Russian Volunteer Corps

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) was founded in August 2022{{cite news |title=Russian Volunteer Corps fighters claim to have again infiltrated Russian territory – video |url=https://news.yahoo.com/russian-volunteer-corps-fighters-claim-111100134.html |work=The New Voice of Ukraine |via=Yahoo News |date=22 May 2023}} The founder and leader of the group is Denis Nikitin, who has been described as a neo-Nazi.{{Cite web |url=https://extremismterms.adl.org/glossary/denis-kapustin |title=Denis Kapustin |website=Anti-Defamation League|date=6 June 2023 }}{{cite news |title=Der Neonazi-Krieger |url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/rechtsextremer-kampfsportler-der-neonazi-krieger-aus-moskau-a-1253163.html |access-date=25 May 2023 |publisher=Der Spiegel |date=14 February 2019 |language=de |quote=The neo-Nazi is officially registered on the ground floor of a grey apartment building. Nikitin, who was born in Moscow, spent his youth here.}}{{cite web |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/03/27/leader-of-russian-volunteer-corps-placed-on-interior-ministry-wanted-list-a80621 |title=Leader of Russian Volunteer Corps Placed on Interior Ministry Wanted List |website=The Moscow Times |date=27 March 2023}} According to the Ukrainian news agency Glavcom, the RVC was formed by Russian volunteers who had started fighting for Ukraine in the Azov Regiment and other units in 2014.{{Cite web |date=31 August 2022 |title=Российская оппозиция начинает вооруженное сопротивление Путину: подписано декларацию |trans-title=Russian Opposition Starts Armed Resistance to Putin: Declaration Signed |url=https://glavcom.ua/ru/news/mozhovoj-tsentr-sverzhenija-rezhima-putina-budet-dejstvovat-v-ukraine-872092.html |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=Главком {{!}} Glavcom |language=ru|quote=}} According to Polish news agency Vot Tak, unlike the Freedom of Russia Legion, the leadership of the RVC does not rely on Russian POWs-turned-defectors, but on Russian right-wing emigrants living in Ukraine.{{Cite web |last=Попков |first=Роман |date=24 August 2022 |title="Русский добровольческий корпус", "Легион" и ССО "Азов". Как россияне воюют против Кремля на стороне Украины |trans-title="Russian Volunteer Corps", "Legion" and MTR "Azov". How the Russians are fighting against the Kremlin on the side of Ukraine |url=https://vot-tak.tv/novosti/24-08-2022-rossiyane-voyuyut-za-ukrainu/ |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=vot-tak.tv |language=ru |quote=В отличие от «Легиона “Свобода России”» руководство корпуса делает ставку не на бывших российских военнослужащих, оказавшихся в «Легионе» после сдачи в плен, а на русских правых эмигрантов, живущих в Украине.}}

The RVC says it is made up of ethnic Russians fighting to defend Ukraine against Russia's invasion and to overthrow the government of Vladimir Putin.{{cite news |title=Kremlin accuses Ukraine of violent attack in western Russia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/02/bryansk-russia-attack-ukraine-saboteurs/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2 March 2023}} It asserts Russia's government should abandon its imperial ambitions and instead focus on improving the well-being of ethnic Russians. The RVC say they believe in self-determination for Russia's various ethnic minorities and "want to see a smaller, ethnic Russian state".{{cite web |date=24 March 2023 |title=Explainer: Which Russian Far-Right Groups are Fighting in Ukraine? |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/03/24/explainer-which-russian-far-right-groups-are-fighting-in-ukraine-a80543 |website=The Moscow Times}}

RVC uses the symbols of the anti-Bolshevik Russian Liberation Army, largely composed of Soviet prisoners of war in German captivity who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II, but also helped Czech partisans in the Prague uprising against the German occupation.{{Cite book |last=Julicher |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-QyBwAAQBAJ |title="Enemies of the People" Under the Soviets: A History of Repression and Its Consequences |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786496716 |language=en |page=171}}

