Ukraine uprising was no neo-Nazi power-grab

[MNBrewer]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/13/ukraine-uprising-fascist-coup-grassroots-movement

On 20 February, as revolution engulfed the centre of Kiev, Joseph Schilling, a 61-year-old builder from western Ukraine, went to the frontline to join the protests against President Viktor Yanukovych's government. He was standing beneath the neoclassical October Palace – once a girls' seminary and later the HQ for Lenin's secret police – when a sniper shot him in the head.

The place where Schilling died is now festooned with flowers. There are carnations, tulips and a tub of spring crocuses. Schilling's photo, near his barricade, reveals a man in late middle age wearing a tie, his hair neatly combed. Here too are images of other members of the "Heavenly Hundred" – the name given to the 102 protesters who have perished near the Maidan, Kiev's central Independence Square.

The Kremlin describes last month's uprising in next-door Ukraine as an illegitimate fascist coup. It says dark rightwing forces have taken over the government, forcing Moscow to "protect" Ukraine's ethnic Russian minority. The local government in Crimea is preparing for a referendum on Sunday which could lead to Russia annexing the region. Yanukovych, meanwhile, has fled to Russia.

Schilling, however, was an unlikely fascist. A father of two daughters, he and his wife Anna had lived in Italy. They had four grandchildren. Moreover, he was Jewish.

[OKNancy]

1. good article

I went to the link and it's a good overview.

Olexiy Haran, a politics professor and a member of the Maidan's organising committee, expressed exasperation at the way the Kremlin's "fascist" trope had taken root in some western minds. "I've had liberal Harvard professors asking me about this. We are talking traditional Russian propaganda," he said.

[MNBrewer]

2. Yes, it is a good overview, and it even-handedly discusses some of the disconcerting rightist...

parties that exist, such as Svoboda and Right Sector.

yet,

"Ukraine's chief rabbi, Moshe Reuven Azman, told the Guardian there has been no evidence of an antisemitic backlash, either before or after the revolution. The main synagogue in Kiev, a few hundred metres from the Maidan, was untouched, he said. Israeli volunteers had treated some of the wounded. Asked what he thought of Right Sector, he replied: "I haven't read their programme." He went on: "I've been in touch with Jewish communities across Ukraine. Nobody told us of antisemitic statements."

So maybe these Fascists aren't quite what the Kremlin has told us they are. Which is strange, because the Kremlin is full of fascists, you would think they knew what they were taking about.

[ProSense]

5. That's exactly

"We are talking traditional Russian propaganda"

...it. I found a comment some days back that sums it up perfectly.

The bizarre thing about Kremlin propaganda is that they throw all kinds of slurs at the Ukrainians.

One day, it is "Gayropa" that is at fault.

The next day it is a Jewish conspiracy.

And then it is Neo-Nazis and fascists.

If the Ukrainian revolt is driven by gay, jewish, Neo-Nazis, then Ukraine sure must be an interesting country.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024618822

[arely staircase]

11. they use all those slurs at once

depending on their audience. for home team homophobes it is teh gay. for naïve western lefties it is the IMF and Nazis.

[Gothmog]

7. Agreed

This was a good article

[reformist2]

3. True, it was and is a battle between their puppet gov't and our puppet gov't.

[MNBrewer]

4. maybe

[LisaL]

8. Sounds about right.

[ProSense]

6. Excellent piece. Thanks for posting. n/t

[starroute]

9. The article is not nearly as objective as it pretends to be

The author, Luke Harding, is a former Moscow correspondent who was thrown out of Russia after calling it a Mafia state. He's been involved in a major plagiarism scandal and is currently best known for writing highly antagonist books about Wikileaks and Edward Snowden.

It's amazing how many of the people who are leaping up to deny the strong fascist presence in the Ukraine coup have a long track record of anti-Russian propaganda. It also amazes me how easy it is to post something like this here at DU and get a whole series of people praising it with no apparent knowledge of their own to back up their assessments.

There are a lot of unlikely claims being thrown around on both sides of the Ukraine controversy -- but the significant fascist presence in the demonstrations and the accompanying violence seems to be about the least questionable. Trying to wish it away can only lead to undesirable consequences down the road.

[MNBrewer]

10. Is Russia NOT a mafia state?

[stevenleser]

13. You beat me to it. nt

[arely staircase]

12. I know

it was totally the gay Nazis.

[stevenleser]

14. Is your definition of anti-Russian propaganda calling them a mafia state and homophobic?

What's then your definition of being anti-Bush? Calling him a war criminal and saying he tortured?