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| founded = {{Start date|2014|03|22}} |
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| merger = [[Tryzub (organization)|Tryzub ('Trident')]] [[Patriots of Ukraine]] [[ |
| merger = [[Tryzub (organization)|Tryzub ('Trident')]] [[Patriots of Ukraine]] [[Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence|UNA–UNSO]] |
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| membership = 5,000-10,000 |
| membership = 5,000-10,000 |
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| ideology = [[Ukrainian nationalism]] |
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'''Right Sector''' ({{lang-uk|Пра́вий се́ктор}}, ''Pravyi Sektor'') is a [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] nationalist political party<ref name="party">{{cite news |title=‘Right Sector’ has become a party |newspaper=Українська правда |location=Kiev |date=March 22, 2014 |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/22/7019934/ |quote=Combining radical parties and organizations of Ukrainian patriots, ‘Right Sector’ has decided to become a political party.… ‘It happened on the legal and human-resource base of [the] Ukrainian National Assembly,’ … [Denisenko] said. }}</ref> and paramilitary collective of several organizations, described by some major publications as having |
'''Right Sector''' ({{lang-uk|Пра́вий се́ктор}}, ''Pravyi Sektor'') is a [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] nationalist political party<ref name="party">{{cite news |title=‘Right Sector’ has become a party |newspaper=Українська правда |location=Kiev |date=March 22, 2014 |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/22/7019934/ |quote=Combining radical parties and organizations of Ukrainian patriots, ‘Right Sector’ has decided to become a political party.… ‘It happened on the legal and human-resource base of [the] Ukrainian National Assembly,’ … [Denisenko] said. }}</ref> and paramilitary collective of several organizations, described by some major publications as having far-right,<ref name="whalen">{{cite news |last=Whalen |first=Jeanne |date=25 March 2014 |title=Prominent Ukraine nationalist killed during police operation |url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303725404579460790384816418 |newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]] |quote=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.}}</ref><ref name="polityuk">{{cite news|last=Polityuk |first=Pavel |date=8 March 2014 |title=Far-right leader to run for president in Ukraine |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/08/us-ukraine-crisis-far-right-idUSBREA270LD20140308 |agency=[[Reuters]] |quote=Ukrainian far-right leader Dmytro Yarosh said on Saturday he would run for president and launched a scathing attack on the new government, two weeks after he helped bring it to power through street protests.}}</ref><ref name="afp22mar">{{cite news |date=22 March 2014 |title=Ukraine paramilitary group forms political party |url=http://www.afp.com/en/node/2208525 |agency=[[Agence France-Presse|Agence France Presse]] |quote=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).}}</ref> nationalist,<ref name="higgins">{{cite news |last=Higgins |first=Andrew |title=Mystery surrounds death of fiery Ukrainian activist |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |page=A4 |date=12 April 2014 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/world/europe/mystery-surrounds-death-of-fiery-ukrainian-activist.html |quote=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….}}</ref><ref name="sloviansk">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27093347 |title=Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting |date=20 April 2014 |website=[[BBC News]] |quote=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.}}</ref><ref name="harding">{{cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |date=20 April 2014 |title=Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/20/ukraine-agreement-falters-shoot-out-slavayansk |newspaper=[[The Guardian|Guardian]]|quote=The foreign ministry in Moscow … blamed the clash on the Right Sector, a nationalist Ukrainian group…}}</ref> or ultranationalist<ref name="danilova"/><ref name="shuster06mar">{{cite news |last=Shuster |first=Simon |date=6 March 2014 |title=Putin says Ukraine’s revolutionaries are anti-Semites. Is he right? |url=http://time.com/14289/ukraine-putin-anti-semites/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |quote=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….}}</ref> views. The group claims to have at least 5,000 to 10,000 members.