Formed: 2002

Disbanded: Group is active.

First Attack: June 2014–January 2016: RIM trained and equipped foreign fighters for the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where members of the group’s Imperial Legion fought alongside pro-Russian separatists (unknown casualties).[1]

Last Attack: January 2020 (approximate): In January 2020, RIM acknowledged that two of its fighters had been killed in combat in Libya.[2] Analysts believe that Imperial Legion militants from RIM are fighting alongside the Libyan National Army of Russian-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar.[3] It is unclear when this campaign began (unknown casualties).

Executive Summary

The Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) is an extreme-right, white supremacist militant organization based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 2002, the group promotes ethnic Russian nationalism, advocates the restoration of Russia’s tsarist regime, and seeks to fuel white supremacy extremism in the West. RIM maintains contacts with neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups across Europe and the United States. The group has provided paramilitary training to Russian nationals and members of like-minded organizations from other countries at its facilities in St. Petersburg. Members of RIM’s armed wing, the Imperial Legion, have fought alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and been involved in conflicts in Libya and Syria. In addition to its ultra-nationalist beliefs, RIM is known for its anti-Semitic and anti-Ukrainian views. The U.S. State Department listed RIM as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in April 2020. It is the first white supremacist group to be designated as a SDGT.

Group Narrative

Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev founded the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) in St. Petersburg in 2002.[1] The group initially attracted little international attention, as RIM’s early operations focused largely on Russian domestic politics. RIM did not feature prominently in the public record until 2014 when it began supporting the separatists in Ukraine. Its armed wing, the Imperial Legion, set up a training program to prepare Russian militants to fight government forces. RIM attracted additional attention in 2015 when it began asserting a leadership role in the transnational white supremacist movement.

 

Late 2000s-2013: RIM increases its influence in Russian politics

RIM’s activities between 2002, the year of its founding, and the late 2000s are unclear. One researcher characterizes RIM at this time as “a small, monarchist, and ultra-Orthodox movement offering paramilitary and martial arts training in the basement of a suburban building in St. Petersburg.”[2] In 2007, RIM established the Rezerv (“Reserve”) paramilitary club in St. Petersburg “to promote a healthy lifestyle and the ideals of military valor based on the values of the Russian Orthodox Church and to study the history of Russian military glory,” in the group’s own words.[3] By 2008, evidence suggests that RIM had begun making more of a name for itself in domestic Russian far-right politics. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, RIM engaged in political activism, often in concert with other opposition groups on the fringes of the mainstream.

In the early years of its existence, RIM collaborated with other groups on the right wing of the Russian political spectrum. For example, in April 2008, members of RIM joined the ruling United Russia Party and other Russian nationalist and Orthodox organizations for an Easter March in Moscow.[4] Though precise assessments of RIM’s size are difficult to find for this period, it appears that RIM was initially small. In 2008, the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, a Russian think tank that studies Russian extremist organizations, described RIM as “a dwarfish ultra-right group.”[5]

By 2010, RIM was actively engaged in cultivating ties across the domestic Russian far-right movement. In September of that year, RIM joined other nationalist groups to sign a “Declaration of the Russian National Organizations.”[6] This declaration demanded the legalization of nationalist groups in Russia and an end to political repression against them. It also asserted that violence was “unavoidable” in the struggle against the current Russian regime.[7]

Not long after the signing of the nationalist declaration in September 2010, RIM joined other Russian far-right organizations in a project to form an umbrella association. However, the Movement against Illegal Immigrants (DPNI) and the Russian Social Movement (ROD) disagreed on plans for integrating the groups, which resulted in two parallel processes unfolding at the same time.[8] DPNI’s umbrella, the Russians Ethno-Political Association (REPA, known as the “Russians”) was established in April 2011 with the goal of aggregating the far right’s resources and creating a united front for maximum impact in Russian politics.[9] A second umbrella group emerged in September 2011 when ROD founded Russian Platform (RP).[10] The dueling umbrella associations clashed both over leadership of the Russian far-right movement and over ideology. REPA was reportedly more extremist and partially neo-Nazi in its membership. RP presented a more moderate face, though it did not rule out the use of violence.[11]

