Tag Archives: Ukraine

Beautiful, strategic, and realistic – the Ukrainian resistance against Russian aggression

17 Mar
Do not panic! Organize!

Do not panic! Organize!

During the last 17 days – from the date of the Russian military aggression in Crimea (Feb.27) to the referendum on the peninsula (Mar. 16) Ukrainians have launched one of the most impressive civil resistance campaigns in the history of unarmed struggles with foreign military invasions and occupation. The richness and creativity of the actions that Ukrainians undertook matched their strategic value as well as a realistic assessment of the military strengths of the Ukrainian army vis-à-vis its Russian counterpart. There is also a strategy of not responding to provocations and maintaining a remarkable posture of restraint even in the midst of escalating confrontation – all in order to not give the Russian regime what it wants: a bloody pretext that could be used to justify a deeper military incursion of the Russian army into Ukrainian territory.

The strategic Ukrainian resistance consists of at least five types of actions:
– Building-up economic pressure on Russian companies
– Reaching out to the Russian civil society
– Unarmed defense pursued by the Ukrainian army
– Fostering unity among Ukrainian society in the face of a foreign invasion and relentless Russian propaganda
– Reforms of the state assisted by the mobilized Ukrainian society

The overall strategy of the unarmed engagement is based on the realistic (given the Russian military superiority), and often beautiful, nonviolent actions carried out by hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens all over the country. In the last 17 days, these actions, among others, included:

Boycott

  • There is a growing boycott of products made in Russia or imported from Russia into Ukraine. It is spearheaded by the same group of activists that led the boycott campaign against the financial and economic assets owned by the members of the Party of Region. Their Facebook page now has close to 60,000 members and they use their activist skills honed during the anti-Yanukovych campaign to lead the boycott campaign against Russia. One of the activists acknowledged that the boycott of Russian goods is much easier than the economic boycott of the Party of Regions – there is no need to convince people to do it and no one is worried about being fired. The activists-bloggers issued the call to boycott the Russian products and distributed the list of the Russian companies and goods, together with the Russian products’ bar code 046,  on the Ukrainian market. In Lviv, 7,000 “boycott flyers”‘ with the list of Russian products were distributed in front of the French supermarkets, Auchan. The flyers and activists warned that buying the Russian-made goods meant giving financial support to the occupant. The German supermarket chain, Billa in Ukraine, coincidentally began placing small national flags, including the Russian one, next to the price tags of the products on the shelves. Activists say this helps customers to quickly identify the countries where particular goods are from in order to help the boycott.  Flashmobs of “dead bodies” appear in the supermarkets to dramatize the need for the boycott of Russian goods so as not to “pay for the occupation and war.”  Some grocery stores are already reportedly offering discounts on the boycotted products, and there are still no customers willing to buy them.  Protesters on some roads in Ukraine encouraged drivers to boycott Russia’s second largest oil company, Lukoil and to stop using their gas stations. The passing drivers gave support to the picketing activists by pressing their car’s horns and flashing their car’s lights.

