Leftist march attracts riffraff

For the first time in the political history of Ukraine a march called Anticapitalism 2005 took place in Kyiv. My notes on this event will rely on the dialectic principle: thesis-antithesis-synthesis. This event was sensational for several reasons. First, until now Ukrainian left-wing youth organizations have remained on the margins owing to their numerical insignificance and inconspicuousness. Second, precisely because of this the ranks of the entire leftwing segment were filled with politicians no one was interested in, usually Soviet-style supporters of Symonenko and Vitrenko. Third, leftwingers, unable to cast aside their interparty squabbles, have never succeeded in doing anything together.

Finally, until now these kinds of political actions were confined to political hot air sessions, without any aesthetic coloration — despite the fact that the left wing has always been capable of building a movement in a rather colorful and original manner, precisely from the artistic point of view. On this particular occasion they promised a rock concert afterward.

Even the preparations for Anticapitalism 2005 were quite impressive; all of downtown Kyiv, most subway cars and underpasses, bore stickers indicating the route, specifying the time of the march, and political slogans. The stickers were large and well-designed — a luxury even for big political parties. Yet, the event was organized by young nonconformists. Was it because the party purse could afford this? The reason was revealed later.

And so, on the designated date, a warm and sunny day, I rode the escalators of the Arsenalna subway station, burning with curiosity. The column had already started moving. It was unusually big, at least 3,000- strong. It appeared to be a motley crowd. The rear was brought up by the “Social Democratic Youth.” I saw grim faces and tight lips, not a word out of them. Further on the picture was brighter, with Komsomol activists yelling “Lenin! The Party! Komsomol!” Closer to the head of the column were exuberant leftists bearing posters of Che Gevara and the Left Initiative, punks, rappers, and anarchists. It was nice watching them march down Hrushevsky Street, past all those gloomy, large government buildings.

It was a sunny day and red banners were flying. The atmosphere was heady, festive.

The column reached Kontraktova ploshcha, where an open-air stage had been set up. Standing in front of it were notorious provocateurs from Bratstvo [Brotherhood] and the national Bolsheviks whose only link to the left wing is the color of their banners.

Speeches followed. The Komsomol activists displayed a banner reading “Order-Bearing Cherkasy Oblast Greets Kyivans!” [“order-bearing” is an old Soviet cliche, meaning that a particular region received a major Soviet award for some “outstanding merits” — Trans.]. The spacious square was instantly like a stuffy, cramped audience listening to a party election meeting.

I looked through a copy of the newspaper Anticapitalism 2005. It contained a manifesto of the action and articles describing every participating organization. A note stated that this was a special issue of the [Russian-language] newspaper Novyi ponedelnik (New Monday) whose founder is Dmitri Dzhangirov, the same Dzhangirov who personifies unprincipled journalism and who turns every broadcast into made-to-order garbage. I was also introduced to one of the organizers, a Russian spin doctor whose colorful surname is Miloserdov. He was quite active during the presidential campaign, but by no means for the benefit of the opposition.

This “anticapitalism” is strange, considering it is financed by the worst rogue capitalists ever produced in the former Soviet Union.

Suddenly, a young fellow appeared on the stage and announced that there were people in the crowd wearing Nazi symbols—members of the National Bolshevik Party and Brotherhood. They could leave of their own accord; otherwise they would be forced to leave. Those whom he addressed responded with catcalls and expletives. After that the true leftists, funny-looking punks and anarchists, lined up and started moving in on them, shouting “No to Nazism!” True to their Nazi scum character, they started waving their fists. Interestingly, the super-principled Komsomol activists promptly folded up their banner and pretended to leave. The ensuing melee was broken up by Berkut riot squads. The Bratstvo activists had no choice, so they left without attending the excellent concert by the rock group Prikliucheniya Elektronikov, who performed Soviet children’s songs in heavy metal style, including “Wonderful and Distant” and “A Reindeer Raced through the City.”

It was time to leave, but I didn’t feel like going.

There were nice, honest children dancing around the stage, singing the refrain, “Winged swings keep going up and up.”

The garbage had gone, leaving jubilation.

Whatever you say, I’m for this kind of revolution.