anti-Fascist news anti-Fascist news anti-Fascist news

Antifascism in Russia

One more anti-fascist stabbed in St. Petersburg

Street war between anti-fascists and fascists in St. Petersburg continues. On the 14th of January 2007, Vanya, 21 year old anti-fascist activist was stabbed on his way home. A group of about 7 young boneheads attacked him with knives, and made 20 wounds all over his body. Passers-by took him to hospital, and he was operated on immediately. Today (16th of January) Vanya is still in hospital in serious condition, having his diaphragm and liver injured and lacking blood.

Analogically as it was with our comrade, anarchist and anti-fascist Timur Kacharava, killed by Nazis in November 2005, this time Nazis also attacked after the weekly action of Food Not Bombs. Around 7 boneheads where hanging around nearby the square, where activists served food to homeless people and keeping an eye on activists. Vanya left the action before others and went home alone. Obviously, the Nazis followed him until he was away from the city center and attacked him near his house at one of the suburbs. Prosecutor has started an investigation of this case as a murder.

Today in St. Petersburg, participating in any kind of public political action, hardcore concert or so on means a huge risk to all of its participants. Nazis are aware of almost all actions made by anti-fascists, anarchists or punk- and hardcore youngsters. Instead of storming the actions, Nazis gather nearby it, observe activists and wait until they split in different directions. Attacks are made by group of Nazis on 1-2 anti-fascists. Many anti-fascists full names, faces, home addresses are well-known and wildly spread through Nazi forums on the Internet.

Some activists find no solution, except violence, attacks and fights against Nazi scum. Another's prefer rather quit all activities, than continue the endless violence. Those, who are still organizing some other kinds of activities, are living in permanent stress of new attacks by Nazis. And nobody is either shocked or surprised of what is happening anymore. Everything just fits well on the picture of the sick society, surrounding us.

16.1.2007

Marta

jjj

Neonazi Terror in Russia

Apparent Bomb Attack Against Food Not Bombs in St. Petersburg

On February 4th a small bomb supplied with a timing device exploded at 4.20 p.m. in

Vladimirskaya square in St. Petersburg city centre where Food Not Bombs actions are organised every Sunday by different rotating groups for last 2 years.

The bomb was hidden under a kiosk selling flowers. The device was small, but it damaged the kiosk, the woman selling flowers was wounded and had to be brought to hospital, two homeless people also suffered from the blast. Obviously, the purpose of the bomb was not so much to kill but to terrorise.

Luckily, that day Food Not Bombs serving was happening later than scheduled and the activists showed up on Vladimirskaya a few minutes after the explosion. The food was given to the homeless without any problems. Usually 4.20 p.m. would be the moment when most people gather in the square for food.

At the time of the action, activists did not pay much attention to the incident - it could have been some conflict between organised crime for example. But later that day it was revealed that the bomb had a timing device, people considered that Food Not Bombs may have been targeted on purpose - by neonazis. The use of explosives is nothing new for russian nazis. In Moscow on December 22, 2006 a bomb set up against local anti-fascist activist wounded a dog and several police officers who attempted to neutralise it. Last August in Moscow a bomb set up by nazis killed eleven people in Cherkizovski marketplace where lots of migrants have been working.

This is not the first attack against Food Not Bombs activists in St. Petersburg either. On November 13, 2005 local activist and musician Timur Kacharava was stabbed to death by a gang of nazis in the very centre of the city a few hours after action. On December 10, 2006 a group of anarchists was attacked by nazis after the FNB action - two people got knife wounds. A week before that there was a fight between neonazis and activists of Antiwar Committee who have been organising a weekly picket against the war in Chechnya / North Caucasus for 7 years already; the fight happened a few blocks away from Vladimirskaya. On January 14, 2007 Food Not Bombs activist Ivan Yelin was followed by nazis and attacked near his house in South-West St. Petersburg. Ivan was stabbed over twenty times but fortunately he survived and is recovering now.

Some people from the local activist community decided that they will continue to distribute free food on Sundays on Vladimirskaya square anyway, others are organising Food Not Bombs in other parts of the city. Also anti-fascist actions are being planned for March, when European week against racist discrimination takes place.

jjj

From knives to explosives. The new wave of Nazi terror in Russia

An article by Vlad Tupikin about the murders of anti-fascists.

Last Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006, the case about the murder of 20 year old (after nine days he would be twenty) anti-fascist Alexander Ryuchin was taken to court. On 16th of April 2006 he has been attacked with a knife in the suburbs of Moscow, on the way to a punk-rock concert, popular among young Moscow anti-fascists. A few skinheads attacked Sasha and his friend Egor. Actually there was no fight - there was a murder.

