Russian National Unity - History

History

In 1989, Barkashov was the second in command in Russian National-Patriotic Front Pamyat. His conflict with Dmitri Vasilyev resulted in Barkashov leading, in his words, "the most disciplined and active members, dissatisfied with empty talk and theatrical stunts, out of Pamyat." In 1990, RNU grew in the face of the economic and social difficulties faced by Russians in the course of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The Russian National Unity movement was founded on 16 October 1990 by a splinter group of the National Patriotic Front “Memory” (NPF “Pamyat”). It grew from 1990 to 1991. Members have been reported to wear black and camouflage uniforms; the group adopted a red and white swastika emblem and openly expressed admiration for German national socialism and public celebrations of the rise of the Nazis, although the organization officially denied any support for Nazi ideology. The group was active not only in Russia, but also in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. The RNU has attempted to unite nationalist groups by organizing Slavonic and then Russian sobors. They met with various groups to pursue common goals, but saw little progress.

By the middle of 1993, Russian National Unity had become the most prominent Russian nationalist movement, with a wide network of regional divisions. In addition to engaging in political action, the RNU conducted military drills and tactical training. As the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis unfolded, the RNU militantly supported the Russian parliament over the president, Boris Yeltsin. In 1993 it took part in defending and patrolling the "White house" - the residence of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation during the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 against the President's troops. Following Yeltsin's victory, RNU worked illegally for several months. While underground, the movement continued to publish their newspaper Russian order.

The same year, the organization was registered as "a club for military and patriotic upbringing" and later was recognized by local officials as "a volunteer people's self-protection unit". To help achieve its goals, the RNU developed a cadre of armed paramilitaries, known as "Russian Vityazi", who were trained in the use of small arms and explosives.

On 15 October 1995, 304 delegates from 37 regional divisions attended a RNU conference in Moscow. In 1999, Moscow’s mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, with the support of higher government officials, prohibited the second RNU regional conference from being held in Moscow. However, the RNU continued to organize.

In 1999, the Moscow headquarters of the group were closed. During the second Chechen War, the RNU supported Russian officers accused of crimes in Chechnya.

At the peak of its popularity in 1999, RNU was estimated to have 100,000 active members all over Russia by state officials.