<ref name="mccoy">{{cite news |last=McCoy |first=Terrence |date=26 March 2014 |title=Ultranationalist’s killing underscores Ukraine’s ugly divisions |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/03/26/ultranationalists-killing-underscores-ukraines-ugly-divisions/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]] |quote=Right Sector … boasts between 5,000 and 10,000 members…}}</ref><ref name=nemtsova>{{cite news|last=Nemtsova|first=Anna|title=Yarosh: Russians, Rise Up Against Putin!|url=http://mag.newsweek.com/2014/03/28/dmitry-yarosh-ukraine-russia-crimea.html|accessdate=26 March 2014|newspaper=Newsweek|date=19 March 2014}}</ref> It first emerged in November 2013 at the [[Euromaidan]] protests in [[Kiev]], as an alliance of far-right Ukrainian nationalist groups and the Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence ([[Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence|UNA-UNSO]]).<ref name=BBCRSSpPr /><ref>[http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/europa/ukraine-die-extremisten-vom-majdan-12816972-p2.html ''Die Extremisten vom Majdan''], FAZ vom 23. Februar 2014</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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===Origins=== |
===Origins=== |
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Right Sector formed in late November 2013 as a confederation of several far-right and nationalist groups, including [[Trident of Stepan Bandera]] (Dmytro Yarosh), [[Patriots of Ukraine]] (Andriy Belitsky), White Hammer (Kyiv Organization),<ref>[http://pravyysektor.info/news/ofitsijna-zayava-pravoho-sektoru/ Official announcement of the Right Sector]. Right Sector. 6 March 2014</ref><ref name=db1/> the Social-National Assembly,<ref name=db1/> and UNA-UNSO ([[Yuriy Shukhevych]]).<ref name=BBCRSSpPr /> |
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Dmytro Yarosh, Right Sector's [[leadership | leader]], has trained armed nationalists in military exercises since the collapse of the Soviet Union.<ref name=spiegel0303> |
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{{cite news|last=Klußmann|first=Uwe|title=Conflict with Russia|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/krim-krise-die-fatalen-fehler-der-kiewer-regierung-a-956680.html|accessdate=6 March 2014|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=3 March 2014}} |
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| ⚫ | The organization views itself within the tradition of Ukrainian [[Partisan_(military)|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.<ref name=welt0222>{{cite news|url=http://www.welt.de/newsticker/dpa_nt/infoline_nt/thema_nt/article125103098/Die-radikale-ukrainische-Gruppe-Rechter-Sektor.html|title=The radical Ukrainian group Right Sector|newspaper=Die Welt|date=22 February 2014|quote=Right Sector (Pravy Sektor) is an informal association of right-wing and neo-fascist factions.}}</ref><ref name=nrepublic0303> |
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''[[Die Welt]]'' reports that Right Sector formed from an association of right-wing and neo-fascist Ukrainian political factions.<ref name=welt0222/> According to Yarosh and some other members, the organization formed in affiliation with or comprised several smaller far-right and nationalist groups, including [[Trident of Stepan Bandera]] (Yarosh), [[Patriots of Ukraine]] (Andriy Belitsky), White Hammer (Kyiv Organization),<ref>[http://pravyysektor.info/news/ofitsijna-zayava-pravoho-sektoru/ Official announcement of the Right Sector]. Right Sector. 6 March 2014</ref><ref name=db1/> the Social-National Assembly,<ref name=db1/> and UNA-UNSO ([[Yuriy Shukhevych]]).<ref name=BBCRSSpPr /> Andriy Tarasenko, leader of Right Sector's Kiev branch, dates the establishment of the organization to late November 2013 and states that "most participants are just ordinary citizens having no relation to any organizations".<ref name=BBCRSSpPr>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26001710 |title=Groups at the sharp end of Ukraine unrest |date=1 February 2014 |website=[[BBC News]] |quote=The Right Sector is a radical nationalist opposition group…}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | {{cite news |last=Baranova |first=Maria |date=3 March 2014 |title=No one has done more for Ukrainian nationalism than Vladimir Putin |url=http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116841/bolotnaya-prisoner-maria-baronova-putins-ukraine-occupation |magazine=[[The New Republic|New Republic]]}}</ref> Yarosh, Right Sector's leader, has trained armed nationalists in military exercises since the collapse of the Soviet Union.<ref name=spiegel0303>{{cite news|last=Klußmann|first=Uwe|title=Conflict with Russia|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/krim-krise-die-fatalen-fehler-der-kiewer-regierung-a-956680.html|accessdate=6 March 2014|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=3 March 2014}}</ref> |
