In the early 20th century
Russian Empire, dissidents including anarchists and
socialists were jailed, exiled, or killed for their resistance to
monarchy. Different political groups and organizations got together under the
Political Red Cross umbrella to provide material support for those repressed. The Political Red Cross split when
Social Democrats began filtering the group's support towards people with ideological alignment, thus creating the Anarchist Red Cross to help all social revolutionaries without regard to their political affiliation. By 1907, the Anarchist Red Cross had expanded to Russia,
Europe, and the
United States, particularly as Russians fled persecution, but from exile, continued to support imprisoned
political dissidents. The
Russian empire fell in 1917 and by releasing its political prisoners, obviated any need for the Anarchist Red Cross. But as the
Bolshevik communists rose and adopted the
tsar's tactics, anarchists once again returned to prisoner aid. The group later changed its name from Red to Black Cross to not invoke the international
humanitarian aid organization the
International Red Cross. Black Cross chapters in the early 20th century focused on helping anarchist dissidents during the
Spanish Civil War,
World War II, and in
Francoist Spain. In the 1970s, the Black Cross turned away from international aid toward local political issues. American chapters responded to increased government crackdown on radicals following the 1960s
counterculture, in which activists were entrapped and imprisoned during the
Federal Bureau of Investigation's
COINTELPRO program. By the early 2010s, the American Anarchist Black Cross had supported around 100 jailed anarchists . In 1967, a British iteration of the Anarchist Black Cross formed upon
Stuart Christie's return from Spanish prison. The group combined with Black Flag, which itself consisted of members of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Committee active in the 1950s and 60s. The British Anarchist Black Cross is associated with publications including
Black Flag (which has been produced since around 1970),
Bulletin of the Anarchist Black Cross,
Mutual Aid, and
Taking Liberties.
Black Flag, in particular, is known for its advocacy for "
class war anarchism". The Anarchist Black Cross publishing program considers itself less attached to
liberalism than that of groups like
Freedom Press. The Anarchist Black Cross continued its activity through at least the late 1990s. The Black Cross's aid efforts include
fundraising, acts of solidarity, and other forms of support of prisoners and their families. Fundraising events involve
consciousness raising and community collaboration, and funds raised are used to buy prisoners stamps, writing implements and other basic needs. Solidarity efforts include letter-writing nights, distributing literature, and advocacy campaigns alongside
hunger strikes and for
clemency. These acts aim to reduce prisoner isolation and improve their living conditions. == Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ==