*From Cosmonaut, a website aligned with the Marxist Unity Group in the DSA. Volodymyr Chemerys is a well-known political activist with left-wing, pacifist views. Born in the Sumska region of Ukraine, Chemerys, whose native language is Ukrainian, was removed from the Komsomol and his university position in 1982 for “anti-Soviet activity.” In the 1980s, he would play an active role in the Ukrainian nationalist movement. His prominence in famous protest movements like the 1990 “Granite Revolution” led to various problems with the Soviet government. However, after the fall of the USSR, Chemerys’s political views became more left-wing. He was always consistent in his support for democratic rights, playing a leading role in the 2000-1 protests against Leonid Kuchma’s authoritarian, pro-business government, as well as other protests in Ukraine throughout the 21**st** century. Because of his left-wing activism (as well as that of other left-wing parties strong in Ukraine at the time, including the Communist and Social Democratic parties), the Ukrainian constitution was edited in the 2000s in order to guarantee more social rights.*
*Chemerys has constantly railed against constant violations of this relatively progressive constitution. His defense of political pluralism and socio-economic rights led him to become one of the few remaining critics of the post-2014, “Euromaidan” order in Ukraine. His public stance against war and violent wartime repression led to his persecution by the Ukrainian secret services in 2022. During interrogations where the secret services were accompanied by masked, right-wing paramilitarists, Chemerys **had his ribs broken by the latter.* <https://rabkor.ru/columns/events/2022/07/31/ukraine_case_of_chemeris/>* The NGO “Chesno,” a liberal-nationalist group **funded* <https://www.chesno.org/en/information/finances/>* by the NED and various NATO countries, has a large dossier on **Chemerys* <https://www.chesno.org/politician/68572/> * online, accusing him of “left-wing propaganda” and of supporting the Minsk peace agreements. This website, similar to the infamous “Mirotvorets,” doxxes personal information of what it calls “traitors.”See https://cosmonautmag.com/2024/03/the-struggle-for-democracy-in-ukraine-an-interview-with-volodymyr-chemerys/ <https://cosmonautmag.com/2024/03/the-struggle-for-democracy-in-ukraine-an-interview-with-volodymyr-chemerys/>Репресії в Україні /Repression of the left and dissenters in Ukraine <https://t.me/repressionoftheleft> , a Telegram channel noted in this article and hyperlinked @ https://jacobin.com/2023/02/ukraine-censorship-authoritarianism-illiberalism-crackdown-police-zelensky <https://jacobin.com/2023/02/ukraine-censorship-authoritarianism-illiberalism-crackdown-police-zelensky> . * Michael Pugliese -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#30695): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/30695 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/106576167/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
