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'''Right Sector''' (Pravy/Pravyi Sektor) is a [[Ukrainian nationalism|Ukrainian nationalist]] political party.<ref name="bush">{{cite news |last1=Bush |first1=Jason |last2=Davies |first2=Megan |date=3 May 2014 |title=Russia calls on U.S. to help stop Kiev’s military drive |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/03/us-ukraine-crisis-lavrov-kerry-idUSBREA4208D20140503 |agency=[[Reuters]] |quote=the Right Sector [group] – a Ukrainian nationalist group in western Ukraine}}</ref> In its earlier manifestation as a paramilitary confederation of radical right-wing groups, it provided logistical support and tactical leadership at the [[Euromaidan]] protests in [[Kiev]].
'''Right Sector''' (Pravy/Pravyi Sektor) is a [[Ukrainian nationalism|Ukrainian nationalist]] political party.<ref name="bush">{{cite news |last1=Bush |first1=Jason |last2=Davies |first2=Megan |date=3 May 2014 |title=Russia calls on U.S. to help stop Kiev’s military drive |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/03/us-ukraine-crisis-lavrov-kerry-idUSBREA4208D20140503 |agency=[[Reuters]] |quote=the Right Sector [group] – a Ukrainian nationalist group in western Ukraine}}</ref> In its earlier manifestation as a paramilitary confederation of radical right-wing groups, it provided logistical support and tactical leadership at the [[Euromaiden]] protests in [[Kiev]].


