1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 2: Hello, and welcome to Cool People Who did Cool stuff, 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 2: your weekly show that comes out twice a week. I 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 2: am your host, Margaret Hiljoy, and this is part two 5 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 2: of a two parter about the Russian partisans who are 6 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 2: fucking up Putin in Russia. And I like that, But 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 2: I also like both my producer Sophie Hi, Sophie Hey, Magpie, 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 2: and my guest Charles McBride. 9 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,160 Speaker 1: Hi, how are you Hello, I'm thriving. 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 2: Everyone's rive. 11 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,520 Speaker 1: That's not true. Most people are not thriving right now. Hi. 12 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: I just think we should say hi to the audience. 13 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 2: Hi, Hello, audience, Hello audience. 14 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: We never say hi to them? 15 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,480 Speaker 2: Why not? I say hello and welcome to at the 16 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 2: top of every episode. But as like a team, Oh 17 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 2: that's true. 18 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,200 Speaker 1: We're collectively breaking the fourth wall right now. 19 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, you are part of this conversation now. And if no, 20 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 2: that's not true. That's the danger of podcasts, think is true. 21 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 2: I listen to a lot of podcasts made by my friends, 22 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 2: and I have to fight so hard not to message 23 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 2: them about shit that in my head they just said, 24 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 2: but they actually said a month ago. 25 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: You know, I do that with James. I'd be like 26 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: great point you made yesterday. Yeah, exactly, And James is like, 27 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm a podcaster. 28 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 2: Everything I just podcasted about left my brain the second 29 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 2: I was done. Yeah, I am an expert on things 30 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 2: while I'm recording, and then all that's left is vibes 31 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 2: if that and hunger. Anyway, what a good world we have. 32 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 2: I actually really like podcasts. I listen to them all 33 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 2: the time. But today it is part two. We're talking 34 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 2: about Ussian partisans. But in part one we talked about 35 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 2: some folks fighting directly in the Ukrainian military. We gave 36 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 2: context about the invasion of Ukraine, and we talked about 37 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 2: how at the very beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, 38 00:01:53,200 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 2: Belarusian podcasters, maybe probably most of them weren't podcasters statistically, honestly, actually, statistically, 39 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 2: probably a bunch of them are. 40 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, I was thinking ninety nine percent podcasters quit before 41 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: they start the real revolutionary movement. 42 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 2: Well, I think that these podcasters podcast on the side. 43 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 2: I think everyone involved in partisan struggle is secretly a podcaster, 44 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 2: not the other way around. You would think it. But 45 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 2: actually none of us have ever committed crimes. And now 46 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 2: we're going to talk about the Russians in a positive way, 47 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 2: because we're going to talk about ones who are going 48 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 2: to fuck up the Russian government, and we are going 49 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 2: to talk about Russel and Sadiki, who is the most 50 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 2: cyberpunk man in the world. That is my claim and 51 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 2: I'm going to hold to it because in twenty twenty three, 52 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 2: he used pre program drones to bomb an airfield, Like 53 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 2: he set them up ahead of time, hours ahead of time, 54 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 2: and then they went on their pre program GPS route 55 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 2: to go bomb in airfield once he was very safely away. 56 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 2: And then later he used remote detonated bombs to derail 57 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 2: a freight train that he like set up a camera 58 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 2: to watch so he could trigger it from far away, 59 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 2: but like live so he could make sure he was 60 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 2: hitting the right place. 61 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: You know, that's sick. I don't think anybody should do that. 62 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: By the way, I don't endorsee behavior in the United No, 63 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: only in Russia. Only in Russia. 64 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, No, we're talking about people living in an authoritarian state. 65 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: This is a totally different thing. 66 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, Like Russia like disappears people and like Sensor's journalists 67 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: and yeah sort of stuff, and everything's owned by like 68 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: a couple of people. 69 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 2: You're like not allowed to be gay there. Yeah, it's 70 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 2: totally different. So Russelan was caught almost by accident, and 71 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 2: so it could be all of his contemporaries or just 72 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 2: as cyberpunk as him. But he's the one who got caught, 73 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 2: and so we know all about his case. He was 74 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: born in nineteen eighty eight, and his name Russell and 75 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 2: Sadiki is somehow particularly Russian to me because it's multi ethnic. 76 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 2: Russelan is a common Slavic name for boys, although I 77 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 2: actually believe it comes from a Turkic thing. I fell 78 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 2: down a rabbit hole looking this up. I don't know 79 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 2: much about this, but Sidiki is an Arabic name, and 80 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 2: the Russian Empire absolutely included Muslim territories, and the area 81 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 2: is and has been multi ethnic for a very long time. 82 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 2: He wrote about his early childhood quote, I spent a 83 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 2: lot of time outside since there was nothing to do 84 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 2: at home. It was much more fun to run from 85 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 2: construction site guards, throw gas canisters into a fire and 86 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 2: wait for the explosion. Sneak into cellars and build hovels. 87 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 2: That's how to have a childhood. 88 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: I don't think you can really be an anarchist without 89 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: having built a hovel or two. 90 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 2: No, it's necessary. The hovel is where you find yourself. 91 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, hovel maxing. When he was eleven or twelve, he 92 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: moved to Italy. 93 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 2: I've read both in different pieces, and he taught his 94 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,279 Speaker 2: new Italian friends the kind of games he grew up 95 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 2: playing in Russia, like throw Molotov cocktails at a concrete 96 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 2: walls for fun. This guy was born to be a 97 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 2: cyberpunk terrorist for a good cause. As an adult, he 98 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 2: moved back to Russia in part because he missed his grandmother, 99 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 2: and I believe he lived with and cared for her. 100 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 2: He got a job as an electrician and was overall 101 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 2: reasonably happy. Once a year he would cross over into 102 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,119 Speaker 2: Ukraine and go sneak into the Chernobyl exclusion zone for fun. 103 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 2: Because he had a very interesting idea of what constitutes fun. 104 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 2: He said, quote, I like to make my way through 105 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 2: difficult terrain, hide from patrols, and use military equipment. 106 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: That's phase two of hovelmaxing. 107 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely yeah. He got into gardening as 108 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 2: a political project, basically an attempt to bring back the 109 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 2: original concept of the Soviet but it was a politically 110 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 2: involved like collective farm thing, the self managed collective farm 111 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 2: versus the top down controlled kind like what these so 112 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 2: it's originally were, right, yeah, yeah, the thing that the 113 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 2: all power too is what Bolsheviks were, like just kidding. 114 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: About that one, Yeah, turns out yeah, for. 115 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 2: Anyone who doesn't know, we're talking about that Soviet it 116 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 2: was the word for the local control over a collectively 117 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 2: run area, and the idea of the Soviet Union was 118 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 2: that all of these local groups would come together as 119 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 2: equals to participate in creating a larger society. 120 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 1: And that was not what the Bolsheviks actually did, which 121 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 1: is why Rojeva and the theory and practice of genealogy 122 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: is closer to the original Soviet Union and the concept 123 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: behind that, yeah, than what the Bolsheviks turn it into. 124 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 2: Absolutely, yeah, yeah, no, It's so funny that I was 125 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 2: like for a long time, I was like, what exactly 126 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 2: am I for? And then I just like read a 127 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 2: lot about the early Russian Revolution and I'm like, oh, yeah, no, 128 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 2: you just you set up regional councils and you like 129 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 2: start making decisions on a local level, and then you 130 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 2: federate up to higher levels to make decisions at a 131 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 2: larger level, and by doing that you can create a 132 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 2: society that is both socialistic and not a state. Great, 133 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 2: I wish people well many people have done it and 134 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 2: died trying to make it happen. But anyway along the way, 135 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 2: I don't know whether it was while he was working 136 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 2: for this Soviet or not, which I don't know if 137 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 2: they called it a Soviet, he became interested in anarchism, 138 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 2: but he has always rejected a dogmatic approach to any ideology. 139 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 2: He's like, gets very frustrated by like anarchists. We're very like, 140 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 2: this is the way that this thing goes. He's just like, no, 141 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 2: I just like he likes taking care of people and 142 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 2: he likes protecting the rights of people. 143 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: I don't get frustrated other anarchists. Do you get frustrated No? 144 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 2: I I know because if I get frustrated people, they're 145 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 2: not real anarchists. So the problem that solves itself. They're 146 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 2: just not Scotsmen. I was like, look, they're just not 147 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 2: actually a Scotsman, So it's fine. It took me a 148 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 2: long time to learn what the no true Scotsman fallacy is, 149 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 2: but it's that, Yeah, there's that meme that goes around 150 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 2: that I love. That's like, people who get frustrated by 151 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 2: the left and go right wing are just weak. Real 152 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 2: leftists get frustrated by the left every single day. Yes, 153 00:07:58,000 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 2: he knew that Russia was about to invade Ukraine into 154 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 2: twenty two because it ramped up its propaganda ahead of 155 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 2: the invasion. He started having these recurring dreams. He wrote, 156 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 2: there was a field full of dark green military equipment, 157 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 2: a gray sky, black trees without leaves. I was on 158 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 2: the sidelines, having something like a grenade launcher in my hands, 159 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 2: but some force held me back from aiming and shooting. 160 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 2: And I love when dreams are just direct symbolism about 161 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 2: a thing that's happening. 162 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: You know. 163 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 2: He felt impotent despite all of this thing happening, and 164 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 2: he felt like he was sidelined, but he knew that 165 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 2: he actually had some power. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he 166 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 2: felt powerless. He wrote a friend who has lived in 167 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 2: Ukraine who has since died in the fighting, and basically 168 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 2: he wrote his friend and was like, I think I'm 169 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 2: going to start a bombing campaign against Russia. And I 170 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 2: think his friend was like, yeah, that makes sense because 171 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 2: he knew a lot about bomb is. Because you're going 172 00:08:58,200 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 2: to be shocked to know when I described this kid, 173 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,839 Speaker 2: he started downloading bomb making manuals from the internet when 174 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,199 Speaker 2: he was eighteen, and he played with drones for fun. 175 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 2: So this friend in Ukraine put him in touch with 176 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 2: the Ukrainian Security Force folks, and he went to Latvia 177 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 2: to prove that he knew what he was doing. And 178 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 2: he wasn't paid and no one gave him orders. This 179 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 2: is all self directed. They helped him acquire equipment or 180 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 2: they maybe offered to And this part's a little tricky. 181 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 2: He insists that he did not receive training from the 182 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:31,679 Speaker 2: Ukrainian forces. That's part of his legal defense is that 183 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 2: he's like, no, I am not acting on the orders 184 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 2: of a foreign government, you know. And I actually I 185 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 2: believe him that he wasn't taking orders, But you know whatever, 186 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 2: I'm perfectly willing to believe about all the rest too. 187 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 2: His first action didn't really work out, the GPS drone 188 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 2: bomb action, but he went about it intelligently. He pre 189 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 2: programmed four drones with a route by GPS and set 190 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 2: them up for a delayed launch towards military airfield. He 191 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 2: rode his bike out to the field because it's harder 192 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 2: to track a bike oh, actually he might not how 193 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 2: a car, but whatever, he rode a bike, and the 194 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 2: whole time he's biking, he's like, oh, man, I hope 195 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 2: these pressure sensitive bombs in my backpack don't go off. 196 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 2: That would be really sad. I don't want that they 197 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 2: didn't go off. And he picked a route without any 198 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 2: public surveillance cameras. He set up the drones, and then 199 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 2: he saw a fox running around the field and was like, oh, 200 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 2: it was a fox running around the field, and then 201 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 2: he left. Only one of the drones actually made it 202 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 2: into the air, into the target, and it blew up 203 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 2: several hundred feet away from the nearest aircraft. This was 204 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 2: not a particularly successful strike. As best as he can tell, 205 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,199 Speaker 2: the fox that he's seen running around had probably turned 206 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 2: the other ones over so that they didn't take off. 207 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 2: I like to imagine the fox arrives this story. I 208 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 2: even believe it because there's no evidence of the area 209 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 2: being blown up. Whatever, he wasn't even the first person 210 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:03,199 Speaker 2: to attack that particular military airfield with a drone strike. 211 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 2: From within Russia. A fuel tanker had been bombed about 212 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 2: six months earlier by a drone and killed three Russian soldiers, 213 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 2: and I don't know that whoever attacked it previously was 214 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:17,439 Speaker 2: ever caught. But after his failed attack, he gets paranoid 215 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 2: for understandable reasons, and he lays low. The authorities didn't 216 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 2: have a single lead on him. Then his grandmother died 217 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 2: and he was feeling desperate and depressed. Later he says 218 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 2: that that is though exactly the wrong mood to be 219 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:39,319 Speaker 2: in to decide to attack, but he was feeling desperate 220 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,079 Speaker 2: and depressed, so he decided to attack. 221 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: He picked a. 222 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 2: Railroad line that he knew only moved freight, not passenger trains, 223 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 2: and he decided to derail a train. There had been 224 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 2: more than one hundred attacks on the rail infrastructure within 225 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 2: Russia already, and I'll get to that shortly to quote 226 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 2: him about the attack. This sabotage cost me less than 227 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 2: ten thousand rubles about one hundred and thirty dollars in 228 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 2: a few days. I made two powerful bombs and a 229 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 2: video transmitter with a self destruct mechanism. I devised my 230 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,439 Speaker 2: escape route. I had a night division device with me, 231 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 2: and in my pockets were bags of pepper to set 232 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 2: the dogs off my track. I rode my bike to 233 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 2: the site at midnight, set the charges under the tracks, 234 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 2: fixed the camera on a tree so that it recorded 235 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 2: the moment of detonation and scattered pepper in the sites 236 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,839 Speaker 2: I was hiding out in. And so the camera is 237 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 2: there not just to record the moment of the attack, 238 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 2: but to time the explosion to make extra sure that 239 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,960 Speaker 2: it's not a passenger train. He's like watching, and he's like, 240 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 2: all right, this is when I'm going to go. And 241 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 2: he set two charges six meters apart, which is what 242 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 2: he says is the way to make sure that you 243 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 2: derail a train, or rather it's what a military investigator 244 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 2: from the Russian whatever they call the KGB now said, 245 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 2: And each was about five hundred grams of TNT rustlin. 246 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 2: Hid in the woods, he watched for a train, he 247 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 2: made sure it was a passenger train, and he set 248 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 2: off the charges. He derailed nineteen train cars, causing about 249 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 2: three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in damages to the 250 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 2: government owned railroad. And to go back to quoting him. 251 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 2: After fleeing the scene, I hid my bike, shoes and 252 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 2: the clothes I was wearing in the woods ten kilometers 253 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,559 Speaker 2: from the blast site. I returned home through another path 254 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 2: without my bike, and in a change of clothes, but 255 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 2: counter terrorism units were on the scene right away. This 256 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 2: part is fucking movie shit. They show up and there's 257 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 2: a black sock hanging from the tree and they're like, 258 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:46,560 Speaker 2: what's this black sock? And it's a video camera. And 259 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 2: then it's like, while they're in the process of trying 260 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 2: to like make sure that the camera doesn't self destruct, 261 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:52,479 Speaker 2: this camera self destructs. 262 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: Wow. 263 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 2: They find a bicycle tire tread, and they find a 264 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,360 Speaker 2: place where someone had clearly been holed up in the woods. 265 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 2: They were like, oh, the leaves are flattened here, this 266 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 2: is where someone was hiding out and this is probably 267 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,319 Speaker 2: where he'd been hiding to watch the camera. The investigators 268 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 2: then found local cops saying they'd seen a bicyclist, but 269 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 2: they didn't remember a face or the make of a bike. 270 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 2: A couple cameras caught him leaving the area on bike 271 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 2: about five hours after the explosion, wearing camouflage, and they 272 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 2: are not good clear photos or videos or anything. They're 273 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 2: just quick surveillance glimpses. There's no face in them. And 274 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 2: they didn't find any forensic evidence at the scene, no DNA, nothing, 275 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 2: so they started investigating all the military and electronics stores. 276 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 2: No one remembered selling anything like what was used in 277 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 2: the attack. They tried investigating anyone who'd rented apartments in 278 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 2: the area nearby, but they turned up nothing. So we 279 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 2: gotta find this guy. Let's start harassing all the Ukrainians 280 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 2: who live in the area. And so they start going 281 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 2: around gathering saliva and blood from the Ukrainians who live 282 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 2: in the area to test their DNA, even though they 283 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 2: don't have any DNA evidence from the scene. I guess, 284 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 2: just like in case any DNA evidence shows up, just. 285 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 1: To back up saliva and DNA. 286 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, exactly, Like, honestly, that's what they do is 287 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 2: they really want to have DNA. Every state wants DNA 288 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 2: databases of everyone who's ever lived. They also decided to 289 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: investigate the local Is it Wagner or Wagner, the fucking 290 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 2: that right wing It's Wagner, Yeah, the Wagner group. Yeah, 291 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 2: the far right Russian mercenary group that had recently mute need. 292 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 2: They're like, oh, maybe our own Nazi forces are the 293 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 2: ones who did that's kind of funny. 