Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists
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Through Trade union, Dissolution of the Soviet Union and Capitalism
History
Background
The Russian anarchist movement began to experience a revival during the 1980s, under the framework of perestroika. In 1989, anarchist groups representing hundreds of members in several cities established the Confederation of Anarcho-Syndicalists (KAS). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of capitalism in Russia, the KAS quickly dissolved.
Establishment
In March 1991, the Initiative of Revolutionary Anarchists (IREAN) was established in Moscow and its members began to re-examine traditional anarcho-syndicalist ideas. In May 1994, three anarcho-syndicalists of the IREAN merged into the Group of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists (GRAS), which itself consisted of five ex-members of the KAS. The group came under the leadership of Vadim Damier, a former Trotskyist. On 5 August 1995, the GRAS reorganised itself into the Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists (KRAS). The following year, the KRAS affiliated to the International Workers' Association (IWA).
Activities
Attempts by the KRAS to break into trade unionism were unsuccessful. In 1997, the KRAS established the trade union Volya (English: Liberty), but it only gained 12 members in Moscow's IT and scientific sectors. Sociologist Alexander Tarasov suspected that the "micro union" was formed for the sole reason of fulfilling the IWA's membership requirements. The KRAS then slipped into a state of self-imposed social isolation, refusing to work with other Russian leftists or anarchists and instead preferring contact mostly with other members of the IWA.
Since the late 1990s, the main activity of the KRAS has been in publishing: it publishes the newspaper Pryamoye Deystviye, the magazine Libertarnaya mysl and the quarterly newsletter A-S Info. According to Vadim Damier, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the KRAS has also supported a series of strike actions, participated in anti-militarist campaigns and demonstrated against gentrification and the rising cost of living.
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Organisation
The KRAS is formally structured as a confederation of autonomous groups and individuals, which are governed by its biennial Congress and internal polls of the organisation. Between congresses, the KRAS is coordinated by its Information Commission (IC), which acts as the organisation's secretariat and is rotated between local branches. Unlike most other Russian anarchist organisations, KRAS requires its members to pay dues, which are managed by the IC, and imposes a strict code of conduct.
Although the KRAS lacks formal leaders, in practice, the organisation is led by Vadim Damier. Membership of the KRAS is open to people from throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. As of 1997, the KRAS counted between 12 and 15 members, split between three groups in Moscow, Gomel and Baikalsk.
Ideology
The KRAS declares its goal to be the abolition of the state and capitalism, and the establishment of anarchist communism, which it aims to achieve through syndicalist methods of direct action. The KRAS proclaimed its "primary task" to be the establishment of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions, capable of organising to improve living and working conditions, with the intention of building towards a social revolution.
In its publications, the KRAS affirms traditional anarcho-syndicalist principles, including the anti-politicism, anti-statism, decentralization, trade unionism and direct action. Sociologist Alexander Tarasov has characterised the KRAS as "New Leftists" and said that their ideas more closely resemble neo-Marxism than anarcho-syndicalism.