The coalition was organized in November 2013.<ref name="BBCRSSpPr" /> Founding groups included several paramilitary organizations including [[Tryzub (organization)|Trident]] (Tryzub), led by [[Dmytro Yarosh]] and Andriy Tarasenko; the political party [[Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence|Ukrainian National Assembly–Ukrainian National Self Defence]] (UNA–UNSO); and the [[Racism|racist]] and [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] groups [[Patriots of Ukraine]], White Hammer and the [[Social-National Assembly]].<ref name=eus1>{{cite journal|last=Shekhovstov|first=Anton|title=The Creeping Resurgence of the Ukrainian Radical Right? The Case of the Freedom Party.|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|date=March 2011|volume=63|issue=2|pages=203–228|quote=During the second half of the 1990s, the SNPU recruited Nazi skinheads and football hooligans. At the same time, the party decided to reorganise its ‘popular guard units’ to form the Tovarystvo spryyannya zbroinym sylam ta viiskovo-mors’komu flotu Ukrayiny ‘Patriot Ukrayiny’ (Society of Assistance to Armed Forces and Navy of Ukraine ‘Patriot of Ukraine’), headed by Andrii Parubii. However, although the ‘Patriot of Ukraine’ was formed in 1996, it was not until 1999 that it became a full-fledged organisation. Its first convention took place in Lviv in December 1999 and was celebrated by a night-time torch procession through the city streets… [In 2004, the SNPU] the convention disbanded the Patriot of Ukraine, as this paramilitary organisation as such and its overtly racist stances in particular posed a threat to the new ‘respectable’ image of the Freedom Party… The Kharkiv local organisation of the Patriot of Ukraine refused to disband and renewed its membership in 2005. The following year, it managed to register as a regional social organisation, but, from then on, it had no organisational ties with the maternal party.}}</ref><ref name=wodak>{{cite book|last=Shekhovstov|first=Anton|title=Right-Wing Populism in Europe|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|editor=Wodak|chapter=17: Para-Militarism to Radical Right-Wing Populism: The Rise of the Ukrainian Far-Right Party Svoboda.|quote=Svoboda also seems to benefit from the increasing popularity of extreme-right youth movements and organizations like the Social-National Assembly (SNA), 'Patriot of Ukraine' and Autonomous Resistance, whose aim is to create 'a uniracial and uninational society'. The activities of these groups are not limited to physical or symbolic violence against ethnic and social minorities, as they also take an active part in numerous social campaigns - generally along with representatives of Svoboda - ranging from mass protests against price rises to leafleting against alcohol and drug use. Needless to say, members of these extreme-right movements are often members of Tyahnybok's party. Interestingly, 'street combat youth movements' like the SNA no longer focus on ethnic issues: in contrast to the older Ukrainian far right, the new groups are, first and foremost, racist movements.}}</ref><ref name=ishchenko>{{cite journal|last=Ishchenko|first=Volodymyr|title=Fighting Fences vs Fighting Monuments: Politics of Memory and Protest Mobilization in Ukraine|journal=Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe|date=2011|volume=19|issue=1-2|quote=...rightist non-partisan groups including overtly racist “autonomous nationalists” (http://reactor.org.ua) and the neo-Nazi “Patriot of Ukraine” (http://www.patriotukr.org.ua/). For the far right sector politics of memory actions comprised 29.2% of all protest actions with their participation, this was larger than the shares of social-economic, political struggle, and civic rights protest issues (Table 7)… After the notorious death of Maksym Chaika in a fight with antifascists in Odessa in April 2009, Yushchenko unambiguously supported the far right interpretation of the accident claiming the victim to be “an activist of a patriotic civic association” consciously murdered by “pro-Russia militants” ignoring Chaika’s connections with rightist football hooligans and his membership in the “SICH” (“Glory and Honor”) organization, a participant in the Social-Nationalist Assembly (http://sna.in.ua/) together with the neo-Nazi group “'Patriots of Ukraine.'"}}</ref><ref name=likhachev>{{cite journal|last=Likhachev|first=Viacheslav|title=Right-Wing Extremism on the Rise in Ukraine|journal=Russian Politics and Law|date=September–October 2013|volume=51|issue=5|doi=10.2753/RUP1061-1940510503|quote=The main extrasystemic ultraright group in Ukraine in recent years has been Patriot of Ukraine (led by Andrii Bilets’kyi). The core of the organization was formed in Kharkiv in 2004, when a group of activists belonging to the SNPU’s paramilitary youth wing of the same name refused to accept the leaders’ decision to disband the militarized organization while “rebranding” their party. By 2006, Patriot of Ukraine had become a public movement with branches in many regions of the country. Activists appeared in camouflage uniform with neo-Nazi symbols. Many public actions were organized—targeting migrants, political opponents, and others. Violence (including the use of firearms) was repeatedly used against political opponents and members of ethnic and sexual minorities. In 2011, during the investigation of several criminal cases (one charge concerned the preparation of a terrorist act), almost the entire leadership of the organization in Kyiv and Kharkiv ended up behind bars; this paralyzed the movement and caused it to split… Members of almost all the organizations listed are known to have engaged in ideologically motivated violence.}}</ref><ref name=wodak2>{{cite book|last=Shekhovtsov|first=Anton|title=Right-Winf Populism in Europe|year=2013|publisher=Blumsbury Academic|isbn=1780932456|pages=249–263|url=http://www.amazon.com/Right-Wing-Populism-Europe-Politics-Discourse/dp/1780932456|editor=Ruth Wodak|accessdate=12 May 2014|chapter=17: From Para-Militarism to Radical Right-Wing Populism: The Rise of the Ukrainian Far-Right Party Svoboda|quote=At the same time, Nova Syla's Yuriy Zbitnyev is one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi group Social-National Assembly, an organization that is also close to the younger members of Svoboda, but Nova Syla itself, while remaining on the fringes of Ukrainian politics, is not much influenced by these relations.}}</ref><ref name="BBCRSSpPr" /><ref name="db1" /> White Hammer was expelled in March 2014.<ref name="whammer">{{cite web |url=http://pravyysektor.info/news/ofitsijna-zayava-pravoho-sektoru/ |title=Official statement by Right Sector |author=Right Sector Political Council |date=6 March 2014 |website=PravyySektor.info |language=Ukrainian |quote=For marginal actions that defame the Right Sector movement and failure to discipline, [White Hammer] is removed from our organization.… Our actions must be coordinated and consistent.}}</ref>