Three attackers have been detained, Nazi attributes and literature have been found in their home apartment. Another three of them went into hiding. It may seem that everything is clear? But don't hurry to make your judgements. The case has been brought to court not under the murder clause. The detainees, two members of Slavonic Union - Vasily Reutov and Andrey Anziferov, as well as the member of the group "Format 18" Alexander Shitov are to be charged of "hooliganism", conducted by the group of individuals through a deliberate collusion or organized group" (Art. 213. 2 CC RF), "Wilfull infliction of the light damage to a health" (Art. 115 CC RF) and for "beatings" (??. 116 ?? ??). And the case about the murder has been given to separate procedure, those accused under it are Alexander Parinov and Nikita Tikhonov who have gone into hiding and one unidentified person.

The attorney Stanislav Markelov, representing the mother of the killed, Tatyanan Petrovna Ryukhina, has informed the reporter of REGNUM agency: "Everything is being done, in order to decrease the level of social danger of Reutov's, Anziferov's and Shitov's actions. There is a pretty cynical, but working rule: if there is a corpse there is a case of 'Murder". And I'm very concerned, that the case about the murder of anti-fascist by the

activists of right wing radicals became an exclusion from this rule".

Another strange thing of a similar kind is that the case about the murder of another 20 years old young anti-fascist form Saint Petersburg Timur Kacharava hasn't been given to the court up to this moment. He was also murdered by the followers of right wing radical views, who had attacked him and his friend Maxim on 13th of November 2005 in the city centre of Saint Petersburg, near the shop "Bukvoed", on Ligovsky Avenue. It's a busy place; the parking place of tourist buses, leaving for Finland, next to it is the Moscow train station. There was no fight either. They rushed upon him, stabbed him several times with a knife. One of them went into the neck of Timur that became fatal.

The attackers of this widely spoken crime of the last year has been detained already in December 2005. The governor Valentina Matvienko and the speaker of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov were making declarations about the Nazi character of the murder and about the need to combat the display of xenophobia in the Northern capital of Russia. However the case is being hanged heavy, and the Petersburg anti-fascists begin believing, that this case will also be smothered, by charging the detainees on hooliganism, and by limiting the charge to an insignificant, if not even - suspended period.

And finally one more event, completely fresh. On Friday 22 December, in the south-eastern part of Moscow, in Lyublino, there was an explosion of a self-made bomb in the entrance of an apartment house. Near the bomb on the wall there was a picture of a swastika, the can with explosives itself was hidden beneath a heating radiator, and apparently it has been activated by the wire, that was connecting the bomb and the tablet with an offensive nationalist inscription: "The residents of the flat … are black…"

The bomb, and rather the tablet, was detected in the entrance in the day time by 20 year old Tigran, who was living in the flat. He could have touched the bomb, but saw the wires in time. He wasn't able to see the bomb, but decided to call the police. The police arrived at the place with a cynologist and a dog after a while. During the clearing of the device it exploded.

This event was mentioned in press as the next attack of nationalists on non-Slavonic residents of Moscow. Saying that, another young Armenian man was able to escape becoming a victim of right wing radicals - a banal story for the modern Moscow, no matter how terrible it may seem. Quite banally the Office of Public Prosecutor initiated a criminal case on hooliganism - no murder assault …Tigran has been interrogated as a witness (not as a victim!).

However this event is not simple. Tigran - who was born in Moscow is a son of Moscower-parents (in the press there has been already an absurd and false version in circulation, that he is living in Moscow with the family only some ten years). He is not merely "a young man from Caucasus". He is a - Moscow Anti-fascist, in the past one of the workers of www.antifa.ru web site. Besides that, he, the same as his dead comrades Timur Kacharava and Alexander Ryukhin, - is an admirer of punk/hardcore music.

To all appearances, Tigran should have been the third in the list of killed young antifa. His photograph has been posted on Nazi web sites, he has been threatened several times, on the walls of the construction site in front of his house one could see a Swastika, with writings: "Tigran, say hello to Timur". Several times he has been attacked in concerts, several times he was bumping into people with bonehead outlook (boneheads, in Russian bons, - are named by antifa which are Nazi-skinheads, to avoid confusion with the anti-fascist skinheads who exists). The guy is quite tough, Tigran was always the winner in any skirmish.

And now there was a bomb

The politics, which is being ignored by the Office of Public Prosecutor, through initiation of the criminal case on relatively slight clauses in Tigran's case, is being followed by the Federal Defence Service of RF. While police ware interrogating him as a witness, the members of FSB visited his mother at home (the door has been damaged by the explosion, it wasn't closing) and, using woman's emotional shock, they took some things like: badges with the crossed out swastika, stripes, but most importantly - the computer, said Tigran.