Reaching out to the Russian people and their rulers

  • An open letter from the Russian speaking Ukrainians and ethnic Russians living in Ukraine was sent to President Putin rejecting his military intervention and stating that their interests do not need to be protected by another state. More than 142,000 people have signed, and the number is still rising. Ordinary Russian-speaking individuals in Ukraine issued their own public pleas to the Russian government and President Putin to withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine and respect their country’s territorial integrity. Russian citizens in Ukraine said in the videopost that they do not need to be rescued by Russia. Ukrainian Jews (a majority of whom are Russian speakers) issued an open letter to Putin in which they say that they “do not wish to be defended” by the Russian state and strongly oppose “sundering Ukraine and annexing its territory.”
  • Open letters were written and signed by Ukrainians of various professions, addressed to their Russian counterparts. The letter of Ukrainian cinematographers to their Russian colleagues with the call for solidarity stipulated the latter’s public response to state their opposition to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Famous Russian rock singers called for peace and friendship between Russians and Ukrainians. Well-known Ukrainian actors and writers posted their video appeals to Russians.
  • Ukrainian scholars and academic institutions issued a public appeal to their colleagues in Russia after the Russian parliament approved the military invasion of Ukraine. They expressed their deep concerns about the propaganda that sows disinformation about the situation in Ukraine and particularly the Russian speakers in Ukraine  while emphasizing cultural and historical ties between the Ukrainian and Russian people. They emphasized that there was no conflict over the language or culture. The language of science and education is the language of peace and cooperation. And they called on their Russian counterparts to influence the Russian government and to do all they can to prevent war between the two brotherly nations. In response, the representatives of the Russian academic and education community  expressed their solidarity with their Ukrainian colleagues and offered their support to the Ukrainian people in their efforts to achieve “freedom, democracy and social justice.” They also called on all Russian scientists, scholars, students and teachers to sign the solidarity letter.
  • Ukrainian artists and intellectuals publicly appealed to Russian artists and people of culture who expressed their support for Putin and his military intervention in Ukraine. The appeal countered Putin’s propaganda about the violent Maidan, discrimination against the Russian speakers in Ukraine and legitimacy of the referendum in Crimea. The appeal ended with the comment that those who support the occupation lose the moral right to ever walk on Ukrainian soil.
  • Ukrainian retired and serving soldiers are reaching out to Russian army officers with the appeal to not support military intervention in Ukraine. A Ukrainian writer sent an open letter to his colleague and former classmate from the military college who is now general in the Russian intelligence directorate and asked him to influence the decisions of his bosses so the blood of “your and our children will not be spilled.” In the last part of the letter he offers his classmate the examples of heroic actions by other soldiers who saved civilian population in past conflicts even though they knew they would face the consequences for their disobedience.
  • Odessa residents called Putin to let him know that they are doing just fine as Russian speakers in Ukraine and do not need special protection from the Russian government.
  • Ukrainians have reached out to their family members, friends and colleagues in Russia to explain the Russian regime’s manipulation of information about Ukraine and the situation of the Russian-speaking population that is neither discriminated against nor asking to be rescued by any external military intervention.

Nonviolent restraint of the Ukrainian army

  • Nonviolent defense is the official defense strategy of the Ukrainian government as far as its soldiers stationed in Crimea are concerned. According to Oleksandr Turchynov, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, the Ukrainian army in Crimea defends its military bases, equipment, and its ships without arms in order to not fall for provocations.
  • A Ukrainian army unit in Kerchi (in Crimea) organized an anti-war music concert. The Russian soldiers stationed nearby heard the concert. They said they liked the music. Fraternization “from a distance” between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers can also take on a more humorous quality like the encounter between a Ukrainian captain and a Russian vice-admiral. A Russian ship ordered the Ukrainian military frigate “Ternopil” to surrender. The response of the Ukrainian captain was,  “Russians do not capitulate.” When asked to explain, the captain said that he is ethnically Russian, but swore allegiance to defend the Ukrainian people and Ukraine, and he cannot break that oath. The Russian vice-admiral was reported to have said to his soldiers, “Learn [from this captain] how to serve with honor and dignity.”

The nonviolent restraint that the Ukrainian army and society have shown in the face of the armed invasion of Crimea, and the citizens’ campaign to reach out to their Russian counterparts and the general population have all paid off. Though the Russian population’s support for Putin remains very high — close to 70 percent – Russian society is not a monolith, and Ukrainians can seek potential allies there and rely on their support.

Civilians in Crimea loyal to Ukraine

  • Protests of 15,000 women and children all over Crimea were organized against Russian military intervention during a holiday that is popular  in both Ukraine and Russia – the March 8 ‘International Women’s Day’ (see the videos). The protesters created a human chain in protest against the Russian military intervention on the peninsula. At the same time on Maidan in Kyiv, women held a solidarity rally and wrote postcards with words of support for the Crimean women.

Referendum in Crimea- March 16

  • While the referendum in Crimea was taking place, a pro-Ukrainian protest in Dnipropetrovsk, on the east was organized in support of the Ukrainian people’s unity against the referendum.