The coalition was organized in November 2013.<ref name="BBCRSSpPr" /> Founding groups included several paramilitary organizations including [[Tryzub (organization)|Trident]] (Tryzub), led by [[Dmytro Yarosh]] and Andriy Tarasenko; the political party [[Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence|Ukrainian National Assembly–Ukrainian National Self Defence]] (UNA–UNSO); and the [[Racism|racist]] and [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] groups [[Patriots of Ukraine]], White Hammer and the [[Social-National Assembly]].<ref name=eus1>{{cite journal|last=Shekhovstov|first=Anton|title=The Creeping Resurgence of the Ukrainian Radical Right? The Case of the Freedom Party.|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|date=March 2011|volume=63|issue=2|pages=203–228|quote=During the second half of the 1990s, the SNPU recruited Nazi skinheads and football hooligans. At the same time, the party decided to reorganise its ‘popular guard units’ to form the Tovarystvo spryyannya zbroinym sylam ta viiskovo-mors’komu flotu Ukrayiny ‘Patriot Ukrayiny’ (Society of Assistance to Armed Forces and Navy of Ukraine ‘Patriot of Ukraine’), headed by Andrii Parubii. However, although the ‘Patriot of Ukraine’ was formed in 1996, it was not until 1999 that it became a full-fledged organisation. Its first convention took place in Lviv in December 1999 and was celebrated by a night-time torch procession through the city streets… [In 2004, the SNPU] the convention disbanded the Patriot of Ukraine, as this paramilitary organisation as such and its overtly racist stances in particular posed a threat to the new ‘respectable’ image of the Freedom Party… The Kharkiv local organisation of the Patriot of Ukraine refused to disband and renewed its membership in 2005. The following year, it managed to register as a regional social organisation, but, from then on, it had no organisational ties with the maternal party.}}</ref><ref name=wodak>{{cite book|last=Shekhovstov|first=Anton|title=Right-Wing Populism in Europe|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|editor=Wodak|chapter=17: Para-Militarism to Radical Right-Wing Populism: The Rise of the Ukrainian Far-Right Party Svoboda.|quote=Svoboda also seems to benefit from the increasing popularity of extreme-right youth movements and organizations like the Social-National Assembly (SNA), 'Patriot of Ukraine' and Autonomous Resistance, whose aim is to create 'a uniracial and uninational society'. The activities of these groups are not limited to physical or symbolic violence against ethnic and social minorities, as they also take an active part in numerous social campaigns - generally along with representatives of Svoboda - ranging from mass protests against price rises to leafleting against alcohol and drug use. Needless to say, members of these extreme-right movements are often members of Tyahnybok's party. Interestingly, 'street combat youth movements' like the SNA no longer focus on ethnic issues: in contrast to the older Ukrainian far right, the new groups are, first and foremost, racist movements.}}</ref><ref name=ishchenko>{{cite journal|last=Ishchenko|first=Volodymyr|title=Fighting Fences vs Fighting Monuments: Politics of Memory and Protest Mobilization in Ukraine|journal=Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe|date=2011|volume=19|issue=1-2|quote=...rightist non-partisan groups including overtly racist “autonomous nationalists” (http://reactor.org.ua) and the neo-Nazi “Patriot of Ukraine” (http://www.patriotukr.org.ua/). For the far right sector politics of memory actions comprised 29.2% of all protest actions with their participation, this was larger than the shares of social-economic, political struggle, and civic rights protest issues (Table 7)… After the notorious death of Maksym Chaika in a fight with antifascists in Odessa in April 2009, Yushchenko unambiguously supported the far right interpretation of the accident claiming the victim to be “an activist of a patriotic civic association” consciously murdered by “pro-Russia militants” ignoring Chaika’s connections with rightist football hooligans and his membership in the “SICH” (“Glory and Honor”) organization, a participant in the Social-Nationalist Assembly (http://sna.in.ua/) together with the neo-Nazi group “'Patriots of Ukraine.'"}}</ref><ref name=likhachev>{{cite journal|last=Likhachev|first=Viacheslav|title=Right-Wing Extremism on the Rise in Ukraine|journal=Russian Politics and Law|date=September–October 2013|volume=51|issue=5|doi=10.2753/RUP1061-1940510503|quote=The main extrasystemic ultraright group in Ukraine in recent years has been Patriot of Ukraine (led by Andrii Bilets’kyi). The core of the organization was formed in Kharkiv in 2004, when a group of activists belonging to the SNPU’s paramilitary youth wing of the same name refused to accept the leaders’ decision to disband the militarized organization while “rebranding” their party. By 2006, Patriot of Ukraine had become a public movement with branches in many regions of the country. Activists appeared in camouflage uniform with neo-Nazi symbols. Many public actions were organized—targeting migrants, political opponents, and others. Violence (including the use of firearms) was repeatedly used against political opponents and members of ethnic and sexual minorities. In 2011, during the investigation of several criminal cases (one charge concerned the preparation of a terrorist act), almost the entire leadership of the organization in Kyiv and Kharkiv ended up behind bars; this paralyzed the movement and caused it to split… Members of almost all the organizations listed are known to have engaged in ideologically motivated violence.}}</ref><ref name=wodak2>{{cite book|last=Shekhovtsov|first=Anton|title=Right-Winf Populism in Europe|year=2013|publisher=Blumsbury Academic|isbn=1780932456|pages=249–263|url=http://www.amazon.com/Right-Wing-Populism-Europe-Politics-Discourse/dp/1780932456|editor=Ruth Wodak|accessdate=12 May 2014|chapter=17: From Para-Militarism to Radical Right-Wing Populism: The Rise of the Ukrainian Far-Right Party Svoboda|quote=At the same time, Nova Syla's Yuriy Zbitnyev is one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi group Social-National Assembly, an organization that is also close to the younger members of Svoboda, but Nova Syla itself, while remaining on the fringes of Ukrainian politics, is not much influenced by these relations.}}</ref><ref name="BBCRSSpPr" /><ref name="db1" /> White Hammer was expelled in March 2014.<ref name="whammer">{{cite web |url=http://pravyysektor.info/news/ofitsijna-zayava-pravoho-sektoru/ |title=Official statement by Right Sector |author=Right Sector Political Council |date=6 March 2014 |website=PravyySektor.info |language=Ukrainian |quote=For marginal actions that defame the Right Sector movement and failure to discipline, [White Hammer] is removed from our organization.… Our actions must be coordinated and consistent.}}</ref>

