Makhnovia: The World’s First Anarchist State

Its founder, Nestor Makhno, was called many things: outlaw, revolutionary, and commander

Picture colorized and edited by the author. A photo of Nestor Makhno and the commanders of the Revolutionary Insurrectionist Army of Ukraine, taken in Berdyansk, 1919. Bottom row: I. Lyuty, P. Belochub, N. Makhno, V. Kurylenko, F. Schus, Y. Ozerov, and A. Chubenko. Top row: A. Olkhovik, P. Puzanov, and Novikov. From Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain). Anarchist symbol by Conmongt from Pixabay.

Political experimentation was not uncommon during the early 20th century. In Ukraine, where disastrous World War I battles on the Eastern Front left vacuums of power, there were opportunities for certain individuals across the political spectrum to come to the fore with different ideas. Waves of men, weapons, and funds ensured these new movements could crystalize into states. One such entity was Makhnovia.

Clouds gather

Nestor Makhno was born in 1888 in Huliaipole, a Ukrainian settlement that was at that point part of the Russian Empire. His father and mother, Ivan Makhno and Evdokia Makhno née Perederi, were freed serfs, and the family of seven struggled to make ends meet. This struggle intensified when the patriarch died when Nestor was only eleven months old.

A photo of Nestor Makhno (1906). From Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

The 1905 revolution was a political awakening for Nestor Makhno. The uprisings and strikes caused him to become interested in the wider social landscape, leading him to read political literature. At the start, his…