About On Gogol Boulevard

The OGB News Service had regular sections in The Shadow, Profane Existence, Fifth Estate, Black Fist and other papers and are now also published on the internet. We encourage all those involved in "Neither East Nor West"-type activity to regularly contribute to this section. Please address letters, reports, documents, debates, graphics, photos, etc. directly to OGB. This is not a section for anarchists only. We are interested in all things promoting freedom, workers rights, women's, minority and gay rights, environmental, self-determination and anti-militarist issues - any struggle pursuing paths outside the capitalist and state bureaucratic models.

Our title refers to Moscow's Gogol Boulevard a favorite hangout for the counterculture youth dissidents, anti- war, and human rights activists. On May 3, 1987 this milieu braved poking a hole in the Soviet dictatorship by organizing a small art exhibit/demonstration on Gogol Boulevard. It was met with a violent riot by plainclothes agents, police, and Special internal forces soldiers. On May 4, blood was spilled again with Gogol Boulevard being raided and swept with mass arrests. On May 10 Gogol Boulevard witnessed one of the Glasnost era's first ever Youth demonstrations that openly called for human rights. Though also repressed, it was a formative event, and we take our name from that week. See you on Gogol Boulevard.

Adress correspondence to: OGB/NENW, 528 Fifth St.
Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA, tel: 1-718-499-7720
email: BobNenwOgb@aol.com (New York) or nihil@start.no (Oslo)

( If any of our history is faulty regarding ABC, please write and correct us, and we'll amend this text. Use address above.)

There has always been a milieu of anarchists/left-libertarians living outside of the east who have had a special interest in Soviet-type countries. Among this milieu's interests is in countering the way even many anarchists treat Communism as a secondary concern, if at all. Much of the milieu treats official Communism and Fascism/Nazism as similar twin totalitarianisms, opposing both with equal vehemence, and refusing collaboration with Leninists. The interest is also in part due to the ultra-closed nature of Soviet-type societies and the lack of info about non-pro-western activism within them, leaving a gap.

This changed in 1980 with the formation of Poland's Solidarity free trade union. With a nationwide general strike and 10 million workers signing on in 2-3 months, Solidarity exploded Communism's frontiers. Neither East Nor West- NYC (NENW-NYC) traces its roots back to this time when a number of anti- authoritarians in the New York City metropolitan area took advantage of Solidarity's opening. Individual anarchists and members of the Workers Solidarity Alliance, along with the (now defunct) Revolutionary Socialist League, hooked up while doing Solidarity support. Then in 1983, with Soviet exiles, this crew and others formed the New York Trust Group (NYTG), a sister group to the Moscow Trust Group (MTG), a semi-above ground and much persecuted anti-nuclear organization. (Following the Moscow lead other Trust Groups formed in the USSR.) Some in the committee were also members of the New York Anti-Nuclear Group and the Brooklyn Anti-Nuclear Group. These two helped pioneer putting the struggles of the subjugated in the Russian empire on the anti-nuclear agenda.

Being involved with dictatorships automatically brought one into political prisoner support. The NYTG acted in part as a defacto Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) section as so many of its members were involved in the anarchistic milieu, bringing prisoner activism regarding the east to anarchists. One successful campaign was launched after another against repression of the Trust Groups and for their prisoners; petitions, pickets at the USSR consulate in NYC - the works. Others around the U.S. and the world also picked this work up, some forming Trust Groups, many being anarchists (with few or none being officially ABC).

Among NYTG campaigns to numerous to count: Freeing MTG'er Nina Kovalenko from a mental hospital incarceration (where many were tortured and force-drugged as she was); Getting Truster Alexandre Shatravka "paroled" from his 7 year labor camp sentence (an unheard of precedent setting victory); Springing Yuri Popov of Moscow's counterculture/pacifistic/anarchistic Free Initiative from a mental hospital; And saving MTG leader Nikolai Khramov from being forced into exile.

