Number 55•56 one pound or two dollars Oct. 2008 Trouble in Moscow: From the life of the “Liesma” [“Flame”] Group [This account covers the Latvian anarchists’ activities from its prescribed path and topple the theory laid out in in Moscow, up to the Cheka raids of April 1918, when the thick volumes of Marx’s Capital. the Bolsheviks attacked anarchists in the city in the All this made comrades think that there was no time name of “Law and Order”] to wait until capital would “concentrate” in their cash The group was founded in August 1917 and from box in order to rent quarters; quarters had to be the beginning worked in the syndicalist direction. acquired now, in the nearest future, irrespective of how Before its foundation comrades worked independ• and by what means. As social expropriations were ently, as well as together with existing Russian groups. already happening in other cities, where private houses, Later, in view of much greater efficiency if comrades shops, factories and other private property were being could communicate in Latvian, working with Latvian nationalised, our comrades considered this a justified workers, comrades decided to unite in a permanent and important step in continuing the revolution, and group and found quarters which could be open at any decided to look out for an appropriate building where time to interested workers, where existing anarchist we could start our club. literature would be available for their use, where on In the end such a house was found in Presnensk certain days comrades would be able to come together, Pereulok number 3. It was a small house without furni• read lectures, organise “question and answer” evenings ture and needed repairs in order to make living in it for comrades and the broader public. But because such possible, but the group still occupied it and after a quarters were difficult to find, members gathered once a couple of weeks the Latvian Anarchists’ Club of the week in a tiny private apartment, where they were only “Liesma” group opened there. able, packed like sardines, to review and discuss the In that time, as best we could, we bought in books most important issues for the group. and literature for our reading table and every Sunday When the October revolution started all comrades public lectures were held which often attracted an subscribed either to the Red Guard or to the anarchist audience of over a hundred people. On Wednesday fighting organisation, and took the most active part in evenings we organised theoretical reading circles for our the October battles, extending their solidarity (hand in comrades themselves, where various political issues hand) with the formerly oppressed but now empowered were discussed. Special focus was upon the spreading and oppressing Bolshevik•Communists. of anarchist ideas, which in the end set the group on a Other comrades, who at the time of the fighting were distinct communist [anarchist•communist, not at the printing house “Moskovski Listok” (The Moscow Bolshevik] platform. Sheet), fought a fierce battle against the Junkers and With the growth of the group, many and various new only because of the cowardice of soldiers who had been needs appeared, one of the most important of which was called to the assistance of the anarchists after two days the need to find a way to publish literature, because it of fierce fighting were they disarmed and subjected to was impossible to gather large masses of people in the the Junker’s violence. Together with coats and hats, tiny building – we had to give the masses something to also the whole capital of the group – several hundred read. We had to organise communes, show the masses roubles – was looted. (One of the comrades happened to an example and instil in them faith in the future free have the money on him). Thus the group again remained order (system). In order to realise all this we needed a without any means, and we had to postpone our plans to larger building and financial means, money. open permanent quarters for an indefinite time. In January the group occupied a house in Malaja But time went on. Comrade Bolsheviks, who seized (Little) Dimitrovka, but because the house was inhab• the Government’s money, started to fall behind the ited, we had to share it with the earlier inhabitants (the growing revolution and, unable to forget their God owner of the house), and the group took only half of the Marx’s holy words that social revolution is only possi• house. The other half of the house with all the belong• ble with the concentration of capital and that a lot of ings (except for some furniture and the library) was time was needed to reach it, it was necessary to step given to the owner with the right to rent it. upon the tail of the revolution, so that it wouldn’t derail [pto] Anarchists in the Gulag, Prison and Exile special double issue Trouble in Moscow The Club is now moving to the new quarters, while couldn’t ask anybody either. All rooms were overfilled the former house is being renovated for a commune with soldiers, who were on a horrible looting spree – (communal flat). they just went mad like beasts who broke out of cages The group started publishing literature. Because of – who were ready to tear you to pieces with their teeth lack of resources, at present only three pamphlets are for every word you dared to say. being published and the other texts will be printed Later we found out that the unexpected guests were gradually, at the end of each job when the main work a unit of the Soviet government army, the Latvian has been finished. Riflemen and others, and that on orders of the govern• Apart from the ideological work, the group has also ment we were arrested for some dark deeds, and like in founded a Fighting Unit with acting members. So that October from the side of the Junkers, now on the the Fighting Unit could be self•reliant (independent), orders of the Bolsheviks we were to be destroyed. After full ammunition and food parcels for all members were several days of torture in the cellars of the Kremlin and received from the main Red Headquarters. Their task behind the walls of Butyrka Prison, we were recog• was to defend the revolution, together with the nised as “ideological revolutionaries” and were Moscow workers, against the counter•revolutionary released with the following words from the high element that only waited to raise its head again. authorities: “we fight against bandits, but we leave With the arrival of the Latvian group from Kharkov ideological workers in peace”. on the order of the Revolutionary Committee, Group We were recognised as “ideological” workers, but “Liesma”, together with the Russian group only after our ideological work had been completely “Kommuna” occupied a manor house in Vedenski destroyed, the literature which had cost us so much Pereulok (side street), with two “fleugels” (out build• efforts and selfless work was burned, the printing press ings), where only three people lived. One of these confiscated, all the capital looted. Rendered harmless, “fleugels” was occupied by “Kommuna”, which had we were let off to go where we wanted. only just been organised and still didn’t have their own But it is possible to suppress a man, not an idea, quarters. The other “fleugel” was occupied by and the “Liesma” group, having been robbed twice, did “Liesma” for the comrades from Kharkov, who had to not stop its activities but renewed its work again with come to Moscow at the beginning of April. twice as much dedication and energy. But because there were exceptionally many histori• Pooling our last strength and means together, we cal things in the newly occupied house – precious started replacing our literature and started publishing porcelain, old silver, famous masters’ paintings, exten• our magazine to spread our ideas even more sive libraries and an enormous collection of various energetically. ancient icons, the value of which was enormous “R” (indescribable), after an evaluation by some artists The author of this article, “R”, was Janis Birze both groups decided that, considering that [no] one (Remus), a Latvian anarchist who had taken part in the person was able to use such treasures, which were not 1905 Revolution in the Baltic, first as a member of the in the possession even of many a museum, and which Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party (LSDSP) were absolutely out of the reach for a wider public, then as a member of the Anarchist•Communist group they consider it their duty to see to it that all these “Liesma” and the leader of an anarchist fighting group historical treasures should be accessible to the broadest that carried out numerous expropriations and masses of people. attempted assassinations in Riga. Arrested in 1907, he The group established contact with the members of was sentenced to 6 years hard labour on 2 April 1908, the City Art Committee who took it upon themselves to which he served in Riga and Pleskav (Pskov) prisons, organise and open a museum, which was also done in afterwards being exiled to Jenisejas district (Siberia), the first days of April. in the region of Kansk, Vidrina pagasts. Freed by the Also, the group “Liesma” established contacts with revolution in March 1917, Birze re•formed “Liesma” the actors of the Moscow Latvian Theatre in order to in Moscow as this article describes. Of his subsequent open a Latvian Anarchist Theatre, which promises life all that is known is that he worked in the Soviet good results and has met a sympathetic response from Union in the trade sphere during the 1920s and 30s.