294 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: Yeah. 295 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 2: No, They're like, we're gonna fuck with everybody. They were persistent. Yeah, 296 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 2: Eventually they found a shopkeeper a couple kilometers away who'd 297 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 2: said she'd seen somebody who wasn't local. It's like a 298 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 2: rural area where they like, know who's not local, you know, 299 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 2: and someone wearing baggy camouflage clothing like several sizes too big. 300 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 2: And they got a really vague composite sketch. There's like 301 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 2: a couple of them. I looked at them. It's just 302 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 2: like a guy. They're like, hey, there's a guy. A guy. 303 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: Did it? Just a guy? 304 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 2: It just looks like Cassie and and or yeah, yeah, exactly, no, 305 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 2: not nearly. Well, the composite sketch is not of an 306 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 2: attractive man. Rustling is perfectly attractive. They get this vague 307 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 2: composite sketch and they just start harassing everyone in the 308 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 2: area who looked anything like this sketch. This actually is 309 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 2: some fucking and or shit. That's what this is. 310 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: Like. 311 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 2: This whole thing is like, this is the stormtroopers going around. 312 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: Have you seen this man? You know? 313 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, And they're just setting up this like wild dragnet 314 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 2: for this guy. But you know, they didn't catch in 315 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 2: their dragnet because too slippery to be caught by the 316 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 2: people who came after the KGB is the products and 317 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 2: services that support the show. Only you can catch these deals. 318 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 2: Eh eh, wow, wow. 319 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: Sae, you would ever told you you're great at this? Yeah? 320 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you. 321 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 2: That's why I get paid the medium bucks and rebec 322 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 2: they dragged him down the road by his handcuffs, and 323 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 2: they tortured a confession out of him, and then they 324 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,920 Speaker 2: tortured him after he confessed. Also, and right before he confessed, 325 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 2: a man in civilian clothes told him that if he 326 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 2: didn't confess, they were going to take him out of town, 327 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 2: stage an escape attempt, and then kill him. 328 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: Do they still have to do that in Russia? 329 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 2: Like? 330 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 1: Do they have to stage an escape attempt? I feel 331 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: like they kind of just get to do what they want. 332 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,120 Speaker 2: Honestly, a lot about what he's saying here, there is 333 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 2: still on some level the rule of law there. On 334 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 2: some level they do what they want, but it's not 335 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 2: as total like he talks about how he's like, I 336 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 2: wish I had known my rights. I wish i'd known 337 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 2: that I didn't have to go with them to the station. 338 00:17:57,800 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, that's news to me. I didn't 339 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,400 Speaker 2: have to go them to the station, you know, they 340 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 2: do torture the shit out of people, but they're not 341 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 2: supposed to, you know. Yeah, they're still kind of being like, nah, 342 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 2: we don't do that, you know, and then they're still 343 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 2: like setting it up rather than just ex judicially murdering people. 344 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 2: And like all of this stuff that he said about 345 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 2: his OPSEC and like what did and didn't work he 346 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 2: wrote in jail and like it got out and he 347 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 2: is communicating via a letter and I think email with people. 348 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 2: So I think it's like also kind of worth understanding 349 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:37,359 Speaker 2: that when we're painting Russia as this like pretty evil 350 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,359 Speaker 2: despotic government, things are never quite as black and white 351 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 2: as people like think. And I think that's worth understanding 352 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 2: because like people are like maybe waiting for like ah well, 353 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 2: eventually there's going to be like literally no freedoms, you know, 354 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 2: and you're like, you don't usually reach that. 355 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: No. Tyranny requires constant effort, you know. It's it's the 356 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,359 Speaker 1: thing that even the Soviet Union, there are all these 357 00:18:57,359 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: ways of resisting even with a near perfect you know, 358 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 1: to mialitarian police state. 359 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, and he summed up his OPSEC mistakes like literally 360 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 2: it's just like in one of his statements he's like, 361 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 2: this is why he did wrong. So he's like, like, 362 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 2: part of the reason we know all about this stuff 363 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 2: and like how the investigation went is that, like people 364 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 2: really want to explain how people did stuff and what 365 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,680 Speaker 2: worked and what didn't. He sums up his op seck 366 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,679 Speaker 2: his operational security mistakes like this. He should have been 367 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 2: more careful when he was scouting. When he was scouted 368 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,639 Speaker 2: the location he actually was seen by some locals, like 369 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,199 Speaker 2: the person mind the counter, I think, for example, So 370 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 2: he should have picked a different area. But he was 371 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 2: feeling rushed and he knew that snow was coming soon, 372 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 2: and he really wanted to do the attack, so he 373 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 2: did it anyway. He also should have had a better 374 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,399 Speaker 2: cover story and practiced his cover story. He should have 375 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 2: moved home only after dark and not walked the last 376 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 2: kilometer home on regular paths. He should have kept his 377 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 2: face covered the whole way home. He should have covered 378 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 2: his digital footprints. He should have had a security camera 379 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 2: set up outside his door so that he could have 380 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 2: looked outside and seen that the police were outside and 381 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 2: investigating people outside his apartment building. And he should have 382 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 2: insisted on a warrant instead of coming voluntarily to the station. 383 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: I feel like maybe like he could taken a tip 384 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,719 Speaker 1: from those Turtle Island people who were just feeding all 385 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,639 Speaker 1: their tidy op sec information straight to the FBI putting 386 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,880 Speaker 1: the stone in the boot to change his gait. Yeah, totally. 387 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 2: And he did the whole thing alone, right, which is 388 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 2: like the biggest way that people get caught is you know. 389 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:40,120 Speaker 1: Yeah. 390 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,880 Speaker 2: But also in order to accomplish certain things, you need 391 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 2: to work in large groups, you know. And like as 392 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:48,399 Speaker 2: much as I'm like, ah, this is the way you 393 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 2: do this thing and an authoritarian state, there's also the 394 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 2: fact that like mass actions, when they're possible, are substantially 395 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 2: more effective, yeah, and also substantially more democratic and like 396 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 2: involve more people and making the country and the world better. Right, 397 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:03,880 Speaker 2: There's like a reason that a lot of people went 398 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,919 Speaker 2: and fought in the military in Ukraine against Russia. You know, 399 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:09,199 Speaker 2: I'm not trying to specifically say, like this is the 400 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 2: only way that people can act, but these are the 401 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 2: people that I'm talking about, you know. This week on 402 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 2: May twenty third, twenty twenty five, he was sentenced to 403 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 2: twenty nine years in a high security penal colony, and 404 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,879 Speaker 2: during his sentencing he said, my aim was the Russian 405 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,359 Speaker 2: military equipment and the logistical chains used to transport it 406 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 2: and fuel. I wanted to complicate combat operations against Ukraine. 407 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 2: I have no ill will towards the people of Russia. 408 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 2: I do have disagreements over events since twenty fourteen, but 409 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 2: that's no reason to hate anyone. When peaceful means to 410 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:50,119 Speaker 2: influence government decisions are unavailable and dissent is criminalized, some 411 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:54,920 Speaker 2: people will emigrate while others will act. And I actually 412 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 2: forgot that he makes my point better than I did 413 00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 2: just a second ago when I went off script to 414 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 2: talk about it, like that's the like He's like, yeah, 415 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 2: descent has been criminalized, it's this or leave the country. 416 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: That is an interesting I don't know if it's a 417 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,640 Speaker 1: dig necessarily, but more of an insight into kind of 418 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 1: what everyone says about the Russian opposition, particularly the Russian liberals, 419 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:19,440 Speaker 1: is that they're just gone, like they other were imprisoned, 420 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,280 Speaker 1: killed or just left, you know, but enough of them 421 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,400 Speaker 1: left before they kind of were gonna get imprisoned and killed. Yeah, 422 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 1: and you basically have just had two decades of brain 423 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,640 Speaker 1: drain on this country where everyone who gave a shit 424 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: is gone. 425 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,439 Speaker 2: No, totally, So many people died, so many people are 426 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 2: in jail, so many people had to flee. Yeah, and 427 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 2: so maybe we're in jail now, just even from like 428 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 2: we're gonna talk about some of the minorship. But it's 429 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 2: like people are getting years in prison for graffiti. Yeah, 430 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 2: I mean, you can get years in prison in the 431 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 2: US for graffiti, but that's because it damages property, not because. 