Regardless of Makhno's personal relatonships with Jewish people & outward condemnation of those pogroms, we can't functionally separate Makhnovism from the actions of the Makhnovists themselves, especially when considering the extent to which the Red Army had offered protection and, to an even greater extent than the Black Army's leaders, worked to crush anti-Jewish scapegoating in their ranks. To this end, I think you are underestimating the character of your own statement
If Makhnovists' pogroms reflect the Ukrainian cultural character more than they reflect anarchism, something I agree with, then it's not the anarchism that was to blame, it was the Makhnovism & anti-communism.
"Nestor Makhno certainly perpetrated numerous counter-revolutionary exploits. His secret police tortured and murdered many communists. His Ukrainian peasant followers committed frequent pogroms against Jewish petty shopkeepers and merchants... Ukrainian peasant antagonism to the overwhelmingly Russian and Jewish working class of the Ukrainian cities... . Grigorev had the worst record of murder, rape, torture and other atrocities committed against Jews of all the peasant bandit leaders ravaging the Ukrainian country-side during the Russian Civil War.
This alliance ended badly for Grigorev. Makhno murdered him, and Grigorev's peasant followers joined Makhno's rebel army—but continued to commit pogroms.
Makhno himself was not personally anti-Semitic, indeed there were Jews in his "collective." In a sense, it could be said that Makhno was simply following anarchist principle. If his secret policemen were torturing prisoners, and if his peasant followers were committing pogroms, what right did Makhno, as just one member of the "collective," have to object?"
Instead of falling over ourselves trying to be overly nuanced here, why can't we say the truth? Makhno's bandits were guilty of committing pogroms because they were never really there for the principled "anarchism" to begin with
"The National Secretariat of Ukrainian Jews' stated during the period of the pogroms: "A special place is held for the actions of the Makhno bands which waged complete destruction in the Yekaterinoslav-Pavlograd region."
The journal `Reshumot' (1920) refers to: "the well known wild animal Makhno who was known for his cruelty and his army which was drunk with blood."
`Jewish Agriculturalists in the Steppes of Russia' (Israel 1965)' states:" The Jewish colonies in the Yekaterinoslav province were situated in the centre of activity of the anarchist bands, Makhno. Almost all the colonies of Yekaterinoslav suffered from attacks. All the inhabitants of the colonies Trudoliubovka and Nechaevka, who numbered 1000 people - were murdered. The property was looted completely and since then no Jewish foot has entered those colonies."
Even Trotsky points out Makhno's rhetorical position vs. the reality of his armies' actions ""Without a doubt, Makhno provided de facto aid to Wrangel, as well as to the Polish gentry, since he fought at the same time as they did against the Red Army" (translated from "Makhno and Wrangel," 14 October 1920, Kak vooruzhalas' revolyutsiya [How the Revolution Armed], Vol. 2, Book 2 [1924]). "
I agree that Makhnovists failed to codify or enact the kind of real revolutionary class struggle in those areas that they may have envisioned. And though landlords were expropriated, it was precisely in this unwillingness to undo the larger ossified kulak-dominated agrarian social structure in these Eastern Ukraine areas that we can say Makhno in practice was a lot less effective than some of his biggest fans would lead us to believe.
Right, we have to look at the history of this situation in the aggregate & when doing so we can say that truth is in the unfolding of real events rather than any idealism or "statements" of intent.
Sailor Dmitry Urin wrote on March 5, in a letter to his father in the Herson province of Ukraine, “We dismissed the commune, we have Commune no more, now we have only Soviet power. We in Kronstadt made a resolution to send all the Jews to Palestine, in order not to have in Russia such filth, all sailors shouted: ‘Jews Out’...”
“A good sample of ‘revolutionary individual initiative’ is the Kronstadt affair. I have given it a little study since I saw you last. There is no question that if the Kronstadt affair had not been wiped out, it would have resulted in the downfall of the Soviet Power. There is no doubt that many of the participants who called themselves Anarchists and S.R.’s were sincere in their notions. Subjectively they were doubtlessly highly moral revolutionists. But objectively it was a filthy counter-revolution. I don’t give a damn for the moral values. The counter-revolutionary officers came over from Finland (protected by the Finnish Government!) and joined the anarchists and the S.R.’s and the Mensheviks. The French Navy lay outside the frozen area, waiting for the ‘Anarchists’ (who could compromise enough to associate with Cadet officers), to hold Kronstadt until the ice would break and let the French and British battleships fight for ‘Soviets without Bolsheviks! Yes, that is a fine example of free and easy ‘revolution’ without discipline. The fellows that did this crazy thing, killed thousands of the best and youngest and bravest of the soldiers that the revolution had. And yet there are people who call themselves ‘Anarchists,’ and ask me to pity the fellows who were responsible for the Kronstadt affair. Monks that ponder in their cells on the misfortunes of man in general can pity them, I have not time to pity such men.