RIM first joined DPNI’s umbrella group, REPA. The umbrella’s leadership positions were distributed among the constituent organizations. This included RIM and other signatories of the Declaration of the Russian National Organizations.[12] Pivoting away from overtly xenophobic or racist language, Russian far-right groups framed their platforms in the language of ethnic nationalism, seeking to shed their reputation as “political untouchables” and participate in politics as an organized component of the opposition to the Russian regime.[13]

In what appears to be a strategic triangulation, RIM also joined the rival umbrella, ROD’s umbrella group later in 2011. In September 2011, ROD founded the RP umbrella and welcomed RIM, Russian Citizens Union (RGS, another signatory of the 2010 declaration), and the Moscow Defense League, among other smaller organizations.[14] RIM’s dual membership in REPA and RP may be the artifact of strategic maneuvering by the group. Analysts have concluded that RIM saw RP as having a higher chance of success, which is why it decided to join RP even after it had already claimed membership in REPA.[15] It is also possible that RIM considered RP’s less extremist outlook relative to REPA to be more likely to appeal to the public.

In late 2011 and early 2012, both the RP and REPA umbrella groups decided to form political parties. This action came in response to then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s introduction of a law simplifying political party registration in December 2011.[16] In early 2012, RIM and several other of RP’s constituent organizations participated in a working group to create the New Force, a nationalist party.[17] Though the party’s manifesto professes to respect liberal and democratic values, the New Force proposes restricting immigration to ethnic Russians and holding undocumented immigrants in labor camps prior to their deportation.[18] The party tries to appeal to more moderate nationalists as opposed to neo-Nazis.[19]

In April 2012, REPA leaders announced their intention to create their own political party, the Party of Nationalists, and chose the Russian imperial flag as its symbol.[20] Unlike the New Force, this party was conceived as a “big tent” to appeal a broader set of ideologies, including neo-Nazis, moderate nationalists, and RIM’s audience of monarchists and Orthodox nationalists.[21] The development of the party soon stalled, however. A year later, the party lacked a platform or website.[22]

In addition to networking with far-right groups, RIM sought to participate in the broad democratic opposition to the Russian regime by building relationships with more mainstream groups. In late March 2012, for example, RIM joined organizations from across the political spectrum for a march against Putin in Moscow.[23] The group participated in a similar opposition rally in St. Petersburg in December 2012.[24] In October 2012, RIM’s leader, Stanislav Vorobyev, unsuccessfully sought election to the Opposition Coordination Council, a governing body of the opposition with seats for each category of opposition group: nationalist (like RIM), leftist, and liberal.[25]

Despite its growing outreach to the mainstream opposition, RIM continued to work closely with other far-right organizations. In April 2013, the group joined its peers in REPA to picket a subway station in St. Petersburg.[26] In August 2013, RIM and other far-right organizations staged a demonstration against immigration and crime committed by immigrants in the southeastern Russian city of Voronezh, the group’s first recorded activity in that city.[27]

 

2014-2016: RIM extends its influence to Ukraine

The year 2014 served as a turning point for RIM. Russia annexed Crimea, and conflict erupted in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. These developments jolted inter-group relations in the Russian far right and led RIM to turn its focus beyond Russian domestic politics.

RIM activated its resources in support of the Russian side in the Ukraine conflict from the beginning. Vorobyev has stated that the greatest threat to the Russian nation is “the stability of anti-Russian regimes on all the territory inhabited by the Russian ethnos.”[28] In its intervention in Ukraine, RIM saw an opportunity to destabilize the Kiev government and further its objective of protecting ethnic Russians.[29]

RIM leader Vorobyev and three other RIM members traveled to Crimea on a plane carrying members of Russia’s military on February 28, 2014 – the day after Russia annexed the peninsula.[30] In mid-March, RIM leaders – including Nikolay Nikolayevich Trushchalov, the group’s focal point for external relations – met with extreme-right, pro-Russian separatists in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk.[31] Around the same time, RIM joined a handful of right-wing Russian political parties, including Rodina, to hold a Moscow demonstration in support of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine.[32] The developments of early 2014 breathed new life into RIM’s Moscow branch, which was previously dormant.[33]

By mid-June, RIM had begun training Russians to join pro-Russian separatists in the conflict.[34] RIM provided two weeks of instruction in combat skills before sending groups of five to six fighters from St. Petersburg to the Rostov region of Russia, then across the border into Ukraine and through a “humanitarian corridor” to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.[35] RIM began training recruits at its Reserve Club. In June 2014, the group formed the Imperial Legion Military-Patriotic Club, which served as a second club intended specifically for foreign fighters.[36] These two facilities, both located in the St. Petersburg area, host RIM’s paramilitary training courses.

