MikeDunnAuthor<p>Today In Labor History April 9, 1918: Members of the anarchist Black Guards confiscated the car of the American ambassador to Russia in Moscow, demanding the release of prisoners in the US. The Black Guards were armed groups of workers that formed after the February Revolution. They were the main military wing of the anarchists. The first Black Guards were created in Ukraine by Maria Nikiforova (Marusia), an anarchist terrorist from the age of 16, who eventually became Deputy leader of the Oleksandrivsk Revolutionary committee. She created the Black Guards to force land reform and redistribution. Similar cells were later created by Nestor Makhno, and she later participated in the anarchist free state of Makhnovia. The last Black Guards were quashed by the Cheka, under orders from Trotsky, on April 11-12, 1918.</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>workingclass</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LaborHistory</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/russia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>russia</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ukraine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ukraine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/anarchism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>anarchism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blackguard" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>blackguard</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NestorMakhno" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NestorMakhno</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MariaNikiforova" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MariaNikiforova</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/terrorism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>terrorism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/trotsky" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>trotsky</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Revolution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Revolution</span></a></p>