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Why Do Russians Think Neo-Nazis Are Attacking Them?

May 25, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—The May 22 terror attack on Belgorod region of Russia was carried out by the “Russian Volunteer Corps” (RVC) of Denis Nikitin (aka Kapustin). He is a longtime, known neo-Nazi who has been recruiting other neo-Nazis through fight clubs, street brawls and “white power” rock groups.

Prior to 2022, when Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) decided to arm his paramilitary group, Nikitin had run a clothing business out of Russia called “White Rex,” specializing in neo-Nazi insignia, such as the Nazis’ “Black Sun.” He chose to found his company on August 14, 2008—significant for its magical 14/08/08 code, a nod to the infamous white racist “14 words” (“We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”), combined with the well-known, ubiquitous homage to Hitler, “88” (referring to the 8th letter of the alphabet, hence, “HH” for “Heil Hitler”). Nikitin is usually given short-shrift in Western media as a “football hooligan”—but he admits that he’s not a fan that fights the other team’s fans. He attends football games simply to start rumbles, for the anarchy and the violence.

He had problems with Russian authorities and moved to Kiev in 2017, where he mixed his “white power rock” with fight clubs and mixed martial arts (MMA) events. His partner in his annual MMA in Kiev was Arseniy Bilodub, the lead singer of Sokyra Peruna, advertised as a “white power rock” group. Two of their “songs” are “Six Million Words of Lies” and “August 17th.” The latter is an homage to Rudolf Hess, said to be the last of the Nazi leaders to die, on Aug. 17, 1987. The band’s drummer Dmitry Volkov went to prison for his pogrom against Kiev’s Brodsky Synagogue in April 2002. Bilodub also founded a clothing business, “SvaStone,” centered around marketing the Nazi “Black Sun” insignia.

RVC member Alexey Levkin posted videos of their escapade into Belgorod this week, where they wounded a dozen civilians and killed one border guard. Levkin, a buddy of Nikitin’s, was the founder and lead vocalist of the neo-Nazi black metal band M8L8TH, in the mid-2000s. His gang in Russia was convicted of desecrating ethnic cemeteries, attacking foreigners, and committing several murders. However, Levkin was institutionalized instead of jailed, being deemed mentally unstable. After his 2011 release, he founded a “WotanJugend” neo-Nazi group that celebrates Hitler as a hero. In 2014, he raised funds for weaponry for the Maidan coup. In 2015, he left Russia, moved to Kiev and joined the Azov Regiment. In 2019, Levkin organized the “Asgardsrei music festival” in Kiev, run in conjunction with Nikitin’s MMA event.

EIR published more on Nikitin last year, before he founded the “Russian Volunteer Corps.”

After the Belgorod raid, the RVC posted on their Telegram page the following: “...The war will continue until Putin’s hanged body graces the walls of the Kremlin and his gang is judged by a fair trial of Russian anger. The country is ripe for change. The country is ripe for liberation. And most of all they are waiting for the liberation of the territories bordering the war zone: Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod. Their unspoken call is followed by the Russian Volunteer Corps, which took the liberty of taking the first step towards our Motherland. The ... guerrilla movement is not constrained by traditional military operations.”

Russians think neo-Nazis are attacking them because neo-Nazis are attacking them. And these attackers are getting their armored vehicles and military equipment from Ukraine’s authorities, as detailed in this issue.

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