432 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 1: Of what it says politically. 433 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it is funny like someone else want 434 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:00,840 Speaker 2: to talk about later in the script, but someone else 435 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 2: who Molotov or recruitment center gets three and a half 436 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,119 Speaker 2: years in prison, And I was like, oh, that's like 437 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,360 Speaker 2: way less than I would have expected. Yeah, and that's 438 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 2: because I'm coming from America, where like this man would 439 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:16,320 Speaker 2: be in prison for life for what it. 440 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: Is if you do anything with a Molotov cocktail. It's 441 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 1: like you're now talking about decades. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. There 442 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: is a cultural phenomena in Russia where people act out 443 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:30,919 Speaker 1: and they act out in ways that are criminal, and 444 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: they do this often enough throughout Russian history that it's 445 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: kind of just taken for granted. Yeah, all right, huh, 446 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:39,880 Speaker 1: so like it doesn't the primary they're like, oh, yeah, 447 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: well I mean, you know, boys will be boys. Dude, 448 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: happened to derail a Russian military convoy twenty nine years 449 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 1: is enough? 450 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, And he closed a sentencing with a quote from 451 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 2: the Ukrainian anarchist and veteran of the pod Nester Makno. 452 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,879 Speaker 2: I did a whole series of episodes about Ukrainian anarchism 453 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 2: during the Russian Civil War, and you know makno is 454 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,439 Speaker 2: a major figure in that. And the quote that he 455 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 2: used is though now they lay us in the ground, 456 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,400 Speaker 2: our truth will not be swept away. It will arise 457 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 2: when time comes round and win. I do believe that day. 458 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 2: Is not a great translation. It's not a machine translation, 459 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 2: but it's just you know. And he assumes that his 460 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:24,320 Speaker 2: only hope is a prisoner exchange pro Russian. Ukrainians are 461 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,440 Speaker 2: in jail in Ukraine. Russia is down for prisoner exchange, 462 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 2: but Russia won't do it. If you want to send 463 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,520 Speaker 2: him letters, you can use online translators to translate your 464 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 2: letter into Russian, and there's information about how to write 465 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 2: him at the end of the article in the show 466 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,919 Speaker 2: notes from Anarchistnews dot org, or you can just google 467 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 2: his name Rustlin' Sadiki, which is r u s l 468 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:49,159 Speaker 2: a n si d d iqi at least as is 469 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 2: usually transliterated. 470 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 1: Sadiki means frid, doesn't it. 471 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,320 Speaker 2: I don't know what it means. I looked it up 472 00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 2: as an Arabic last name, but yeah, that's as far 473 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 2: as I got. 474 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 1: I think it means friend in Arabic speak, friend and 475 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: inter you know. 476 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 2: And he's the thing I like about him. He's just 477 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 2: this like quiet kid who wants to take care of 478 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 2: his grandma and like kind of be a little bit 479 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:12,959 Speaker 2: of a hool again on his own time. But like, 480 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 2: you know, he's just like an electrician and he's just like, 481 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 2: I'm just doing my thing. I want to farm, I 482 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 2: want to make the world a better place. Doesn't really 483 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 2: have much time for dogmatic politics, like and then he's 484 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 2: just like, well, my country's doing this horrible thing. I 485 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:32,120 Speaker 2: either need to flee the country or fight here. And 486 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 2: you know, when he started, his grandma lived there, he'd 487 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,200 Speaker 2: already left her once, didn't want to do it again. 488 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 1: I think it really is that simple for like most 489 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,480 Speaker 1: people who are actually going to do anything for anything, 490 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: like they haven't read theory or maybe they have, but 491 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: like he probably didn't have an anarchist podcast in Russian. Yeah, 492 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,280 Speaker 1: you know, he was just some guy, and like all 493 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 1: the great some guys of history, was just like, I 494 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,679 Speaker 1: love my grandma, I love farming, I love being electrician. 495 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: I'm going to become a cyberpunk superhero. Yeah. 496 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:10,960 Speaker 2: So he's the guy that I currently have pegged is 497 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 2: the most cyberpunk person alive. Just the fact that the 498 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:17,879 Speaker 2: drones were set up pre programmed with GPS and that 499 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,200 Speaker 2: he's just programming all this shit himself. He's like, oh, 500 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 2: I made a video transmitter because I wanted to see 501 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 2: what I was doing. You're like, oh, yeah, that thing 502 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,199 Speaker 2: that normal people do all the time, you know. 503 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, my friend is a drone programmer in one of 504 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: those like big drone factories that they now have. Because 505 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,680 Speaker 1: it's just the horrific new face of warfare. Yeah huh. 506 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:41,879 Speaker 1: And it is genuinely crazy, the kind of disruptive knowledge 507 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 1: that is currently being taught to like nineteen year old 508 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: Ukrainians in these massive warehouses and they're just texting me stuff. 509 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, this imperial boomerang is gonna hit home soon, brouh. 510 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, hopefully Ukraine will win and then all the anarchists 511 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 2: and I'm and be like, actual that mackno thing, let's 512 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 2: just do that. 513 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe so, and then they'll. 514 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 2: Be able to do it peacefully. And I don't know 515 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 2: what you're talking about. Yeah, but if you want to 516 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 2: be a cyberpunk, you could become a cyberpunk with our 517 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 2: sponsor drone programming for peaceful and only peaceful means. 518 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: And I don't know. 519 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 2: This wasn't my best, but I still have to do it. 520 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 2: I still have to commit. So it's the ads now 521 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 2: and rebec So I picked him because I found his 522 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 2: story really moving, and there was also a fair amount 523 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,040 Speaker 2: of information available in English because he was caught and 524 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 2: then he was like, here's exactly how I got caught, 525 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 2: and here's everything that happened. And then there's other articles 526 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 2: that are from the other point of view, or like 527 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:44,040 Speaker 2: this is how we caught him, this is exactly how 528 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 2: it went. But within the first year and a half 529 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 2: of the war, one human rights group, Solidarity Zone had 530 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 2: counted one hundred and eleven acts of sabotage against railroads 531 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 2: in Russia. 532 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:57,640 Speaker 1: Wow, that's crazy. 533 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's easier to information about attacks from the start 534 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,960 Speaker 2: of the war. And I am uncertain if it's because 535 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,400 Speaker 2: attacks have slowed down if the news gets translated less 536 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 2: because like the Western attention span is so short. 537 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:12,119 Speaker 1: I don't know. 538 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 2: But by July twenty twenty two, so only a couple 539 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 2: months of war, twenty different recruitment centers in Russia were molotovd. 540 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:24,480 Speaker 2: By November there were seventy attacks against recruitment centers. And 541 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,359 Speaker 2: then is the part I already covered. But in this 542 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,840 Speaker 2: wild authoritarian country in the middle of the war, a 543 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 2: forty eight year old art teacher molotov recruitment center and 544 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 2: only got three point five years. And then it's actually 545 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:35,600 Speaker 2: really confusing. I almost fell down this rabbit hole, and 546 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 2: I decided to pull back at the very end. If 547 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 2: you google this man's name, which I didn't actually remember 548 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 2: to put into the script this time, he got pardoned 549 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:46,160 Speaker 2: for like fraud, but he was like a small town's 550 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 2: art teacher, and he got arrested for fraud and then 551 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 2: he got pardoned. And then that was like in like 552 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,400 Speaker 2: twenty twelve or something, So I don't know. There might 553 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 2: be more to this man. 554 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: I don't know. 555 00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 2: He only gets three. 556 00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: Point five years. 557 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,560 Speaker 2: Other folks are getting like fifteen years or so. 558 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 1: Maybe he has some other resentments. 559 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it's completely pop. But oh I did write 560 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 2: his name down. I'm very smart. His name is Ilia Farber. 561 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,840 Speaker 2: And when he was asked why he did it, he said, 562 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 2: I wanted to find out what I was capable of. 563 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 2: Am I capable of doing this? And I love that 564 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 2: for someone like in their mid forties, just being like 565 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:24,479 Speaker 2: I want to see what I'm made of. 566 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: That's like a real motivate, like a motivating question for 567 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 1: like types of guy, you know, like, yeah, who am I? 568 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 2: When it comes down, It's something that I talked about. 