What does it mean to be left-wing and find yourself facing an invasion that you didn’t choose or want, that forces you to revise your principles, while continuing to defend a more just society? A Discussion with the Ukrainian anti-authoritarian group Solidarity Collectives.
By Francesca Barca
I met Kseniia last winter at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Pozniaky, a working-class neighborhood in Kyiv. Kseniia is a member of Solidarity Collectives (SC, Колективи Солідарності), a group of activists who define themselves as “anti-authoritarian”. The group was formed in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. “Some of us are anarchists”, Kseniia tells me. “There are militant feminists, progressives, environmentalists, leftists. Some don’t identify with any political category, but share progressive ideas in general (LGBT+ rights, women’s rights, environmentalists…)”. Before the large-scale invasion, “our movement was divided – the typical drama of people on the left, you know?” she tells me with a smile.
According to Kseniia, before February 2022, “our movement was divided. You know, the usual drama with people on the left.”
After the full-scale invasion, part of the Solidarity Collective decided to enlist, while another part of the Collective is dedicated to helping civilians, regularly going to the front lines to support local communities and those fleeing the occupied territories. Another segment of the group is busy learning how to construct drones, programming, flying and delivering them to anti-authoritarian or left-wing soldiers in the various battalions.
