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The Activity of КRАS (Summer-Autumn 2012)
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During the summer and at the beginning of autumn, the Russian regional section of the International Workers' Association took part in a number of protest and solidarity actions.

On June 1, a group of activists from KRAS attended a rally against the commercialization of education, to show its full support of the struggle for free education and resistance against the attacks of the rich and powerful against our social rights. We do not take part in political actions and campaigns which revolve around on who will rule us, out of principle. But just as principally we take part in protests which have a purely social nature and we call on workers not to believe politicians and bosses: only the self-organized struggle of people for their rights can lead to victory.

On the same day, members of KRAS took part in a rally in memory of the workers of Novocherkassk, whose strike was violently repressed by the ruling pseudosocialist regime in June of 1962.

On July 6, activists from KRAS took part in a picket of ¨alternative” unions at the office of the Russian branch of the multinational corporation "Unilever" in Moscow. We, anarchosyndicalists, are divided in many ways from the unions which exist in Russia (the "оfficial ones" as well as the "alternative"), but we could not fail to express our solidarity with a worker activist from Omsk, which the company wanted to fire, in revenge for her participation in a strike.

On August 10, anarchosyndicalists took part in a solidarity picket with the workers activists from the far eastern port of Nachodka. The action went past the Moscow offices of the company adminstrating the port. The boss started a criminal case against an activist from the port and on August 10, solidarity actions took place in different cities in Russia. Characteristically, although the picket in Moscow was organized by „alternative unions” from the Russian Confederation of Labour, members of KRAS made up half of the participants. This showed once again the low mobilization capabilities of the bureaucratic unions in Russia.

On September 15, as part of the international day of solidarity with drivers from Dominos Pizza in Brisbane (Australia), stickers were put at the entrance of one Dominos in Moscow which said „September 15: International Day of Solidarity with drivers from Dominos Pizza in Brisbane (Australia). Shame on the company that cuts workers wages by 19%! No to expoitation! International Workers Association". Leaflets with a similar message were put on the windshields of the pizza delivery cars.

On September 22, members of KRAS took part as a separate block in the rally in Moscow in the framework of the ”United Day of Action against the Destruction of Public Health Care”. Representatives of the Russian section of the IWA went to express their protest against the neoliberal offensive. The paper “Direct Action” was given out and the principles of anarchosyndicalism and the particulars of the daily work of KRAS-IWA was explained.

On October 7, activists from KRAS took part in an “alternative” trade union rally against the social and economic policies of the government. In contrast with the activists from political parties and organizations, and also in contrast with the “alternative” unions, which called for a “social state”, the libertarians present tried to bring its vision of solutions to the problems to those gathered, namely the necessity of creating a workers' movement independent from politicians, which would lead the struggle against both capitalism and the state. Members of KRAS-IWA distributed leaflets explaining its positions.

Besides taking part in street action, anarchosyndicalists showed informational support to the inhabitants of one of the Moscow regions which struggle against the closure of a children's hospital. They also carried out active anti-clerical agitation, in connection with an offensive of clerical and nationalist reaction in the country.