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Co-founder Andriy Tarasenko told LIGA news agency in January 2014 that "most participants" were "ordinary citizens not related to any organizations".<ref name=BBCRSSpPr>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26001710 |title=Groups at the sharp end of Ukraine unrest |date=1 February 2014 |website=[[BBC News]] |quote=The Right Sector is a radical nationalist opposition group…}}</ref><ref name="liga">{{cite news |date=20 January 2014 |title=Right Sector: Who are they and what is sought? |url=http://news.liga.net/interview/politics/962730-pravyy_sektor_kto_oni_i_chego_dobivayutsya.htm |language=Russian |location=Kiev |publisher=LIGA BusinessInform |agency=LIGA News |quote=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?].}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | {{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}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | {{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> |
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=== Entry into Maidan === |
=== Entry into Maidan === |
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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.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/radicals-a-wild-card-in-ukraines-protests/2014/02/02/6099dc60-8bda-11e3-a760-a86415d0944d_story.html Radicals a wild card in Ukraine’s protests], [[The Washington Post]] (2 February 2014)</ref |
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.<ref name="db1" /><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/radicals-a-wild-card-in-ukraines-protests/2014/02/02/6099dc60-8bda-11e3-a760-a86415d0944d_story.html Radicals a wild card in Ukraine’s protests], [[The Washington Post]] (2 February 2014)</ref> On 19 January 2014 Right Sector encouraged its members to bring bottles to the protests in order to produce [[Molotov cocktail]]s and bombs.<ref name="BBCRSSpPr" /> The Yanukovich government classified Right Sector as an extremist movement, threatening its members with imprisonment.<ref name="dww20130213">Eugen Theise, [http://www.dw.de/radical-pravy-sektor-group-shifts-kyiv-protests-to-the-right/a-17424914 "Radical 'Pravy Sektor' group shifts Kyiv protests to the right,"] ''Deutsche Welle World'' (11 February 2014). Retrieved 01 March 2014.</ref> |
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According to Volodymyr Ishchenko, in an [[op-ed]] piece in ''[[The Guardian]]'', Right Sector was responsible for the violent 1 December 2013 attack on the Ukrainian administration and also led another violent provocation against the police.<ref name="guard140122">{{cite news|last=Ishchenko|first=Volodymyr|title=Ukraine protests are no longer just about Europe|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/22/ukraine-protests-europe-far-right-violence|accessdate=21 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 January 2014}}</ref> |
According to Volodymyr Ishchenko, in an [[op-ed]] piece in ''[[The Guardian]]'', Right Sector was responsible for the violent 1 December 2013 attack on the Ukrainian administration and also led another violent provocation against the police.<ref name="guard140122">{{cite news|last=Ishchenko|first=Volodymyr|title=Ukraine protests are no longer just about Europe|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/22/ukraine-protests-europe-far-right-violence|accessdate=21 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 January 2014}}</ref> Right Sector's leader, Dmytro Yarosh, has stated that it has amassed a lethal arsenal of weapons.<ref name="timeshuster">{{cite news |last=Shuster |first=Simon |date=4 February 2014 |title=Exclusive: Leader of far-right Ukrainian militant group talks revolution with TIME |url=http://time.com/4493/ukraine-dmitri-yarosh-kiev/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|TIME]] |quote=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….}}</ref> |
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Right Sector has been described as the most organized and most effective of the Maidan forces. Following the collapse of the Yanukovych government in February 2014, with police having largely abandoned the streets of Kiev, groups of young men, including members of Right Sector, have been patrolling the streets armed mostly with baseball bats.<ref name=bbc1march>{{cite news|last=Gatehouse|first=Gabriel|title=Ukraine: Far-right armed with bats patrol Kiev|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26394980|accessdate=4 March 2014|newspaper=BBC|date=1 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=nation0303>{{cite news|last=Luhn |first=Alec|title=As Far-Right Groups Infiltrate Kiev’s Institutions, the Student Movement Pushes Back|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/178662/far-right-groups-infiltrate-kievs-institutions-student-movement-pushes-back|accessdate=23 March 2014|newspaper=The Nation|date=3 March 2014|quote=Ultranationalists and neo-Nazis from groups like Svoboda and Right Sector took over Euromaidan’s self-defense forces…. Right Sector, whose social network page features extensive neo-Nazi imagery, has been patrolling alongside police….}}</ref> |
Right Sector has been described as the most organized and most effective of the Maidan forces. Following the collapse of the Yanukovych government in February 2014, with police having largely abandoned the streets of Kiev, groups of young men, including members of Right Sector, have been patrolling the streets armed mostly with baseball bats.<ref name=bbc1march>{{cite news|last=Gatehouse|first=Gabriel|title=Ukraine: Far-right armed with bats patrol Kiev|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26394980|accessdate=4 March 2014|newspaper=BBC|date=1 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=nation0303>{{cite news|last=Luhn |first=Alec|title=As Far-Right Groups Infiltrate Kiev’s Institutions, the Student Movement Pushes Back|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/178662/far-right-groups-infiltrate-kievs-institutions-student-movement-pushes-back|accessdate=23 March 2014|newspaper=The Nation|date=3 March 2014|quote=Ultranationalists and neo-Nazis from groups like Svoboda and Right Sector took over Euromaidan’s self-defense forces…. Right Sector, whose social network page features extensive neo-Nazi imagery, has been patrolling alongside police….}}</ref> |
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''[[Le Monde Diplomatique]]'s'' Emmanuel Dreyfus writes that the presence of "neo-fascist groups such as Pravy Sector" in Maidan point to a crisis of unity in Ukrainian society, splitting Eastern and Western populations.<ref name=dreyfus>{{cite news|last=Dreyfus|first=Emmanuel|title=Ukraine Beyond Politics|url=http://mondediplo.com/2014/03/02ukraine|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=Le Monde Diplomatique|date=2 March 2014}}</ref> ''[[Haaretz]]'' has written that members of Right Sector used neo-Nazi symbols during Maidan demonstrations, and that there were "reports, from reliable sources" that Right Sector and Svoboda members distributed copies of Main Kampf.<ref name=haaretz022514>{{cite news|last=Pfeffer|first=Anshul|title=The New Dilemma for Jews in Ukraine|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.576372|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=Haaretz|date=25 February 2014|quote=The greatest worry now is not the uptick in anti-Semitic incidents but the major presence of ultra-nationalist movements, especially the prominence of the Svoboda party and Pravy Sektor (right sector) members among the demonstrators. Many of them are calling their political opponents "Zhids" and flying flags with neo-Nazi symbols. There have also been reports, from reliable sources, of these movements distributing freshly translated editions of Mein Kampf and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Independence Square.}}</ref> |
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===After Yanukovych=== |
===After Yanukovych=== |
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Yarosh was proposed as a deputy to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council<ref name=ftyarosh1>{{cite news|last=Olearchyk|first=Roman|title=Arseniy Yatseniuk poised to become Ukraine prime minister|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/88987cf8-9f12-11e3-8663-00144feab7de.html#axzz2uWvmVxAB|accessdate=27 February 2014|newspaper=Financial Times|date=26 February 2014|quote=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.}}</ref> but was not appointed.<ref name=rnboofficial>{{cite web |url=http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/content/aparat.html |title=Апарат [Staff] |date=February 28, 2014 |website=Рада національної безпеки і оборони України [National Security & Defense Council of Ukraine (website)] |location=Kiev }}</ref> He was then offered the position of deputy head of the National Security Council but rejected it as being beneath him.<ref name="shuster1mar">{{cite news |last=Shuster |first=Simon |date=1 March 2014 |title=Many Ukrainians want Russia to invade |url=http://time.com/11005/many-ukrainians-want-russia-to-invade/ |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |quote=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.}}</ref> |
Yarosh was proposed as a deputy to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council<ref name=ftyarosh1>{{cite news|last=Olearchyk|first=Roman|title=Arseniy Yatseniuk poised to become Ukraine prime minister|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/88987cf8-9f12-11e3-8663-00144feab7de.html#axzz2uWvmVxAB|accessdate=27 February 2014|newspaper=Financial Times|date=26 February 2014|quote=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.}}</ref> but was not appointed.<ref name=rnboofficial>{{cite web |url=http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/content/aparat.html |title=Апарат [Staff] |date=February 28, 2014 |website=Рада національної безпеки і оборони України [National Security & Defense Council of Ukraine (website)] |location=Kiev }}</ref> He was then offered the position of deputy head of the National Security Council but rejected it as being beneath him.<ref name="shuster1mar">{{cite news |last=Shuster |first=Simon |date=1 March 2014 |title=Many Ukrainians want Russia to invade |url=http://time.com/11005/many-ukrainians-want-russia-to-invade/ |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |quote=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.}}</ref> |
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In February 2014 Yarosh and the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine agreed to establish a "hotline" to prevent provocations and coordinate actions when issues arise.<ref name="ambassador">{{cite news |date=27 February 2014 |title=‘Right Sector’ assured the ambassador of Israel, rejecting anti-Semitism |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/27/7016529/ |newspaper=[[Ukrayinska Pravda]] |language=Ukrainian |quote=Leaders of the ‘Right Sector’ assured the Israeli ambassador Reuven El Din that its ideology rejects all manifestations of chauvinism and xenophobia.}}</ref><ref name=israel>{{cite web |url=http://embassies.gov.il/kiev/NewsAndEvents/Pages/DinElYaroshMeeting27Feb2014.aspx |title=Meeting of Reuven Din El with Dmytro Yarosh |date=27 February 2014 |website=Embassy of Israel in Ukraine |publisher=Israeli Diplomatic Network |language=Ukrainian |quote=The parties agreed to establish a ‘hot line’ to prevent provocations and for coordination on issues that arise.}}</ref> The group assists in the protection of Jewish sites in [[Odessa]].<ref>{{cite news |date=10 April 2014 |title=Right Sector [has] offered protection for Odessa Jews |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/10/7021975/ |newspaper=[[ |
A ''[[Haaretz]]'' reporter in Tel Aviv has written that members of Right Sector used neo-Nazi symbols during Maidan demonstrations, and that there were "reports, from reliable sources" that Right Sector and Svoboda members distributed copies of Main Kampf.<ref name=haaretz022514>{{cite news|last=Pfeffer|first=Anshul|title=The New Dilemma for Jews in Ukraine|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.576372|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=Haaretz|date=25 February 2014|quote=The greatest worry now is not the uptick in anti-Semitic incidents but the major presence of ultra-nationalist movements, especially the prominence of the Svoboda party and Pravy Sektor (right sector) members among the demonstrators. Many of them are calling their political opponents "Zhids" and flying flags with neo-Nazi symbols. There have also been reports, from reliable sources, of these movements distributing freshly translated editions of Mein Kampf and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Independence Square.}}</ref> |
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In February 2014 Yarosh and the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine agreed to establish a "hotline" to prevent provocations and coordinate actions when issues arise.<ref name="ambassador">{{cite news |date=27 February 2014 |title=‘Right Sector’ assured the ambassador of Israel, rejecting anti-Semitism |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/27/7016529/ |newspaper=[[Ukrayinska Pravda]] |language=Ukrainian |quote=Leaders of the ‘Right Sector’ assured the Israeli ambassador Reuven El Din that its ideology rejects all manifestations of chauvinism and xenophobia.}}</ref><ref name=israel>{{cite web |url=http://embassies.gov.il/kiev/NewsAndEvents/Pages/DinElYaroshMeeting27Feb2014.aspx |title=Meeting of Reuven Din El with Dmytro Yarosh |date=27 February 2014 |website=Embassy of Israel in Ukraine |publisher=Israeli Diplomatic Network |language=Ukrainian |quote=The parties agreed to establish a ‘hot line’ to prevent provocations and for coordination on issues that arise.}}</ref> The group assists in the protection of Jewish sites in [[Odessa]].<ref>{{cite news |date=10 April 2014 |title=Right Sector [has] offered protection for Odessa Jews |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/10/7021975/ |newspaper=[[Ukrayinska Pravda|Ukrainian Pravda]] |language=Ukrainian |quote=The representative of the Right Sector offered the [chief] