cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/11749
The voice of an anarchist who fled Ukraine to escape mobilization and war thecollective Thu, 12/04/2025 - 15:10
Mainstream media and even some “anarchist” or “radical left” media outlets bombard us with reports about soldiers on the front lines, but stubbornly refuse to listen to the voices of those who reject war and violent mobilization for war purposes. We take a different approach. We prefer to give space to the voices of those who fled the war rather than to hypocrites who describe the war as a liberation struggle.
Viatcheslav is an anarchist who fled mobilization. To quote him: “I refused to join the army and fled at the beginning of the war in 2022. It’s not that I particularly like Putin’s regime; I know very well that he is a dictator and that under his regime I would have no freedom and, as an anarchist, my life would even be in danger. But I have no desire to sacrifice my life so that the Ukrainian bourgeoisie can enjoy their privileges, so that the sons of oligarchs my age can continue to sunbathe on the beaches of Odessa while I tremble with fear in a trench, waiting to be bombed by a drone. War is also a class issue: if you are rich, it is very easy to obtain a medical certificate and be exempted from going to the front. That is not my case. It is not fair. That is why I decided to leave. Here in France, I was not welcomed with open arms.”
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It’s not that I particularly like Putin’s regime; I know very well that he is a dictator and that under his regime I would have no freedom and, as an anarchist, my life would even be in danger.
There are multiple large anarchist influencers with tens if not hundreds of thousands of subscribers to their podcasts and video channels living in russia just fine.
Even the very smallest person to the left of liberal rabid war fever that creates any content is visited by Ukraine’s SBU and threatened, or worse. This claim that it’s the same in Russia is just absolutely not true, Ukraine is on a completely different level of persecution of the left, the left is completely and totally not allowed to exist. That just isn’t comparable to Russia at all.
If anyone is looking for a better Ukrainian voice I strongly recommend this video by a Ukrainian socialist in Mariupol: https://youtu.be/oNZwLA869Sc
It contains some brainworms, the usual kind you get in eastern european leftist, but is otherwise excellent.
I hope I would have had the wisdom to do the same thing in his shoes. True, victory will go to those who are willing to put their lives at stake. Many causes are more worthy than dying to decide which bourgeoise control a country. Although some national liberation movements can be seen as doing that to ensure local bourgeoisie dominate instead of foreign; a less powerful adversary for Marxists? Although once situated the local bourgeoisie can (sometimes authentically) cast rebels as foreign-funded agitators. So the wheel of history turns. In Ukraine’s case it seems the price of their defense being funded by foreign countries is foreign bourgeoisie controlling them anyway.
