and disregard for compassion.

But while leaders tend to have a bias against truth, as too much at once destabilizes the fragile nature of people, i don't buy into the notion that leaders uniformly despise compassion and truth. Leaders use compassion, and leaders use truth.

And narcissism is something that's tempting for everyone, especially when you have mass media which tends to emphasize individual success. However, trial and error tends to show that you can't ignore the egoism and narcissism of others, yet power/works in such a way that people don't have an incentive to admit the things they've done, and if you've done some horrible things, you'll have even less of an incentive to admit it.

People get stuck in their own survival habits.

The whole purpose of group politics and racism/xenophobis is to delegate compassion: have compassion for ______ to save resources for _______. All nation states are structured in this way.

Unfortunately, people are not designed to deal with large scale fragmentation that results from tech and bureaucracy, so a lot of the efforts of compassionate people can't amount to much in the face of large scale wealth distribution. In the end, it's just about "doing your own thing", which to me helps explain why internet moderation tends to fail or not be enough to treat the problems with semi-anonymous internet discussion.

WTVlad (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 00:40

In reply to by Le Way

Donald Trump (USA, 2016–2020; ongoing influence)
Narcissistic traits: Constant need for praise, inability to admit fault, personalizing politics.
Manichaean methodology:
MAGA supporters = “real Americans” (good).
Critics, Democrats, media, immigrants = corrupt, enemies, “fake news” (evil).
Effect: Deepened polarization, loyalty framed as moral test.
Vladimir Putin (Russia, 2000–present)
Narcissistic traits: Cultivated image as savior and protector of Russia.
Manichaean methodology:
Russia = defender of tradition, sovereignty, and order.
West/NATO/Ukraine = corrupt, decadent, hostile (evil).
Effect: Justifies authoritarian control and foreign aggression.
. Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil, 2019–2022)
Narcissistic traits: Macho self-presentation, disdain for critics.
Manichaean methodology:
True Brazilians, patriots, evangelicals = moral and good.
Leftists, environmentalists, minorities = enemies, immoral, corrupt.
Effect: Intensified polarization, undermined institutions.

Le Way Thu, 09/04/2025 - 21:47

In reply to by WTVlad (not verified)

Yes, but also their "flying monkeys" (a term used to describe the followers of narcissists) other leaders, who are also aspiring to be included in the elite club, juggling favor and fury like prom queens and simpering alpha-jocks salivating outside the hall of Statist fame. Napolean complexes abound, swaggering simian morons self-absorbed and planning their next militaristic tantrum!

Le Way Wed, 09/03/2025 - 22:48

Yes, always delegations mediating compassionate favors for their favorites, that is human familiarity, and on the grand scale, nepotism, board rooms, and always a villain loser in any binary Manichean-esque methodology, the poor, the indigenous, the nihilist, *sigh*

anar-kawai (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 03:19

Certain anarchist universalism has done huge damage to any attempt of mutual understanding. And this obsession with "the Nazi infested eastern Europe"?! Growing up in one of these big industrial cities between Kamchatka and German border and having to deal with various sorts of street fascists which make impossible any other political or/and cultural presence, I thought that antifascism is simply handwork, dangerous and dull, which is done locally. To contain the problem or at least to breathe a bit more. And we lost lives, health and surely, I don't deny it, some of our logical judgment due to confronting these horrendous pestilence.
Then, living in the west Europe I discovered that antifascism is sometimes ideological dogma, obsession with the "Nazis everywhere" phenomenon. Urge to constantly reaffirm that you're on the right (sic)side, be it ideologically, mentally or spiritually. And further from your reality it becomes easier to point at something, your finger almost becoming bigger. So then, instead from humble street cleaning workers of local antifa teams (which are engaged in their daily glories and disasters and mostly are not even aware that there exist hypothetical interest in their local enemies by international leftoid public), we are obliged to hear about "look: the Nazis in Ukraine!" ( or Hungary, Poland, etc.) from Italian anarchists, Belgian investigator that share name with national bicicle heroes sporting Lidl logos, Czech narcissist hater or Serbian millionaire son and ex-anarchosindicalist leader...Well, I'm not judging anybody personal interests but isn't it strange that exactly these global-oriented gatekeepers of antifascist watch never seem so much concerned about the Nazis in their own countries? Why is we, the ignorant, have to learn about the recent years surge of fascist activity in Italy from liberal french-german TV channels like Arte? While Italian anarchists and communists, at least in what it refers to publishing articles and media, are mentioning only "the Nazis somewhere else"?..
Nobody denies that there are Nazis in Ukraine. Does it make the Ukraine "fascist state" and all its people..bomb-worthy? A Italian friends of mine will be shocked by somebody elsewhere saying lightly that bombing Verona (or be it Valladolid in Spain, etc.) isn't such a big deal because it's known to have lot of Nazis living there. But similar claims about Ukrainian cities appear quite often in internet comments by western leftoids.
A long term anarchist comrade of mine once said that I'm "concerned about people in Ukraine" because myself I was born in "Nazi infested eastern European country". And an other, when I mentioned some experience of personal visits to UA in last 3 years in order to try to deconstruct at least part of her narrative, said that "individual sympathies affect the political judgment"?! Is it still the old positivist Cartesian logic or some modern version of "analysis through dissociation"? How to even start to unpack this?
And this is just about "the Nazis" aspect...

Tim Declercq Thu, 09/04/2025 - 06:33

In reply to by anar-kawai (not verified)

"Belgian investigator that share name with national bicicle heroes sporting Lidl logos"

You do understand that more than one person can have the same name, right? My name is about as common as it gets around here and so no, I am not that cyclist guy.

