Rouvikonas ("Rubicon", Greek: Ρουβίκωνας) is an activist anarchist collective in Athens, Greece. It was formed in 2013 amid the Greek financial crisis and has since undertaken more than 50 actions.[2] Rouvikonas is based in the central Athenian district of Exarcheia, a neighborhood traditionally accommodating of artists, anarchists and anti-authoritarians.[3]
Most of the group's actions have been of low significance against high-profile targets, such as throwing paint, smashing window fronts, attacking ATMs and occupying monuments of significance.[2][4] Rouvikonas has at times effectively acted as a vigilante group, targeting employers and individuals accused of exploitative behavior, such as unfairly withholding wages, accepting bribes, sexual harassment, and unjust firings.[5] Rouvikonas' actions have also included organizing of free common meals[6][7] and the operation of a volunteer mobile firefighting brigade.[8]
As of 2018, police sources estimated approximately the group had 120–150 members.[2] Its mode of action and open membership is in contrast with previous anarchist groups that operated by use of indiscriminate violence.[2][4] Rouvikonas is part of the platformist Anarchist Federation, along with other anarchist collectives of Greece.[9]
On the 18th of May 2024 a leading member of the group was arrested (Giorgos Kalaitzidis) and charged with threatening to incite criminal activity through social media, on which he posted: "All embassies and all houses of ambassadors will be targets; all touristic areas will become places of operation".[10][11]
References
- ^ "Τρία χρόνια Ρουβίκωνας: Οι δράσεις, οι αντιδράσεις και τα σενάρια". 27 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d Chatzistavrou 2018, p. 258-59.
- ^ The Economist 2018.
- ^ a b Clapp 2018.
- ^ "Éfodos Rouvíkona sto nosokomeío Metaxá, apeílisan giatró gia fakeláki" Έφοδος Ρουβίκωνα στο νοσοκομείο Μεταξά, απείλησαν γιατρό για φακελάκι [Rouvíkonas attack at Metaxas Hospital, threatening a doctor for an "envelope" (bribe)] (in Greek). March 2018.
- ^ "Rouvíkonas: Dianomí mageireménou fagitoú" Ρουβίκωνας: Διανομή μαγειρεμένου φαγητού [Rouvíkonas: Distribution of cooked food]. Alerta.gr (in Greek). 16 November 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "Rouvíkonas kai El Chef moirázoun eídi prótis anánkis kai fagitó ypokathistóntas ton adiáforo Dímo Athinaíon" Ρουβίκωνας και El Chef μοιράζουν είδη πρώτης ανάγκης και φαγητό υποκαθιστώντας τον αδιάφορο Δήμο Αθηναίων [Rouvikonas and El Chef distribute basic necessities and food replacing the indifferent Municipality of Athens]. Documento (in Greek). 3 December 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "Anarquistas contra el fuego en Grecia: de incendiarios a bomberos | C…". archive.is. 2024-07-27. Archived from the original on 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "Αναρχική Οργάνωση | Το site του Ρουβίκωνα". Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "Συνελήφθη ηγετικό στέλεχος του Ρουβίκωνα" protothema(in Greek) May 18 2024
- ^ "Ρουβίκωνας: Ελεύθερος ο Καλαϊτζίδης μετά το… σόου με τα αλεξίσφαιρα – Στις 28 Μαΐου η δίκη για μία ανάρτηση στο Facebook" documento(in Greek) May 20 2024
Bibliography
- Chatzistavrou, Filippa (2018). "Mobilising for Democracy during Austerity in Greece". In Blockmans, Steven; Russack, Sophia (eds.). Direct Democracy in the EU: The Myth of a Citizens' Union. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 253–284. ISBN 978-1-78660-997-7.
- "How a group of Athens troublemakers goes unpunished - Licensed anarchy?". The Economist. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
- Clapp, Alexander (2018-01-26). "Never Mind the Troika, Here's Rouvikonas". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
Further reading
- Downes, James F.; Bruno, Valerio Alfonso; Chan, Edward (2023). "The Case of DiEM25: A Unique Transnational Political Movement in 21st-Century European Politics". In Orofino, Elisa; Allchorn, William (eds.). Routledge Handbook of Non-Violent Extremism: Groups, Perspectives and New Debates. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003032793-29. ISBN 9781003032793.
- Karlin, John Ryan (2021). "Dialogical encounter and the production of exilic space in Exarcheia". Anthropological Notebooks. 7 (3). ISSN 2232-3716.
- Karlin, John Ryan (2022). "Battles for Socio-Spatial Hegemony in the Exilic Space of Exarcheia". Antipode. 54 (4): 1112–1140. doi:10.1111/anti.12833.
- Kounalaki, Xenia (2021). "Migration and the Pandemic: Is Greece in Danger of Excessive Political Correctness?". In Angelidis, Dimitris; Kokkinaki, Fotini; Kounalaki, Xenia; Maragidou, Melpomeni; Papagiannakis, Lefteris; Sakellariou, Alexandros; Haramis, Pavlos (eds.). Borders and Coronavirus: Refugee Policy and Public Discourse in a time of a dual crisis in Greece (PDF) (Report). Friedrich Ebert Foundation. ISBN 9786188517615.
- Lubrano, Mauro (2024). "Hidden in Plain Sight: Insurrectionary Anarchism in the Anti-Government Extremism Landscape". Perspectives on Terrorism. 18 (1): 37–61. JSTOR 27301119.
- Mylonas, Harris (2018). "Greece: Political developments and data for 2017". European Journal of Political Research Political Data. 57 (1): 121–128. doi:10.1111/2047-8852.12201.
- Mylonas, Harris (2019). "Greece: Political developments and data in 2018". European Journal of Political Research Political Data. 58 (1): 113–122. doi:10.1111/2047-8852.12241.
- Poulakidakos, Stamatis; Veneti, Anastasia (2023). "Communication practices, new media technologies, and anarchist movements: The website of the Greek anarchist group Rouvikonas as a "one stop shop"". In Poulakidakos, Stamatis; Veneti, Anastasia; Rovisco, Maria (eds.). Social Movements and Everyday Acts of Resistance: Solidarity in a Changing World. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003265337-9. ISBN 9781003265337.
- Veneti, Anastasia; Poulakidakos, Stamatis (2020). "The Visual Rhetoric of YouTube Videos by the Greek Anarchist Group Rouvikonas". In Crick, Nathan (ed.). The Rhetoric of Social Movements: Networks, Power, and New Media. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780429436291-6. ISBN 9780429436291.
External links
- Official Website (in Greek)
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