According to official RVC statement, their flag is ideological fusion of Victor Larionov's organizations - a person "from whose ideas, principles and beliefs we build off of, drawing parallels of historical and political continuity". Victor Larionov was a member of the anti-communist White movement during the Russian Civil War who, while being exiled in 1930s created a "White Idea" - an organization that in December 1937 would join Russian Fascist party.{{Cite journal |last=Викторович |first=Суржик Дмитрий |date=2020 |title=ГАЛЛИПОЛИЕЦ-ТЕРРОРИСТ-ЮГЕНДФЮРЕР: ВИКТОР АЛЕКСАНДРОВИЧ ЛАРИОНОВ |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/gallipoliets-terrorist-yugendfyurer-viktor-aleksandrovich-larionov |journal=Исторический формат |volume=3 |issue=23 |pages=53–59}} After Socialist coalition came to power in France in 1938, Larionov, among others was deported to Germany, where he became an employee of {{ill|Novoe Slovo|de|Nowoje slowo (Berlin)}}, a pro-Nazi newspaper published by Russian émigrés in Berlin between 1933 and 1944. During the "Great Patriotic War" he worked for Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories and was a member of the Russian Liberation Army.

In May 2023 RVC posted their official manifesto called "Homo ethnicus". In this manifesto RVC rejects both Liberalism and Communism while presenting a third way - an "Ethnic worldview" encompassing unity by blood and by nation.{{Cite web |last=Weise |first=Peter |date=29 May 2023 |title=Homo ethnicus / Человек этнический |url=https://rusvolcorps.com/post/homo-ethnicus-chelovek-etnicheskij |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=rusvolcorps.com}}{{Cite web |title="Русский добровольческий корпус» выпустил манифест под названием «Человек этнический" |url=https://meduza.io/news/2023/05/29/russkiy-dobrovolcheskiy-korpus-vypustil-manifest-pod-nazvaniem-chelovek-etnicheskiy |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=Meduza |language=ru}} Yulia Latynina compared the organization's manifesto to Mein Kampf.{{Cite web |title=«Код доступа» с Юлией Латыниной: Как я ошиблась |url=https://echofm.online/programs/kod-dostupa/kod-dostupa-s-yuliej-latyninoj-29 |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=ЭХО |language=ru}} In May 2023, Denis Kapustin described himself as a "patriot", a "traditionalist", a "right-winger", but rejected the label "neo-Nazi", saying "you’ll never find me waving a flag with a swastika, you’ll never find me raising my hand in a Hitler salute. So why would you call me that?".{{cite news |title=Leader of anti-Putin force says expect more Russian border raids |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/25/russian-leader-of-anti-putin-force-says-expect-more-border-raids |work=Al Jazeera |date=25 May 2023}} However, Kapustin's clothing brand features the Black Sun and "88" symbols favoured by Nazis and neo-Nazis,{{cite news |title=Ukraine embraces far-right Russian 'bad guy' to take the battle to Putin |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-ukraine-war/ |access-date=25 May 2024 |work=POLITICO |date=3 April 2024 |language=en}} as well as phrases such as "SS for Sweet 'n' sexy".

One of the members told DW that their goal is a "true nation-state of Russians in the original Russian territories — taking into account the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Belarus, as well as neighboring countries. We want to establish a state for Russians that lives in peace with all the nations that surround it."

German authorities have cautioned that the RVC fighting for Ukraine serves as a strategic advantage for Russian propagandists, enabling them to portray the Russian invasion in Ukraine as a purported effort to "de-Nazify" the nation. "De-Nazifiction" is a common talking point in Russian disinformation to justify the invasion of Ukraine.{{cite news |last1=Smart |first1=Charlie |title=How the Russian Media Spread False Claims About Ukrainian Nazis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/07/02/world/europe/ukraine-nazis-russia-media.html |access-date=25 May 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703010648/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/07/02/world/europe/ukraine-nazis-russia-media.html |archive-date=3 July 2022 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |language=en}}

The group gathers its forces through recruiting anti-Putin activists with civilian backgrounds and then coordinates with various political factions that move individuals across borders. Those associated with the RVC come from differing ideological backgrounds. They frequently share nothing other than a mutual opposition to the invasion of Ukraine coupled with the aim of ending the current Russian government.

Reuters has recounted assertions that "RVC fighters [have] received regular salaries from the Ukrainian defence ministry" as well as that the overall "unit [has] numbered up to 200 fighters". However, the news agency has cautioned that these statements have not been independently verified.

