Nestor Makhno: Embracing a symbol of hope
Meet Anarchy personified
One of the more common arguments against anarchism and libertarian philosophy, in general, is that it “cannot work in real life”. Whether truly feasible in today’s bourgeoise-controlled society or not, history presents us with examples of the proletariat, rising to the occasion and taking power in their own hands. It’s about time we finally learn from our history, and perhaps, take some inspiration from it…
The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Nestor Ivanovich Makhno, an anarchist partisan leader, was among the most colorful and heroic figures of the Russian Revolution and Civil War. His movement in the Ukraine represents one of the few occasions in history when anarchists controlled a large territory for an extended period of time. For more than a year he was a greater power on the steppe than either Trotsky or Denikin. A born military leader, he fought simultaneously on several fronts, opposing Reds as well as Whites, Austrian invaders, and Ukrainian nationalists, not to speak of the countless bands of irregulars who crossed and recrossed the steppe in search of plunder and booty. According to Victor Serge, he was a “strategist of unsurpassed ability,” whose peasant army possessed a “truly epic capacity for organization and battle.” Emma Goldman called him “the most…