Revision as of 09:33, 17 May 2014

Right Sector
Правий сектор
LeaderDmytro Yarosh
FoundedMarch 22, 2014 (2014-03-22)
Merger of
HeadquartersKiev, Ukraine
Membership10,000
IdeologyUkrainian nationalism
Political positionRight-wing to far-right
Party flag
File:Правый сектор (Украина).jpg
Website
pravyysektor.info

Right Sector (Pravy/Pravyi Sektor) is a Ukrainian nationalist political party.[1] In its earlier manifestation as a paramilitary confederation of radical right-wing groups, it provided logistical support and tactical leadership at the Euromaiden protests in Kiev.

The coalition was organized in November 2013.[2] Founding groups included several paramilitary organizations including Trident (Tryzub), led by Dmytro Yarosh and Andriy Tarasenko; the political party Ukrainian National Assembly–Ukrainian National Self Defence (UNA–UNSO); and the racist and neo-Nazi groups Patriots of Ukraine, White Hammer and the Social-National Assembly.[3][4][5][6][7][2][8] White Hammer was expelled in March 2014.[9]

Right Sector became a political party on 22 March 2014, at which time it was estimated to have perhaps 10,000 members.[10][11]

Right Sector is described by many large mainstream publications, as right-wing,[12][13] far-right,[14][15] nationalist,[16][17] ultranationalist[18][19][20] or neo-Fascist.[21][22][23]

The Associated Press reported in March 2014 that international news organizations had found no evidence of hate crimes by the group.[19]

History

Origins

Right Sector formed in late November 2013 as a confederation of several far-right, nationalist or ultranationalist groups, including Trident (Dmytro Yarosh), Patriot of Ukraine (Andriy Belitsky), White Hammer (Kyiv Organization), the Social-National Assembly, and UNA-UNSO (Yuriy Shukhevych).[2][8] A number of Right Sector's constituent groups are racist, neo-Fascist or neo-Nazi organizations.[21][24][25] Patriots of Ukraine, the Social-National Assembly (SNA) and White Hammer in particular are neo-Nazi organizations; both Patriots of Ukraine and the SNA have used political violence against minorities and their opponents.[26][27][28][29][4][3]

The organization views itself within the tradition of Ukrainian partisans, such as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which fought in the Second World War against the Soviet Union and both for and against the Axis.[21][30] Yarosh, Right Sector's leader, has trained armed nationalists in military exercises since the collapse of the Soviet Union.[31] Co-founder Andriy Tarasenko told LIGA news agency in January 2014 that most participants were "ordinary citizens not related to any organizations".[2][32]

On 6 March 2014 Right Sector stated that it was expelling White Hammer for "marginal actions" that were defaming the movement and for failure to discipline its members.[9]

Right Sector has received some financing from the Ukrainian diaspora.[11]

Entry into Maidan

Protesters throwing brick pavement at riot police, Kiev, 18 February 2014

Right Sector became one of the main actors in the January 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots, a part of the Euromaidan protests, in their later and more violent stages.[8][33] On 19 January 2014 Right Sector encouraged its members to bring bottles to the protests in order to produce Molotov cocktails and bombs.[2] The Yanukovich government classified Right Sector as an extremist movement, threatening its members with imprisonment.[34]

Right Sector has been described as the most organized and most effective of the Maidan forces when it came to confronting police forces in the Yanukovych government.[35] Yarosh stated during the Maidan protests that it had amassed a lethal arsenal of weapons.[36]

Following the collapse of the Yanukovych government, with police having largely abandoned the streets of Kiev, groups of young men, including members of Right Sector, patrolled them armed mostly with baseball bats and sometimes with guns.[35]

After Yanukovych

Meeting organized by Right Sector at Maidan main stage, Kiev, 13 April 2014

Yarosh was proposed as a deputy to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine[37] but was not appointed.[38] He was then offered the position of deputy head of the National Security Council but rejected it as being beneath him.[39]

