The Russian Revolution in Ukraine

The Group took this circumstance into consideration and showed militant qualities of the first order in organizing armed forces for the defence of the Revolution.

Other groups in the cities and villages of other raions wasted time in fruitless discussions, along the lines of: “Is it really anarchist for an anarchist group to create revolutionary combat units? Would it not be preferable for such groups to distance themselves from such activity, contenting themselves with not preventing their members from participating in this ‘semi-anarchist’ work?”

The peasant Anarchist Communist Group of Gulyai-Pole advanced the following credo:

“Revolutionary toilers, form battalions of volunteers to save the Revolution! The state socialists have betrayed the Revolution in Ukraine and are leading the black forces of reaction from foreign countries! In order to counter this attack an immense force of revolutionary toilers is necessary. The revolutionary toilers will find the necessary strength by forming these battalions of volunteers and will triumph over the intrigues of their enemies, both of the right and of the left!”

The Revkom and all the soviets of the raion took up this credo and promoted it actively.

There were, to be sure, especially among the tribe of Ukrainian nationalists, individuals who opposed this credo. But the discussions on this question were conducted in a more civilized fashion. There were no references to the bayonets of the German and Austro-Hungarian counter-revolutionary armies and no threats of reprisals against the opponents of the criminal politics of the Central Rada. Now even the nationalists seemed to realize that the politics of the Central Rada was directed against the Ukrainian working people and their revolutionary conquests. The Ukrainian toilers were asserting themselves ever more freely and clearly in overcoming the most formidable obstacles raised against them by their enemies on the path of Revolution. These enemies were: on the Right — the bourgeoisie; on the Left — the state socialists who sought to take advantage of the situation to give a false interpretation of the goals of the Revolution and thereby subjugate the Revolution entirely to the needs of the state.

It was a very heavy situation. All of us, members of the Anarchist Communist Group and the revolutionary peasant worker organizations, felt it. And then a scandal broke out which involved the Union of Metal and Carpentry Workers. The executive of this union demanded that the Anarchist Communist Group and the Soviet recall Comrade Lev Schneider from the Provincial Soviet.

This demand was motivated by the fact that Comrade Schneider had not fulfilled his mandate; consequently, the factories and mills of Gulyai-Pole, as well as the blacksmith shops, locksmith shops, and other workshops were receiving little or no iron, steel, coal, and other raw materials which they required.

Confronted with this criticism of its responsible representative, the Anarchist Communist Group, after conferring with the Soviet, recalled Lev Schneider to Gulyai-Pole so that he could explain the reasons which prevented him from fulfilling his mandate.

But, Comrade Schneider had already contracted the disease of carelessness and irresponsibility which infected certain of our anarchist comrades in the cities. He responded that he couldn’t return to Gulyai-Pole as he was too burdened, so he said, with tasks assigned to him by the Provincial Soviet. He invited the Anarchist Communist Group to nominate another representative in his place.

Such an attitude towards the organizing the toilers of the whole raion on the part of a member of the Anarchist Communist Group and someone who was respected by the toilers, incited the Group to sent him an urgent telegram demanding his immediate return to Gulyai-Pole, where he would have to answer to the Anarchist Communist Group, the Soviet, and the Trade Union. If he refused to come, the Group would be obliged to send two comrades to fetch him.

Comrade Schneider knew that this was not an idle threat and that the Anarchist Communist Group would shortly track him down and arrest him for having compromised the Group before the Soviet and the Trade Union and, consequently, before all the toilers. He could very well end up being shot.