“There are people calling themselves ‘Anarchists’ that are now saying that Kronstadt was the real ‘Revolution.’ If such people were to be allowed to operate with ‘free speech’ and ‘free demonstration’ within the circle that is held by the bayonets of the Red Army, the revolution would be dead now, and here would reign the ‘democratic freedom’ and pogroms of Capitalist Hungary, with Wrangel, Seminoff, Pilsudski, Harding, Briand, and Llovd George guaranteeing you your “freedom of revolutionary initiative.’”
we can't just look at this history as a series of "mistakes" that the Soviets are supposedly said to have made. And mutiny is definitely not leftism
Regardless of Makhno's personal relatonships with Jewish people & outward condemnation of those pogroms, we can't functionally separate Makhnovism from the actions of the Makhnovists themselves, especially when considering the extent to which the Red Army had offered protection and, to an even greater extent than the Black Army's leaders, worked to crush anti-Jewish scapegoating in their ranks. To this end, I think you are underestimating the character of your own statement
If Makhnovists' pogroms reflect the Ukrainian cultural character more than they reflect anarchism, something I agree with, then it's not the anarchism that was to blame, it was the Makhnovism & anti-communism.
"Nestor Makhno certainly perpetrated numerous counter-revolutionary exploits. His secret police tortured and murdered many communists. His Ukrainian peasant followers committed frequent pogroms against Jewish petty shopkeepers and merchants... Ukrainian peasant antagonism to the overwhelmingly Russian and Jewish working class of the Ukrainian cities... . Grigorev had the worst record of murder, rape, torture and other atrocities committed against Jews of all the peasant bandit leaders ravaging the Ukrainian country-side during the Russian Civil War.
This alliance ended badly for Grigorev. Makhno murdered him, and Grigorev's peasant followers joined Makhno's rebel army—but continued to commit pogroms.
Makhno himself was not personally anti-Semitic, indeed there were Jews in his "collective." In a sense, it could be said that Makhno was simply following anarchist principle. If his secret policemen were torturing prisoners, and if his peasant followers were committing pogroms, what right did Makhno, as just one member of the "collective," have to object?"
Instead of falling over ourselves trying to be overly nuanced here, why can't we say the truth? Makhno's bandits were guilty of committing pogroms because they were never really there for the principled "anarchism" to begin with
"
TheNational Secretariat of Ukrainian Jews' stated during the period of the pogroms: "A special place is held for the actions of the Makhno bands which waged complete destruction in the Yekaterinoslav-Pavlograd region."The journal `Reshumot' (1920) refers to: "the well known wild animal Makhno who was known for his cruelty and his army which was drunk with blood."
`Jewish Agriculturalists in the Steppes of Russia' (Israel 1965)' states:" The Jewish colonies in the Yekaterinoslav province were situated in the centre of activity of the anarchist bands, Makhno. Almost all the colonies of Yekaterinoslav suffered from attacks. All the inhabitants of the colonies Trudoliubovka and Nechaevka, who numbered 1000 people - were murdered. The property was looted completely and since then no Jewish foot has entered those colonies."
Even Trotsky points out Makhno's rhetorical position vs. the reality of his armies' actions ""Without a doubt, Makhno provided de facto aid to Wrangel, as well as to the Polish gentry, since he fought at the same time as they did against the Red Army" (translated from "Makhno and Wrangel," 14 October 1920, Kak vooruzhalas' revolyutsiya [How the Revolution Armed], Vol. 2, Book 2 [1924]). "
I agree that Makhnovists failed to codify or enact the kind of real revolutionary class struggle in those areas that they may have envisioned. And though landlords were expropriated, it was precisely in this unwillingness to undo the larger ossified kulak-dominated agrarian social structure in these Eastern Ukraine areas that we can say Makhno in practice was a lot less effective than some of his biggest fans would lead us to believe.
Right, we have to look at the history of this situation in the aggregate & when doing so we can say that truth is in the unfolding of real events rather than any idealism or "statements" of intent.
Interesting. What do you think of Kronstadt?
As a Jew, not to positively since:
(9) Ibid, vol. 1, doc. 58, p. 119.
I will again quote Haywood & Parsons here:
“A good sample of ‘revolutionary individual initiative’ is the Kronstadt affair. I have given it a little study since I saw you last. There is no question that if the Kronstadt affair had not been wiped out, it would have resulted in the downfall of the Soviet Power. There is no doubt that many of the participants who called themselves Anarchists and S.R.’s were sincere in their notions. Subjectively they were doubtlessly highly moral revolutionists. But objectively it was a filthy counter-revolution. I don’t give a damn for the moral values. The counter-revolutionary officers came over from Finland (protected by the Finnish Government!) and joined the anarchists and the S.R.’s and the Mensheviks. The French Navy lay outside the frozen area, waiting for the ‘Anarchists’ (who could compromise enough to associate with Cadet officers), to hold Kronstadt until the ice would break and let the French and British battleships fight for ‘Soviets without Bolsheviks! Yes, that is a fine example of free and easy ‘revolution’ without discipline. The fellows that did this crazy thing, killed thousands of the best and youngest and bravest of the soldiers that the revolution had. And yet there are people who call themselves ‘Anarchists,’ and ask me to pity the fellows who were responsible for the Kronstadt affair. Monks that ponder in their cells on the misfortunes of man in general can pity them, I have not time to pity such men.
“There are people calling themselves ‘Anarchists’ that are now saying that Kronstadt was the real ‘Revolution.’ If such people were to be allowed to operate with ‘free speech’ and ‘free demonstration’ within the circle that is held by the bayonets of the Red Army, the revolution would be dead now, and here would reign the ‘democratic freedom’ and pogroms of Capitalist Hungary, with Wrangel, Seminoff, Pilsudski, Harding, Briand, and Llovd George guaranteeing you your “freedom of revolutionary initiative.’”
we can't just look at this history as a series of "mistakes" that the Soviets are supposedly said to have made. And mutiny is definitely not leftism
I agree with you wholly.