Title: About reaction of some activists on Arkhangelsk events
Author: Anonymous
Date: 15th November 2018
Source: Retrieved on 15th August 2020 from https://bo-ak.org/index.php/en/theory-en/125-about-reaction-of-some-activists-on-arkhangelsk-s-events

No sooner had the echo of the explosion in Arkhangelsk died down, when a friendly chorus came from all angles, in which the voices of Stalinists, socialists, part of anarchists and simply leftists intertwined.

Everybody rushed to blame Michail as they fear that they will be repressed because of him. Also they try to make themselves look white and fluffy, declaring that:

“individual terrorist acts have nothing similar with the ideology of anarchism...”

“The tactics of the communists at the present stage remains the same: the study of Marxism-Leninism, comprehensive class agitation and propaganda, association with like-minded people, the struggle against opportunism and revisionism. There is no other way, only the organized working class under the leadership of the Communist Party can oppose the capitalist class.”

“nowhere in the world those methods have justified themselves and cannot justify.”

We are not surprised by such statements made by the government parties, as well as by their pawns in mass media. They are enemies, and we cannot expect anything else from them.

However, when such statements are heard from those who deem themselves champions of social struggle, who declare that they stand for free anarchic (communist) society, this tears off the masks of the “fighters” from such fellows and saves us from future disappointments but nevertheless it hurts stronger.

Without trying to answer the whole cowardly idiocy that is now walking around the network, let’s denote our position on the main points:

  1. The state has always repressed and will repress those who fight against its oppression. If there are no explosions, the state will repress for airsoft and flyers. And the case of “Network” proves that. If there are no flyers — the state will repress for reposts of images in the social nets in order to keep society in fear and submission.
    Anyone who wants to change, destroy the system — must be aware of this and be ready to undergo repression, and not only for their direct actions.
    Therefore, all the words that now the left will be repressed because of Mikhail — are the words of either fools (who did not think about what they are doing) or posers and cowards.

  2. As for the tactics of terror — yes, individual terror alone cannot in any way destroy the state. We stated this earlier in the article “There is no revolution without organization” . However, without direct action against the enemy, without heroism of individual people, who ispire by their example, revolution is also impossible.

We can study those dusty volumes of Marxism-Leninism as much as we like. At that, from the many Lenin’s articles picking out only those which justify inaction and passivity – and not, for example, this one:

“TO COMBAT COMMITTEE OF ST. PETERSBURG COMMITTEE
16.Х. 1905.

...It horrifies me— I give you my word—it horrifies me to find that there has been talk about bombs for over six months, yet not one has been made!

And it is the most learned of people who are doing the talking.... Go to the youth, gentlemen! That is the only remedy! Otherwise—I give you my word for it—you will be too late (everything tells me that), and will be left with “learned” memoranda, plans, charts, schemes, and magnificent recipes, but without an organisation, without a living cause.

Go to the youth...”
-V.I. Lenin

One may go to legal meetings, imitating protest.

One may speak about broad class propaganda and unification of like-minded people.

But without the transition of this struggle — into real, without a real defense of the interests of the oppressed, of the working class — all this will remain a meaningless chatter in narrow circles.

And not a single worker will follow the one who only talks about how things should be arranged.
All revolutionaries of the past understood this and acted accordingly.

And actions similar to those of Michail — even though the system does not collapse instantly from them — shows everyone that people are ready not only to speak, but to answer for their words, for their ideals. To fight and sacrifice for them, including the most valuable thing — life.

Fortunately, our society is not completely hopeless. And there were also a lot of voices in the defense of Mikhail.

This means that the struggle continues!

Heroes do not die!
Freedom or death!