London: Solidarity demo with 195 Mare Street squatter and Russian LGBTQ activist facing deportation

Update: Ira has been released! Release party at 195 Mare Street, Hackney, 10pm tonight! @IrinaMustStay

From Irina Must Stay:

A crowd of more than 150 people assembled around the UKBA offices in London Bridge. We spoke to Ira to show her how much support there is for her and others in Yarl’s Wood. Almost £100 was raised to be passed on to other detainees for phone credit as a lot of them are completely isolated. If you would like to donate online for detainees in Yarl’s Wood or to the campaign please send a message via the Irina Must Stay facebook. We are thinking of holding another demo on Saturday 14th Dec at the Home Office or Yarl’s Wood – please follow the twitter @irinamuststay to keep updated. Thanks for your support! [Read More]

UPDATE on the detained squatters in St Petersburg

All but one of the activists have been released on condition they appear in court to be charged with an administrative offence. This is a less serious offence and normally results in a formal warning or a fine.

The last squatter, whom the St Petersburg Investigative Committee has reported to be a 20-year old college student from Tajikistan, has been remanded for two months in St Petersburg’s notorious Kresty prison, suspected of  violence against a police officer.

Details about fundraising for his defence will be posted shortly.

[Read More]

Violent Squat Eviction in St Petersburg: Three Activists Face 10 Years in Prison

On 4th February, at around 10pm local time, riot police brutally evicted a group of anarchists, community activists and local history enthusiasts who had been occupying a disused railway station, Warsaw station, in St Petersburg, Russia.

Hearing that the site would soon be demolished to make way for a multi-storey housing complex, the activists had turned one of the last warehouses attached to the historic train station into a community centre, hosting concerts, poetry readings and a photo-exhibition of the history of the station.

[Read More]

St. Petersburg (Russia): Black Hole squat evicted

“Black hole” was a living squat, five rooms in a big 4 store building. It was squatted in April and evicted in end of November [2009]. 6-7 anarchists were living in the squat together with Kostya, a migrant worker from Belarus who originally lived there on his own but then together with anarchists.

There were constant problems with electricity, which was taken from neighbours but constantly cut off. Eventually most of the people had to leave squat in November because of this. Eventually police came with city workers in end of November, they broked door to the street and blocked it with bricks. There was only one person in the squat, who had to escape in order not to get arrested. Cops and workers stole some of the property.

[Read More]

Eviction of a squat in St. Petersburg

25th of May in the morning, police evicted squat “Pila” in Ligovsky prospect in St. Petersburg, which had existed for half a year. While police was breaking in, people managed to escape from windows with some valuables, and no-one was arrested. However many valuables were also stolen or destroyed by the cops, for example musical instruments of the squatters. 8 people were living in “Pila” and many activities were organised there. As most Russian squats, “Pila” was clandestine and its existence was not openly announced. Another such squat where concerts were organised was also recently uncovered in Vasilevsky island, and it had to be abandonded due to security threats.

[Read More]

Dead end of the Klizma squat

The last plans for the squat Klizma was to accommodate all guests at the anarchist festival “Black Petrograd-04”. This turned out to be too complicated. During the week before the festival the house was daily raided by local cops. Some people staid there, but only at night time, and it was not possible to leave anything at the squat.

Beside the local cops, the squat was already widely known amongst petersburg nazis. While the squat existed nazis often got beaten by antifascists, specially near Narvskaja metro station (the nearest metro to the squat). A few days before the anarchist festival the squatters were treatened by an attack from nazis, but most of them believed that it was just the usual rumors.

7th November 2004 10 drunk nazis attaced the squat, but couldn’t enter. The squatters fought them at the entrance. The nazis where burned by Molotov coctails and boiling water. One squatter got injured to his face by a broken bottle.

[Read More]

Squat Klizma at St Petersburg (Russia) in troubles!

The squat Klizma is at the same house, where at Autumn 2003 was located the squat Pekarnia. From December 2003 the squatters has continuously renovated the building and hold there the weekly meetings of Punk Revival. Through the winter almost each Saturday there took place a concert with local and foreign bands. Also sometimes there was organized a little non-profit-bar. Last 3 months there are permanently living about 5 persons and all the time some quests.

The squat Klizma is famous as the place for activities and hanging around for the anarchist antifascist punk movement “Punk Revival”, who have been actively fighting against fascism at St Petersburg the last 1,5 years and made a huge effect to the rise of the anarchist antifascist community (to speak about movement is yet too loud) in St Petersburg.

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Squat “Pekarnia”

Squat “Pekarnia” still exists, but now with a new name “Klizma”

After the eviction of squat “Pekarnia” at 7th of November 2003 the house was empty and quiet for some time. Just after the eviction it seemed very possible that cops would kick out also the homeless people from the second floor and close the house. But after the eviction the cops left the house undisturbed, so the third floor was squatted again.

A few months squatters renovated the house again, built new heating systems etc, but anyway it still is fucking cold there, sometimes even colder that on the street. In spite of the temperature down to -20 degrees, the anarchist antifa-group “Punk Revival” hold their weekly meetings in the squat and other people also hang around there daily.