RIM is well known for its paramilitary training program known as “Partizan,” often referred to by the anglicized form “Partisan.” “Partizan” is the Russian word for “Guerilla.” The Partizan program as it currently exists began in 2014 with the goal of training Russians for the Ukrainian conflict.[37] Denis Valiullovich Gariyev, the head of RIM’s Imperial Legion, began training Russian foreign fighters to join pro-Russian separatist groups in combat against Ukrainian government forces.[38] Gariyev claims that RIM has trained over 300 volunteers for combat in Ukraine.[39] A researcher with the Counter Extremism Project describes RIM’s program as a “conveyor belt” for foreign fighters into the conflict theatre, adding that its combat experience gives the group “street cred” with other white supremacists.[40]

RIM militants operated under the command of two separatist forces in Ukraine – the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR). Both the DPR and LPR are breakaway separatist factions in eastern Ukraine said by NATO and Kiev to be backed by Russia. RIM militants first fought under DPR commander Igor Strelkov until his departure from the theater in October 2014. RIM members then moved to fight for LPR leader Alexey Mozgovoi.[41] RIM fighters later returned to fight with DPR forces before RIM’s departure from Ukraine.[42]

The Imperial Legion withdrew from Ukraine in January 2016, though some individuals opted to stay and continue fighting.[43] In a 2017 interview with The Washington Post, Garyiev stated that RIM had left because governmental and oligarchic interests in Russia, Ukraine, and the West had supposedly co-opted the conflict.[44] Nevertheless, the Partizan training program continued. Participation in Partizan had increased threefold by 2017, according to Gariyev.[45] Following the Imperial Legion’s departure from Ukraine, RIM launched initiatives for its veterans, including a museum and an organization (Veterans of Novorossiya), and began supporting a store that employs injured veterans of the Ukraine conflict.[46]

RIM’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict strained the group’s relationships with other far-right organizations. RIM had supported the “Novorossiya” (or “New Russia”) project in eastern Ukraine along with other far-right groups, including the neo-Nazi National Socialist Initiative (NSI), National Democratic Party of Russia (NDP), and Russian All-National Union (RONS).[47] Other groups, including the leadership of REPA and the Slavic Force (SS), opposed the Russian-backed separatist movement because of their opposition to Vladimir Putin’s supposed anti-Russian nationalist regime.[48] Supporters of “Novorossiya,” however, generally accept that, even if the conflict began as a way to serve Putin’s political or mercantile interests, the annexation of Ukraine to Russia is desirable and justifies the means.[49] As a result of this schism, RIM and several other organizations withdrew from the REPA umbrella association in September 2014. REPA effectively collapsed not long thereafter.[50] In December 2014, RIM joined a new coalition of right-wing groups aligned in support of the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, known as the Russian National Front. The coalition included several political parties and Orthodox organizations.[51]

 

2015-2020: RIM builds a transnational network

In the years following its activities in Ukraine, RIM sought to position itself at the forefront of the transnational white supremacist movement. RIM’s pivot abroad occurred as the Russian government intensified pressure on nationalist organizations in 2014 and 2015. Only a few groups, mainly those associated with the far-right party Rodina like RIM, escaped close scrutiny from law enforcement.[52] As part of this new campaign, RIM expanded its contacts with white supremacist groups, especially in the United States and Europe. This networking initiative is reportedly known as “The Last Crusade.”[53]

In March 2015, the group attended the International Russian Conservative Forum, a conference for white supremacists held in St. Petersburg and organized by Rodina, a far-right Russian political party.[54] Other attendees included U.S. white supremacists, such as Jared Taylor, who serves as the editor of the U.S. white supremacist publication American Renaissance. Also in attendance were European extreme-right organizations, including Golden Dawn (Greece), the National Democratic Party (Germany), and Forza Nuova (Italy).[55] In September 2015, RIM leader Vorobyev traveled to Sweden to meet with the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM), a neo-Nazi group active across Scandinavian countries and spoke at the NRM’s “Nordic Days” event.[56]

In June 2015, RIM joined Rodina in co-founding the World National Conservative Movement (WNCM). A network of extreme-right groups from around the world, WNCM opposes pluralism, tolerance, and other liberal values, according to its manifesto. The network promotes the use of violence in service of its ideology.[57] RIM invited over 50 extreme-right, white supremacist, and neo-Nazi groups from 28 countries to join WNCM, including the National Democratic Party (Germany), Nordic Resistance Movement (Sweden), and American Freedom Party (United States), among others.[58] A full list of WNCM-affiliated organizations can be seen under “Relations with other groups” in this profile. RIM leaders intended the WNCM network to facilitate the sharing of tactical skills across peer organizations and promote their own paramilitary training program.[59]

In late 2016 and early 2017, members of the Nordic Resistance Movement with ties to RIM conducted a series of attacks in Sweden. Anton Thulin and Viktor Melin traveled to St. Petersburg and participated RIM’s Partizan paramilitary training program in August 2016, receiving 11 days of instruction.[60] Between November 2016 and January 2017, the men, with an accomplice, bombed a left-wing bookstore-café, a refugee shelter, and a campground that housed asylum seekers.[61] One victim was injured in the attacks.[62] U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited the attacks in his April 2020 announcement of RIM and its leaders’ status as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.[63] The Swedish prosecutor who charged Thulin and Melin has stated that their training by RIM was “a key step in [their] radicalization” and may be where they learned how to operate the explosives used in the attacks.[64]

In 2017, RIM extended its outreach to the United States. The group reportedly offered to provide paramilitary training to the leaders of the August 2017 “Unite the Right” rally of the extreme right in Charlottesville, Virginia. However, both RIM and U.S. white supremacist leaders deny the accusation.[65] In September 2017, RIM members travelled to the United States with the goal of networking with U.S. citizens.[66] During RIM’s visit to Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Matthew Heimbach, leader of the neo-Nazi Traditionalist Workers’ Party, hosted RIM leader Stanislav Shevchuk and posed with him for a photo in front of the White House holding an imperial Russian flag.[67] This meeting is reportedly the first between U.S. white supremacists and a Russian far-right organization on U.S. soil.[68]

In 2019, RIM accelerated its efforts to build relationships with other groups. RIM leader Vorobyev declared that forging ties with peer organizations would be a primary goal of RIM for the year. Vorobyev attended far-right conferences in Poland, Bulgaria, and Austria. RIM’s representative for Western Europe, Stanislav Chevchuk, attended a conference in Spain put on by that country’s far-right National Democracy party.[69] Vorobyev has identified Germany as the group’s next target country for expanding ties with local white supremacist organizations.[70] In June 2020, the German government announced its finding that RIM has provided paramilitary training to members of two German neo-Nazi groups – the National Democratic Party (NPD) and The Third Path.[71] According to reporting from the Argentinian news outlet Infobae, members of the Russian affiliate of the Atomwaffen Division, a U.S.-based violent neo-Nazi organization with international chapters, have also allegedly trained with RIM in St. Petersburg around 2020.[72] This finding has not been independently confirmed, however.

In addition to its networking activities, RIM has also deployed militants to participate in active conflicts beyond Russia and Ukraine. As early as April 2019 (but possibly earlier), RIM sent fighters to Syria, ostensibly to protect Christians against their enemies in the region, according to the group’s social media.[73] In January 2020, the group acknowledged that two of its fighters had been killed in combat in Libya, where they were believed to be fighting on the side of Russian-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar.[74] Russia has supported Haftar’s Libyan National Army with matériel and mercenaries.[75] It is unclear when RIM’s campaign in Libya began.

By 2020, RIM caught the attention of U.S. counterterrorism authorities. In April 2020, the U.S. Department of State listed RIM leaders Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, Denis Valiullovich Gariyev, and Nikolay Nikolayevich Trushchalov as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Executive Order 13224. RIM is the first white supremacist terrorist group to be designated by the U.S. government.[76] This listing requires U.S. financial institutions to block transactions involving RIM, allows for criminal prosecution of individuals who do business with RIM, and puts pressure on social media companies to inhibit RIM’s previously robust social media presence.[77]

[1] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Counter Extremism Project. 2020. https://www.counter
extremism.com/taxonomy/term/1153

[2] Laruelle, Marlene. “Back From Utopia: How Donbas Fighters Reinvent Themselves in a Post-Novorossiya Russia.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 719-733. https://doi.org/10.1017
/nps.2019.18

