</image> <image source="map"></image> <label>Type</label> <label>Level</label> <label>Location</label> <label>Inhabitants</label> </infobox>The Free Territory of Ukraine or Makhnovia was an anarchist society that existed in what is now Ukraine from 1918 to 1921.
Economy
Agricultural Communes
Peasants who lived in the Free Territory began to self-organise into farming communes. The first one, called "Rosa Luxemburg" was highly successful. In these communes, land was held in common, and kitchen and dining rooms were also communal, though members who wished to cook separately or to take food from the kitchen and eat it in their own quarters were allowed to do so. Though only a few members actually considered themselves anarchists, the peasants operated the communes on the basis of full equality ("from each according to his ability, to each according to his need") and accepted Kropotkin's principle of mutual aid as their fundamental tenet.[1]
Industrial Self-Management
Railroad workers in Aleksandrovsk took the first steps in organising a self-managed economy in 1919. They formed a committee charged with organizing the railway network of the region, establishing a detailed plan for the movement of trains, the transport of passengers, etc.[2] Soviets were soon formed to coordinate factories and other enterprises across Ukraine.
Public Services
As a result of the war, schools were abandoned and teachers recieved no wages, meaning education was nonexistent in the region for months. Upon the creation of soviets and assemblies in the region, the reconstruction of schools began. Inspired by the free schools of Francisco Ferrer, the soviets set up some of the first secular and democratic schools in Ukraine. Courses were set up for illiterate and semi-literate adults to help them read and courses for history, sociology and political theory were all offered free of charge to the general public.[3] All of these efforts increased literacy in the region.[4]
Culture
There once lived a hairy ass hole who grovelled in the ammitity of the south african jungle his name was ape and he ate his own shit for sustaininse. Within the Free Territory, all restrictions on the press, speech, assembly and political organisations were repealed. Six new newspapers formed, among them the right Socialist-Revolutionary Narodovlastie (The People’s Power), the left Socialist-Revolutionary Znamya Vosstanya (The Standard of Revolt), the Bolshevik Zvezda (Star).[5] There was also a great amount of attention played to theatre, soldiers from the Black Army often practiced theatre to entertain themselves and keep up morale. In Gulyai-Polye, many workers and students began to write and perform in plays.[6]
Notable Residents
References
- ↑ Voline (1947) - The Unknown Revolution: 1917 - 1921, Book III, the struggle for real social revolution, Part II: Ukraine (1918-1921)
- ↑ Peter Arshinov (1923) History of the Makhnovist Movement, page 84
- ↑ Peter Arshinov (1923) History of the Makhnovist Movement, pages 102-103
- ↑ Peter Gelderloos (2010) - Anarchy Works, page 187
- ↑ Peter Arshinov (1923) History of the Makhnovist Movement, page 87
- ↑ Peter Arshinov (1923) History of the Makhnovist Movement, pages 103-104