The RVC maintains a "Free Cossack Squad" consisting of Cossack volunteers primarily from the Kuban region of southern Russia with the unit reportedly taking part in the fighting in Avdiivka and Svatove.{{cite web |last1=Бондаренко |first1=Диана |title=Приехали с Кубани и вступили в РДК: российские казаки воюют на стороне ВСУ под Авдеевкой |url=https://focus.ua/voennye-novosti/625719-priehali-s-kubani-i-vstupili-v-rdk-rossijskie-kazaki-voyuyut-na-storone-vsu-pod-avdeevkoj |website=Focus |date=8 February 2024 |access-date=18 March 2024}}

Before beginning a cooperation with the Civic Council, the unit only accepted Russians who were already abroad. With the cooperation the Civic Center functions as a ″kind of recruitment center″ and according to Anastasia Sergeyeva, the public face of the Civic Council, men were also then accepted directly from Russia. In order to join, volunteers fill out an online questionnaire or write to an encrypted mailbox.{{cite web | last=Satanovskiy | first=Sergey | title=Who are the Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine? – DW – 05/24/2023 | website=dw.com | date=24 May 2023 | url=https://www.dw.com/en/who-are-the-russian-volunteers-fighting-for-ukraine/a-65722771 | access-date=12 August 2024}}

The Karelian Group, a battalion made up of separatists from Northwestern Russia of Finno-ugric origin, became a part of the RVC in late 2023.{{Cite web |title=Suur-Suomen sotilaat voivat joutua suuriin ongelmiin Venäjällä |url=https://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/a/c873f853-0073-4205-a57d-6306638b98aa |access-date=5 August 2024 |website=www.iltalehti.fi |language=fi}}

File:Free Cossacks RVC emblem.svg|Insignia of the RVC's Cossack Unit

File:Karelian National Battalion Insignia.png|Insignia of the Karelian Group

According to Ilya Ponomarev, the RVC took part in a press conference on 31 August 2022 with the Freedom of Russia Legion and the National Republican Army when they signed a joint declaration. He claimed that the RVC also agreed to join the agreement.{{Cite web |title="Русский добровольческий корпус", легион "Свобода России" и "Национальная республиканская армия" РФ подписали декларацию о сотрудничестве |trans-title="Russian Volunteer Corps", Legion "Freedom of Russia" and "National Republican Army" of the Russian Federation signed a declaration of cooperation " |url=https://gordonua.com/news/war/russkiy-dobrovolcheskiy-korpus-legion-svoboda-rossii-i-nacionalnaya-respublikanskaya-armiya-rf-podpisali-deklaraciyu-o-sotrudnichestve-1624002.html |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=gordonua.com |date=31 August 2022 |language=ru}}{{Cite web |date=31 August 2022 |title=Илья Пономарев опубликовал "Ирпенскую декларацию" российской оппозиции: "Вооруженное сопротивление путинскому фашизму" |trans-title=Ponomarev published the "Irpen Declaration" of the Russian opposition: "Armed resistance to Putin's fascism" |url=https://hvylya.net/news/258492-ilya-ponomarev-opublikoval-irpenskuyu-deklaraciyu-rossiyskoy-oppozicii-vooruzhennoe-soprotivlenie-putinskomu-fashizmu |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=hvylya.net |language=ru}}

In October 2022, the RVC published its manifesto, identifying itself as "part of Ukraine's Armed Forces", although Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment.{{Cite web |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/03/03/fear-your-partisans |title='Fear your partisans' A volunteer unit led by a Russian neo-Nazi raided a small town and crossed back into Ukraine. Meduza explains the bizarre incursion and what it could mean for the war. |work=Meduza |access-date=3 March 2023}} In March 2023, Ukrainian military officials said the RVC was an independent group. Ilya Ponomarev, political representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion, said the RVC has contacts with the Ukrainian military but operates in a "gray area".

The Russian Volunteer Corp is part of the Civic Council, a Russian emigrant association that was founded in Warsaw.{{cite web | last=Satanovskiy | first=Sergey | title=Who are the Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine? – DW – 05/24/2023 | website=dw.com | date=24 May 2023 | url=https://www.dw.com/en/who-are-the-russian-volunteers-fighting-for-ukraine/a-65722771 | access-date=12 August 2024}}

Members of the group include former FSB agent {{ill|Ilya Bogdanov|ru|Богданов, Илья Александрович|uk|Богданов Ілля Олександрович}}.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/24/russian-anti-putin-militias-belgorod |title='We are Russians just like you': anti-Putin militias enter the spotlight |first=Andrew|last=Roth |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 May 2023}}