Tigran has even a certificate of impressments of the computer from FSB members - all materials for the term papers before examinations are not available now, something has to be answered in the Institute.

I would like to emphasize: as far as I know, neither Timur Kacharava, nor Alexander Ryukhin were members of any anti-fascist organisations, they were just following their own anti-fascist views and were people, of quite active living positions. Timur was playing in an anti-fascist hardcore group, on Sundays he was feeding the homeless people with hot food (homeless, or, according to old militia terminology, bums, if anybody doesn't know yet - they are another object of hatred from young Nazis, along with non-Slavs and representatives of several youth subcultures - punks, rappers). Sasha was carrying out propaganda on his own: he was designing on computer and distributing self-made anti-fascist stickers (some of such stickers were found in his pocket after his murder). Tigran was also not a member of any organisation, but was helping an anti-fascist web site, when he was not busy with education.

To my question, whether Tigran was taking part in fights with Nazis, he answered with affirmation: "Of course, if they are attacking? Should we give up then?".

"Nazis made us anti-fascists, - a former member of antifa.ru continues - We all belong to some subcultures, to some groups, whose representatives were clashing with fascist violence, and thus becoming a target for their attacks. In one particular moment you stop respecting yourself if you are not responding to the strike with a strike. Especially, if police and the state as a whole don't do anything in general, in order to stop the street fascist danger".

"We, young anti-fascists, are sometimes being accused, - Tigran continues, - that, if we were not present, Nazis would already calm down. Saying that we are acting as a teasing red flag to them. If there would be no anti-fascists, say those who accuse us, - the street Nazi violence would come to naught. Everything is completely opposite. Antifa was not present and obvious long enough and finally they appeared, owing to the Nazi violence not stopping, but rather increasing. And everybody knows that at first Nazis were attacking people of non-Slavonic outlook and normal representatives of youth subcultures, that were weaker. Antifa appeared later - as a reaction, as a response by informal anti-fascists youth ".

"Look, - Tigran says, - fascists, when attacking, often pursue an objective of mutilating or killing their victim, they use knives and even guns. Antifas, when fighting with fascists, do not pursue an objective of physical elimination or disabling. Fascists should just understand that they are also not eternal, they are not immortal, and they have to understand the value of human life, the value of every individual on their own example. Maybe, small, underage Nazis, teens, who shaved their heads because its cool, because now everybody will be afraid of them, after getting it several times in the neck from normal guys, will understand that there is nothing cool in it, to be a fascist, - no. Maybe at least some of them would stop ".

Tigran thinks, however, Nazis in general - as a violent street movement - couldn't be stopped by just fights. This is just containment, the defence of youth subcultures against Nazis. "If they wouldn't be put into jail, Nazi idiots following their sense of impunity will begin doing much worse things. In their closed forums on internet they are already discussing the preparation of terrorist acts on markets and even in state departments, but haven't decided yet - whether to make the newcomers guilty of it or whether to take the responsibility on themselves". "How do you know?" - I ask Tigran. - "Our antifa hackers have broken such forums several times ", - he answers. According to him, on the same forums there are reference books on preparing and using self-made explosives, same as the one that exploded in the entrance of his apartment house.

"How do you feel after that event?" - I asked him. "Its ok. Friends helped me to repair the door, they gathered some money. Now we need money for a good attorney, we got to search for them. Now we have something to be busy with. But somehow it seems that my door is just about to be blown up ".

Isn't he afraid that the unexpected guests will come again? "They were already here - in the night after explosion, when the door was not closing. At four o'clock a ring on the remote entrance phone - a young cheeky voice, saying a telegram. Later on, walking in the entrance some of them were hiding their faces under a scarf or hood, poking by the door, up along the staircase and down. The cat in my flat pricked up its ears, I looked into the peephole, and I saw - "guests". I called the sister to call the police again, and rushed to the staircase to chase them. But in home slippers you can't run fast, I couldn't catch them up. And the police too, even if they came with automatic-guns quite quickly, apparently they were guarding somewhere close".

All this phantasmagoria is really taking place now in Moscow before New Year. And crowding it out of comprehension, by referring to it as a raging of the young blood desire to kick up a row and team fight, is getting harder for me personally. Knives were already in use. Now explosives are in use.

It's absolutely obvious, that the question requires not only the consideration of the police, but of the politics, and pedagogy too. Is the official initiative of "Nashy"that declared themselves as a democratic anti-fascist movement enough? Obviously, not.

Politicians that don't want to give up the anti-fascist theme to Kremlin and its political agents, must think about how to react to new circumstances avoiding standardized methods.

Fascism and xenophobia - it's not merely another trump-card in election campaign in the marked pack of cards of authorities, it's a social reality. Those who were not brought to reason by the "Russian March" should have been brought to reason by the street Nazi terror. But, apparently, opposition politicians, coming in their cars to carry out discussions or joint demonstrations with nationalists (which they think, to be "moderate") don't take the streets into account in general. Even given the fact that these streets are being bossed by Nazi.

Often this is being ignored by mass media too. In one of the respected newspapers I have been told, that the statement of some antifa.ru out there, regarding the murder of Sasha Ryukhin - is not yet an informational cause. "Moreover, they should be certainly registered", - said the editor looking strictly into my eyes. I don't' know, whether they are registered or not. I know that in order to take a knife and make a bomb, there is no need for registration. And Nazis know it very well.

30 December 2006, 09:29

Vlad Tupikin

Original text on Russian:

www.polit.ru/analytics/2006/

12/30/antifa.html

Antifa News from Czech

NS straight edge?

The Czech nazis discovered the straight edge scene... Some time ago they organized a big international festival in the country. It didn't really succeed due to the mistakes of the organizers. Although a lot of nazis from Germany, Poland and the rest of Europe showed up, the local nazis generally didn't come and after all the organizers seemed to lose some money... There played a famous NS straight edge band "Tear Down" from the USA so the biggest nazishop in Czech republic "Hatecore" started to stock T-shirts with straight edge designs... Is seems that it is their newest attempt to get out from their small ghetto and get some attention from other subcultures. But probably it will fail also this time as the straight edges from the hardcore (not hatecore) scene have already reacted and some articles about this pitiful nazi trial appeared on hardcore websites.

jjj

Otrokovice remained anti-fascist... Again!

Once again, nazis tried to march through the so-called antifascist stronghold in the Eastern Czechia, a small town of Otrokovice. Even though they managed to gather around 300 people around the same number of (not only local) antifascists were fully prepared to stop their march. And antifas succeeded again... Due to the constant attack from the antifas (and to the fact that the nazis were stupid enough to respond to the antifas' provocations), the police stopped the march and sent the nazis back to the train station. They managed to read their speech there and then went back from where they came from...

jjj

Odpor.org down again

Antifa fights in the cyberspace as well. The Czech biggest nazi web, odpor.org, was hacked on the Holocaust Memorial Day and stayed down for four days.

jjj

The Czech Red Watch started

Some scattered nazis groups joined in an effort to create a "dignified answer to ANTIFA monitoring" - the Czech Red Watch. The result is actually a one big joke. They identified just two notoriously known people but they didn't managed to get their addresses that were made public several times before... The most funny is the fact that they copied a list of employees of Jewish museum and Communist party. It seems the Czech nazis already know how to use the ctrl+c and ctrl+v commands!

Antifa Bialystok (Poland) Reports

Last two months proved to be very busy for Bialystok Antifa.

The level of violence on the streets is increasing again as some prominent nazis were released from jail (they were on remand for taking part in assault on football hooligans of Jagiellonia Bialystok with whom they have a "holy war").

In the beginning of February about 7 Nazis appeared at the last alternative festival "Zgrzyty". Apparently one metal band, called Othermind has many nazi friends as their vocalist is the step-brother of a well known Bialystok nazi skinhead. Antifa was quickly alerted to the presence of unwanted guests at the concert, drinking beer and sieg hailing as if they were at their own party. Some Antifa’s quickly arrived at the concert but a fight was stopped by security guards. Antifascists promptly left the concert and waited till the nazis would leave the venue. After that, a quick "political dialogue" ensued, in which Antifa’s explained to the nazi scum the error of their ways. Whoever wasn’t fast enough and didn’t manage to avoid the "discussion" quickly ended on the floor, meeting with arguments of boots, fists and pepper spray. This was not the best day for Bialystok's nazis... Even more funny is the fact that the vocalist of the above mentioned metal band was also beaten up by somebody and nobody knows by who... Antifa is watching you nazi scum!!!

jjj

Bialystok's fascists unlucky again

Few months ago we received information about a chapter of the fascist organization NOP appearing in our beautiful city. Antifascists quickly gathered intelligence on these scum, including pictures etc. In the meantime fascists were showing off on the internet, publishing reports of their "actions" (such as sticking 100 stickers and 50 posters in the city) and in general feeling more and more brave, on their net forums commenting "Antifa ha ha ha", "Antifa is not existing apart from putting stickers" etc. to their unpleasant surprise they met one evening with antifa patrol and the quick encounter ended up with three of them bleeding and running for their lives. Even more unpleasant was that within next hour they met Antifa’s two more times, ending up with one of them with a quick knock out. Two days later on their internet website information appeared, which reads "Bialystok's chapter of NOP suspends all its activities". Victory for Antifa and warning for fascists - dont bite off more that you can chew... playing politics can be a very dangerous game...