On 7 March 2014, Tarasenko told Interfax-Ukraine that the "informal movement" would be transforming itself into a political party at a congress on 15 March.[40] In a mid-April 2014 poll, 0.9% of prospective voters who had decided on a presidential candidate said they would vote for Yarosh.[41]

In February 2014, Yarosh and the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine agreed to establish a "hotline" to prevent provocations and coordinate actions when issues arise.[42][43] The group assists in the protection of Jewish sites in Odessa.[44]

Russia has cited attacks by Right Sector on Russian speakers and Jews as the main reason it sent troops into Crimea.[19] The Associated Press reports that it has found no evidence of hate crimes by the group.[19]

On 11 March 2014, Russian Duma opposition leader Valery Rashkin called on Russian special services to "liquidate" Yarosh and Right Sector's leader for West Ukraine, UNA–UNSO member Oleksandr Muzychko.[45] He said that Muzychko had fought for Chechen separatists against Russian troops and been charged with banditry. Muzychko (who was given the nom de guerre "Sachko Bilyi") had also become known for the farcical Right Sector video, "Sachko Communicates with a Prosecutor", in which he yells at a local prosecutor, snatches his tie and threatens to pull him to Maidan Square with a rope.[8]

Muzychko was shot to death in Rivne, Ukraine, on 24 March 2014. A witness told a local news service that a dozen men took Muzychko out of a cafe, handcuffed him, and beat him and two bodyguards. Others said that they later heard two shots fired near the cafe.[46] Ukraine's Interior Ministry stated that he was shot after opening fire on police and Sokil special forces. He was captured alive and arrested but died from his wounds before paramedics arrived.[47] Police said he was being detained on suspicion of organized crime links, hooliganism and threatening public officials.[48][49][50]

Right Sector representatives held Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accountable for his death and vowed to avenge him.[51] On 27 March 2014, Right Sector supporters demanded the resignation of Avakov (Ukraine's interior minister) and tried to storm the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament).[52]

On 31 March, a drunken Right Sector activist started shooting near a restaurant in downtown Kiev. Three people were wounded, including the deputy head of the Kiev City State Administration.[53][54]

In early April 2014 Right Sector opened a cafe and kitsch-art gallery in Lviv, selling mugs and body armor taken from riot police.[55] It also released an app that allows its members to organize tactics at events without being identified.[18]

On 22 April 2014 pro-Russian insurgents in Slovyansk, Ukraine, detained American journalist Simon Ostrovsky for several days on suspicion of spying for the group.[56] Right Sector announced at the end of April that it was moving its headquarters from Kiev to Dnipropetrovsk in order to monitor the situation in eastern Ukraine.[57]

Ideology

Descriptions in the press

Right Sector has been described by BBC News as a "Ukrainian nationalist group"[58] and an "umbrella organization of far-right groups".[59] Time has described it as a "radical right-wing group ... a coalition of militant ultra-nationalists",[20] and its ideology as "border[ing] on fascism".[60] The New York Times has described it as a "nationalist group" and a "coalition of once-fringe Ukrainian nationalist groups".[16]

The Guardian has identified it as a "nationalist Ukrainian group";[61] Reuters as a "far-right nationalist group";[62] Agence France Presse as a "far-right" group;[15] the Wall Street Journal as an "umbrella group for far-right activists and ultranationalists".[63]

The Russian News & Information Agency has identified Right Sector as a "radical far right opposition group" and said that "Russian state media have tried to cast the demonstrations as a predominantly Fascism-inspired movement".[64] The Associated Press has called it a "radical ultranationalist group ... demonized by Russian state propaganda as fascists".[19]

The RT (formerly Russia Today) TV News network has identified it as a "Ukrainian radical neo-fascist" group.[57] Die Welt has described it as "an informal association of right-wing and neofascist factions".[21]

Other Ukrainians and political parties

In an interview, Yarosh stated that Right Sector and Svoboda "have a lot of common positions when it comes to ideological questions," but that Right Sector “absolutely do[es]n’t accept certain racist things they [Svoboda members] share.”[65] Tarasenko cited Stepan Bandera, stating: "We are enemies to those saying that there [is] no Ukraine, or Ukrainians, or … Ukrainian language."[66]

According to journalist Oleg Shynkarenko, Yarosh has indicated that Right Sector opposes homosexuality and has also implied that the right of the nation trumps human rights.[8] Vesna Popovski, a researcher at the London School of Economic's European Institute, states that Right Sector is "anti-Semitic, anti-gay and anti-Russian."[67] The New York Times has written that "Right Sector, a coalition of ultranationalist and in some cases neo-Nazi organizations," has attempted to distance itself from anti-Semitism, citing Yarosh's pledge to fight racism in Ukraine.[24]

In an interview with a major Polish newspaper, Tarasenko stated that territories of Poland like Przemysl should be returned to Ukraine and that it should regain nuclear weapons.[68]

Tarasenko has stated that the group has no "phobias", that it respects every other nation, and that it supports the nation state model.[66]

Attitude towards Europe

Right Sector's website says that its members distrust the "imperial ambitions" of both Russia and the West.[69]

Policy

Domestic policy

Right Sector has the position that the population should keep or bear arms, as in Switzerland.[70]

Military force

Right Sector seized military weaponry from an Interior Ministry arsenal in western Ukraine, near Lviv, towards the end of the Maidan revolution.[71] Those weapons reached Kiev in February, but according to protest leaders and analysts played little role in overthrowing the Ukrainian government.[71] Right Sector delivered some weapons to Ukrainian authorities in the aftermath of the revolution, and kept others.[71]

According to Yarosh, Right Sector has recruited retired officers of the interior ministry and the security agencies. He told Newsweek that the group coordinates its actions with the army and the National Security and Defense council and that "as in any army" it has specialists who are trained to use S-300 antiaircraft missiles.[11]

References

  1. ^ Bush, Jason; Davies, Megan (3 May 2014). "Russia calls on U.S. to help stop Kiev's military drive". Reuters. the Right Sector [group] – a Ukrainian nationalist group in western Ukraine
  2. ^ a b c d e "Groups at the sharp end of Ukraine unrest". BBC News. 1 February 2014. The Right Sector is a radical nationalist opposition group…
  3. ^ a b Shekhovstov, Anton (March 2011). "The Creeping Resurgence of the Ukrainian Radical Right? The Case of the Freedom Party". Europe-Asia Studies. 63 (2): 203–228. During the second half of the 1990s, the SNPU recruited Nazi skinheads and football hooligans. At the same time, the party decided to reorganise its 'popular guard units' to form the Tovarystvo spryyannya zbroinym sylam ta viiskovo-mors'komu flotu Ukrayiny 'Patriot Ukrayiny' (Society of Assistance to Armed Forces and Navy of Ukraine 'Patriot of Ukraine'), headed by Andrii Parubii. However, although the 'Patriot of Ukraine' was formed in 1996, it was not until 1999 that it became a full-fledged organisation. Its first convention took place in Lviv in December 1999 and was celebrated by a night-time torch procession through the city streets… [In 2004, the SNPU] the convention disbanded the Patriot of Ukraine, as this paramilitary organisation as such and its overtly racist stances in particular posed a threat to the new 'respectable' image of the Freedom Party… The Kharkiv local organisation of the Patriot of Ukraine refused to disband and renewed its membership in 2005. The following year, it managed to register as a regional social organisation, but, from then on, it had no organisational ties with the maternal party.
  4. ^ a b Shekhovstov, Anton (2013). "17: Para-Militarism to Radical Right-Wing Populism: The Rise of the Ukrainian Far-Right Party Svoboda.". In Wodak (ed.). Right-Wing Populism in Europe. Bloomsbury Academic. Svoboda also seems to benefit from the increasing popularity of extreme-right youth movements and organizations like the Social-National Assembly (SNA), 'Patriot of Ukraine' and Autonomous Resistance, whose aim is to create 'a uniracial and uninational society'. The activities of these groups are not limited to physical or symbolic violence against ethnic and social minorities, as they also take an active part in numerous social campaigns - generally along with representatives of Svoboda - ranging from mass protests against price rises to leafleting against alcohol and drug use. Needless to say, members of these extreme-right movements are often members of Tyahnybok's party. Interestingly, 'street combat youth movements' like the SNA no longer focus on ethnic issues: in contrast to the older Ukrainian far right, the new groups are, first and foremost, racist movements.
  5. ^ Ishchenko, Volodymyr (2011). "Fighting Fences vs Fighting Monuments: Politics of Memory and Protest Mobilization in Ukraine". Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. 19 (1–2). ...rightist non-partisan groups including overtly racist "autonomous nationalists" (http://reactor.org.ua) and the neo-Nazi "Patriot of Ukraine" (http://www.patriotukr.org.ua/). For the far right sector politics of memory actions comprised 29.2% of all protest actions with their participation, this was larger than the shares of social-economic, political struggle, and civic rights protest issues (Table 7)… After the notorious death of Maksym Chaika in a fight with antifascists in Odessa in April 2009, Yushchenko unambiguously supported the far right interpretation of the accident claiming the victim to be "an activist of a patriotic civic association" consciously murdered by "pro-Russia militants" ignoring Chaika's connections with rightist football hooligans and his membership in the "SICH" ("Glory and Honor") organization, a participant in the Social-Nationalist Assembly (http://sna.in.ua/) together with the neo-Nazi group "'Patriots of Ukraine.'"
  6. ^ Likhachev, Viacheslav (September–October 2013). "Right-Wing Extremism on the Rise in Ukraine". Russian Politics and Law. 51 (5). doi:10.2753/RUP1061-1940510503. The main extrasystemic ultraright group in Ukraine in recent years has been Patriot of Ukraine (led by Andrii Bilets'kyi). The core of the organization was formed in Kharkiv in 2004, when a group of activists belonging to the SNPU's paramilitary youth wing of the same name refused to accept the leaders' decision to disband the militarized organization while "rebranding" their party. By 2006, Patriot of Ukraine had become a public movement with branches in many regions of the country. Activists appeared in camouflage uniform with neo-Nazi symbols. Many public actions were organized—targeting migrants, political opponents, and others. Violence (including the use of firearms) was repeatedly used against political opponents and members of ethnic and sexual minorities. In 2011, during the investigation of several criminal cases (one charge concerned the preparation of a terrorist act), almost the entire leadership of the organization in Kyiv and Kharkiv ended up behind bars; this paralyzed the movement and caused it to split… Members of almost all the organizations listed are known to have engaged in ideologically motivated violence.
  7. ^ Shekhovtsov, Anton (2013). "17: From Para-Militarism to Radical Right-Wing Populism: The Rise of the Ukrainian Far-Right Party Svoboda". In Ruth Wodak (ed.). Right-Winf Populism in Europe. Blumsbury Academic. pp. 249–263. ISBN 1780932456. Retrieved 12 May 2014. At the same time, Nova Syla's Yuriy Zbitnyev is one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi group Social-National Assembly, an organization that is also close to the younger members of Svoboda, but Nova Syla itself, while remaining on the fringes of Ukrainian politics, is not much influenced by these relations.
  8. ^ a b c d e Shynkarenko, Oleg (1 March 2014). "Can Ukraine control its far right ultranationalists?". Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2014-03-30. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov condemned the video as 'not an exaggerated manifestation of the hunt for justice, but sabotage against people's faith in possible order.' [Muzychko] may have thought he was clowning around…
  9. ^ a b Right Sector Political Council (6 March 2014). "Official statement by Right Sector". PravyySektor.info (in Ukrainian). For marginal actions that defame the Right Sector movement and failure to discipline, [White Hammer] is removed from our organization.… Our actions must be coordinated and consistent.
  10. ^ McCoy, Terrence (26 March 2014). "Ultranationalist's killing underscores Ukraine's ugly divisions". Washington Post. Right Sector … boasts between 5,000 and 10,000 members…
  11. ^ a b c Nemtsova, Anna (19 March 2014). "Yarosh: Russians, rise up against Putin!". Newsweek. Yarosh: 'I cannot give you the exact number, as our structure and divisions are constantly growing all over Ukraine, but more than 10,000 people for sure.'
  12. ^ "How did Odessa's fire happen?". BBC News. 4 May 2014. Hardline fans – known as 'ultras' – of both sides agreed to hold a joint march to support a united Ukraine.… Some were veteran supporters of Kiev's Maidan protest movement – the Maidan Self Defence Forces – and/or part of the right-wing Pravy Sektor (Rights Sector).
  13. ^ Kramer, Andrew (12 March 2014). "A far-right leader is front and center in Kiev". New York Times. p. A8. Yarosh [is the] leader of the right-wing coalition known as Right Sector…. [His] ambitions … include supplanting Svoboda as the leading right-wing party.… Right Sector is not likely to win more than about 5 percent in any national election….
  14. ^ Whalen, Jeanne (25 March 2014). "Prominent Ukraine nationalist killed during police operation". Wall Street Journal. Russia's state-controlled media outlets have focused particular attention on Mr. Muzychko and one other activist from a far-right group called Pravy Sektor.
  15. ^ a b "Ukraine paramilitary group forms political party". Agence France Presse. 22 March 2014. A Ukrainian far-right paramilitary group … said Saturday it had formed a political party.… The Pravy Sektor party will absorb other already registered Ukrainian nationalist formations including UNA-UNSO and Trizub (Trident).
  16. ^ a b Higgins, Andrew (12 April 2014). "Mystery surrounds death of fiery Ukrainian activist". New York Times. p. A4. Mr. Muzychko — a militant activist in the nationalist group Right Sector — died fleeing the reach of a Ukrainian government he had helped bring to power.… Mr. Muzychko's … former comrades in Right Sector, a coalition of once-fringe Ukrainian nationalist groups, believe….
  17. ^ "Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting". BBC News. 20 April 2014. Russia has expressed outrage at a fatal shooting in eastern Ukraine which it blamed on Ukrainian nationalists.… The Russian foreign ministry accuses the Ukrainian nationalist group, Right Sector, of carrying out the raid.
  18. ^ a b "Ukraine's ultra-nationalist Right Sector launches mobile app to organize tactics". Russian News & Information Agency. 10 April 2014. Right Sector, a Ukrainian ultra-nationalist movement and illegally armed militia, now has a smartphone application which … can be downloaded on the Google Play market…. Right Sector … is a major ally of the neo-Nazi Svoboda party….
  19. ^ a b c d e Danilova, Maria (March 14, 2014). "After Ukraine protest, radical group eyes power". Associated Press. The radical ultranationalist group … [has been] demonized by Russian state propaganda as fascists and accused of staging attacks against Russian speakers and Jews.… The AP and other international news organizations have found no evidence of hate crimes.
  20. ^ a b Shuster, Simon (6 March 2014). "Putin says Ukraine's revolutionaries are anti-Semites. Is he right?". Time. The uprising … involved a radical right-wing group called Pravy Sektor, a coalition of militant ultra-nationalists…. Their leader … has been offered senior posts in Ukraine's security services….
  21. ^ a b c d "The radical Ukrainian group Right Sector". Die Welt. 22 February 2014. Right Sector (Pravy Sektor) is an informal association of right-wing and neo-fascist factions.
  22. ^ Dreyfus, Emmanuel (2 March 2014). "Ukraine Beyond Politics". Le Monde Diplomatique. Retrieved 6 March 2014. Pravy Sektor defines itself as "neither xenophobic nor anti-Semitic, as Kremlin propaganda claims" and above all as "nationalist, defending the values of white, Christian Europe against the loss of the nation and deregionalisation". Like Svoboda, it rejects multiculturalism… Svoboda's success over the past few years and the presence of neo-fascist groups such as Pravy Sektor in Independence Square are signs of a crisis in Ukrainian society. It is first and foremost a crisis of identity: in 22 years of independence, Ukraine has not managed to develop an unbiased historical narrative presenting a positive view of all its regions and citizens: even today, the Ukrainians are seen as liberators in Galicia but as fascists in Donbass.
  23. ^ Luhn, Alec (4 March 2014). "s Far-Right Groups Infiltrate Kiev's Institutions, the Student Movement Pushes Back". The Nation. Retrieved 23 April 2014. Meanwhile, ultranationalists and neo-Nazis from groups like Svoboda and Right Sector took over Euromaidan's self-defense forces, and leaders linked to these two groups were appointed to high-ranking security positions in the new government.
  24. ^ a b Higgins, Andrew (9 April 2014). "Among Ukraine's Jews, the Bigger Worry Is Putin, Not Pogroms". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  25. ^ Brayman, Lolita (28 February 2014). "Ukrainian nationalists strive to shake off allegations of anti-Semitism". Haaretz. Retrieved 12 May 2014. Some Pravy Sektor protesters on the Maidan sported yellow armbands with the wolf hook symbol revealing their specific political party affiliation—that of the Social National Assembly (SNA), a largely Kiev-based neo-Nazi organization. Other more openly anti-Semitic parties are White Hammer and C14, the neo-Nazi youth wing of the Svoboda party.
  26. ^ Volodymyr Batchayev. "12. Protection against discrimination, racism and xenophobia". ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS • HUMAN RIGHTS IN UKRAINE 2009-2010. Helsinki Human Rights Group. Retrieved 12 May 2014. On the public request, the authorities stopped the musical festival «Traditions of Spirit» near Kyiv, scheduled for June 26–27, 2010, under the aegis of the radical «Social Nationalist Assembly» with the goal to promulgate among the youth the ideas of neo-Nazi and chauvinism. During the festival, the performances of ultra-right musical bands were planned («Sokyra Peruna», «Seitar», «Nachtigall», «White Lions»), who in the lyrics of their songs openly approve and show in romantic light the skinhead movement, promote Hitlerist aesthetics, and encourage to harass national minorities. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Ghosh, Mridula (2013). Ralf Melzer (ed.). The Extreme Right in Ukraine’s Political Mainstream: What Lies Ahead?. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. In its own internal flows of communication and control, Svoboda has always been a top-down organization that does not permit dialogue or encourage critical thinking and dissent. Yet it has made good use of "open" forms of grassroots exchanges, communicating with the public and attracting new recruits via social networks like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and VKontakte. In this context, special mention should be made of the relations that Svoboda has maintained with what may be called the "informal" far-right, a category that includes the neo-Nazi underground, radical football fans, and hooligans. Members of these groups constitute hidden reservoirs of support for Svoboda and its ideology, Among them are those who openly propagate intolerance (e.g., by supporting total bans on immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers), including one part of UNA-UNSO; the Ukrainian National Labor Party and Patriots of Ukraine; skinheads; followers of Hetman Pavel Skoropadskiy; Fans of the Third Hetmanate; and the Delegation of the Right from the regions. There are also those who do not champion racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, but nevertheless harbor other radical ideas... {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  28. ^ GHOSH, MRIDULA (2011). Diversity and Tolerance in Ukraine in the Context of EURO 2012. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. An analysis in 2008 stated that, police investigation reports of the growing number of hate crimes after the year 2005 against foreigners and visible minorities showed that in the majority of cases the perpetrators were radical youth groups. The analysis covered such groups as Patriot of Ukraine, Ukrainian Peoples Labor Party, Ukrainian Alternative, National Action "RID", Sich, Character Kozatstvo, Svyato-Andriyivsky, Kozachiy Kurin and others… They demand total ban on migration, are against refugees and asylum seekers and the concept of tolerance. Groups such as Skinheads, followers of Hetman Pavel Skoropadskiy, Fans of the Third Hetmanate, Movement against Illegal Migration and Delegation of the Right from the Regions are those who support similar ideas.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference likachev was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Baranova, Maria (3 March 2014). "No one has done more for Ukrainian nationalism than Vladimir Putin". New Republic.
  31. ^ Klußmann, Uwe (3 March 2014). "Conflict with Russia". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  32. ^ "Right Sector: Who are they and what is sought?" (in Russian). Kiev: LIGA BusinessInform. LIGA News. 20 January 2014. But most participants – ordinary citizens, not related to any organizations.… In eastern Ukraine, we have tried to organize the union in Kharkov, but there with [their own?] Maidan is not all good. In Dnepropetrovsk, we are presented with [organized support?].
  33. ^ Radicals a wild card in Ukraine’s protests, The Washington Post (2 February 2014)
  34. ^ Theise, Eugen (11 November 2014). "Radical 'Pravy Sektor' group shifts Kyiv protests to the right". Deutsche Welle. Only a few trusted individuals know [that the men] belong to 'Right Sector'…. Since the government classified their movement as extremist, they could face a jail term of up to 15 years.… One of the men dares to take off his mask…
  35. ^ a b Gatehouse, Gabriel (1 March 2014). Ukraine: Far-right armed with bats patrol Kiev (Webcast). BBC. At a news conference in Russia, [former President Yanukovych] called his usurpers 'young, neo-fascist thugs'.
  36. ^ Shuster, Simon (4 February 2014). "Exclusive: Leader of far-right Ukrainian militant group talks revolution with TIME". Time. Yarosh, whose militant brand of nationalism rejects all foreign influence over Ukrainian affairs, revealed for the first time that Pravy Sektor has amassed a lethal arsenal of weapons.… Pravy Sektor's ideology borders on fascism, and it enjoys support only from Ukraine's most hard-line nationalists….
  37. ^ Olearchyk, Roman (26 February 2014). "Arseniy Yatseniuk poised to become Ukraine prime minister". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 February 2014. In a bid to appease protesters demanding an end to government corruption, Mr Yatseniuk's cabinet will have civic activists to oversee it.… Victoria Siumar, a civil society activist, and Dmytro Yarosh, head of Right Sector, a militant protest group, were proposed as [Yatseniuk's] deputies.
  38. ^ "Апарат [Staff]". Рада національної безпеки і оборони України [National Security & Defense Council of Ukraine (website)]. Kiev. February 28, 2014.
  39. ^ Shuster, Simon (1 March 2014). "Many Ukrainians want Russia to invade". Time. Shkiryak, a revolutionary lawmaker involved in the negotiations over Yarosh's role in the government, says the right-wing militant … was offered the role of deputy head of the National Security Council, but rejected it as beneath him.
  40. ^ "'Right Sector' is becoming a party and Yarosh is going for the presidency". Українська правда. Kiev. March 7, 2014.
  41. ^ "Poll: Poroshenko may win Ukraine presidential elections in first round". Interfax (Moscow). Interfax-Ukraine News Agency. 23 April 2014. Of those [respondents] who intend to participate in the May 25 presidential elections in Ukraine and have already decided on their candidate, 0.9% [are ready to vote] for … Yarosh…. At the same time, 44.3% of respondents were undecided.
  42. ^ "'Right Sector' assured the ambassador of Israel, rejecting anti-Semitism". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 27 February 2014. Leaders of the 'Right Sector' assured the Israeli ambassador Reuven El Din that its ideology rejects all manifestations of chauvinism and xenophobia.
  43. ^ "Meeting of Reuven Din El with Dmytro Yarosh". Embassy of Israel in Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Israeli Diplomatic Network. 27 February 2014. The parties agreed to establish a 'hot line' to prevent provocations and for coordination on issues that arise.
  44. ^ "Right Sector has offered protection for Odessa Jews". Ukrainian Pravda (in Ukrainian). 10 April 2014. The chief rabbi of Odessa … said that … they, along with a representative of the Right Sector, will paint over the insulting inscriptions.
  45. ^ "Russian deputy calls on special services to 'liquidate' Yarosh and White [Muzychko]". Lenta.ru. 11 March 2014. Russia's Investigative Committee … brought a case of banditry against Muzychko in connection with the Chechen separatists.… Muzychko is a prominent member of the nationalist association UNA–UNSO….
  46. ^ Petrulya, Stephen (25 March 2014). "Version No. 2–Sasha White Shot" (in Ukrainian). Rivne, Ukraine. News Rivne. A resident of the town … said that around twelve unknown men entered the Karas cafe…. They brought out all customers, including Muzychko. They put handcuffs on him and beat him and two bodyguards. After a time people heard two gunshots….
  47. ^ "Ukraine far-right leader Muzychko dies 'in police raid'". BBC News. 25 March 2014. Muzychko fired at police as he was trying to flee…. Police then returned fire and captured him and three others … [Deputy Interior Minister] Yevdokimov said. 'He was still alive as they were arresting him….'
  48. ^ Pemble, Adam; Leonard, Peter (25 March 2014). "Busloads of Ukrainian troops leave Crimea". Associated Press. Russian state television, which is widely viewed by Ukraine's Russian-speaking population in the east, has regularly aired lurid reports on Muzychko's antics as part of what media analysts say is a sustained effort to undermine the government…
  49. ^ Interior Ministry: Right Sector coordinator Muzhychko killed in shootout with police Kyiv Post Retrieved on March 25, 2014
  50. ^ "Notorious Ukrainian nationalist militant shot dead in police raid". RT. TV-Novosti. 26 March 2014. A former senior official at the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) told [Russian News & Information Agency] that the objective of the operation – carried out by SBU with the help of the Interior Ministry – was to kill Muzychko, rather than to detain him.
  51. ^ "Nationalists threaten Ukrainian top cop with 'revenge' over far-right leader murder". RT [Russia Today]. TV-Novosti. 25 March 2014.
  52. ^ "Profile: Ukraine's ultra-nationalist Right Sector". BBC. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  53. ^ http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/31/7020930/
  54. ^ http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/497182.html
  55. ^ Amos, Howard (27 April 2014). "Ultranationalist Right Sector opens Molotov Cocktail Cafe in Lviv". Moscow Times. Right Sector has opened a cafe and art gallery in the country's heartland of Ukrainian nationalism.… The inside … is full of kitsch paintings by local artists — as well as … body armor and other trophies acquired during months of battles with riot police… Body armour and mugs on sale.
  56. ^ Karmanau, Yuras (23 April 2014). "Amid Russia warning, Ukraine is in a security bind". Associated Press. Simon Ostrovsky, a journalist for Brooklyn-based Vice News, has not been seen since early Tuesday…. A spokeswoman for the Slovyansk insurgents confirmed that Ostrovsky was being held, … saying [he] is suspected of spying for Right Sector.
  57. ^ a b "Ukraine's far-right leader moves HQ to the east, forms new squadron". RT TV News. Moscow. 24 April 2014. Ukrainian radical neo-fascist Right Sector group has moved its main headquarters … to Dnepropetrovsk to 'closely monitor' the developments in the east, its leader said…. Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov … sees the existence and the expansion of the neo-Nazi group as a violation of last week's Geneva accords.
  58. ^ Reynolds, James (20 April 2014). "Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting". BBC News. The Russian foreign ministry accuses the Ukrainian nationalist group, Right Sector, of carrying out the raid.
  59. ^ Stern, David (1 April 2014). "Ukraine crisis: Kiev takes on far right". BBC News. These [men and women] were members of the Right Sector: an umbrella organization of far-right groups….
  60. ^ Shuster, Simon (4 February 2014). "Exclusive: Leader of far-right Ukrainian militant group talks revolution with TIME". Time. Pravy Sektor's ideology borders on fascism, and it enjoys support only from Ukraine's most hard-line nationalists, a group too small to secure them a place in parliament.
  61. ^ Harding, Luke (20 April 2014). "Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting". Guardian. The foreign ministry in Moscow … blamed the clash on the Right Sector, a nationalist Ukrainian group…
  62. ^ Balmforth, Richard (1 April 2014). "Ukraine orders disarming of armed groups after shooting". Reuters. Police shut down the Kiev base of a far-right nationalist group…
  63. ^ Whalen, Jeanne (10 April 2014). "Protesters still hang out around Kiev 'Maidan,' hanging on to weapons to". Wall Street Journal. They belong to many different factions, the most radical of which is Pravy Sektor, or Right Sector, an umbrella group for far-right activists and ultranationalists.
  64. ^ "Ukrainian nationalist targeted over alleged Chechnya atrocities". Moscow. RIA Novosti [Russian News & Information Agency]. 7 March 2014. Muzychko is a coordinator for Pravy Sektor, the radical far right opposition group…. Russian state media has tried to cast the demonstrations as a predominantly Fascism-inspired movement.
  65. ^ Nayyem, Mustafa; Kovalenko, Oksana (4 February 2014). "[Right Sector leader Dmitry Jarosz: When 80% of the country does not support the government, there cannot be a civil war]". Ukrayinska Pravda.
  66. ^ a b "Lenta.ru: "We are not armed forces"". 13 March 2014.
  67. ^ Charles McPhedran; Luigi Serenelli (27 February 2014). "Ukraine protesters unsatisfied with presidential field". USA Today. Retrieved 23 April 2014. Right Sector has also been labeled as neo-fascist. "Their agenda is on the one hand pro-European — they would very much join the European Union," said Vesna Popovski, researcher at the European Institute of the London School of Economics. "On the other hand, they are anti-Semitic, anti-gay and anti-Russian."
  68. ^ Bielecki, Jędrzej (January 29, 2014). "The leader of the Bandera: The genocide in Volhynia is nonsense". Rzeczpospolita. Warsaw.
  69. ^ Petro, Nicolai (March 3, 2014). "Threat of Military Confrontation Grows in Ukraine". The Nation. N.Y.C. Its members are critical of party politics and skeptical of the 'imperial ambitions' of both Moscow and the West.
  70. ^ http://maidan.charter4.org/2014/03/13/lanta-ru-we-are-not-armed-forces/ "Our lawyers are working out the law on lustration and the law on arms. We think that the population should be armed. Like in Switzerland."
  71. ^ a b c Kramer, Andrew (20 March 2014). "Ukraine Sets Deadline for Militias to Surrender Illegal Guns". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
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