Action of commemoration of Dominique Venner on occasion of the second anniversary of his death

On May 21, 2015 at the French Embassy in Kyiv was held an action of commemoration of the French historian and patriot of Europe Dominique Venner by the initiative of the International Department of the “Azov” regiment “Azov Reconquista,” mission of which fully coincides with fulfilling the last will of the prominent Frenchman. The event stated with the speech of the coordinator of the project “Azov Reconquista” Olena Semenyaka. She said that if Julius Evola is known as the emblematic theorist of the revolt against the modern world who turned an almost fatalistic verdict of Rene Guenon, expressed in his title work “The Crisis of the Modern World,” into the need of active resistance against its destructive tendencies, then Dominique Venner has become the very personification of this revolt known under the name of the Rebel.

Further, Olena said that Dominique Venner’s heroic deed, on the one hand, is not unique. It has become usual to compare the demonstrative suicide of the “last occidental samurai” in Notre-Dame de Paris with the rebellious act of the real Japanese samurai Yukio Mishima who committed seppuku after the failed attempt of the regime overthrow and restoration of the status of Japanese Self-Defense Forces. Moreover, Ukraine has its own “Dominique Venner” – Oleksa Hirnyk who committed self-immolation at the Chernecha Mount in Kaniv near Taras Shevchenko’s grave in protest against Russification policy of the Soviet authorities. Besides, Olena Semenyaka added that after recent conversations with European admirers of Venner it has become clear that almost every European nation has its own “Venner”: Czech student Jan Palach who set himself on fire in protest against demoralization caused by the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (action followed by the same self-sacrificial suicides of Jan Zajíc and Evžen Plocek); young Finnish police chief and prosecutor Bobi Siven who shot himself in protest against signing the Tartu peace treaty with the Soviet Union that established the Finnish-Soviet border and obliged Finland, in particular, to withdraw its forces from the occupied East Karelia; German pastor Roland Weißelberg who conducted self-immolation not so long go – in 2006 – in protest against islamization of Europe and whose heroic deed, in turn, was a reference to earlier self-burning of another German pastor Oskar Brüsewitz in protest against anti-religious policy of the communist regime in East Germany.

However, went on to say Olena Semenyaka, we feel that Venner’s deed was unique. Firstly, because it is too close to our times and is addressed to each of us as conscious Europeans who have to react on dangers posed by the irresponsible and anti-European liberal governments, Islamization of Europe, mass migration and demographic collapse of the European peoples. Secondly, Venner’s intellectual legacy is unprecedented, which makes his message not only a matter of the heroic purity of spirit. Thirdly, Venner was a truly European patriot who has never betrayed the third way between the liberal West and (neo-)Soviet East: he knew that after 1945 Europe was in decline, saw that appear new superpowers like China, India and the Islamic world in spite of its inner conflicts and hoped that freed from the communistic legacy Russia could become the continental partner of Europe, but he was far from celebrating the rise of the third world like headed by Alexander Dugin neo-Eurasianists do who believe that the rise of the multi-polar world, in particular, is a natural “traditionalist” revolt against “invented by the white race” capitalism, colonialism and exploitation. Venner has always been firmly Euro-centric and knew very well that Europe is a birthplace of particular culture, metaphysics, heroic values and sense of freedom that make it truly unique and which we have to preserve by any means. Besides, he wanted to strengthen Europe in the face of the external threats and, in spite of his devotion to the Heathen “Bible of Europe” – “Iliad” and “Odyssey” – tried to reconcile the Heathen and Christian identities, for example, by pointing at the Roman stoic spirit incorporated by some Christian communities. Yet namely Greek heroic epos and mythology were the very incarnation of European tradition for Venner who did not believe that Europe needs “centralizing” assistance of monotheism and other global projects.

Finally, Dominique Venner called us not only to “preserve,” but to act and to create history, the vanguard of which have always been namely Europeans. Now, when our identity has become so fragile, says Venner, its importance and value increased as never before in the history of Europe. Therefore, concluded Olena Semenyaka, the full title of our European Reconquista sounds as follows: “European Reconquista named after Dominique Venner.”

Another speech conducted the Head of Press Service of the “Azov” regiment Olexander Alfyorov who underlined that it was not the first time as Dominique Venner was commemorated in Kyiv, for this time we honored him not only as the intellectuals, activists of metapolitical and non-governmental organizations, but as national-revolutionaries who gained our own share of power in the ongoing struggle both against internal and external occupation of Ukraine, which objectively may be called the forefront of European civilization in a cultural and literal senses. Olexander remarked that one of our tasks is to continue speaking aloud the name of Dominique Venner, carry on, investigate and translate his legacy, as well as destroy the artificial information vacuum around his figure in European mass media and educational institutions. He emphasized that all of us perceive Dominique Venner as the last knight of Europe and, in confirmation of his words, asked the audience to pay honor to the great Frenchmen with the triple exclamation “Slava!”

The event was attended, among others, by Russian, Italian, Canadian volunteers and friends of the “Azov” regiment who swore to continue the cause of Dominique Venner. In the end a part of attendies made a collective photo against the background of the French Embassy and, having put the flowers, candle and portrait of Dominique Venner in front of the latter, left. 

By Olena Semeniaka, oroginal