The Trust Group wanted "mutual citizens based campaigns" to link easterners and westerners in common effort. Although much of the activity was a one-way street in supporting the Trusters in one human rights emergency after another, the Trusters also supported struggles abroad, for instance when the MTG protested the jailing of U.S. draft registration resister Andy Major, or the Lvov (Ukraine) Trust Group sending a solidarity message to a protest at the Pentagon against U.S. imperialism in Central America (linking it to fighting Soviet imperialism in Afghanistan).

NYTG work culminated on Aug. 3rd, 1986: After months of secretive preparation, American members of the of the NYTG and Brits from U.K. Trustbuilders were accompanied by the MTG in a post-Chernobyl (and symbolically timed for the Aug. 6 anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing) anti-nuclear leafleting at the entrance to Moscow's Gorky Park. The team was, as expected, busted in 5 minutes and detained by the KGB. (Ann-Marie Hendrickson and Bob McGlynn from the NYTG, Peggy Walford and David Barnsdale from the U.K, and Nina Kovalenko from the MTG.) The action garnered page 2&3 coverage in major dailies worldwide. One week later Elizabeth Abrahm and Angela Mugan from the U.K. Greenham Common Women's Peace Encampment repeated the action at the Moscow Zoo, but this time not getting detained (they were surrounded by the militia though!). Glasnost was beginning to flower (unknown to many is that it began with Chernobyl) and savage repression against the Trust Group was abating, pretty much ending with the Moscow actions. Sergei Batovrin, its rep abroad in the NYTG, concluded that the special support work could then be brought to rest. (One reason for the "Mission to Moscow" was to solidify the umbrella of protection (in this case by publicity) western (in this case by publicity) anti-nukers had provided the Trust Groups against complete annihilation - like other dissident groups suffered - at the hands of the KGB.)

The Trust Group work was a resounding success. The MTG formed as a brilliant way to prick open a hole in Soviet despotism, taking advantage of Soviet propagandizing around "peace" the way the west countered with "democracy" propaganda. Though victimized daily (unending surveillance, detentions, beatings, torture, 2 executions....), partly thru our help they survived - much to the note and astonishment of Soviet-watchers, the human rights establishment, and even themselves.

(During this period we continued our Polish work and were involved where possible with other east countries, for instance in protesting repression of Czechoslovakia's Charter 77 dissident human rights group.) Soon after, in the Fall of 1986, many of those involved above plus others (including New York ABC) formed NENW-NYC to continue the work but solidifying the agenda of mutual solidarity with all the people in the east. That is, not only did we picket for imprisoned Polish conscription resisters, but the Poles were asked, if they could (their conditions being far more outwardly repressive), to support struggles here. And yes, they did, for instance with petitioning in favor of NYC bike messengers fighting an attempted ban of bikes in part of midtown Manhattan. (Both campaigns winning.) In the Fall of '87 we published our first issue of On Gogol Boulevard (OGB - 6 to date), chronicling the news of not only the traditional eastern dissidents, but of the newer peace, green, youth, counterculture, anarchist, and other oppositions.

Political prisoner news was right up front, with a number of OGB's having a section on repression and political prisoners in the U.S. , bringing easterners a trustworthy source (anti-Communist, giving us credibility) of anti-western info. OGB was a networking tool (providing contacts , names, address's, phone #'s, languages spoken etc.) for alternative oppositions in east and west. It was an immediate hit - nothing like it was being published anywhere.

Like with the Trust Group, other NENW groups formed. Prominent among them in North America: Toronto-NENW, Bay Area-NENW, Lawrence(Kansas)-NENW, Albany- NENW, Latin America/Miami-NENW, and others. We formed the North American East/West Network of almost 30 groups, and networked with contacts around the world, many of course in the east, some of whom by this time were openly identifying themselves as anarchist. OGB was the chief means of communication and networking.

