Our comrade, anarchist Dmitry Petrov, died in Ukraine
Liberation through rebellion!
A dark day for the entire anarchist movement and our organization in particular.
On April 19, 2023, near Bakhmut in Ukraine, in the struggle for freedom, our comrade, one of the founders of the BOAC and its active participant, Dmitry Petrov, died.
Dima is a longtime and consistent anarchist. In the movement he was known for a long time as an Ecologist – but his activities were not limited to the protection of nature.
He participated in actions to protect the Bitsevsky forest, and in Food instead of bombs, fought against compacted buildings and against the construction of waste incinerators, for the rights of workers in the ranks of the MPST and against police lawlessness.
He took an active part in the anti-fascist movement and fought back neo-Nazis on the streets of Moscow and beyond.
Participated in protests in 2011 on Bolotnaya Square, on Maidan in 2014 and in Belarus in 2020.
He took part in the publishing and translation of activist literature.
Participated in ethnographic expeditions and defended the degree of candidate of historical sciences.
This would be enough for 10 activists – but Dima did not limit himself to this.
Dima stood at the base of the anarchist partisan movement at the end of the 2000s. And continued to be a partisan every day since then. People’s retribution, the group “ZaNurgaliev!”, Anti-Nashist action – all these groups could not do without his participation.
And yes, of course, Dima was also one of the founders of the famous Black blog and an active participant in all its actions. Including undermining a traffic police post at 22 km of the Moscow Ring Road.
At the same time, Dima was not just a revolutionary practitioner. He also developed anarchist theory – a significant part of the programmatic and theoretical texts of both the Black Blog and the BOAC was written by him or with his participation.
Like a true revolutionary, Dima was an internationalist. Actively participated in the creation and activities of the International Revolutionary Solidarity Network. He fought the evil of oppression wherever he met, he was not stopped by borders. In addition to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, he studied in Rojava and took part in the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people.
In response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he joined the Opposite Committee in order to resist the aggressor with arms in hand. Later he took part in the battles near Svatovo and Kremennaya.
In everything he undertook, he acted with full dedication. Didn’t live, but burned.
His deed is immortal. His work is eternal.
We still cannot fully comprehend this loss. Find the right words so that you can understand what kind of Person he was. What kind of person should everyone strive to be. But we will try to find and convey these words.
In the meantime, we are publishing a message from Dima, which he left when he went to the front.
Message from our comrade Dmitry Petrov
My name is Dmitry Petrov, and if you are reading these lines, then most likely, I died in the fight against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
I am a member of the Fighting Organization of the Anarcho-Communists and will remain so even after death. BOAC is our brainchild, born of faith in organized struggle. We managed to lead her on different sides of the state borders.
I tried my best to contribute to the victory over the dictatorship and the social revolution. I am proud of my comrades who fought and are fighting in Russia and abroad.
As an anarchist, revolutionary, and Russian, I found it necessary to take part in the armed rebuff that the Ukrainian people are giving to Putin’s occupiers. I did this for the sake of justice, the protection of Ukrainian society, and the liberation of my country, Russia, from oppression. For the sake of all the people who are deprived of their dignity and the opportunity to breathe freely by the vile totalitarian system created in Russia and Belarus.
Another important reason for participating in this war is to establish internationalism by example. In the days when deadly imperialism awakens in response, a wave of nationalism and contempt for the Russians, I affirm in word and deed: there are no “bad nations.” All peoples have one grief – greedy and power-hungry rulers.
It was not a purely individual decision and step. It was a continuation of our collective strategy aimed at creating sustainable structures and guerrilla combat confrontation with the tyrannical regimes of our region.
My dear friends, comrades, and relatives, I apologize to all those whom I hurt with my departure. I really appreciate your warmth. However, I firmly believe that the struggle for justice against oppression and injustice is one of the most worthy meanings that a person can fill his life with. This struggle requires sacrifice, up to complete self-sacrifice.
The best memory for me is if you continue to work actively, overcoming personal ambitions and unnecessary harmful feuds. If you continue to actively fight to achieve a free society based on equality and solidarity. For yourself and for me, and for all our comrades. Risk, deprivation, and sacrifice on this path are our constant companions. But be sure – they are not in vain.
I hug you all.
Yours, Ilya Leshy, “Seva”, “Lev”, Phil Kuznetsov,
Dmitry Petrov
The dark day for the entire anarchist movement and for our organization in particular.
April 19 2023, near Bakhmut in Ukraine, our friend, one of the founders and active participant of the Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists (BOAK), Dmitry Petrov, martyred fighting for freedom.
Dima is long-time and consistent anarchist. In the movement he was known as “Ecolog” but his activity was not limited to the defense of environment.
He participated in the defense of the Bitsa Park in Moskow, in “Food not bombs”, fought against infill development and against building of incinerators, for the rights of workers in the ranks of the Anarchist union MPST and against police brutality.
He participated in the antifascist movement and fought Nazis on the streets of Moscow and other places. Participated in the protests on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow 2011, on Maidan in Kyiv 2014, in Belarus 2020.
He published and translated activist literature.
He participated in ethnographic expeditions and got a PhD degree in History.
This would be enough for ten activists, but Dima did not limit himself here.
Dima stood at the foundation of the Anarchist partisan movement in the end of 2000s. And continued to be partisan every day since then. “People’s revenge”, group “ForNurgaliev”, “AntiNashi action” (1) – all these groups operated not without his participation. And yes, of course, Dima was one of the founders of the famous Black Blocg (2) and an active participant of all its actions. Including the explosion of the traffic police post on 22 km of the Moscow Automobile Ring Road in 2011.
At the same time, Dima did not just devote himself to the revolutionary practice. He also developed the Anarchist theory. A significant part of programme and theoretical texts of the Black Blocg and BOAK were written by him or with his participation.
As the revolutionary, Dima was internationalist. He fought against the atrocity of oppression everywhere he saw it, borders did not stop him. Besides activities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus he went to Rojava and trained there, took part in the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people.
In response to the Putin’s invasion in Ukraine, he joined the Resistance Committee to fight against the aggression with weapons in his hands. Later he participated in the Battle of the Svatove –Kreminna line.
In everything he undertook, he acted with complete dedication. He didn’t live but burned.
His feat is immortal. His case is eternal.
We still don’t completely comprehend this loss. Can not find the right words so you can realize what a person he was. Everyone should strive to be that kind of person. But we will try to find and bring these words. In the meantime, we publish Dima’s message that he left when he went to the front.
(1 – Nashi (“Ours”) was a pro-Putin youth movement in Russia founded 2005. )
(2 – Black Block was a media-platform and network which connected anarchist militants in the post-Soviet space.)