[Read More]

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St-Petersburg: Eviction of the Pekarnja squat

Eviction of the squat in St. Petersburg

On Friday, the 7th, November 2003, the squatted house in Petersburg was evicted. Early in the evening two policemen – a man and a woman came up to the house. As we didn’t open the door on repeatedly request, one of the policemen began smashing the windows with stones. Then we opened the door. Although we were prepared to the eviction (we carried all worthy and not immediately necessary things away already two days ago), the time of the eviction was very bad for us. Out of twelve people who were in the house to the time of the eviction, seven were foreigners. There was a finnish women’s band, which arrived one day ago and two of the squatters who lived in the house since the very beginning of the squat. Because of this, we decided not to take up a confrontation with the policemen, but to leave the house voluntarily.

[Read More]

squat pekarnia update 301003

Squat Pekarnia – alert of eviction!

28. of October 2003 police officers of Kirovskiy district raided the squat Pekarnia. The reason for cops to check the house was, that a day before one of the homeless people, who live at 2nd floor (the squat Pekarnia is located at the 3rd floor), fall out from the window and was taken to hospital because of severe head injury.

One day after the accident, when the cops came to the house, there where 2 people inside in Pekarnia. One of them was taken to police station as a captive, the other one was asked to find the people, who live permanently at the squat. Cops take sound system from Pekarnia to secure that the squatters show up at the police station until the evening.

In the evening some squatters went to the police station to free the squatter, who was catched, and also to get back the sound system. The squatters where first accused in “creating criminal surroundings”, and soon demanded to leave the house, because “the house is empty, and nobody should live there”. Cops gave the squatters one week (until 4th of November) to move away from the house or to show official documents from KUGI (City Comittee for Dealing with the State Property). About the right to use the house.

[Read More]

House occupied in St. Petersburg, Russia!

Squat Pekarnja – House occupied in St. Petersburg, Russia! One floor of a three floors house at industrial region of St. Petersburg is occupied by anarchist and punk/HC scene activists. This floor was occupied already in the beginning of June by Petersburg anarcho-punk group Punk Revival and PLA, and from the beginning of October other anarchist and anti-authoritian activists join them and the squat project. Last week at the squat there were maid electricity and DIY heating systems, which is very important, as far as central heating and gas systems doesn’t work in that house.

The occipied house is called Pekarnja (Bakery), because there used to be bakery in that house. Now there is 4 people more or less permanently living at Pekarnja. Also it’s a free space for other anti-authoritarian people and groups to meet and hang around.

[Read More]

Police evicts a squat in Moscow using brutal violence

  Police evicts a squat in Moscow using brutal violence


Evgeni Schetov is an artist, to whom Moscow Union of Artists provided a space some two and half years ago. Since then, small space in Armyanskiy Pereulok 1 has become important hub for libertarian revolutionaries in Moscow, in particular for radical ecological movement Rainbow Keepers and Radical League of Artists. This made both city officials and bureaucratic art prats from Moscow Union of Artists unhappy, and during more than a year the space has been under a threat of an eviction. In reply to threats, Schetov has quit paying rents and municipal services – making space the first political squat in Moscow since 1997. Neither the Moscow Union of Artists nor the person who owns the place bothered to go to court to nullify the contract which is in force until October 2004. Instead they decided to use illegal direct action and violence to reach their goals.

Pressure against the place has been growing during last months, with regular attempts of police to break into the place and violent beatings of activists by people from Moscow Union of Artists. Breaking in has not been an easy task since the place is located below ground level and has a heavy door protecting it. However in the morning of Saturday 12th of October police managed to destroy door with axes, and police and members of Union of Artists rushed in smashing all the people on their way. One of the attacked got a brain crash, some others bleeding wounds. 3 persons had to visit hospital. Everyone got arrested. In time of the arrest, Moscow Union of Artists threw all property to street and changed the locks.

Squatters are now launching a campaign against eviction, to get back what is rightfully theirs. Please help us in our campaign, and distribute this message! We are organising a fax campaign for MONDAY 21ST OF OCTOBER to pressure institutions which are responsable for the eviction. Please send faxes Monday 21st of october to following adresses:

Moscow Union of Artists: +7-095-921-86-08
Head Department of Internal Affairs in Moscow (GUVD) +7-095-973-20-41
General prosecutor’s office +7-095-921-41-86
Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow (MVD) +7-095-237-49-25

Best time is the working time in Moscow, which is 6 AM – 14 AM Greenwich Median Time. If you have problems with the schedule, send faxes any other time later in the day or the same week.

Below a a sample letter you may use. Any further edition of the letter on your own is very much recommended!

Please report how much you have send faxes, by whom and to which adresses to dikobrazi [at] lists [dot] tao [dot] ca. Reporting is very important! Write also if you have problems in getting the faxes through.

A Sample letter:

To <Select appropriate among the following:> Moscow Union of Artists/Head Department of Internal Affairs in Moscow/ General prosecutor’s office/Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow

Saturday 12th of October police and Moscow Union of Artists attacked the space in Armyanskiy Pereulok 1.

The place is hosted by Evgeni Schetov and Radical League of Artists, who have worked closely with Rainbow Keepers movement and other left organisations in Moscow. Now the Moscow authorities and Moscow Union of Artists have decided to smash this important centre of Moscow left youth. 3 of the squatters were beaten up and then moved to hospital, others were evicted from space and arrested.

We strongly condemn this attack of bureucrats against autonomous culture. You are not following even your own laws here!

We demand returning the place back to artists, as their contract remains in force until October 2004 and you have not bothered to go to court to finish the contract.

Date, signature

from the caravan99 [at] lists [dot] riseup [dot] net listserv