Again NENW-NYC's (and others) campaigns against repression and for political prisoners are too numerous to list. To name a few: In mutual coordination with Moscow's Free Initiative the twinning of Soviet prisoner Sergei Troyanski of the Free Initiative and U.S. prisoner Rainbow Hawk of the Rainbow Family, both busted on fraudulent drug charges in politicized trials involving their peace/counterculture/anarchist activism. Both were freed; We (and others) petitioned and picketed for Polish anti-authoritarians in the Polish Socialist Party (Democratic Revolution) and anarchists in Poland's Freedom and Peace group who were denied passports and freedom of travel. All were given passports; In pre-revolution East Germany a number of leading anti- authoritarian leftists were arrested. We (and others) immediately picketed local East German consulates. All the East Germans were quickly released and expelled to the west, but were allowed to come home after a short time - another precedent setting victory.

Today we and the Workers Solidarity Alliance have been conducting a large worldwide campaign for the release of 4 political prisoners of Nigeria's anarchist Awareness League. In yet one more precedent, the 4 were let out on bail - the first prisoners to be allowed bail under the emergency decree they were arrested under. To date, that we know of, 59 articles in 16 languages have been published on the case, over 1400 signatures on petitions from a score of countries has been received, over $1,800 raised, and there were 6 demos at Nigerian consulates on an international day of action Feb. 22-26, '93.

Prior to the Awareness League campaign we ran a similar large scope worldwide protest for NYC's Tompkins Square Park anarchist activist political prisoner Kenny Tolia. We initially twinned him with 2 Moscow anarchist punk political prisoners. The Russians were freed (thanks in part to the work of the ex- USSR's Confederation of Anarcho-Syndicalists). But we were asked to do Kenny's campaign too late - after his trial was over (due to bungling and other problems among many in the anarchist scene). He did his minimum 8 months. But at least he had the morale boosting that at U.S. embassies as far away as Minsk, Warsaw, Mexico City, and Moscow, people were in the streets for him (with the Poles suffering beatings and arrests for their efforts). Of our political prisoner/anti-repression activity (just part of our work), few have been conducted only by us - one point is to always to get others involved. But we often initiate or take the lead in the work, or are major players.

Smartly done consistent protest, with planetary coordination, can get regular success. NENW-NYC's history is a case in point. To quote (now defunct) ABC-New York, "Neither East Nor West [NYC] is one of the few anarchist groups who have been around for years, consistently getting results from their actions. They had access to info no one else had, and to groups no one else had contact with." (Love and Rage, "Changes for OGB and ABC," Feb./Mar. '93) NENW-NYC is a specialized defacto ABC group - filling a void - dealing mainly (but not exclusively*) with east-west matters. We're stable and larger and busier than ever. We're in the process of initiating a continental network. While we haven't published On Gogol Boulevard for awhile, it has lived on as a section in many publications, which we mail to hundreds of our major contacts. For most of our history - with the strong exception of ABC activists in NYC and Toronto, and the ABC affiliated U.S. Bayou La Rose newspaper - we had little or no contact with other ABC groups. ABC, in name, seemed to be a mostly nominal or non-existent affair. It appeared we and the national and international milieu we were part of was not only defacto ABC - but as far as we knew we were doing the great bulk of ABC Ð type work around the world. (We now know that the Black Flag paper from England was a regular source of prisoner news, and that International Workers Association sections did prisoner support. But again there was no contact between us.) Happily today that's changed. We welcome the renewed formation of organized and coordinated ABC's and will be part of it. Our contacts and resources are open to all.

*We use this needed eastern specialty as a doorway to incorporating (in many concrete ways) the concerns of and making contacts with the ÒThird WorldÓ and ÒFourth WorldÓ (land-based Indigenous peoples) , with a particular focus on supporting activists with anti-authoritarian and anti-Stalinist perspectives. For instance we bring such contacts and news to the east they wouldnÕt ordinarily get, like trustworthy news of the U.S. invasions of Somalia and Haiti.