[3] Yudina, Natalia and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Russian Nationalist Veterans of the Donbas War.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 734-749. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2018.63

[4] Verkhovsky, Alexander, ed. “Galina Kozhevnikova. Spring-2008: Depression and Déjà Vu.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. August 18, 2008. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2008/08/d1394…

[5] Verkhovsky, Alexander, ed. “Galina Kozhevnikova. Spring-2008: Depression and Déjà Vu.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. August 18, 2008. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2008/08/d1394…

[6] Other far-right groups that signed the declaration included the Russian All-National Union (RONS), Russian Citizens Union (RGS), Russian Social Movement (ROD), Movement against Illegal Immigrants (DPNI), the National Socialist Initiative (NSI), the Union of the Russian People (SRN), the Slavic Force (SS), and the National Democratic Party of Russia (NDP). For more information, see Verkhovsky, Alexander and Galina Kozhevinoka. “The Phantom of Manezhnaya Square: Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Counteract It in 2010.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. May 5, 2011. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2011/05/d2156….

[7] Verkhovsky, Alexander and Galina Kozhevinoka. “The Phantom of Manezhnaya Square: Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Counteract It in 2010.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. May 5, 2011. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2011/05/d2156…

[8] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2011: Causes Célèbres and New Ultra-right Formations.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 12, 2011. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2011/07/d2210…

[9] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2011: Causes Célèbres and New Ultra-right Formations.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 12, 2011. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2011/07/d2210…

[10] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Autumn 2011: The Ultra-right’s Pre-Election Maneuvers.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. February 14, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/02/d2366…

[11] Yudina, Natalia, Vera Alperovich, and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Between Manezhnaya and Bolotnaya: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2011.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 5, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/04/d2408…

[12] Groups with leadership positions in the umbrella group included the Movement against Illegal Immigrants (DPNI), the National Socialist Initiative (NSI), the Union of the Russian People (SRN), the Slavic Force (SS), and the National Democratic Party of Russia (NDP). It also included the Memory Russian Liberation Front, which did not sign the Declaration of the Russian National Organizations. For more information, see Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2011: Causes Célèbres and New Ultra-right Formations.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 12, 2011. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2011/07/d2210…

[13] Yudina, Natalia, Vera Alperovich, and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Between Manezhnaya and Bolotnaya: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2011.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 5, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/04/d2408…

[14] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Autumn 2011: The Ultra-right’s Pre-Election Maneuvers.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. February 14, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/02/d2366…

[15] Yudina, Natalia, Vera Alperovich, and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Between Manezhnaya and Bolotnaya: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2011.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 5, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/04/d2408…

[16] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Winter 2011–2012: The Ultra-right — Protest and Party Building.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. May 7, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/05/d2436…. Yudima, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2012: Ultra-right on the Streets, Law Enforcement on the Web.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 27, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/07/d2497…

[17] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Winter 2011–2012: The Ultra-right — Protest and Party Building.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. May 7, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/05/d2436…

[18] Yudima, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2012: Ultra-right on the Streets, Law Enforcement on the Web.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 27, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/07/d2497…

[19] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “The Ultra-Right on the Streets with a Pro-Democracy Poster in Their Hands or a Knife in Their Pocket: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2012.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 26, 2013. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2013/04/d2697…

[20] Yudima, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2012: Ultra-right on the Streets, Law Enforcement on the Web.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 27, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/07/d2497…

[21] Yudima, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2012: Ultra-right on the Streets, Law Enforcement on the Web.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 27, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/07/d2497…. Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “The Ultra-Right on the Streets with a Pro-Democracy Poster in Their Hands or a Knife in Their Pocket: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2012.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 26, 2013. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2013/04/d2697…

[22] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “The Ultra-Right on the Streets with a Pro-Democracy Poster in Their Hands or a Knife in Their Pocket: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2012.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 26, 2013. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2013/04/d2697…

[23] Yudima, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Spring 2012: Ultra-right on the Streets, Law Enforcement on the Web.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. July 27, 2012. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2012/07/d2497…

[24] “Racism and Xenophobia in December 2012, with Preliminary Results for the Year.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. January 5, 2013. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/news-releases/2013/01/d26155/

