Reports are circulating of “fascist bands that have overrun Kiev”, ruining the freedom-loving image of the Ukrainian uprising
Waking up each morning to fresh news of riots and bloodshed in eastern Europe, and stories of massive troop movements and portentous warnings from Russia, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s the middle of the 1980s and you are still but a twinkle in your daddy’s right nut.
In the last few days numerous high-profile right-wing groups have claimed to have taken over the Ukrainian anti-government protests, accompanied by varying degrees of bombast, hyperbole and violence. The media instinctively wants to set this up as an east vs west contest, but most of these far-right groups are so intent on classic nationalism they want nothing to do with either Russia or the EU. They may have been tearing down statues of Lenin as this mad map shows, but if there had been statues of José Manuel Barroso or Catherine Ashton nearby you can assume they’d have met the same end.
Balaclava and bandana manufacturers rejoice. Well, maybe. Admittedly, with competing news outlets fighting for an audience there is a degree of hysteria creeping into the coverage. Threats of an imminent Holocaust instigated by a rampant far-right that has taken over Ukraine seem a tad overblown when other, more composed sites, such as the Times of Israel, describe aid given to elderly Jews by a stoical citizenry refusing to succumb to the lunatic fringe.
So who are these far-right groups, and just how popular and dangerous might they be?
Svoboda
Svoboda (‘Freedom’) are the UKIP of Ukraine. Previously a grim outfit called the Social-National Party of Ukraine, in 2004 they were rebranded by new leader Oleh Tyahnybok (pictured below, seated), who ditched the party’s old Swastika-style symbol and kicked many of the party’s nastier elements out. As a result they became more palatable to the electorate, won over 10% of the popular vote in the 2012 elections, became part of Viktor Yanukovych’s coalition government, and gave Nigel Farage a boner.
Their policies include a Mugabe-style farm reclamation process and criminal prosecution for anyone accused of ‘Ukrainophobia’. Only people born within the borders could become Ukrainian citizens, with a small exception for anyone who has lived there for 15 years and can recite every poem from Taras Shevchenko’s Kobzar backwards or physically recreate Andriy Shevchenko’s every international goal.
Tyahnybok has been at the forefront of the recent anti-government protests, often seen alongside unnatural ally Vitali Klitschko of the pro-EU Udar movement. The Svoboda leader once called for his countrymen to fight a ‘Muscovite-Jewish mafia’, and despite his attempts at rebranding, many within Ukraine regard him as a spot-changing leopard with a history of failure. Nonetheless, their aim appears to be power via the ballot box rather than the baseball bat, although according to this they are not averse to a scrap when required.
Pravy Sektor
‘Right Sector’ pull no punches. This disparate group of neo-fascists and angry young men claim to have been behind the bulk of the violence that has turned an originally peaceful protest into a bloodbath on the streets of Kiev. Proving yet again that social media can only be a force for good in the world they encouraged their followers on the VKontakte network to bring weapons and Molotov cocktails to the protests. You know, just in case.
“Who wants to take away my knives? I dare you!” Nah you’re good mate, cheers.
Pravy Sektor seem to be out for ‘national revolution’, though given there was one of those in Ukraine less than a decade ago it does seem more likely they simply enjoy a ruck. For example, Pravy Sektor’s Aleksandr Muzychko was recently quoted as saying: “Who wants to take away my machine-gun? Who wants to take away my gun? Who wants to take away my knives? I dare you!” Nah you’re good mate, cheers.
The group’s leader is Dmitro Yarosh, who recently did an interview in Time magazine in which he said: “If the time has come for an active struggle, I am ready to carry it to the end. I see no reason to hide my face.” It’s a disturbing new era in far-right politics that leaders of such groups see no reason to hide in the shadows, though Yarosh and his pals are unlikely to be troubling the ballot-paper printers any time soon. Unless they decide to burn them down, obviously.
Spilna Sprava
‘Common Cause’ are the Pravy Sektor of the pacifist movement, in that they don’t outwardly espouse carnage when rallying their support. The group was formed by lawyer Oleksandr Danylyuk during the protests and their tactic is occupying government buildings, principally those of the Justice Ministry and the Central Election Commission (CEC), which they describe as the “world’s best election cheats”.
On the steps of the just-captured Justice Ministry, Danylyuk claimed: “We need justice in Ukraine, and we need peace in Ukraine.” And how do you plan on getting that Oleksandr? “The immediate and unconditional capitulation of the state.”
One goal appears to be management of future elections – they plan to ‘inform’ the Ukrainian Parliament about any ‘suspicious activity’ within the CEC, with Shevchenko claiming they are not trying to “exert any pressure”. Just vote how you’re meant to, and everything will be fine. Democracy at its finest.
Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People’s Self-Defense
UNA-UNSO is its confusing acronym, but before you start to think this may be some high-minded group with an international focus… they’re the Nazis. Yes, the UNA-UNSO is the closest thing Ukraine currently has to the blatantly anti-everything-especially-Semitism ideology of World War 2’s primary villains, with close ties to the German neo-Nazi NPD. And this is one bandwagon they want on.
As with most parties of this ilk they make the odd token effort at legitimacy, winning 0.08% of the vote at the 2012 elections. Their leader is Yuriy Shukhevych, son of nationalist hero Roman Shukhevych, himself a leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army which fought to kick everyone from the Soviet Union to the Nazis out of Ukraine during the war. That’s right: Daddy fought the Nazis. Yuriy must have been such a disappointment.
Their numbers are not huge, thank Christ, but a few thousand armed UNA-UNSO lunatics have been joining Pravy Sektor on the streets of Kiev to make sure there’s no chance of a peaceful settlement. It’s tough to find quotes from this party that don’t make you cry for the soul of humanity, so let’s instead let them sing their way into our hearts with their hilarious anthem: “Stay, my love, don’t cry, honey.”
‘Gunmen’
Now ‘gunmen’ have seized the parliament of the autonomous region of Crimea, proclaiming it to be Russian (as it was until 1954), making the situation murkier still. The media, not knowing how to deal with this new uprising in the east, are calling this group ‘far-right’ without any real evidence to back that up. Some suggest the gunmen are Russian special forces, or Russian ex-army, or a local civil defence unit with ties to the United Russia party of Vladimir Putin.
All these groups are a symptom of one of the most confusing internal situations any country has faced since the birth of 24-hour news. There are nationalists intent on keeping Ukraine together and non-Ukrainians out, there are pro-Russian nationalists in the Crimea angling for secession, there are many simply sick of everything and wanting to take it out on anyone within sight.
We’ve heard words like ‘partition’ mentioned already, given the geographical split of the pro-EU/pro-Russian factions in the country. With the far-right now playing a huge role in events, how long before we start hearing the words ‘civil war’?
Main image: Mstyslav Chernov
