Show support for anti-war activists in Russia

Friends,

I sent out the article Call for Solidarity Actions with Anti-war Activists in Russia by Ilya Budraitskis on January 5, 2023.  This is a call for solidarity with Russian anti-war activists on behalf of the Russian Socialist Movement. URL to article: https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/05/call-for-solidarity-actions-with-anti-war-activists-in-russia/

Budraitskis made this point “For over a decade, Russian antifascists have commemorated January 19 as their day of solidarity. This is the date when in 2009, in the center of Moscow, the human rights and leftist activist Stanislav Markelov and the journalist and anarchist Anastasia Baburova were gunned down by neo-Nazis.

The murder of Markelov and Baburova became the culmination of the ultra-right terror of the 2000s, which killed hundreds of migrants and dozens of anti-fascists. For many years, while it was still possible, Russian activists held antifascist demonstrations and rallies on January 19 under the slogan ‘To remember is to fight!’”

He added this: “Today, when the Putin regime has invaded Ukraine and unleashed unprecedented repression against its own citizens who oppose the war, the date of January 19 takes on a new meaning. Back then the danger was posed by neo-Nazi groups, often acting with the connivance of the authorities.

Today, the ideology and practice of right-wing radicals have become the ideology and practice of the Russian regime itself, which is rapidly turning fascist over the course of its invasion of Ukraine.”

The author then listed names of those arrested and beaten and sometimes given long prison terms.  Finally, there was a request for information about any solidarity actions during the week of January 19-24 – pickets, open meetings, online discussions, and even personal photos with posters – which could be sent by e-mail to rsdzoom@proton.me.

This was sent to Ilya Budraitskis:

Dear friends in the resistance:

We are members of the Baltimore [Maryland] Nonviolence Center and long-time peace and justice activists who have protested U.S. warmongering for decades.  Of course, we are in opposition to Putin’s war of aggression against the Ukrainian people and very supportive of opposition to the invasion by the people of Russia.

Every Tuesday we gather in Baltimore to say Putin, Stop the Killing and Russia Out of Ukraine. We have also protested the war outside St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church in Baltimore on three occasions to show our support for the Ukrainian Americans in the area..   

Finally we will organize a commemoration on February 24, the anniversary of this brutal onslaught.  We look forward to reading about your future activities, and relish the idea that we are working together though we are thousands of miles apart.

Janice Sevre-Duszynska and Max Obuszewski  

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs