Chapter 4 : 
A Few Words on the National Question in the Ukraine
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19261926

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Author : Nestor Makhno

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In the wake of the abolition of czarist despotism at the time of the 1917
revolution, prospects of new, free relations between peoples hitherto in
subjection beneath the violent yoke of the Russian State, appeared on the
horizons of the world of Labor. The notion of complete self-determination,
up to and including a complete break with the Russian State, thus emerged
naturally among these peoples. Groups of every persuasion sprang up among
the Ukrainian population by the dozen: each of them had its own outlook and
interpreted the idea of self-determination according to its own factional
interests. All in all, the toiling masses of the Ukraine did not identify
with these groups and did not join them.

Over seven years have elapsed since, and the Ukrainian toilers' line on the
notion of self-determination has developed and their understanding
increased. Now they identified with it and they displayed this often in
their life-style. Thus, for example, they asserted their rights to use
their own language and their entitlement to their own culture, which had
been regarded prior to the revolution as anathema. They also asserted their
right to conform in their lives to their own way of life and specific
customs. In the aim of building an independent Ukrainian State, certain
statist gentlemen would dearly love to arrogate to themselves all natural
manifestations of Ukrainian reality, against which the Bolsheviks, by the
way, are powerless to fight, for all their omnipotence. However, these
statist gentlemen cannot seem to carry the broad masses of toilers with
them, much less mobilize them in this way for a struggle against the
oppressive Bolshevik party. The healthy instincts of the Ukrainian toilers
and their baleful life under the Bolshevik yoke has not made them oblivious
of the State danger in general. For that reason, they shun the chauvinist
trend and do not mix it up with their social aspirations, rather seeking
their own road to emancipation.

There is food there for serious thought on the part of all Ukrainian
revolutionaries and for libertarian communists in particular, if they aim
after this to engage in consistent work among the Ukrainian toilers.

Such work, though, cannot be conducted along the same lines as in the years
1918-1920, for the reality in the country has altered a lot. Then, the
Ukrainian laboring population, which had played such a significant part in
crushing all of the bourgeoisie's mercenaries - Denikin, Petliura and
Wrangel - could never have dreamed that, at the far end of the revolution,
it would find itself so ignominiously deceived and exploited by the
Bolsheviks.

Those were the days when we were all fighting against the restoration of
the czarist order. There was not enough time then to scrutinize and vet all
the "blow-ins" showing up to join the struggle. Faith in the revolution
overruled all second thoughts about the mettle of these "blow-ins" or the
questions that might have been raised about them; should they be counted as
friends or foes? At the time, the toilers were on the move against the
counter-revolution, heedful only of those who showed up to share their
front ranks in confronting death fearlessly in defense of the revolution.

Later, the psychology of the Ukrainian toilers changed a lot: they had had
the time to familiarize themselves to saturation point with these
"blow-ins" to their cause, and thereafter were more critical in their
accounting of what they had won through the revolution, or at least what
remains of that. Behind these "blow-ins" they recognize their outright
enemies, even though these Ukrainianized themselves and wave the flag of
socialism, for, in actuality, they watch them operate in such a way as to
add to the exploitation of Labor. They are clear in their minds that it was
this caste of socialists, voracious exploiters, that stripped them of all
their revolutionary gains. In short, as far as they are concerned it is
something akin to the Austro-German occupation camouflaged behind all
manner of Bolshevik sleight of hand.

This disguised occupation prompts from the masses a certain chauvinist
backlash directed against the "blow-ins". Not for nothing do these
Bolshevik gentlemen govern the Ukraine from Moscow, hiding behind their
Ukrainian cat's paws: it is the growing hatred from the Ukrainian masses
that has commended this course to them. It is the very nature of the
Bolshevik despotism that is driving the Ukrainian toilers to search for
ways of overthrowing it and making progress towards a new and truly free
society. The Bolsheviks are not resting on their laurels either and are
striving to adapt at all costs to Ukrainian reality. In 1923, they ended up
like lost sheep: since which they have modified their tactics and wasted no
time in getting to grips with Ukrainian reality. Furthermore, they have
wasted no time in associating the fate of Bolshevism with that of
nationalism, and they have, in pursuance of this, added specific articles
to the 'Constitution of the USSR', affording every component people of that
Union full rights of self-determination, indeed of secession. All of which
is, of course, mere show. How is this attitude of the Bolsheviks going to
develop? The next few years will tell. Anarchists' approach to the reality
of the Ukraine now should take due account of these new factors - the
Ukrainian toilers' hatred for the "blow-ins" of nationalist Bolshevism. By
our reckoning, their chief task today consists of explaining to the masses
that the root of all evil is not some "blow-in" authorities, but all
authority in general. The history of recent years will afford considerable
weight to their argument, for the Ukraine has seen a parade of all manner
of authorities and, when all is said and done, these have been as
indistinguishable one from another as peas in a pod. We must demonstrate
that a "blow-in" State power and an "independent" State power amount to
just about equal in value and that the toilers have nothing to gain from
either: they should focus all their attention elsewhere: on destroying the
nests of the State apparatus and replacing these with worker and peasant
bodies for social and economic self-direction.



In spite of everything, in broaching the national question, we should not
overlook the latest developments in the Ukraine. Ukrainian is being spoken
now, and by virtue of the new nationalist trend, outsiders who do not speak
the local language are scarcely listened to. This is an ethnic thing that
ought to be kept in the forefront of our minds. Whereas, up to now,
anarchists have enjoyed only a feeble audience among the Ukrainian
peasantry, that was because they were concentrated above all in the towns
and, what is more, did not use the national tongue of the Ukrainian
countryside.

Ukrainian life is filled with all sorts of possibilities, especially the
potential for a mass revolutionary movement. Anarchists have a great chance
of influencing that movement, indeed becoming its mentors, provided only
that they appreciate the diversity of real life and espouse a position to
wage a single-minded, direct and declared fight against those forces
hostile to the toilers which might have ensconced themselves there. That is
a task that cannot be accomplished without a large and powerful Ukrainian
anarchist organization. It is for Ukrainian anarchists to give that some
serious thought, starting now.

Dyelo Truda No 19, December 1928.


     From : Spunk.org

Events :
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     Chapter 4 -- Publication : November 30, 1925

     Chapter 4 -- Added : February 07, 2017

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