[25] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “The Ultra-Right on the Streets with a Pro-Democracy Poster in Their Hands or a Knife in Their Pocket: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2012.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 26, 2013. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2013/04/d2697…

[26] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “The State Duma Directed Right Radicals Toward New Goals: Xenophobia, Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Counteract It in Russia during the First Half of 2013.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2013/08/d2765…

[27] “Racism and Xenophobia in August 2013.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. September 9, 2019. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/news-releases/2013/09/d27872/

[28] Horvath, Robert. “The Euromaidan and the crisis of Russian nationalism.” Nationalities Papers (2015) vol. 43, no. 6: 819-839. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2015.1050366

[29] Horvath, Robert. “The Euromaidan and the crisis of Russian nationalism.” Nationalities Papers (2015) vol. 43, no. 6: 819-839. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2015.1050366

[30] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Counter Extremism Project. 2020. https://www.counter
extremism.com/taxonomy/term/1153

[31] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Counter Extremism Project. 2020. https://www.counter
extremism.com/taxonomy/term/1153

[32] “Racism and Xenophobia in March 2014.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 7, 2014. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/news-releases/2014/04/d29299/

[33] Yudina, Natalia and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Russian Nationalist Veterans of the Donbas War.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 734-749. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2018.63

[34] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Counter Extremism Project. 2020. https://www.counter
extremism.com/taxonomy/term/1153

[35] Yudina, Natalia and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Russian Nationalist Veterans of the Donbas War.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 734-749. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2018.63

[36] Yudina, Natalia and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Russian Nationalist Veterans of the Donbas War.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 734-749. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2018.63

[37] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Counter Extremism Project. 2020. https://www.counter
extremism.com/taxonomy/term/1153

[38] Roth, Andrew. “A right-wing militia trains Russians to fight the next war — with or without Putin.” The Washington Post. January 2, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-right-wing-militia-trains…

[39] Roth, Andrew. “A right-wing militia trains Russians to fight the next war — with or without Putin.” The Washington Post. January 2, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-right-wing-militia-trains…

[40] Hume, Tim. “German Neo Nazis Are Getting Explosives Training at a White Supremacist Camp in Russia.” VICE News. June 6, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/g5pqk4/german-neo-nazis-are-getting-…

[41] “US State Department Designates the Russian Imperial Movement as Terrorist Organization.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 7, 2020. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/news-releases/2020/04/d42276/

[42] Yudina, Natalia and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Russian Nationalist Veterans of the Donbas War.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 734-749. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2018.63

[43] Yudina, Natalia and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Russian Nationalist Veterans of the Donbas War.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 734-749. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2018.63

[44] Roth, Andrew. “A right-wing militia trains Russians to fight the next war — with or without Putin.” The Washington Post. January 2, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-right-wing-militia-trains…

[45] Roth, Andrew. “A right-wing militia trains Russians to fight the next war — with or without Putin.” The Washington Post. January 2, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-right-wing-militia-trains…

[46] Yudina, Natalia and Alexander Verkhovsky. “Russian Nationalist Veterans of the Donbas War.” Nationalities Papers (2019) vol. 47, no. 6: 734-749. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2018.63

[47] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Ukraine Upsets the Nationalist Apple-Cart: Xenophobia, Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Counteract It in Russia during the First Half of 2014.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. June 6, 2014. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2014/08/d3000…

[48] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Ukraine Upsets the Nationalist Apple-Cart: Xenophobia, Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Counteract It in Russia during the First Half of 2014.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. June 6, 2014. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2014/08/d3000…

[49] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Calm Before the Storm? Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2014. SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 21, 2015. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2015/04/d3181…

[50] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Calm Before the Storm? Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2014. SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 21, 2015. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2015/04/d3181…

[51] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “Calm Before the Storm? Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2014. SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 21, 2015. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2015/04/d3181…

[52] Yudina, Natalia and Vera Alperovich. “The Ultra-Right Movement under Pressure: Xenophobia and Radical Nationalism in Russia, and Efforts to Counteract Them in 2015.” SOVA Center for Information and Analysis. April 8, 2016. https://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2016/04/d3424…

[53] Oliphant, Roland. “Far-Right Russian group claims Donald Trump labelled them terrorists to win election.” The Telegraph. April 12, 2020. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/12/far-right-russian-group-cla…

[54] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[55] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[56] “Neo-Nazis in the North: The Nordic Resistance Movement in Finland, Sweden and Norway.” Hate Speech International. N.d. https://www.hate-speech.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/neo-nazis-in-the…

[57] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[58] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[59] Omelicheva, Mariya. “Designating the Russian Imperial Movement a Terrorist Organization: A Drop In The Bucket of Needed U.S. Counter-Extremism Responses.” PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 653.