National unity campaigns

  • At the beginning of March, the city councils of Odessa, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk condemned the Russian aggression. Solidarity and unity demonstrations were joined by several thousands of residents in Donetsk (10,000 protesters), and in Kharkiv and Odessa (20,000 protesters). These took place on March 2, March 4 and March 5 respectively. People sang patriotic songs and called for territorial integrity of Ukraine. Thirty one rectors of the universities in Kharkiv (the city traditionally close to Russia) publicly criticized the Russian military intervention. On March 9, 3000 Odessans crowded the famous Potemkin stairs in Odessa Port to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and sang the Ukrainian national anthem

Protests against the Russian military invasion

  • Thirty Odessan activists hung spaghetti on the front fence of the Russian consulate in the city to “thank” the Russian government for the anti-Ukrainian propaganda and to protest the lies. Spaghetti on the fence illustrated the Russian proverb of hanging noodles on someone’s ear to show they have been lying. Automaidan – active during the revolution against Yanukovych – organized auto-actions in Odessa on March 8, in front of the Russian consulate to protest the Russian military invasion.

Mobilized Ukrainian society pressures the new government to deliver while it also confers legitimacy on it

  • Activists and the police serve in joint patrols throughout the city to maintain the security on the streets. Activists also maintain the Maidan barricades and pressure the politicians to move Ukraine closer to the EU and to begin implementing needed socio-economic reforms. Automonitor – that emerged from Automaidan – picketed Verkhovna Rada to force her to deliver on her promises of effective work.
  • The Maidan civic groups (Euromaidan Public Sector and “New Citizen”) launched the “Intensive Reforms Package” initiative that brings together 120 experts and activists to work on the blueprint for reforms.
  • Maidan activist, Yegor Sobolev, heads the newly established Lustration Committee.

Check the article on nonviolent victory of the Ukrainian Maidan that includes examples of nonviolent actions that Ukrainians used to fight the Yanukovych regime.

Popular defiance of the Russian military intervention – the Ukrainian style

8 Mar

march of unarmed Ukrainian soldiersIn the current standoff between Ukraine and Russia any military conflict favors the Russian army and the Russian regime. The Russian army, militarily stronger, is likely to defeat the Ukrainian army in any major confrontation. The Russian regime will also harness the Russian nationalism and rally its people around the flag in case of the armed struggle in Ukraine.  Coffins of the Russian soldiers arriving back to Moscow will only give credence to the propaganda of the Russian regime that Russia fights in Ukraine with terrorists and “Banderovcy.” Putin would then turn the conflict into the existential struggle of all Russians against the “Ukrainian fascists.” Any violent struggle in Ukraine will be, by necessity, bloody and protracted. Afterall, Ukraine is much more important for Russia than Afghanistan ever was for the Soviets. And the Soviets stayed and fought in Afghanistan for 10 years.

Some in Ukraine say that there are only two choices ordinary Ukrainians have in the current situation: to surrender or go to war.  This bipolar choice is highly misleading.  In-between the armed resistance and the lack thereof there are other actions that Ukrainians can and do undertake. These actions could gain even greater importance if only Ukrainians managed to come to a general consensus about the goals of their struggle.

It has to be acknowledged that the Russian regime and Putin are neither afraid of the military confrontation with the Ukrainian army, the economic pressure of the West, its military power nor a diplomatic isolation. Otherwise they would have already backed down from the planned annexation of the Crimea. The Russian regime and Putin are afraid of noone but the Russians themselves. The Russian society is the key to the victory and failure of any conflict that the Russian regime wages. Therefore the regime uses all state resources: money, security apparatus and the propaganda machinery to ensure the voluntary (preferably) and coerced (if needed) support of ordinary Russians for the regime. So far, it is quite successful in doing so. An independent polling shows the Russian public support for Putin – 67% – at its highest (March 6) though more than 70% opposed (on Feb. 24) Russian intervention in the Ukrainian affairs.

Sensibly, any resistance that Ukrainians undertake in the face of the Russian annexation of the Crimea and the lingering threat of further incursion of the Russian army and its “tourists” into the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine would include the following four goals:

1. save LIVES – of Ukrainian people and soldiers, as well as Russian soldiers and ordinary Russians
2. unite ALL Ukrainians, including ethnic Russians living in Ukraine and other ethnic groups in the country around at least two basic goals
  • no to military intervention and occupation
  • no to dismembering of Ukraine
3. bring the Russian society on the side of the Ukrainian people
4. show a high degree of restraint and nonviolent discipline, particularly in the face of clear provocations and protracted struggle.

