Aconitum

by | Mar 12, 2018 | Aconitum

How Can We Help?
You are here:
< Back

Part of a series on
Anarcho-syndicalism
Theory
Practice
People
Organizations
Related topics

The Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists (Russian: Конфедерация революционных анархо-синдикалистов; КРАС; KRAS) is a Russian anarcho-syndicalist group. Established in 1995 by five anarcho-syndicalists in Moscow, it quickly became the Russian section of the International Workers' Association (IWA). Although its primary aim was to establish trade unions, its only attempt to do so was unsuccessful. Since the late 1990s, its activities have been focused mainly on publishing.

History

Background

The Russian anarchist movement began to experience a revival during the 1980s, under the framework of perestroika.[1] In 1989, anarchist groups representing hundreds of members in several cities established the Confederation of Anarcho-Syndicalists (KAS).[2] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of capitalism in Russia, the KAS quickly dissolved.[2]

Establishment

In March 1991, the Initiative of Revolutionary Anarchists (IREAN) was established in Moscow and its members began to re-examine traditional anarcho-syndicalist ideas.[3] In May 1994, three anarcho-syndicalists of the IREAN merged into the Group of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists (GRAS), which itself consisted of five ex-members of the KAS.[4] The group came under the leadership of Vadim Damier [ru],[4] a former Trotskyist.[5] On 5 August 1995, the GRAS reorganised itself into the Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists (KRAS).[6] The following year, the KRAS affiliated to the International Workers' Association (IWA).[6]

Activities

Attempts by the KRAS to break into trade unionism were unsuccessful.[7] In 1997, the KRAS established the trade union Volya (English: Liberty), but it only gained 12 members in Moscow's IT and scientific sectors.[8] Sociologist Alexander Tarasov suspected that the "micro union" was formed for the sole reason of fulfilling the IWA's membership requirements.[7] The KRAS then slipped into a state of self-imposed social isolation, refusing to work with other Russian leftists or anarchists and instead preferring contact mostly with other members of the IWA.[9]

Since the late 1990s, the main activity of the KRAS has been in publishing:[10] it publishes the newspaper Pryamoye Deystviye,[10] the magazine Libertarnaya mysl[11] and the quarterly newsletter A-S Info.[12] According to Vadim Damier, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the KRAS has also supported a series of strike actions, participated in anti-militarist campaigns and demonstrated against gentrification and the rising cost of living.[13]

Organisation

The KRAS is formally structured as a confederation of autonomous groups and individuals, which are governed by its biennial Congress and internal polls of the organisation. Between congresses, the KRAS is coordinated by its Information Commission (IC), which acts as the organisation's secretariat and is rotated between local branches. Unlike most other Russian anarchist organisations, KRAS requires its members to pay dues, which are managed by the IC, and imposes a strict code of conduct.[14]

Although the KRAS lacks formal leaders, in practice, the organisation is led by Vadim Damier [ru].[12] Membership of the KRAS is open to people from throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.[14] As of 1997, the KRAS counted between 12 and 15 members, split between three groups in Moscow, Gomel and Baikalsk.[12]

Ideology

The KRAS declares its goal to be the abolition of the state and capitalism, and the establishment of anarchist communism, which it aims to achieve through syndicalist methods of direct action.[14] The KRAS proclaimed its "primary task" to be the establishment of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions, capable of organising to improve living and working conditions, with the intention of building towards a social revolution.[14]

In its publications, the KRAS affirms traditional anarcho-syndicalist principles, including the anti-politicism, anti-statism, decentralization, trade unionism and direct action.[15] Sociologist Alexander Tarasov has characterised the KRAS as "New Leftists" and said that their ideas more closely resemble neo-Marxism than anarcho-syndicalism.[15]

