Nestor Makhno

Nestor Makhno, the peasant anarchist who lead revolutionary forces against the German/Austrian occupiers, the White Army, the Red Army, and the local nationalists, to liberate a wide swatch of eastern, southern, and central Ukraine, has been one of my heroes since I was a teenager. When I saw that Engineer Basevich produced a model of Nestor Makhno in their set of four mounted leaders of the Ukrainian Revolution in 1/32 scale, I was very excited. Luckily, my local hobby store had the set in stock. I've never worked in 1/32 (usually smaller, 1/72), but this was a fun model to paint. I recently finished this piece and mounted it on a piece of tile. I share it today, to commemorate the birthday of Nestor Makhno:

There are many great sources out there about Nestor Makhno, though for most of last century, the USSR (who crushed the anarchist movement) attempted to erase and rewrite this great history. Please read more about this warrior for the oppressed.

Paul Avrich's article on Makhno is a wonderful introduction. 

https://libcom.org/history/facing-enemy-history-anarchist-organization-alexandre-skirda

Alex Skirda's book, Anarchy's Cossack, is a great place to start. 

Free PDF download is available on LibCom https://libcom.org/library/nestor-makhno-anarchys-cossack-alexandre-skirda

Or even better, read Makhno's own words and those of many others at the Nestor Makhno archive:

https://www.nestormakhno.info/english/index.htm

"With the oppressed, against the oppressors, always!"