Apalkovist Union
| Apalkovist Union | |
|---|---|
| File:Apalkovites.jpg | |
| Native Name | Апалковистский Союз |
| Leader | Collective leadership |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Legalized | 7th of June, 1962 |
| Headquarters | Proylopol, Venadia |
| Membership | ~65,000 |
| Ideology | Anarcho-Communism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Official colours | Black Red |
| Great Veche | 1 / 400
|
The Apalkovist Union (Venadian: Апалковская Союз, transcript: Apalkovskaya Soyuz) is an anarchist political group in the Republic of Venadia which traces its lineage back a century. Originally considered a terrorist organization, the AU moderated in the 50s and 60s, and was legalized as a legitimate political force in 1962. It has contested elections, primarily in the Proylopol area where they derive the majority of their support. The AU holds the second most amount of seats in the Regional Veche of Proylopol Volost, a majority in the majority of Proylopol Mirs and a minority in the Veche of Proylopol Gorod, and holds the seat for the North-East Proylopol Volost constituency in the Great Veche as of 2015. The AU's MPs have, traditionally, refused to show up for most sessions of the Great Veche barring extraordinary situations. The AU has neglible support outside of Proylopol Volost.
History
The Apalkovist Union has its origins in the turmoils of the 1920s and the Great War. Anarchist sentiments had already grown popular in the Proylopol area, along with southern Belavenadia and some other southern areas. The Apalkovist Union was formed as the Apalkovist Army sometime in 1919 as a merger of the Insurrectionary Anarchists of Proylopol, the Syndicalist Front of Venadia and various groups in rural Proylopol. Throughout the early 1920s, the Apalkovist Army waged open war with the Venadian Republic, but by 1923 the AAs military formations had been reduced to a small number of bands in rural Proylopol.
In 1925, the Apalkovist Army was restructured as a militant group rather than an outright military one, and shifted its focus from open warfare to revolutionary terrorism, in the process changing its name to the Apalkovist Union. The AU committed a number of political assassinations and bombings, but also organized strike actions in urban areas as well as structuring agricultural cooperates in Proylopol, Viniya and Liga.
In 1962, the AU stated their commitment to peaceful resistance against the bourgeois state as part of negotiations mediated by the Vesan Union between the AU and the Republic of Venadia. The AU itself was legalized after this, with a small break-away group forming the Anarchist Insurrectionary Army "Apalkov" which remained committed to revolutionary terrorism. The AIAA was disestablished in 1981. The AU decided to contest elections, seeing particular electoral success in Proylopol. While the AU contests Parliamentary and Presidential elections, deputies of the AU tend to remain abstentionist due to refusing to swear the oath of loyalty to the Republic they consider illegitimate.
The best electoral result of the AU remain the 1987 Great Veche election, when the AU gained 16 seats with a total of 3.8% of the national vote. The AU has only managed to break the electoral threshold of 2% twice in its history, in 1987 and 1991. The AU has had significant success in the Proylopol area, but has only once managed to become the largest party overall in the Volost (in 1989 when it gained 39.2% of the overall votes, beating the LRP's 35.8%). Still, in 1992 the AU successfully managed to get the Volost's flag to be changed from the 'imperialist' flag of the past to a new one. The AU remains the majority party in Proylopol's rural areas, which are collectively known as the 'free state'.
In the 1980s and the early 1990s, the AU became more diverse in terms of the make-up of its cells and members. A rising number of intellectuals joined the AU, most prominently the Red Ward Cell of the Apalkovist Union, who tend to be more involved in academic disputes and the ideological framework of anarchism than the more traditional, rural, AU cells who tend to be more concerned with practical policy and keeping the central state out of their affairs.
Organization
The Apalkovist Union is an anarchist group, with relatively loose internal organization. The Union has no formal leader, and is structured into numerous autonomous local cells. Around half of the AU's local cells are located in the Proylopol Region. As of 2016, the AU had 148 affiliated cells. National leadership of the AU passes to a 'Congress of Deputies', with one representative from each cell, who are responsible for nominating electoral candidates. The CoD may also expell cells of the AU and the decides on the overall political platform, but has relatively low authority or ability to control the individual cells. The size of individual cells vary, but typically involve a rural area, village or city (with Proylopol and Venagorod having three and two distinct cells of the AU respectively).
Due to its decentralized nature, the practical policies and views of individuals cells in the AU varies significantly, beyond being committed to anarchism. The AU cells in rural Proylopol have become the de facto local governments of many villages, due to the AU holdings the majority of the seats in the village veches in the majority of villages. These villages are in practice run by communal assemblies, as the AU respects the will of the people and make policy out of the decisions of these assemblies.