These goals would necessarily determine the nature of the resistance campaigns and tactics. The above goals cannot be reached, for example, with the use of  arms. In fact, armed resistance could only jeopardize these goals and bring easier victory to the violent aggressor. Majority of Ukrainians realize this. They began a number of grassroots, innovative resistance actions and campaigns to show their active opposition towards the Russian military invasion without resorting to violence. These actions, among others, include:

  • still-limited but growing boycott in Ukraine of produce made in Russia or imported from Russia. Boycott could be helped by some of the biggest supermarkets in Ukraine. The Ukrainian activists pointed to the German supermarket chain Billa in Ukraine that, coincidentally, a couple of days ago began placing small national flags, including the Russian one, next to the price tags of produce on the shelves thus helping customers identify with ease the countries where particular goods were from. This could help the boycott, activists said.
  • open letter of the Russian speaking Ukrainians and ethnic Russians in Ukraine to the president Putin rejecting his military intervention and stating that their interests do not need to be protected by another state. More than 140,000 people signed and counting. Ordinary Russian-speaking individuals in Ukraine issue their own public pleas to the Russian government and president Putin to withdraw their troops from Ukraine and respect country’s territorial integrity. Russian citizens in Ukraine in the videopost say they do not need to be rescued by Russia. The Ukrainian Jews (who in majority are the Russian speakers) issued the open letter to Putin in which they say that they “do not wish to be defended” by the Russian state and strongly oppose “sundering Ukraine and annexing its territory.”
  • open letters written and signed by Ukrainians of various professions and addressed to their Russian counterparts. The letter of the Ukrainian cinematographers to their Russian colleagues with the request for solidarity stipulated the latter’s public response in which they stated their opposition to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Famous Russian rock singers called for peace and friendship between Russians and Ukrainians. Well-known Ukrainian actors and writers post their video appeals to Russians.
  • marches of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers to challenge the Russian army blockade of their military bases. On March 4, – see the picture above – more than one hundred Ukrainian soldiers marched without arms towards the Russian military units that blocked the Belbek military airfield near Sevastopol. The warning shots flew over their heads while they pressed on. They forced negotiations with the Russians and won the domestic and international sympathy and admiration. Other Ukrainian army units physically blocked the Russian army from capturing warehouses with weapons. Meanwhile, the wives of other Ukrainian officers protected their husbands and reduced the hostilities by creating a human shield between them and the Russian soldiers.
  • solidarity and unity demonstrations joined by several thousands of residents in Donetsk (10,000 protesters), Kharkiv and Odessa (20,000 protesters) took place on March 2, March 4 and March 5. People sang patriotic songs and called for territorial integrity of Ukraine.
  • at the beginning of March, the city councils of Odessa, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk condemned the Russian aggression.
  • 31 rectors of the universities in Kharkiv (the city traditionally close to Russia) publicly criticized the Russian military intervention.
  • Some Crimeans, including the head of the Bahchisaraysky region, called for the boycott of the referendum on the status of the peninsula that the new Crimean authorities, in consultation with the Russian regime, scheduled for March 16.
  • building coalitions across the Ukrainian-speaking and Russian speaking populations. On February 26, to protest the manipulation of the language issue by the politicians in Kyiv and in solidarity with the Russian-speakers Lviv appealed to its residents to speak Russian at home, in public spaces and work places. In response, the activists from Donetsk and Odessa – the Russian speaking regions – called for using Ukrainian on that day. Eventually, the acting president vetoed the language legislation passed by Verkhovna Rada.
  • Automaidan –  active during the revolution against Yanukovych – organized auto-actions in Odessa on March 8 in front of the Russian consulate to protest the Russian military invasion.
  • Ukrainian army unit in Kerchi (in the Crimea) organized the anti-war music concert. The Russian soldiers stationed nearby heard the concert. They said they liked the music. Fraternization ‘from a distance’ between the Russian and Ukrainian soldiers can also take on a more humorous encounter like the one between the Ukrainian captain and the Russian vice-admiral. The Russian ship ordered the Ukrainian military frigate ‘Ternopil’ to surrender. The response was of the Ukrainian captain was that “Russians do not capitulate.” When asked to explain the captain said that he is ethnically Russian but swore the allegiance to defend the Ukrainian people and Ukraine and he cannot break that oath. The Russian vice-admiral was reported to have said to his soldiers: “Learn [from this captain] how to serve with honor and dignity.”
  • Ukrainian retired and serving soldiers are reaching out to the Russian army officers with the appeal not to support the military intervention in Ukraine. An Ukrainian writer sends an open letter to his colleague and a former classmate from the military college who is now the general in the Russian intelligence directorate and asks him to influence the decisions of his bosses so the blood of “your and our children will not be spilled.” In the last part of the letter he offers his classmate the examples of heroic actions by other soldiers who saved civilian population in the past conflicts even though they knew they would face the consequences for their disobedience.
  • Ukrainians are reaching out to their family members, friends and colleagues in Russia to explain that the Russian regime manipulates the information about Ukraine and the situation of Russian speaking population that is neither discriminated nor asked for the external military help.
  • People remain mobilized in Kyiv. Activists and the police are now on joint patrols throughout the city to maintain the security on the streets. Activists also maintain the maidan barricades and pressure the politicians to move Ukraine’s closer to the EU and begin implementing needed socio-economic reforms.
See earlier blog about how other nations fought the foreign occupiers without arms.
My co-authored article on nonviolent victory of the Ukrainian maidan revolution includes examples of how Ukrainians fought the Yanukovych regime.

