The Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups (MFAG) was a network of

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

groups established in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1917. They occupied the Merchants' House shortly after the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

. They published ''

Anarkhiia ''Anarkhiia'' was Russian weekly, then daily newspaper published by the Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups. It was edited by Vladimir Barmash, Abba Gordin, German Askarov, Pyotr Arshinov, Lev Chernyi and others. It was first launched in Septe ...

'', weekly after its launch in September 1917 and then as a daily from March 1918. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

of November 1917, they were involved in the development of the

Black Guards Black Guards (russian: Чёрная гвардия, ) were armed groups of workers formed after the February Revolution and before the final Bolshevik suppression of other leftwing groups. They were the main strike force of the anarchists. They ...

into a significant military force in Moscow. On 3 March 1918 the Bolsheviks signed the

Brest-Litovsk Treaty The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...

, which precipitated a political crisis with their erstwhile allies amongst the Anarchists and

Left Socialist Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revol ...

. On 12 April, 1918 the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

authorities moved against the Anarchists: 26 centres were raided in Moscow, forty anarchists were killed and over 500 were arrested.

Lev Chernyi Lev Chernyi ( rus, Лев Чёрный, p=ˈlʲef ˈtɕɵrnɨj, a=Lyev Chyornyy.ru.vorb.oga; born Pavel Dimitrievich Turchaninov, rus, Па́вел Дми́триевич Турчани́нов, p=ˈpavʲɪl ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrtɕɪˈn ...

was the secretary of MFAG.

References

{{reflist 1917 establishments in Russia 1918 disestablishments in Russia Anarchist organizations in Russia Organizations of the Russian Revolution Organizations disestablished in 1918 Organizations established in 1917