Vanguard of a White Empire: Rusich, the Russian Imperial Movement, and Russia's War of Terror

Russian politics have steadily drifted toward the far-right since the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent rise of Vladimir Putin. Under Putin, far-right ideologies such as Eurasianism and Orthodox neofascism have been embraced as alternatives to the liberal international order and means of steering Russia back toward national greatness. Beginning with the 2014 seizure of Crimea, the Russian state has made instrumental use of far-right extremists with whom it shares a common cause in leveraging hard power abroad. The two most notable far-right extremist groups embraced by the Russian state are Rusich and the Russian Imperial Movement. Both groups have conducted transnational security and combat operations in service to the Russian state through powerful political intermediaries. This relationship, once of convenience, is increasingly turning to one of mutual necessity as the Russian military has faltered in its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.