The return of Russian anarchists?

It’s been a while since their 19th century heyday, but Russian anarchists might be making a comeback: An obscure anarchist group linked to anti-government attacks on an $8 billion highway project in the Moscow region has claimed responsibility for an explosion near a traffic police post on the Moscow Ring Road this week. Investigators on Wednesday opened a criminal investigation into the explosion a day earlier ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

It's been a while since their 19th century heyday, but Russian anarchists might be making a comeback:

It’s been a while since their 19th century heyday, but Russian anarchists might be making a comeback:

An obscure anarchist group linked to anti-government attacks on an $8 billion highway project in the Moscow region has claimed responsibility for an explosion near a traffic police post on the Moscow Ring Road this week.

Investigators on Wednesday opened a criminal investigation into the explosion a day earlier of a household gas cylinder packed with the equivalent of 150 grams of TNT and planted on the 22nd kilometer mark of the MKAD, Interfax reported.

No one was injured in the attack, which investigators labeled as hooliganism.

A group called Anarchist Guerrilla said the attack was meant to punish traffic police, "who are no better" than other police officers, according to a statement published by Kommersant. To buttress that point, the statement cited several high-profile cases involving traffic police officers.

The statement said the blast was not intended to hurt anyone.

So they blew up a traffic marker to punish the traffic police? Not quite sure it’s what Kropotkin had in mind but it’s good that no one was hurt.

 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

Tag: Russia

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