From Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement Urcuchillay

Authors:Philippe Thirault (Writer)
Roberto Zaghi (Art)
Nanette McGuiness (Translation)

Date:Mar 22, 2022

Edition:Softcover TradeFormat:120 pages – Color
7.6 x 10.2 in

ISBN:9781643379692

Ukraine has become a focus of attention lately due to the war there. For many this will be a temporary and superficial interest, related to the duration of that conflict and media interest in it. Clashes between nation-states and their elites is a deeply saddening feature of today’s world. Such a war brings up the question whether some better alternative is available? There are contemporary alternatives, but its also possible to look at the past for inspiration. In the case of Ukraine, there is a set of interesting historical events that do provide bits and pieces that suggest another way of being.

There was also a war in Ukraine between 1917-21. It was a complex mess and involved various factions competing to control the Ukrainian state. Among them were the Bolsheviks (later misnamed ‘Communists’), Germans, Nationalists and Monarchists. In reaction to this, a movement developed in Eastern Ukraine. It was based on workers and peasants who were fed up with all these different groups claiming to rule over them. Though there were many people involved, over time the main personality the movement threw up was a peasant called Nestor Makhno. He became a clever military tactician who helped liberate large areas of the country and attempted to put into practice more democratic ways of organising the economy. It was an intriguing experiment that was eventually crushed by the Bolsheviks.

There are books, articles, documentaries and even a multi-part Ukrainian-language TV series about Makhno. He isn’t forgotten in his homeland, though sometimes his politics are hijacked and misrepresented. Now there is another way to access information about him. Prolific French novelist Phillipe Thirault and Italian cartoonist Roberto Zaghi have collaborated on a graphic novel that offers a fictionalised account of Makhno’s life. It is now available in English.

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