“There is nothing romantic about Nazism...”
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RUSSIAN NATIONALISTS
Extremists and neo-Nazis – fighting in the Eastern Ukraine on the side of the separatists and against the Ukrainian army. Among fighters for the Russian ideas are activists supported by the Russian government and criminals wanted by Russian police.
Some of them are just ordinary young hoodlums, some are well known politicians.
The most famous Russian fighting in Donbas is Alexander Barkashov, the creator and leader of “All-Russian civic patriotic movement Russian National Unity” (RNU).
RNU emblem
The RNU was founded in October 1990. At the peak of its popularity in 1999, RNU was estimated to have 100,000 active members all over Russia. Members wear black and camouflage uniforms; the group adopted a red and white modified swastika emblem, openly expressed admiration for German national socialism and publicly celebrated the rise of the Nazis.
During the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, Barkashov led RNU fighters in their defense of the Russian White House against Boris Yeltsin‘s forces. Barkashov was imprisoned on charges of organizing and inciting mass disorder and illegally bearing arms.
In early 1994, the newly elected Duma granted amnesty to Barkashov.
In 2014, when the war in Donbas started, many of RNU members joined pro-Russian forces in Ukraine.
Back then the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that a telephone conversation of Barkashov and a local Donetsk activist Boitsov was intercepted.
Barkashov said to Boitsov that he could call off the referendum on independence of the territory.
Barkashov said that it is not necessary to perform referendum the legit way. He said that in the end no one would care about it.
All that Boitsov has to do is to write whatever he finds suitable. If he wants, he can say that 99% of people voted for joining Russia.