Sean Patterson - Makhno and Memory: Anarchist and Mennonite Narratives in Ukraine’s Civil War, 1927-1921

Map 3. Jasykowo and Chortitza colonies.

INTRODUCTION

A legend circulates among the locals of Huliaipole that the anarchist Nestor Makhno, upon abandoning his struggle and fleeing Ukraine, ordered a cache of loot to be buried in a secret location. The intention was to safeguard funds for a renewed battle against the Soviet regime in some imagined future, but Makhno never returned to his homeland and, according to local lore, the treasure remains buried to this day. Makhnos gold has not been confirmed as anything but a myth, but even if it did exist, what could be gained, besides the material riches, from its discovery? I believe the persistence of this story in the local collective mind relates to the belief that the materiality of historical artifacts can somehow make the past more substantial and present. If only metaphorically, discovering the gold would momentarily fulfill the promise of Makhnos return and all its attendant cultural meanings.

Historical writing similarly seeks to make concrete an ephemeral past, but, like Makhnos gold, it leaves us only with spectral traces trapped in documents, objects, landscapes, and receding voices. My research into Nestor Makhno and his movements conflict with the Mennonites of southern Ukraine has led me to confront a multitude of competing histories, memories, myths, and legends all jostling to assert their own unique perspective. It is a topic fraught with folklore, ideological battles, and radically divergent cultural memories in which fact and fiction often seamlessly blend. Through the prism of history, multiple Makhnos are conjured, each one shouting over the other.

This book seeks to tell a difficult story from two sides. The historical memory of Makhno is especially contested between todays Mennonites and the global anarchist community. To the former, Makhno is a sadistic character who perpetrated extreme violence against their parents and grandparents during the Russian Revolution and the ensuing civil war period in Ukraine. By contrast, many contemporary anarchists understand Makhno in heroic terms as the revolutionary leader of a movement that liberated workers and peasants from capitalist exploitation. Furthermore, Makhno is often celebrated in Ukraine as a regional hero. In his hometown, public statues, memorials, museum exhibits, and even a limited edition coin minted by Ukraines central bank, all hail Makhno as a populist hero. Mennonite and pro-Makhnovist assessments of history could not be further apart.

This book is about the origins of these two radically diverging narratives. Through memoirs, histories, diaries, and archived documents, each groups narrative representations of the Mennonite-Makhnovist conflict are explored. Of particular concern to this study is how each group constructed the other as an enemy and how each side legitimizedand protestedits use of violence. Central to these narratives is Nestor Makhno and their authors assessements of him as a hero or villain.

In certain ways, my personal relationship to the topic of Makhno embodies this narrative divide. As a young undergraduate I became fascinated by the philosophical writings of the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin. I was specifically attracted to Kropotkins theory of mutual aid as a critical factor in human and animal evolution. Kropotkin himself visited Canada in 1897 and wrote a largely positive report about Mennonites living in Manitobas so-called West Reserve. Kropotkins philosophy was also a major influence on Nestor Makhno. It is through this connection that I first encountered histories of the Makhnovist movement written by its participants Peter Arshinov and Volin. These histories emphasized the movement as a liberatory force championing direct democracy for peasants and workers and an egalitarian communal way of organizing society. However, when I returned home from university and told my friends and family about this fascinating movement I had read about, I learned of a completely different history.