An interview by the host of TV Obiektivi and the Leader of the Neutral Socialist Georgia party, Valeri Kvaratskhelia, was published in May 14-20 issue of Asaval-Dasavali, where he accuses the United States of encouraging fascism.
Valeri Kvaratskhelia’s statement is absurd, as ultra-nationalist and neo-fascist political parties and groups in Europe have direct connections exactly with Russia. Their agenda stands out with anti-Islamic, xenophobic, and, at times, anti-Semitic statements. They support discrimination and authoritarianism, promote xenophobia and chauvinism and incite historical hatred.
1. Connections with Russia
| Ultra-nationalist and neo-fascist political parties in Europe | Direct linkage to Russia |
|---|---|
| Jobbik (Hungary) | A member of Jobbik and a member of the European Parliament, Bela Kovac, is accused of spying for Russia. The accusations include financial fraud and falsifying documents, which resulted in a financial harm to the institutions of the European Parliament. |
| National Front (France) | In 2014, Front Nationale and Marine Le-Pen received a loan worth EUR 11 million from Russia. From that, EUR 9 million was transferred via small bank – First Czech-Russian Bank – which is connected to the Kremlin. |
| Golden Dawn (Greece) | Golden Dawn has strong ties with a Russian neo-Nazi group “Русский образ”, which, in turn, has covert ties with Russian secret services and Putin’s party – “United Russia”. Russia’s main ideologue, Aleksandr Dugin, openly supported Golden Dawn. |
| Freedom Party (Austria) | On April 19, 2016, the Freedom Party of Austria signed a five-year cooperation agreement with the ruling party of Russia (United Russia). The agreement aims to strengthen political and economic ties between Vienna and Moscow, friendship and relations between youth. The party has a direct connection with an Orthodox oligarch, Konstantin Malofeev, which has been funding extremist networks in Europe. |
| Lega Nord (Italy) | In March 2017, Lega Nord from Italy signed a “partnership memorandum” with then Speaker of the Russian Duma, Sergey Zheleznyak, which represents the ruling party of Russia. |
| Zmiana (Poland) | The Leader of “Zmiana” party, Mateusz Piskorsky, was one of the supporters of pro-Russian separatists and participated in the illegal elections in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine as an observer, while being funded by the Kremlin in 2012-2014. Piskorsky is currently serving a term for spying for Russia. |
2. Legitimization of Russian policy
- During the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, neo-fascist parties of Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria supported the Russian intervention to Georgia.
- Ultra-nationalist parties attended the independence referendum held in Crimea in 2014 as observers.
- In May 2014, Aleksandr Dugin held a secret meeting with ultra nationalist and neo-fascist parties in Vienna. A leftist Greek party, Syriza, attended the meeting as well. The meeting was funded by Konstantin Malofeev, a businessman, who has been included in the Western sanctions list and is a close associate of Putin. In addition, Malofeev funds pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
- The same parties opposed the sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 due to the annexation of Crimea;
- MPs of a Czech ultra-nationalist party “Freedom and Direct Democracy” legitimize Russia’s policy with various methods: setting agenda which implies that Russia is not an aggressor, travelling to the annexed Crimea through Russia, and periodically holding pro-Russian conferences.
3. Pro-Russian ultra-nationalist forces and paramilitary groups
Pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian radical and extremist organisations and their destabilising actions
Last year, Political Capital, a Hungarian policy research, analysis and consulting institute, released a research about the activities of pro-Russian ultra-nationalist populist parties, extremist organizations and paramilitary groups in Central-Eastern Europe.
| Country | Organisation(s) | Action |
|---|---|---|
|
Czech Republic |
National Democracy/ National Home Guard | Establishment of illegal Donetsk People’s Republic’s illegal “consulate” in 2016 |
| Hungary | Hungarian National Front | Airsoft drill with GRU members |
| Slovakia | Slovak Revival Movement | Training by ex- Spetsnaz instructors; partnership with Narodnyi Sobor, Stiag, Dobrovolec; recruitment of separatist fighters in 2014 |
| Austria | Identitarian movement | Organising anti-refugee protests, inspired by Alexander Dugin’s ideology |
b. Paramilitary groups and their connections to Russia