{{Main article|2023 Bryansk Oblast raid}}

On 2 March 2023, the Russian authorities claimed that an armed Ukrainian group crossed the border and carried out a "terrorist attack" in the villages of Lyubechane and Sushany, in Bryansk Oblast. Russia said the attackers fired on a car, killing two civilians, before the Federal Security Service forced them back into Ukraine.{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/2/russia-accuses-ukraine-of-cross-border-attack-in-bryansk |access-date=13 March 2023 |title=Russia accuses Ukraine of cross-border attack in Bryansk}} On 9 March, Russia launched a barrage of missile strikes at Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in what it called "retaliation" for the attack.{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/9/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-strikes-hit-ukrainian-power-stations |title=Updates: Russia pounds Ukraine in 'retaliation' for border attack |access-date=13 March 2023}} The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed responsibility for the alleged cross-border raid, and posted videos of armed men in Lyubechane with their insignia, urging Russians to "rise up and fight" against the government.

Ukrainian officials denied involvement, saying it was either a Russian false flag attack or a case of Russians rebelling against their government.{{cite news |title=Kremlin accuses Ukrainian saboteurs of attack inside Russia |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-missile-strike-apartment-building-d2b8fc376956d2bedc44d3a0d711f260 |work=Associated Press |date=2 March 2023 |access-date=10 March 2023 |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310162401/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-missile-strike-apartment-building-d2b8fc376956d2bedc44d3a0d711f260 |url-status=live }}

On 6 April 2023, the Russian Volunteer Corps again claimed to have crossed the border into Bryansk Oblast, entering the village of Sluchovsk.{{cite web|title=Moscow Says Foiled Bid By Ukraine 'Saboteurs' to Enter Russia |agency=AFP |date= 6 April 2023 |publisher=Moscow Times |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/06/moscow-says-foiled-bid-by-ukraine-saboteurs-to-enter-russia-a80738}} While Russian authorities claimed that an attempted incursion was prevented, the Russian Volunteer Corps released video showing them inside the village. During the incursion, combat operations were allegedly carried out.

{{cite web |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/04/6/7396782/

|title=Russian Volunteer Corps attacks Bryansk Oblast again

|date=6 April 2023 |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406212605/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/04/6/7396782/

|url-status=live

}}

{{Main|2023 Belgorod Oblast incursions}}

File:РДК.jpg

On 22 May 2023, the RVC and the Freedom of Russia Legion launched a larger raid into Russia, this time in Grayvoronsky District, Belgorod Oblast; videos that circulated online showed armed men who said they belonged to the RVC saying they had crossed the border to fight "the bloody Putinite and Kremlin regime".{{Cite web |date=22 May 2023 |title=Russian regional governor says Ukrainian 'sabotage group' crossed border |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/governor-russias-belgorod-says-ukrainian-sabotage-group-crossed-border-2023-05-22/ |access-date=22 May 2023 |website=Reuters}} The governor of Belgorod Oblast said that a Ukrainian "sabotage group" had entered the region and that a "counterterrorism regime" was introduced.{{cite web |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/05/22/russian-border-region-says-ukrainian-sabotage-unit-carried-out-incursion-a81233|title=Russian Border Region Says Ukrainian 'Sabotage' Unit Carried Out Incursion|website=The Moscow Times |date=22 May 2023}} The paramilitaries reportedly captured several border villages. On 24 May, the RVC held a press conference on the Ukrainian side of the border. Denis 'White Rex' {{what|last name?|date=December 2023}} said they were satisfied with the raid, saying they had seized weapons, an armoured personnel carrier, and taken prisoners before leaving Russian territory after 24 hours. He said that two RVC fighters were wounded and that Ukraine provided support only with medical supplies, fuel and food. Separately, the Freedom of Russia Legion said two of its fighters had been killed and 10 wounded.{{cite news |title=Belgorod: Russian paramilitary group vows more incursions |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65703548 |work=BBC News |date=24 May 2023}}

{{Portal|Russia}}

• Civic Council (Armed Forces of Ukraine)
• Freedom of Russia Legion
• Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists
• Rusich Group – a pro-Kremlin far-right and neo-Nazi unit fighting against the Ukrainian armed forces
• Azov Brigade
• Russian Imperial Movement

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Russian Volunteer Corps}}

• {{Telegram|name=russvolcorps}}

{{Russian opposition}}

{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

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Category:Military units and formations established in 2022

Category:Military units and formations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Category:Opposition to Vladimir Putin

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Category:Far-right politics in Russia

Category:Russian nationalism in Ukraine

Category:Russian nationalist organizations

Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Russia