RUSSIAN FEDERATION:

DECLARATION OF THE ST. PETERSBURG ANTI-FASCIST RESISTANCE GROUP:

The following is the declaration of the Anti-Fascist Resistance of St. Petersburg in Russia about recent events in that city involving clashes between them and ultra right groups protesting the Kosovan declaration of independence. Molly has previously posted the statement of the International Secretariat of the AIT on this matter, and it should be noted that the Russian comrades agree with this statement. While Molly does not agree that the tactic of physical confrontation with fascists is always the best course to follow she will bow to the judgement of the Russian comrades in their own situation. As usual the following has been slightly edited for English grammar.

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Declaration of St. Petersburg Anti-Fascist Resistance Group

Declaration of St. Petersburg Anti-Fascist Resistance Group on attack on participants of a picket against Kosovo recognition

March, 7 at 16:00 several ultra right groups held a picket in St.Petersburg against Kosovo independence near the US consulate.

Some of the picket participants were attacked by antifascists after the picket. This fairly ordinary event led to a lot of public attention.Nationalists calling themselves patriots and Russian Orthodox believers started another hysteria in the media. In this connection we would like to make the following declaration to express our attitude to the event:

1.When the ultra-right Orthodox clericals come out into the streets (there were activists of RONS, RID, DPNI, Black Hundred and other on 7 March) and raised their flags they should remember that the time has passed when they could freely gather in the city. It is becoming dangerous to call for hatred and dominance of some groups of people over others. It is well known that the groups present at the picket support violence against their political opponents and those whom they consider their enemies. An attack on them can be regarded as self-defense of the most conscientious citizens of St.Petersburg.
2.It is irrelevant at what sort of events Nazi appear – legal or illegal, big scale or local - they spread the ideas of hatred, ethnic confrontation and xenophobia. It is not important whether they are silent on this particular day or they shout their slogans. If nationalists are in the streets we must fight back by any possible ways.
3.We believe that any idea can exist even an absurd one (as in case with ultra-right Orthodox). But it is one thing when people with such ideas gather in their headquarters and church parishes and it is a different thing when they come out into the streets and offend the people with their slogans, flags, handouts and ideas. Such gatherings are a dangerous hotbed of hatred and provoke hate related crime which is often committed by very young people manipulated by party activists who only make propaganda.
4.Ultra-right criticism of the existing Russian police regime seems illogical as at the same time they cooperate with it. In fact they constantly ask their enemies (or friends?) such as the police and the procurator office to defend them. But in fact this is not surprising – the police, the church and nationalists make up one block and are a tool which the regimes in all countries have always been using. The so called patriots use every possibility to present themselves as victims, to demonstrate how they are beaten and torched for just making a political presentation. But where does all this opposition spirit go when they cooperate with the investigation? Such people can only be scorned and despised.
5.We agree with the declaration on Kosovo which the Serbian anarcho-syndicalists made (http://www.ainfos.ca/ainfos07935.html).
6.Neo-Nazis shall have no place in our streets. We remember. We fight.
Anti-fascist Resistance of St. Petersburg