June 2020. http://www.ponarseurasia.org/sites/default/files/policy-memos-pdf/Pepm6…?

[60] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[61] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[62] “GTD: Global Terrorism Database.” University of Maryland. 2019. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/

[63] “United States Designates Russian Imperial Movement and Leaders as Global Terrorists.” U.S. Department of State. April 7, 2020. https://www.state.gov/united-states-designates-russian-imperial-movemen…

[64] Huetlin, Josephine. “Russian Extremists Are Training Right-Wing Terrorists From Western Europe.” The Daily Beast. August 2, 2017. https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-extremists-are-training-right-win…

[65] Omelicheva, Mariya. “Designating the Russian Imperial Movement a Terrorist Organization: A Drop In The Bucket of Needed U.S. Counter-Extremism Responses.” PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 653.

June 2020. http://www.ponarseurasia.org/sites/default/files/policy-memos-pdf/Pepm6…?

[66] Gartenstein-Ross, Daveed, Samuel Hodgson, and Colin P. Clarke. “The Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) and its Links to the Transnational White Supremacist Extremist Movement.” International Center for Counter-Terrorism. April 24, 2020. https://icct.nl/publication/the-russian-imperial-movement-rim-and-its-l…

[67] Sahinkaya, Ezel and Danila Galperovich. “Radical Russian Imperial Movement Expanding Global Outreach.” VOA News. May 9, 2020. https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/radical-russian-imperial-moveme…

[68] Michel, Casey. “Russian, American white nationalists raise their flags in Washington.” ThinkProgress. September 22, 2017. https://thinkprogress.org/russian-american-nationalists-washington-5bd1…

[69] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[70] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[71] Hume, Tim. “German Neo Nazis Are Getting Explosives Training at a White Supremacist Camp in Russia.” VICE News. June 6, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/g5pqk4/german-neo-nazis-are-getting-…

[72] Sierra, Gustavo. “Club Partizan, el campo de entrenamiento militar en Rusia para los neonazis del mundo.” Infobae. 14 June 2020. https://www.infobae.com/america/mundo/2020/06/14/club-partizan-el-campo…

[73] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[74] Oliphant, Roland. “Far-Right Russian group claims Donald Trump labelled them terrorists to win election.” The Telegraph. April 12, 2020. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/12/far-right-russian-group-cla…. “Russian mercenary who fought in Donbas killed in Libya.” UAWire. January 30, 2020. https://uawire.org/russian-mercenary-who-fought-in-donbas-killed-in-lib…

[75] Malsin, Jason. “Russia Reinforces Foothold in Libya as Militia Leader Retreats.” The Wall Street Journal. June 29, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-reinforces-foothold-in-libya-as-mil…

[76] “United States Designates Russian Imperial Movement and Leaders as Global Terrorists.” U.S. Department of State. April 7, 2020. https://www.state.gov/united-states-designates-russian-imperial-movemen…

[77] “Intelbrief: Russian Imperial Movement Labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity.” The Soufan Center. April 7, 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-russian-imperial-movement-labele…

[1] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Counter Extremism Project. 2020. https://www.counter
extremism.com/taxonomy/term/1153. Roth, Andrew. “A right-wing militia trains Russians to fight the next war — with or without Putin.” The Washington Post. January 2, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-right-wing-militia-trains…

[2] Oliphant, Roland. “Far-Right Russian group claims Donald Trump labelled them terrorists to win election.” The Telegraph. April 12, 2020. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/12/far-right-russian-group-cla…. “Russian mercenary who fought in Donbas killed in Libya.” UAWire. January 30, 2020. https://uawire.org/russian-mercenary-who-fought-in-donbas-killed-in-lib…

[3] Malsin, Jason. “Russia Reinforces Foothold in Libya as Militia Leader Retreats.” The Wall Street Journal. June 29, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-reinforces-foothold-in-libya-as-mil…. Oliphant, Roland. “Far-Right Russian group claims Donald Trump labelled them terrorists to win election.” The Telegraph. April 12, 2020. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/12/far-right-russian-group-cla…. Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.