569 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:35,719 Speaker 2: I did a bunch of episodes when I went up 570 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 2: to go with James Stout to Minneapolis a couple of 571 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 2: weeks ago, a month ago or something. And one of 572 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 2: the reasons I went up there was talking to a 573 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 2: friend of a friend who lives there, who was just like, 574 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 2: who's out there doing like really hard shit tracking ice 575 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,640 Speaker 2: and doing all this like kind of impressive, badass shit 576 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 2: and isn't a particularly political person, just as like a 577 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 2: young queer person. And when I was talking to them 578 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 2: about it, they were like, well, I always told myself 579 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 2: that I would be someone who does things if the 580 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,719 Speaker 2: Nazis takeover, you know. I don't remember exactly how they 581 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 2: phrased it, but there's something to that effect. You're like, 582 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 2: you tell yourself you are someone who acts, And in 583 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 2: Minneapolis people are now able to say, like. 584 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: That's the type of person I would have been in 585 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty nine. Yeaheah. People have asked me before things 586 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:24,040 Speaker 1: on why do you go to Ukraine? Like why are 587 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,640 Speaker 1: you doing documentary in palace science or stuff? And my 588 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:28,680 Speaker 1: honest answer to them is kind of just like, well, honestly, 589 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 1: like my undergraduate degree isn't history, Yeah, and I focus 590 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,720 Speaker 1: a lot on World War Two. My senior thesis was 591 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,000 Speaker 1: on the Battle of Britain and like the failure of 592 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,480 Speaker 1: the Nazi high command, and you can't, in my opinion, 593 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 1: study that. And yeah, I mean I'm a neurodivergent person too. 594 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:48,520 Speaker 1: There's never last there. But like, you can't just study 595 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 1: that period of history without asking it's a question. I 596 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: wonder what kind of person I would have been during time? Shit, 597 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 1: Like am I one of the good guys or one 598 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: of the baddies? I think, like the statistics about collaboration 599 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: and accommodation and resistance in France are just so revealing 600 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: to me, Like one percent of the French population actively 601 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: collaborating with the Nazis, one percent actively resisting, ninety eight 602 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: percent thereabouts were just accommodating the regime, which meant that 603 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: in reality, ninety nine percent where they collaborating. Yeah, and 604 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: that's any point. At any point, if they had been 605 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: able to add just five six seven percent more, which 606 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: is what they eventually did at the end of the war, 607 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,600 Speaker 1: they could have easily thrown off the Nazis. Yeah, it 608 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 1: would have been impossible to manage a country that big, but 609 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 1: they just and we've seen that now, you know. But 610 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 1: I've given the same answer for some of the stuff 611 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 1: I've done. It's kind of, you know, I want to 612 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 1: see sort of what person I would have been back then. Yeah, 613 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 1: when I went to Ukraine, people will talk about like, oh, 614 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:51,920 Speaker 1: do you see dangerous stuff, And I'm like, yeah, to 615 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 1: a cent, But like I've hidden a bathtub from an 616 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,720 Speaker 1: artillery barrage and stuff like that. I think the only 617 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 1: courageous thing I ever did in Ukraine was making that 618 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 1: initial decision to ride a train across the border from Poland, 619 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: and I was going from safety into safety. Like Leviv 620 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:09,200 Speaker 1: was one of the safest places in Ukraine. It takes 621 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: the Russian cruise missiles like thirty five minutes once they're 622 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:16,640 Speaker 1: up to even reach that part of the country. But psychologically, 623 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: I was crossing a rubicon where it was like I 624 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,840 Speaker 1: am now the type of guy who like runs towards 625 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,760 Speaker 1: danger instead of away from it. That's psychologically interesting. 626 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've had moments like that in my life where 627 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 2: I'm like, you know, I tell myself what I will be, 628 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 2: and then some of the worst things I've ever happened 629 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 2: to me I'm gonna talk about on air have happened 630 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 2: as a result of me running towards danger, and I'm 631 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 2: still like grateful that. I'm like, Okay, I know this 632 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:48,160 Speaker 2: thing about myself. You know, the Russian government really wants 633 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 2: to pretend like none of the resistance is happening. So 634 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 2: you're talking about like, you know, like the Russian opposition 635 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:54,920 Speaker 2: gets a bad name, and like part of it is 636 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 2: that like it's being downplayed really aggressively by the Russian government. 637 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 2: And I'm certain that the average Russian person is just 638 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,840 Speaker 2: trying to get along, right, but like a huge number 639 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 2: of people are actively resisting this or have been or 640 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,920 Speaker 2: like you know, have died doing it. Or whatever, and 641 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 2: the Russian government tries to deny the attacks are happening. 642 00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 2: So you actually have the people attacking recruitment centers will 643 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:23,719 Speaker 2: film themselves doing it and then post on telegram. So 644 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 2: when the government's like, ah, nothing's happening, you're like, h 645 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:30,360 Speaker 2: we can watch it happen. Although thanks to the AI 646 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 2: data centers that are destroying our ecosystem, that'll get messy 647 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 2: in the future anyway, whatever, don't want to get lost 648 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 2: thinking about that depressing thought. Railroad attacks, though, are generally 649 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,959 Speaker 2: blamed on technical problems, not sabotage, but open source analysis 650 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:52,800 Speaker 2: show that the railroad failures became substantially more common and 651 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,000 Speaker 2: moved closer to military bases when compared with the year 652 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 2: prior to the invasion. So this is how they're able 653 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:03,320 Speaker 2: to like prove that these are happening. And then there's 654 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:06,720 Speaker 2: this funny thing where anyone who gets caught is all 655 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:10,400 Speaker 2: at once called a Ukrainian Nazi and a militant anarchist. 656 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,480 Speaker 2: And if there has ever been a moment in history 657 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 2: when these two very opposite groups are both doing this thing, 658 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 2: it is this work. 659 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 1: It's kind of like a fifty to fifty, right, you know, 660 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,760 Speaker 1: It's like it could have been you know, Azov's finest soldier, 661 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 1: or it could have been you know. 662 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, I will say that everything I've read says that 663 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 2: it's not fifty to fifty. The most active group or 664 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:41,520 Speaker 2: non group of saboteurs within Russia is We're almost done 665 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,320 Speaker 2: with both episodes. Before I introduced the subject of this week, 666 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:49,880 Speaker 2: the militant and narco communist organization, the boa K. You 667 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 2: did promise that at the same I know, I said 668 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:55,600 Speaker 2: that they would be the star, but russeln is the 669 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 2: real star. And it's like one of those things where 670 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,799 Speaker 2: it's like, I'm assuming everything Russell has said to the 671 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:05,200 Speaker 2: authorities is true. Rustling didn't have any associations with anyone, 672 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,120 Speaker 2: you know, like all right whatever. 673 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,560 Speaker 1: Like Also, Rustling ain't no snitch, I don't know, you know. 674 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,840 Speaker 2: The boak It's unofficial motto, which gets at where we 675 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 2: were just talking about, is when if not now, who 676 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 2: if not us? And they've been around but entirely underground 677 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:26,720 Speaker 2: since the late twenty tens. As soon as the war started, 678 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:31,280 Speaker 2: they became more public, although still completely underground. They published 679 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,000 Speaker 2: information about how to fuck up railroad tracks, how to 680 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:38,479 Speaker 2: avoid capture, what actions have worked what actions haven't. They've 681 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 2: burned cell phone towers, They've burned the cars of people 682 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,520 Speaker 2: who collaborate with Putin. They help people get connected with 683 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 2: others in their area to coordinate attack. Like I think 684 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,479 Speaker 2: they literally had like a telegram bought, like a chat bought, 685 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:53,600 Speaker 2: a chat bought like the old IRC days, where like 686 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:57,719 Speaker 2: someone in the room is a computer program and you're like, 687 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,560 Speaker 2: connect me to this thing, you know, And they set 688 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:02,279 Speaker 2: one of those up to help people find the other 689 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,719 Speaker 2: people in their area to go function up. One of 690 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:09,800 Speaker 2: the founders of this group was Dmitri Petrov, the anarchists 691 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 2: who died defending the Humanitarian Quarter a few years back 692 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,120 Speaker 2: that we talked about the top of the show, and 693 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,160 Speaker 2: to quote the group, there are both organized cells and 694 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:24,320 Speaker 2: spontaneous actions by people. Decentralization makes us more mobile and elusive, 695 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 2: but it prevents media coverage and makes it difficult to 696 00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:30,880 Speaker 2: estimate our numbers. After all, it's better this way in 697 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 2: the face of oppression. Another partisan who works with the 698 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 2: group spoke anonymously about how their group is mostly anarchists, 699 00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:39,439 Speaker 2: but not exclusively. 700 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,640 Speaker 1: This is a quote Putin. 701 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,719 Speaker 2: Has been stealing the future from Russia and if we 702 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:48,759 Speaker 2: get bogged down in political disputes. Today, we won't exist tomorrow. 703 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:52,480 Speaker 2: Putin is threatening the world with nuclear war, turning the 704 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:56,600 Speaker 2: whole world against Russia. Our compatriots are becoming even poorer. 705 00:36:57,120 --> 00:36:59,640 Speaker 2: People are afraid to speak out loud about what they 706 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:02,800 Speaker 2: think of the government. To do nothing is to agree 707 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 2: to live under the rule of vile creatures for the 708 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:07,839 Speaker 2: rest of our lives. Is this the future we want? 709 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,480 Speaker 2: And then that partisan says that there are even a 710 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,640 Speaker 2: couple of Russian nationalists working within their group, people who 711 00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:18,720 Speaker 2: correctly perceive Putin and his war to be the greatest 712 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:22,719 Speaker 2: threat to Russia and the Russian people based Yeah. 713 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,840 Speaker 1: You know, it's funny, how like it's I've noticed this, 714 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 1: so I'm sure you probably have as well. But just 715 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:33,440 Speaker 1: it was so easy to feel like alone over the past, 716 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,719 Speaker 1: you know, however, many years in terms of having this 717 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 1: idea about the world and how it works and who's 718 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:43,240 Speaker 1: responsible for what. But something about the last two years 719 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:46,719 Speaker 1: has just made this whole swath of different types of 720 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:52,360 Speaker 1: people open to like alternate interpretations of their reality. Yeah, 721 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:55,560 Speaker 1: and you often find that the people who want to 722 00:37:55,719 --> 00:38:01,840 Speaker 1: know more are like not the ones you'd expect. The 723 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:03,040 Speaker 1: people who want to help. 724 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:06,640 Speaker 2: Totally that these like Russian nationalists are now part of 725 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:10,600 Speaker 2: the organization of Milicin and Arco communists, because those are 726 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:12,239 Speaker 2: the people who are fucking up Russia. 727 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:15,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like welcome to the rebellion, I guess you know. 728 00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 1: It's like it's so funny because this is like the 729 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 1: obvious lesson of every revolutionary conflict in history, which is 730 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:24,279 Speaker 1: that you have to make common calls with people you 731 00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:27,240 Speaker 1: don't like. But it's also the very thing that leftists 732 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,360 Speaker 1: like to like read back in and say it delegitimizes 733 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:34,520 Speaker 1: certain forms of psist Ukraine being a great example, you know. So, 734 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:38,560 Speaker 1: like some people will dismiss Makno because he worked with 735 00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:40,800 Speaker 1: the Red Army. Other people will dismiss him because he 736 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: didn't work with the Red Army because he worked with 737 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 1: the Ukrainian Nationalists. Also sometimes yeah, and then the Ukrainian 738 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,640 Speaker 1: Nationalists will get blamed for working with the Nazis, but 739 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:51,239 Speaker 1: then they also hid Jews, and like they're written up 740 00:38:51,239 --> 00:38:53,000 Speaker 1: in all the Nazi papers as being like these guys 741 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:59,200 Speaker 1: are pretty unreliable anti Semites. They're like unreliable collaborators. They 742 00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:02,680 Speaker 1: seem to be way more into Ukrainianism than Nazism, which 743 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:04,799 Speaker 1: I think is like an interesting bit of nuance. Even 744 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,160 Speaker 1: like I don't like step On Bendera as like a character. 745 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:10,480 Speaker 1: I think he made some bad choices in his decision 746 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,040 Speaker 1: to fight for Ukraine the Ukrainian nationalists who collaborated with 747 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:16,800 Speaker 1: the Nazi Germany. Yes, founder of the OA and Organization 748 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:20,200 Speaker 1: of Ukrainian or I might messed that up anyway, but 749 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:24,440 Speaker 1: he's not actually worse than George Washington. Like, George Washington 750 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:28,400 Speaker 1: is probably a worse guy than step On Bandera, the 751 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 1: Nazi collaborator was right, But if like a bunch of 752 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:36,680 Speaker 1: people started like putting George Washington on flags and doing 753 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:42,120 Speaker 1: certain things, like you probably wouldn't grief them too much. 754 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:46,840 Speaker 2: You know, I might, but only me. I'm like uniquely 755 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:50,239 Speaker 2: anti George Washington. But I see your point, Like. 756 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,040 Speaker 1: Right, It's it's kind of like if you're talking about 757 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:55,480 Speaker 1: like a good old boy from Appalachia who's like, right, 758 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:58,240 Speaker 1: I want to resist the techno fascists. 759 00:39:58,719 --> 00:40:00,680 Speaker 2: Right, It's not the first thing I'm going to say 760 00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:02,880 Speaker 2: is like, well, then you can't have George Washington on 761 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:05,840 Speaker 2: your flag. I'll be like, that's not how I play. 762 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:08,799 Speaker 1: But that's up. Yeah, yeah, you're not going to be 763 00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:11,440 Speaker 1: like that's problematic because he wore other people's teeth in 764 00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:13,600 Speaker 1: his mouth. You're going to be like a good, good 765 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:17,040 Speaker 1: job buddy, like nice action or whatever. 766 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:18,759 Speaker 2: It's the kind of thing you can have like conversations 767 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:22,600 Speaker 2: over beers about instead of like a civil war looms, 768 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:24,440 Speaker 2: I start looking at things way more of like are 769 00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:25,719 Speaker 2: they shooting at me or with me? 770 00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:27,200 Speaker 1: Yeah? 771 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:30,759 Speaker 2: If it breaks out, who's trying to kill me? Like 772 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:32,799 Speaker 2: and enough people are trying to kill me as a 773 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:36,120 Speaker 2: trans anarchist that I'm like, everyone's not trying to kill me. 774 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:38,879 Speaker 1: I'm a little bit more chill with right now. Find 775 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:42,600 Speaker 1: in my book. It's funny because your your whole concept 776 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:45,279 Speaker 1: of de escalat all conflict with the enemy is something. 777 00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:47,960 Speaker 2: I have with everyone who isn't the enemy. De escalator 778 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:49,520 Speaker 2: all conflict with anyone who is on the shoe. 779 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,040 Speaker 1: Did I get that? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I've been doing 780 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:53,880 Speaker 1: it the wrong way this entire time. No one do 781 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,319 Speaker 1: I get accused the leftist in fighting but no, it's 782 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:58,960 Speaker 1: like my New Year's resolution was to be kinder to tankies. 783 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:00,480 Speaker 1: I broke it within like stays. 784 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:03,680 Speaker 2: But now that's hard, that's gonna be my legalist moment 785 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:05,880 Speaker 2: in a fucking tanky. 786 00:41:06,239 --> 00:41:08,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. Anyway, Yeah, I never thought I'd die fighting side 787 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,960 Speaker 1: by side with a Marxist, Yeah, with a Campist. But 788 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,879 Speaker 1: I think it's important. At some point these finer ideological 789 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:20,200 Speaker 1: distinctions seem a little unimportant given, yeah, you know, gestures 790 00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:21,600 Speaker 1: broadly all this, But. 791 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:23,400 Speaker 2: Then it's interesting because then you still see though, Like 792 00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:26,120 Speaker 2: I think when people are more ideologically driven than like 793 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:29,279 Speaker 2: ethically driven, you get it at this problem, right, we're 794 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:32,640 Speaker 2: like finbar By quotes. I'm not trying to put words 795 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:34,719 Speaker 2: in his mouth, but like you know, he was like, 796 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:37,480 Speaker 2: I'm here, I'm gonna help These are the people who 797 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:40,040 Speaker 2: need help. I'm going to help them, right. But someone 798 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:43,960 Speaker 2: who's like directly only seeing the world through an ideological lens. 799 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:47,759 Speaker 2: You know, there was a Marxist Leninist American who died 800 00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:51,000 Speaker 2: fighting for Russia a couple of years ago because he 801 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,839 Speaker 2: was like, this is the thing to do is go 802 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:58,000 Speaker 2: help defeat the Ukrainians in the name of Marxist Leninism 803 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:01,880 Speaker 2: or whatever. Right, and like fuck that guy, I don't know, 804 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:05,520 Speaker 2: he followed fucking Russians, and like there's this whole thing 805 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:09,160 Speaker 2: where like if you're able to build a logical argument, 806 00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:12,360 Speaker 2: you then need to look at the logical argument and 807 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:14,080 Speaker 2: get rid of all the steps that got you there 808 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:17,080 Speaker 2: and be like, is this nonsense? Because you can build 809 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:20,440 Speaker 2: logical arguments for anything. Yeah, and it's a fun game. 810 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:23,759 Speaker 2: But at the end of it you need to say, oh, 811 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:26,399 Speaker 2: my logical argument led me to believe that I can 812 00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:33,360 Speaker 2: justify Russia invading Ukraine or Israel fucking genocide and Palestinians, 813 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:37,799 Speaker 2: or like whatever the fuck the thing is. And then 814 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:43,120 Speaker 2: you need to say, like, ah, I now see, ideology 815 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,239 Speaker 2: is not the only thing that can happen. So my 816 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:49,520 Speaker 2: worry with Marxist Leninism is that I will work with 817 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:54,959 Speaker 2: progressives way the fuck sooner, because Marxist Leninists, if they're 818 00:42:54,960 --> 00:43:01,920 Speaker 2: doing this campus shit, support really awful shit, really directly, 819 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:05,400 Speaker 2: you know, like if we're using this conflict as the example, 820 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,160 Speaker 2: they are literally on the opposite side of this conflict. 821 00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:12,400 Speaker 1: In they're failing a pretty important test of solidarity in 822 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:14,440 Speaker 1: many ways, like it might not seem important, but like 823 00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:19,280 Speaker 1: if your friends are Ukrainians or if you are Ukrainian, 824 00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:20,759 Speaker 1: that's existential to you. 825 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:26,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, Okay, So the Boak doing all these attacks within 826 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:29,520 Speaker 2: Russia helping people like do these decentralized kind of cell 827 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,960 Speaker 2: movement things. Obviously they're not saying what their numbers are. 828 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,280 Speaker 2: Most people are guessing there's like twenty to thirty active 829 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:38,239 Speaker 2: cells within the country as of about two years ago 830 00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:40,600 Speaker 2: when most of the articles written about them were written, 831 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:44,640 Speaker 2: and some of them have left to go fight in 832 00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:50,279 Speaker 2: Ukraine against Russia, like the anarchist Vladislav Lurchenko, who went 833 00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:52,879 Speaker 2: by the call sign Pirate. He was twenty two when 834 00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:55,360 Speaker 2: he died. He fought in the Siberian Battalion, one of 835 00:43:55,400 --> 00:44:00,880 Speaker 2: several units of Russian volunteers, and the Siberian Battalion was 836 00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:04,719 Speaker 2: a former Russian officer named Vladislav Amasov who had the 837 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:09,920 Speaker 2: very accurate quote Russia spares no one, especially its own people. 