How others challenged powerful foreign occupiers?

3 Mar

gameBelow are only few examples of much richer repertoire of nonviolent actions undertaken by nations that fought formidable foreign occupiers. Even though some of the actions were undertaken centuries or few decades ago many of them are easily transferable to the contemporary situations in which a nation faces a powerful foreign invader:

Americans under the British colonial control:
– refused to buy and consume the British goods
– refused to import the British goods to the American colonies

Hungarians under the Austrian imperial rule: 
– wore symbolic clothing, hairstyles and jewelery in national colors
– showed performances in theaters that carried coded anti-imperial messages
– set up plays for the public that affirmed the Hungarian culture and identity
– treated Austrian troops as persona non grata and refused to communicate with them on all levels
– refused to speak German socially
– boycotted Austrian goods

Poles under the partitions:
– developed Polish social, economic, and cultural organizations
– celebrated national poets, writers and musicians
– organized public commemoration and anniversaries of historical events significant for the nation
– developed and strengthened patriotic education of all Polish-speaking classes: peasants, workers, aristocrats
– kept sober and disciplined in villages and towns
– pushed for the rapid development of the Polish economy to stall the German ‘land-grab’ and slow down the expansion of the German settlements

Burmese under the British colonial rule:
– wore the native homespun cloth
– displaying signboards in support of homemade goods
– song patriotic songs at the opening of any social event
– boycotted colonial social titles

Algerians under the French colonial system:
– set up and printed various periodicals and newspapers that demanded full citizenship rights
– opened cultural and fraternal clubs, and literature, music, geography, and sports associations
– led general strike and stay-ins at home

Egyptians under the British colonial system:
– protested on the streets with women leading the protests
– launched a signature collection campaign in support of full independence for Egypt through peaceful means
– used plays, music, and literature to advocate resistance for national liberation

Danes under the Nazi occupation:
– boycotted German cultural events
– joined Danish cultural organizations
– used ‘V’ (Victory) sign instead of handshake and painted it on walls
– wore coins bearing the Queen’s portrait
– workers worked slowly and badly in factories controlled by the Germans
– wore a paperclip “we stick together”
– wore a red carnation on King’s birthday

Kosovars under the Serbian rule:
– sounded factory hooters and car-horns at set times
– lighted candles and made noise at the time of curfew

Palestinians against the Israeli occupation: 
– printed black mourning bands on the front pages of the Palestinian newspapers
– women organized a silent procession, and submitted statements to diplomatic consulates
– produced and translated writings on nonviolent resistance
– led public prayers
– rang church bells
– went on fasting
– went on hunger strikes
– organized protests together with the Israeli groups that opposed the occupation

 

Information about nonviolent actions from some national liberation struggles listed above comes from Recovering Nonviolent History. Civil Resistance in Liberation Struggles edited by Maciej Bartkowski and published in 2013 by Lynne Rienner Publsihers.

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