The Tragic Procession

It is not news to report that the Bolsheviks destroyed the anarchist movement in the Soviet Union. But how, and what were the consequences? These reprinted bulletins from the Joint Committee for the Defense of Revolutionists Imprisoned in Russia and the Relief Fund of the International Working Men’s Association for Anarchists and Anarcho-Syndicalists Imprisoned or Exiled in Russia show it as it happened. They ‘shed a little light on the struggles of our comrades and keep their names alive’ So, who were the anarchists? If you have already read up on Russian anarchist you’ll recognise some of the veterans like Aron Baron, Olga Taratuta and Lea Gutman, or foreigners like Francisco Ghezzi. But the bulletins also report on unknown anarchists and comrades who only came to anarchism in the 1920s: Polya Kurganskaya, F.G Mikhailov-Garin (a blacksmith), Kira Sturmer, Maria Polyakova. Alongside the anarchists the bulletins contain the stories and voices of Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Zionists and peasants.