838 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:13,320 Speaker 2: And yeah, I haven't found much information about them since 839 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:17,280 Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, and I've read a lot of accounts 840 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:19,399 Speaker 2: from members who like, do a thing and then get 841 00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:21,319 Speaker 2: the fuck out of Russia, or do a thing and 842 00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:25,680 Speaker 2: then go to prison, and there's you know, I believe 843 00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:28,799 Speaker 2: thousands of anti war prisoners in the country. One of 844 00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:33,520 Speaker 2: these prisoners is an anarchist named Alexey Roshkov, who Molotov 845 00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:36,080 Speaker 2: to recruitment center within a few weeks of the war's beginning. 846 00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:41,520 Speaker 2: He'd acted spontaneously. He'd just seen all the civilians being 847 00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:46,040 Speaker 2: murdered and wanted to do something. But acting fully spontaneously 848 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:48,680 Speaker 2: with a Molotov. Just like Frankly, I try not to 849 00:44:48,719 --> 00:44:51,040 Speaker 2: give out strategic advice one way or the other on 850 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:57,319 Speaker 2: this show. Don't spontaneously do shit with fire. Yes, I 851 00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:03,840 Speaker 2: am not aware of that working well. Ever, passing traffic 852 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:05,880 Speaker 2: cops caught him. This is a way that like no, 853 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:07,440 Speaker 2: I can't remember his name. There was an anarchist in 854 00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:10,879 Speaker 2: the usum Molotov to recruitment center during the early days 855 00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:14,680 Speaker 2: of the War on Terror, and he acted kind of 856 00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:17,279 Speaker 2: impulsively Molotov to recruitment center and the Bronx and a 857 00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:22,080 Speaker 2: passing traffic cop caught him. He spent years in prison. Anyway, 858 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:26,160 Speaker 2: he got caught Alexei, and when he was released from 859 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,400 Speaker 2: pre trial before his hearing, he fucked off to Kyrgyzstan. 860 00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:34,040 Speaker 2: While he was there, he was followed and surveiled constantly. 861 00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:36,799 Speaker 2: There was like no legal means by which they should 862 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:38,840 Speaker 2: have been able to extradite him. As far as I'm aware, 863 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:43,759 Speaker 2: but he was absolutely being followed the whole time, and 864 00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:45,520 Speaker 2: he was like, you know what, fuck this, The world 865 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,400 Speaker 2: needs to know about this shit. He gave interviews regardless 866 00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,000 Speaker 2: of the fact that he was being followed because he 867 00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:53,799 Speaker 2: wanted people to know about Putin's fascism and repression and 868 00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:56,960 Speaker 2: also that resistance to it is alive and well in Russia. 869 00:45:57,560 --> 00:45:59,880 Speaker 2: Then the local police there arrested him and handed him 870 00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:02,880 Speaker 2: all to Russian security forces. He asked for a lawyer, 871 00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:05,520 Speaker 2: and they told him a lawyer won't help you anyway. 872 00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:09,120 Speaker 2: They tried to make him sign So I remember when 873 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:10,880 Speaker 2: I was saying earlier that Russia is still a country 874 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:14,879 Speaker 2: of laws. Yeah, I only sort of mean that. They 875 00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:17,200 Speaker 2: tried to make him sign something that saying he hadn't 876 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:21,719 Speaker 2: been tortured, so he refused, so they tortured him. 877 00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:24,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, unnatural consequence. 878 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:28,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, And once again it's the same like electrical chord 879 00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:31,239 Speaker 2: all of the fucking old like spy movies and shit, 880 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:33,400 Speaker 2: that's just actually still how Russia does it. 881 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:37,120 Speaker 1: They just electrocute people. So there really is a guy 882 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:40,000 Speaker 1: who like has a thick Russian accent, who like touches 883 00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:43,040 Speaker 1: the two car cables together and like starts cackling and 884 00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:47,319 Speaker 1: saying something in Russian. I believe, yes, that's not a meme. 885 00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:48,600 Speaker 1: That's wow, that's crazy. 886 00:46:48,719 --> 00:46:52,560 Speaker 2: Yeah no, they still absolutely like Anarkis have been talking 887 00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:55,799 Speaker 2: about torture within Russian prisons for decades now, I am 888 00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:59,120 Speaker 2: certain it just never stopped. So Alexe was sentenced to 889 00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:03,520 Speaker 2: sixteen years prison, and some of his charges included justifying 890 00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:11,000 Speaker 2: terrorism for giving interviews. His malotav attack did fourteen euro 891 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:14,719 Speaker 2: in damages to the recruitment center. There is plenty more 892 00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:17,200 Speaker 2: to say. Of course, the militant and narco communists aren't 893 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:19,960 Speaker 2: the only ones trying to stop Putin, but above ground 894 00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:23,480 Speaker 2: organizing an agitation has been made essentially impossible by the regime. 895 00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:26,719 Speaker 2: I read about case after case of teenagers being sent 896 00:47:26,719 --> 00:47:30,920 Speaker 2: to prison for graffiti or social media posts. A nineteen 897 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:33,799 Speaker 2: year old named Daria Kozireva was sentenced to three years 898 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:35,840 Speaker 2: in prison for putting up a post on a wall 899 00:47:35,880 --> 00:47:40,040 Speaker 2: with a verse from an eighteen forty five poem called 900 00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:45,160 Speaker 2: My Testament by a Ukrainian poet named Taras Shvchenko. And 901 00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:49,560 Speaker 2: I believe this is the verse in question. Oh bury me, 902 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:53,040 Speaker 2: then rise ye up and break your heavy chains and 903 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:56,280 Speaker 2: water with the tyrant's blood the freedom you have gained. 904 00:47:57,719 --> 00:48:01,160 Speaker 2: In April twenty twenty four, a sixteen year old girl 905 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:05,160 Speaker 2: named Lubov Lusnovia and a twenty year old named Alexander 906 00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:08,560 Speaker 2: Snevskov got years in prison three point five years and 907 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:12,680 Speaker 2: six years, respectively for graffiti that said death to the 908 00:48:12,719 --> 00:48:17,520 Speaker 2: regime and being admins on an anarchist telegram channel. And 909 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:20,480 Speaker 2: the last information I could find about Alexander is that 910 00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:23,799 Speaker 2: he was at fifty eight days in solitary confinement. This 911 00:48:23,840 --> 00:48:28,520 Speaker 2: was about a year ago. The lawyers defending these people 912 00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:33,719 Speaker 2: who are still doing it are heroes, and people get 913 00:48:33,840 --> 00:48:36,520 Speaker 2: sentenced to prison for being lawyers fighting against Putin on 914 00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:40,080 Speaker 2: a regular basis, including very not anarchists. Next person to 915 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:43,000 Speaker 2: mention the head of opposition to Putin was a guy 916 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:46,400 Speaker 2: named Alexey Navalny who died in prison, and three of 917 00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:48,520 Speaker 2: his lawyers were sentenced to three to five years in 918 00:48:48,560 --> 00:48:52,160 Speaker 2: prison for being part of an extremist organization aka a 919 00:48:52,360 --> 00:48:57,520 Speaker 2: political candidate running against Putin. These lawyers have almost no 920 00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:01,560 Speaker 2: impact on the cases, not just in Alexei's case, but 921 00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:04,000 Speaker 2: just you know in general, why I can't say Alexey 922 00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:06,799 Speaker 2: half the people in this are named Alexe, but it's 923 00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:09,680 Speaker 2: kangaroo court, is what's going on. The head of a 924 00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:14,400 Speaker 2: human rights group in Lithuania, Sergey Davidis said, quote, the 925 00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:18,560 Speaker 2: main role of the lawyer is now moral, psychological, to 926 00:49:18,640 --> 00:49:21,239 Speaker 2: provide the victim, the inmate, with the feeling that he 927 00:49:21,360 --> 00:49:24,400 Speaker 2: is not alone, to provide him with some communication with 928 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:29,000 Speaker 2: the outside world, even with his family. One of those lawyers, 929 00:49:29,080 --> 00:49:33,640 Speaker 2: Olga Potopolalova, says, the Russian prison system nowadays is the 930 00:49:33,680 --> 00:49:37,560 Speaker 2: prolongation of the Soviet Gulag system. It's the same walls 931 00:49:37,840 --> 00:49:42,200 Speaker 2: with a different name. Alexey, the opposition leader, was a 932 00:49:42,239 --> 00:49:44,440 Speaker 2: complicated guy. I'm not really equipped to speak on as 933 00:49:44,480 --> 00:49:47,280 Speaker 2: an expert. He moved from far right to centrist, leading 934 00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:50,640 Speaker 2: anti immigrant marches in the aughts and then changing his 935 00:49:50,719 --> 00:49:53,520 Speaker 2: tune in the late teens, speaking out in support of 936 00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:57,160 Speaker 2: Black Lives Matter and the legalization of same sex marriage. 937 00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:00,320 Speaker 2: He was arrested first in twenty twenty one, after spending 938 00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:02,839 Speaker 2: time in Germany recovering from what he claims was nerve 939 00:50:02,840 --> 00:50:05,560 Speaker 2: agent poisoning done by Putin's government. I have no reason 940 00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:09,200 Speaker 2: to believe he's lying. He was then given two point 941 00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:12,280 Speaker 2: five years in prison, and they extended it to nineteen years, 942 00:50:12,280 --> 00:50:14,640 Speaker 2: and then he died in February twenty twenty four at 943 00:50:14,640 --> 00:50:16,600 Speaker 2: the age of forty nine, and two of his other 944 00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:22,040 Speaker 2: lawyers fled the country. And yeah, this is what Trump 945 00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:23,279 Speaker 2: is trying to make America look like. 946 00:50:23,719 --> 00:50:28,000 Speaker 1: Yep. Navalney's is a really interesting one because it really 947 00:50:28,080 --> 00:50:30,520 Speaker 1: is like that's kind of like that was the last 948 00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:34,320 Speaker 1: gasp of like the Russian liberal. Yeah, and it's funny 949 00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:36,600 Speaker 1: because I mean, you talk to the Ukrainians, they don't 950 00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:39,799 Speaker 1: like Nivolney. He said some terrible stuff about Ukraine. He 951 00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:44,160 Speaker 1: was for a very long time kind of a Russian chauvinist. 