In Episode 113 [12] of the CounterVortex podcast [13], Bill Weinberg continues to dissect the cynical fascist pseudo-anti-fascism [14] of Putin's war propaganda, which portrays any expression of Ukrainian identity or national aspiration as "Nazism." Much of this hinges on the legacy of Stepan Bandera [15], the Ukrainian nationalist who collaborated with the Nazis [16] in World War II. Bandera is indeed viewed favorably [17] today by some [18] in Ukraine—just as some [19] in India look favorably [20] upon the Axis-collaborationist independence fighter Subhas Chandra Bose [21], and some Palestinians lionize the wartime Mufti of Jerusalem [22] who similarly looked to the Axis [23] for support against British imperialism [24] (a reality eagerly exploited [25] by Israel's propagandists [26]). But there is another tremendously important figure who fought the Russians and Germans alike a generation before Bandera, and is nearly forgotten by both "sides" in the current propaganda war—Nestor Makhno [27], the great Ukrainian anarchist leader [28] of the period of the Russian Revolution. And there is now an anarchist armed resistance [29] to the Russian aggression emerging in Ukraine [30], reviving the Makhnovist tradition [35].
Listen on SoundCloud [12] or via Patreon [31].
Production by Chris Rywalt [36]
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