"Nobody denies that there are Nazis in Ukraine. Does it make the Ukraine "fascist state" and all its people..bomb-worthy?"

No, of course not. It just means that when those Nazis drape themselves in anarchist banners and come asking here for entry into the movement and funds (talking of the Petrovichevs, the Aytonomny Opir, etc amongst you) they and the people who show up with them get rightly shown the door. Do you have a problem with that? If you don't like us talking about the Nazis in Ukraine then don't join their paramilitary groups and don't show up with them to ask for funds. Besides, there are more than enough self-styled anarchist groups in the West who are more than happy to accept the anarcho-nazis amongst you, just in my region alone there's at least Vrije Bond and its member groups including Anarchistisch Collectief Antwerpen, Anarchistisch Collectief Brugge, Leuven Anarchistische Groep, and Anarchistische Groep Amsterdam. Isn't that enough already?

anon (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 21:21

In reply to by anar-kawai (not verified)

A bunch of low-effort straw men here. Like this one:

"Nobody denies that there are Nazis in Ukraine. Does it make the Ukraine "fascist state" and all its people..bomb-worthy?"

And who has ever said that? The Ukrainian state appears to have a fascist character ever since 2014 and especially since martial law was put into place, but that's not merely due to the presence of Neonazi groups in the country. It's been, ever since the putsch, intensely characterized by a nationalist cult and the agenda for an "all-Ukrainian" country (look at the 2014 constitution), in its goal of eradicating the Russian (or Muscovite) element.

But this Ukrainian state IS considering a large portion of the people in Ukraine to be bomb-worthy... not only due to bombing "impure Muscovite RuSSians" in the east of the country, but also by seeking to retake all of what was already annexed by Russia and refusing any other territorial negotiations.

Le Way Mon, 09/08/2025 - 15:04

In reply to by anar-kawai (not verified)

You have certainly unravelled some of the complexities surrounding antifa and leftist aspirations, and your :--
"Is it still the old positivist Cartesian logic or some modern version of "analysis through dissociation"? How to even start to unpack this?
And this is just about "the Nazis" aspect..." hinted at the root cause of the cerebral cacophony surrounding ideological prescriptions. I can only say,,, and I hope this doesn't come across as rather pithy, that humanity must first conquer the Nazi inside their own head before they can negate the entire fascistic tendencies in an increasingly narcissistic Western culture built on hierarchy and manipulation.

CalvinSmith Thu, 09/04/2025 - 11:33

Anyone could unpack this "nazi rap" accussation, vague bits like that seem to undermine the clarity of articles in english.

"Is nazi rap"?

and given that you're against the bogus or exaggerated russian prophaghanda about nazis im Ukraine, how is this helpful?? Maybe it would be better if it targeted slavic countries, idfk

anon (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 13:05

In reply to by CalvinSmith

Also why are we supposed to take seriously the complaining about nazi rap by someone who is telling us straight up that armed fascists in Ukraine are ok as long as they fight Yanukovych and Putin, and its ok for anarchists to enlist under those fascists, as several Resistance Committee persons have?

CalvinSmith Thu, 09/04/2025 - 14:27

In reply to by anon (not verified)

...to take this complaint seriously"? Did you pay any attention, whatsoever, to the framing of my comment?

Where have you gotten the idea that i like the article beyond criticism of Putin propaganda? Am i supposed to refrain from criticizing that for the sake of "the anarchist movement"? To be totally honest with you, i don't fully understand what this person is getting at, it seems to be very ideological.

*sigh* so many gatekeepers make even a virtual room stuffy.

anon (not verified) Thu, 09/04/2025 - 15:29

In reply to by CalvinSmith

It's funny that you missed the word "also" at the beginning of the sentence and are taking the rest as a criticism rather than an addition, and then complaining about gatekeeping based on your own mistake. Can't tell if this is a bit or real but good for a laugh either way, thanks.

CalvinSmith Fri, 09/05/2025 - 03:31

In reply to by anon (not verified)

which isn't my fault.

Okay, so let me spell it for you. I was responding to:

"Also why are we supposed to take seriously the complaining about nazi rap by someone who..."

I didn't even say we were supposed to take it seriously, the comment was meant to be a humorous criticism of an obviously shoddy article. The person responding to me obviously thinks that there are certain "important things" we should be talking about on here, and the nazi rap is apparently not one of them. My attempt was to get the person who wrote the article to talk about the rap music in more specific terms. If you don't like it, then fuck off, gatekeeper. Thanks for making me repeat myself.

anon (not verified) Fri, 09/05/2025 - 15:54

In reply to by Bad Immigrant (not verified)

Why is it bad to listen to fascist rap but okay, even good to serve in a fascist army unit as Resistance Committee members have, serving in Right Sector, Azov and Brotherhood? Something doesn't add up. Why is it okay that Petrov told German media that Ukrainian conscription is necessary?

CalvinSmith Sat, 09/06/2025 - 06:21

In reply to by Bad Immigrant (not verified)

conclusion, yet some folks question the accuracy of what people say on the internet. The music might indeed be anti-semitic, hateful towards muslims and other forms of non-euro culture, or contain reactionary positions, yet it can't really be known from this article. "Nazis" do exist, but sometimes it's just a loaded insult (for example, the way that Putin uses it to describe the people he is mass murdering...)

anon (not verified) Sat, 09/06/2025 - 19:14

"Debates on anti-militarism continue to shake" no anarchist on the planet outside of the owners of this website

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