952 00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:47,320 Speaker 1: He switched that up, and it was difficult to know 953 00:50:47,360 --> 00:50:49,840 Speaker 1: if his switch up was a tactical move by aligning 954 00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:52,760 Speaker 1: himself with Western liberals, or if it was a genuine 955 00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:55,040 Speaker 1: change of heart. You know, I think it's possible for 956 00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:57,560 Speaker 1: people to have genuine changes of heart. I bet it's 957 00:50:57,600 --> 00:51:01,200 Speaker 1: a fifty to fifty. Yeah, Like, somebody very close to 958 00:51:01,239 --> 00:51:04,320 Speaker 1: me worked on the documentary that came out about him 959 00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:07,680 Speaker 1: that won the Oscar and it was released either directly 960 00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:10,719 Speaker 1: before directly after he died. I don't remember which. And 961 00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:12,719 Speaker 1: you really just get the sense of that documentary is like, oh, 962 00:51:12,719 --> 00:51:14,960 Speaker 1: this was the last gasp of like any hope the 963 00:51:15,040 --> 00:51:18,320 Speaker 1: Russian liberals had of turning their country around. Yeah, outside 964 00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:22,160 Speaker 1: of you know, just general mass uprising of strikes or 965 00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:28,160 Speaker 1: it is crazy to imagine that guys like Dimitri and 966 00:51:28,280 --> 00:51:32,919 Speaker 1: guys like Alexi Navali are like part of the same struggles. Yeah, 967 00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:35,160 Speaker 1: It's like the right and the left doesn't make sense 968 00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:37,439 Speaker 1: when you apply it to Eastern Europe. Like the real 969 00:51:37,520 --> 00:51:41,680 Speaker 1: axis in Ukraine starts with pro Russia or anti Russia, 970 00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:45,920 Speaker 1: and then it goes right left, you know, nationalist, libertarian. Yeah, 971 00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:48,239 Speaker 1: but the real ashes is Russia. It's also I got 972 00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:50,600 Speaker 1: a little emotional when you talked about that sixteen year 973 00:51:50,600 --> 00:51:54,680 Speaker 1: old girl who had a quote from Tarashevchenko, because Taras 974 00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:58,799 Speaker 1: Shevchenko was one of the great poets of Ukraine, a 975 00:51:58,840 --> 00:52:02,319 Speaker 1: man who was routinely persecuted for speaking up and one 976 00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:06,080 Speaker 1: of the first great people to articulate kind of the 977 00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:09,640 Speaker 1: soul of Ukraine and the idea that a Russian teenager 978 00:52:09,640 --> 00:52:11,839 Speaker 1: could find so much inspiration in that that shed you know, 979 00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:14,040 Speaker 1: write his quote. And I've heard that quote a million times. 980 00:52:14,040 --> 00:52:16,719 Speaker 1: I've seen it on the graves of Ukrainian soldiers. I've 981 00:52:16,719 --> 00:52:19,080 Speaker 1: seen it tattooed on morale patches that have been passed 982 00:52:19,080 --> 00:52:21,440 Speaker 1: around the front lines. That made me a bit emotional 983 00:52:21,520 --> 00:52:22,359 Speaker 1: even just thinking about that. 984 00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:25,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, and she's probably in prison right now for graffiti 985 00:52:25,560 --> 00:52:25,759 Speaker 2: in that. 986 00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:30,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, Like any leftist or anyone in general who has 987 00:52:30,600 --> 00:52:35,520 Speaker 1: a take about Ukraine but like doesn't know who Tyres Shepchenko, 988 00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:39,080 Speaker 1: or like hasn't read him, or like doesn't run their 989 00:52:39,120 --> 00:52:41,640 Speaker 1: takes by Ukrainians, I just I'm just like kind of 990 00:52:41,719 --> 00:52:44,440 Speaker 1: uninterested in it, Like they don't actually know who these 991 00:52:44,480 --> 00:52:47,880 Speaker 1: people are, like their history, their doctrine, their their soul. 992 00:52:48,280 --> 00:52:51,680 Speaker 1: Like if you if you read Taris Shepchenko, if you 993 00:52:51,800 --> 00:52:54,239 Speaker 1: understand the meaning of is Shivanka, like if you hear 994 00:52:54,800 --> 00:52:58,279 Speaker 1: the sounds of a bandura, like you can't engage with 995 00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:02,880 Speaker 1: those things without feeling like there is an ancientness to 996 00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:06,880 Speaker 1: this culture and this method of resistance. It's a culture 997 00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:10,680 Speaker 1: that's been on the brink of genocide for ages, and 998 00:53:10,800 --> 00:53:14,080 Speaker 1: there are plenty of Russians who recognize that. Yeah, they're 999 00:53:14,120 --> 00:53:18,879 Speaker 1: just spread very far between each other, and I think 1000 00:53:18,880 --> 00:53:21,839 Speaker 1: it is so inspiring, you know, to see the ones 1001 00:53:21,840 --> 00:53:25,160 Speaker 1: who were willing to risk so much to go to 1002 00:53:25,400 --> 00:53:27,719 Speaker 1: Ukraine or to engage in these actions on behalf, and 1003 00:53:27,719 --> 00:53:30,000 Speaker 1: then that seems to be such an instigating incident for 1004 00:53:30,080 --> 00:53:32,440 Speaker 1: so many of them. Yeah, I think a lot. 1005 00:53:32,280 --> 00:53:37,080 Speaker 2: Of the disrespect of the idea that Ukraine has any legitimacy. 1006 00:53:37,560 --> 00:53:41,520 Speaker 2: I think it plays on like a white American guilt. 1007 00:53:41,680 --> 00:53:43,440 Speaker 2: And when I say white, I actually kind of mean 1008 00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:46,440 Speaker 2: that in the context of like the destruction of culture, 1009 00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:48,960 Speaker 2: like if whiteness is the devil's bargain, where you're like, 1010 00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:52,320 Speaker 2: you know, I would like access to power in an exchange, 1011 00:53:52,360 --> 00:53:57,400 Speaker 2: I'm giving up everything about being Irish except drinking, right, Yeah, 1012 00:53:57,480 --> 00:54:01,480 Speaker 2: And slowly people are starting to understand that, like liberation 1013 00:54:01,680 --> 00:54:05,080 Speaker 2: struggles are sometimes national liberation struggles, and we get more 1014 00:54:05,120 --> 00:54:08,080 Speaker 2: excited about them when they're internationalist struggles, right like in 1015 00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:10,440 Speaker 2: Rasjava that I think the Kurds are really you know, 1016 00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:13,080 Speaker 2: showing the way of like here's how you have what 1017 00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:15,920 Speaker 2: looks like a national struggle, but make it very intentionally 1018 00:54:15,920 --> 00:54:19,120 Speaker 2: not a national struggle. And I think that, Yeah, a 1019 00:54:19,239 --> 00:54:23,759 Speaker 2: very distinctly multi ethnic and multicultural society like Ukraine is 1020 00:54:23,760 --> 00:54:26,480 Speaker 2: actually a decent example of this, but it's like very 1021 00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:28,880 Speaker 2: few people are coming at like every now and then 1022 00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:30,440 Speaker 2: I'll have people come at me about this, but like 1023 00:54:30,719 --> 00:54:33,560 Speaker 2: in general, people aren't like, oh, well, the early Irish 1024 00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:35,759 Speaker 2: people wanted to be free of the UK. They're not 1025 00:54:35,920 --> 00:54:39,439 Speaker 2: legitimate because they like are nationalists or whatever, right, like. 1026 00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:43,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, or Palestinians, Yeah, same thing. And so the Ukrainian 1027 00:54:43,360 --> 00:54:44,680 Speaker 1: flag is this interesting thing. 1028 00:54:44,760 --> 00:54:48,720 Speaker 2: There was a Ukrainian anarchist painter who died in combat recently, 1029 00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:50,200 Speaker 2: is a muralist and a painter. 1030 00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:53,560 Speaker 1: His art is beautiful. I didn't write his name down for. 1031 00:54:53,520 --> 00:54:56,719 Speaker 2: This, and he does things like put the black and 1032 00:54:56,760 --> 00:55:00,000 Speaker 2: red anarchist flag and the Ukrainian flag in the same 1033 00:55:00,239 --> 00:55:05,200 Speaker 2: art and to a Western audience, this seems wrong, right, 1034 00:55:06,239 --> 00:55:11,359 Speaker 2: But it doesn't seem too from anarchists that I've talked 1035 00:55:11,400 --> 00:55:14,160 Speaker 2: to or heard from about this in Ukraine, and it's 1036 00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:18,160 Speaker 2: like no one's mad at an Irish flag. And people 1037 00:55:18,160 --> 00:55:20,160 Speaker 2: are saying, like, I think people are doing this to 1038 00:55:20,239 --> 00:55:22,560 Speaker 2: Ukraine one because of Russian propaganda and two because it's 1039 00:55:22,600 --> 00:55:27,840 Speaker 2: like mainland Europe and it's not as understood. Its history 1040 00:55:27,920 --> 00:55:31,439 Speaker 2: isn't as understood. I don't know, it's complicated. I also 1041 00:55:31,600 --> 00:55:37,200 Speaker 2: like get why leftist left nationalism in the nineteenth century 1042 00:55:37,200 --> 00:55:40,240 Speaker 2: by and large, with major exceptions, all throughout the struggle 1043 00:55:40,239 --> 00:55:42,160 Speaker 2: for anti colonization all throughout the world. 1044 00:55:42,719 --> 00:55:46,520 Speaker 1: And also it's like there is a difference between a 1045 00:55:46,680 --> 00:55:49,920 Speaker 1: nation and a state, you know, like you can you 1046 00:55:50,000 --> 00:55:53,600 Speaker 1: can love the Ukrainian nation without loving the Ukrainian state. 1047 00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:59,040 Speaker 1: The Ukrainian flag is just it's a symbol you see 1048 00:55:59,120 --> 00:56:02,840 Speaker 1: anytime you drive on a highway, including the Highway of Life, 1049 00:56:02,840 --> 00:56:04,600 Speaker 1: the one you mentioned at the beginning of this pat 1050 00:56:04,680 --> 00:56:07,840 Speaker 1: which I think was like T four five or something. 1051 00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:12,319 Speaker 1: It was basically the road between Chessivyar and Bakhmot, which 1052 00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:15,160 Speaker 1: was the only paved road that remained intact during the 1053 00:56:15,160 --> 00:56:17,560 Speaker 1: course of that conflict. So all the eight convoy, it 1054 00:56:17,600 --> 00:56:20,439 Speaker 1: wasn't a humanitarian convoy. It was just like the only 1055 00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:25,160 Speaker 1: way Ukrainians could get stuffed to relieve bach Moot. You 1056 00:56:25,239 --> 00:56:27,040 Speaker 1: go down that highway, you get on any highay in Ukraine, 1057 00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:30,560 Speaker 1: you'll see the Ukrainian flag because it's a field of 1058 00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:35,399 Speaker 1: wheat yellow with a blue sky above it. That is Ukraine. Yeah, 1059 00:56:35,760 --> 00:56:40,120 Speaker 1: that is what that flag represents. And I think that's 1060 00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:43,200 Speaker 1: a beautiful thing, you know, and then kind of metal 1061 00:56:43,280 --> 00:56:47,600 Speaker 1: slightly problematic the black and red Ukrainian flag, which is 1062 00:56:47,640 --> 00:56:49,480 Speaker 1: not the anarchists flag, but rather the flag of the 1063 00:56:49,640 --> 00:56:51,440 Speaker 1: Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. 1064 00:56:51,560 --> 00:56:54,359 Speaker 2: No, no, but in this case, the murals I'm talking about, 1065 00:56:54,360 --> 00:56:56,279 Speaker 2: this was an anarchist This was the black and red 1066 00:56:56,320 --> 00:57:00,560 Speaker 2: anarchist flag. This is divided diagonally. Is still flag that 1067 00:57:01,200 --> 00:57:02,440 Speaker 2: is in use, I believe that. 1068 00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:04,719 Speaker 1: But there is another flag which looks very similar to 1069 00:57:04,719 --> 00:57:08,280 Speaker 1: the black and red anarchists flag, which is actually Bandera's flag. Yeah, 1070 00:57:08,320 --> 00:57:10,560 Speaker 1: and that is just the flag of Ukraine, but dipped 1071 00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:13,839 Speaker 1: in blood. It's red, you know, it's supposed to be. Yeah, 1072 00:57:13,880 --> 00:57:18,600 Speaker 1: it becomes that so you don't have to fall for 1073 00:57:18,640 --> 00:57:24,440 Speaker 1: the siren song of nation state loving nationalism to support 1074 00:57:24,480 --> 00:57:26,200 Speaker 1: a nation of people. Yeah. 1075 00:57:26,200 --> 00:57:28,840 Speaker 2: I think that there's like there's a lot of nuance 1076 00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:33,160 Speaker 2: that people get nervous about and rush to simple comforting 1077 00:57:33,200 --> 00:57:35,320 Speaker 2: answers instead of rushing to the simple comforting answers of 1078 00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:37,960 Speaker 2: like maybe we should stop the people who are, you know, 1079 00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:41,040 Speaker 2: murdering all these civilians and invading other countries. 1080 00:57:42,120 --> 00:57:43,720 Speaker 1: It feels like something we should be able to get 1081 00:57:43,760 --> 00:57:45,640 Speaker 1: behind generally as a cause. 1082 00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:49,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you got anything you want to plug here? 1083 00:57:49,440 --> 00:57:52,480 Speaker 1: At the end. Yeah, I mentioned Ukrainian groups you can 1084 00:57:52,480 --> 00:57:55,360 Speaker 1: support in the last Personally, I'm trying to finish a 1085 00:57:55,480 --> 00:58:00,240 Speaker 1: documentary about Israel's war on the un organization UNRUH, which 1086 00:58:00,280 --> 00:58:03,480 Speaker 1: is responsible for five point nine Palace City and refugees. 1087 00:58:03,880 --> 00:58:05,840 Speaker 1: If you want to help out that, you can find 1088 00:58:05,880 --> 00:58:10,040 Speaker 1: out more by looking at the War on unra on Instagram, 1089 00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:12,680 Speaker 1: and you can check out what I've given kind of 1090 00:58:12,720 --> 00:58:14,800 Speaker 1: the last two years of my life to fuck. 1091 00:58:14,680 --> 00:58:17,200 Speaker 2: You, and I will say in a weird way. This 1092 00:58:17,280 --> 00:58:20,840 Speaker 2: episode was brought to you by the podcast Bad Oligarchs 1093 00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:27,760 Speaker 2: sad Oligarchs, sad Oligarchs singular oligarch sad Oligarch. People do 1094 00:58:27,800 --> 00:58:30,520 Speaker 2: this to my show title all the time, all the time. Yeah, 1095 00:58:30,720 --> 00:58:34,600 Speaker 2: But I like that podcast, and I was listening to 1096 00:58:34,640 --> 00:58:35,840 Speaker 2: it and I was like, I want to talk about 1097 00:58:35,840 --> 00:58:37,520 Speaker 2: some true crime in Russia, but I want to talk 1098 00:58:37,560 --> 00:58:40,480 Speaker 2: about it of cyberpunks fucking up poodin. 1099 00:58:41,480 --> 00:58:43,680 Speaker 1: All right, we'll see you all next week. 1100 00:58:44,240 --> 00:58:50,160 Speaker 2: Bye. 1101 00:58:51,240 --> 00:58:53,720 Speaker 1: Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff is a production of 1102 00:58:53,760 --> 00:58:54,720 Speaker 1: cool Zone Media. 1103 00:58:55,080 --> 00:58:58,400 Speaker 2: A more podcasts on cool Zone Media, visit our website cool. 1104 00:58:58,280 --> 00:59:00,960 Speaker 1: Zonemedia dot com, or check us out on the five 1105 00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:04,600 Speaker 1: heard radio app Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 1106 00:59:08,720 --> 00:59:09,160 Speaker 1: Mm hmm