There are no recorded major attacks committed by members of RIM outside of war zones as of July 2020.[1] The group has, however, engaged in campaigns of violence and trained individuals who later perpetrated attacks. Key examples of these violent activities are listed below.

June 2014–January 2016: RIM trained and equipped foreign fighters for the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where members of the group’s Imperial Legion fought alongside pro-Russian separatists (unknown casualties).[2]

November 11, 2016: Viktor Melin, a member of the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) who was trained by RIM through the Partizan paramilitary course in August 2016, bombed a left-wing bookstore-café in Gothenburg, Sweden.[3] The U.S. State Department cited this attack as justification for RIM’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation (no casualties).[4]

January 5, 2017: Viktor Melin and a man with no RIM affiliation, Jimmy Jonassons, bombed a shelter for refugees in Gothenburg, Sweden.[5] The U.S. State Department cited this attack as justification for RIM’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation (none killed, one wounded).[6]

January 25, 2017: Viktor Melin and Anton Thulin, both of whom were trained by RIM in August 2016, attempted to bomb a public campground that housed asylum seekers in Gothenburg, Sweden. Melin and Thulin cooperated with Jimmy Jonassons, a man with no RIM affiliation, when carrying out the attack.[7] The U.S. State Department cited this attack as justification for RIM’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation (no casualties).[8]

April 2019 (approximate): Researchers have confirmed the presence of RIM fighters in Syria as early as April 2019, though exact dates are unknown. According to the group’s social media, the goal of its campaign in Syria is to protect Christians in the country (unknown casualties).[9]

January 2020 (approximate): In January 2020, RIM acknowledged that two of its fighters had been killed in combat in Libya.[10] Analysts believe that Imperial Legion militants form RIM are fighting alongside the Libyan National Army of Russian-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar.[11] It is unclear when this campaign began (unknown casualties).

[1] Meier, Anna. “The U.S. labeled a white supremacist group as ‘terrorists’ for the first time. It’s less significant than you think.” The Washington Post. April 30, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/
politics/2020/04/30/us-labeled-white-supremacist-group-terrorists-first-time-its-less-significant-than-you-think/

[2] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Counter Extremism Project. 2020. https://www.counter
extremism.com/taxonomy/term/1153. Roth, Andrew. “A right-wing militia trains Russians to fight the next war — with or without Putin.” The Washington Post. January 2, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-right-wing-militia-trains…

[3] “Incident Summary: Global Terrorism Database.” University of Maryland, 2019. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=2016111…. Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[4] “United States Designates Russian Imperial Movement and Leaders as Global Terrorists.” U.S. Department of State. April 7, 2020. https://www.state.gov/united-states-designates-russian-imperial-movemen…

[5] “Incident Summary: Global Terrorism Database.” University of Maryland, 2019. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=2017010…. Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[6] “United States Designates Russian Imperial Movement and Leaders as Global Terrorists.” U.S. Department of State. April 7, 2020. https://www.state.gov/united-states-designates-russian-imperial-movemen…

[7] “Incident Summary: Global Terrorism Database.” University of Maryland, 2019. https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=2017012…. Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[8] “United States Designates Russian Imperial Movement and Leaders as Global Terrorists.” U.S. Department of State. April 7, 2020. https://www.state.gov/united-states-designates-russian-imperial-movemen…

[9] Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…

[10] Oliphant, Roland. “Far-Right Russian group claims Donald Trump labelled them terrorists to win election.” The Telegraph. April 12, 2020. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/12/far-right-russian-group-cla…. “Russian mercenary who fought in Donbas killed in Libya.” UAWire. January 30, 2020. https://uawire.org/russian-mercenary-who-fought-in-donbas-killed-in-lib…

[11] Malsin, Jason. “Russia Reinforces Foothold in Libya as Militia Leader Retreats.” The Wall Street Journal. June 29, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-reinforces-foothold-in-libya-as-mil…. Oliphant, Roland. “Far-Right Russian group claims Donald Trump labelled them terrorists to win election.” The Telegraph. April 12, 2020. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/12/far-right-russian-group-cla…. Blazakis, Jason et al. “Inside the Russian Imperial Movement: Practical Implications of U.S. Sanctions.” The Soufan Center. April 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/research/inside-the-russian-imperial-moveme…