Within the long-term research itinerary Propositions for Non-Fascist Living (2017–2021), BAK asked artists, philosophers, scholars, and activists from multiple (political) geographies facing contemporary fascisms how they engage with the question of what constitutes non-fascist living. The responses are 1–5 minute video statements recorded with technology at hand: mobile phones, voice recorders, Skype. These diverse perspectives are published online and screened at performative conferences. Online and offline, they become part of a growing constellation of reflections on ways to think, act, and bring about non-fascist living.
In light of the devastating war on Ukraine, we republish the video statement made by Oleksiy Radynski (filmmaker and writer, Kyiv) in 2017. Herewith the transcript:
Sasha Kolchenko is an anti-fascist from Crimea, Ukraine.
In Spring 2014, he was protesting against the military occupation of Crimea by the Russian troops, aided by the far-right militants.
In May 2014, Kolenchko, together with the filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, was arrested by the occupational forces.
Both were accused of participatiing in the far-right Ukrainian group called the Right Sector.
Kolchenko and Sentsov were put on a show trial in a Russian court.
Both were sentenced to 10 and 20 years in prison, respectively, on fictive charges of terrorism.
The Right Sector, to which they never belonged, is a darling of Russian media.
They utilize it to present the imperialist war in East Ukraine as “anti-fascist struggle.”
Sasha Kolchenko is an anti-fascist jailed for participating in a movement he was struggling against.
This is the punishment for refusing to live a fascist life, a life under military occupation.
Kolchenko and Sentsov live non-fascist lives in Russian prison camps.