Russian National Socialist Party
Encyclopedia
The Russian National Socialist Party (Russian language
:Русская Национальная Социалистическая Партия) is a neo-Nazi
party based in Russia
. The group achieved international notoriety in 2007 when a video appeared on the internet purportedly showing members decapitating two immigrants.
, a leading member of Pamyat
in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union
. He split from the Pamyat-led National Patriotic Front in 1992 and formed his own party, the Russian National Union
, the following year. This party re-emerged as the RNSP around 1999 after Kasimovsky closed down the Russian National Union and began to move away from the emphasis placed on the Russian Orthodox Church
by that group. Despite this lessening of emphasis on religion the party's website lists Orthodox Christianity
as one of its four main ideological principles, the others being a strong state
, aggressive Russian nationalism
and non-Marxist
socialism
. The party symbol is the Labarum
of Constantine the Great and since 1999 have published a newspaper Pravoye Soprotivleniye ('Right Resistance'), itself a successor to the earlier journal Shturmovik.
Kasimovsky has since claimed to be the leader of a group called Russian Action although its nature, and that of its relationship to the RNSP, remains unclear.
It is later identified that the victims were 24 year old Shamil Odamanov from Russia's mainly Muslim Dagestan region, and 20 year old Salakhetdin Azizov from Tajikistan
. The two men can be heard saying "We were arrested by Russian national socialists" before Odamanov is stabbed and beheaded and Azizov is shot in the head by two masked men dressed in combat fatigues.
According to Russian Minister of the Interior the video is a fake. However, prosecutors say that the video is real.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
:Русская Национальная Социалистическая Партия) is a neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
party based in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The group achieved international notoriety in 2007 when a video appeared on the internet purportedly showing members decapitating two immigrants.
Development
The party grew out of the followers of Konstantin KasimovskyKonstantin Kasimovsky
Konstantin Rodionovich Kasimovsky is a leading Russian neo-Nazi. Formerly a leading member of Pamyat, he has led two parties of his own, the Russian National Union and the Russian National Socialist Party, as well as a less well-defined group known as Russian Action...
, a leading member of Pamyat
Pamyat
Pamyat is a Russian nationalist organization identifying itself as the "People's National-patriotic Orthodox Christian movement." The group's stated focus is preserving Russian culture.- History :...
in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He split from the Pamyat-led National Patriotic Front in 1992 and formed his own party, the Russian National Union
Russian National Union
The Russian National Union was a Neo-Nazi party in Russia. The party should not be confused with Russian National Unity, a larger group with similar roots, although with no direct connection....
, the following year. This party re-emerged as the RNSP around 1999 after Kasimovsky closed down the Russian National Union and began to move away from the emphasis placed on the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
by that group. Despite this lessening of emphasis on religion the party's website lists Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
as one of its four main ideological principles, the others being a strong state
Statism
Statism is a term usually describing a political philosophy, whether of the right or the left, that emphasises the role of the state in politics or supports the use of the state to achieve economic, military or social goals...
, aggressive Russian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and non-Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. The party symbol is the Labarum
Labarum
The labarum was a vexillum that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" — Chi and Rho . It was used by the Roman emperor Constantine I...
of Constantine the Great and since 1999 have published a newspaper Pravoye Soprotivleniye ('Right Resistance'), itself a successor to the earlier journal Shturmovik.
Kasimovsky has since claimed to be the leader of a group called Russian Action although its nature, and that of its relationship to the RNSP, remains unclear.
Internet video showing apparent executions of migrants in August 2007
On 15 August 2007 Victor Milkov, a 23 year old student at the Maykop State Technological Institute in Adygea, and RNSP member, was arrested for distributing a video on the internet which shows two migrants apparently being executed by a "militant wing" of the RNSP.It is later identified that the victims were 24 year old Shamil Odamanov from Russia's mainly Muslim Dagestan region, and 20 year old Salakhetdin Azizov from Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
. The two men can be heard saying "We were arrested by Russian national socialists" before Odamanov is stabbed and beheaded and Azizov is shot in the head by two masked men dressed in combat fatigues.
According to Russian Minister of the Interior the video is a fake. However, prosecutors say that the video is real.