References

  1. ^ Damier 2009, p. 203.
  2. ^ a b Damier 2009, p. 203; Sergeev & Kuznetsova 2020, p. 1789.
  3. ^ Damier 2009, pp. 203–204.
  4. ^ a b Cherkasov 1997, p. 181.
  5. ^ Tarasov 1997, p. 70.
  6. ^ a b Damier 2009, pp. 203–204; Cherkasov 1997, p. 181; Sergeev & Kuznetsova 2020, p. 1789.
  7. ^ a b Tarasov 1997, p. 60.
  8. ^ Cherkasov 1997, p. 181; Tarasov 1997, pp. 39, 60.
  9. ^ Tarasov 1997, p. 39.
  10. ^ a b Cherkasov 1997, p. 183; Damier 2009, p. 204.
  11. ^ Damier 2009, p. 204.
  12. ^ a b c Cherkasov 1997, p. 183.
  13. ^ Damier 2009, pp. 204–205.
  14. ^ a b c d Cherkasov 1997, p. 182.
  15. ^ a b Tarasov 1997, p. 83.

Bibliography

  • Cherkasov, Gleb (1997). "Конфедерация революционных анархо-синдикалистов – Секция Международной Ассоциации Трудящихся в СНГ" [Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists - Section of the International Workers’ Association in the CIS]. In Verkhovskii, Aleksandr (ed.). Левые в России: от умеренных до экстремистов [The Left in Russia: from moderates to extremists] (PDF) (in Russian). Изд-во "Ин-т экспериментальной социологии". pp. 181–183. ISBN 9785876370068. OCLC 39275934.
  • Damier, Vadim (2009) [2000]. Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century. Translated by Archibald, Malcolm. Edmonton: Black Cat Press. ISBN 978-0-9737827-6-9.
  • Sergeev, Sergey; Kuznetsova, Alexandra (2020). "Russian Left-Wing Radicals Are Losing: Why There Will Be Neither SYRIZA, Nor Podemos in Russia". International Journal of Management. 11 (10): 1785–1796. ISSN 0976-6502.
  • Tarasov, Alexander (1997). "История возникновения и развития лево-радикального движения в СССР/России в 80-е – 90-е гг. XX века" [History of the Beginning and Development of the Left-Radical Movement in the USSR/Russia in the 1980s and 1990s]. In Verkhovskii, Aleksandr (ed.). Левые в России: от умеренных до экстремистов [The Left in Russia: from moderates to extremists] (PDF) (in Russian). Изд-во "Ин-т экспериментальной социологии". pp. 9–95. ISBN 9785876370068. OCLC 39275934.

Further reading

  • Astashin, Vadim (2009). "Political Extremism in Contemporary Eussia". Journal of Human Security. 5 (1): 49–51. doi:10.3316/JHS0501049. ISSN 1835-3800.
  • Buchenkov, Dmitrii (2009). Анархисты в России в конце XX века [Anarchists in Russia at the end of the 20th century] (in Russian). Moscow: LIBROKOM. ISBN 9785397005166. OCLC 690511536.
  • Fröhlich, Christian (2018). "Taking every opportunity against the state: Anarchists in contemporary Russia". In Wennerhag, Magnus; Fröhlich, Christian; Piotrowski, Grzegorz (eds.). Radical Left Movements in Europe. Routledge. ISBN 9781315603483.
  • March, Luke (2015). "The 'Post-Soviet' Russian Left – Escaping the Shadow of Stalinism?". In Ross, Cameron (ed.). Systemic and Non-Systemic Opposition in the Russian Federation. Routledge. pp. 97–120. ISBN 9781315611709.
  • Sergeev, Sergey; Kuznetsova, Alexandra (2022). "Under the Weight of the Soviet Legacy and Political Repressions: The Radical Left in Late Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia". The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review. 49 (2): 150–188. doi:10.30965/18763324-bja10054. ISSN 1075-1262.
  • Tarasov, Alexander (2005). Революция не всерьез. Штудии по теории и истории квазиреволюционных движений [Revolution Not Seriously: Studies on the Theory and History of Quasi-Revolutionary Movements] (in Russian). Yekaterinburg: Ultra.Kultura. ISBN 5-9681-0067-2. OCLC 70894594.
Categories
Table of Contents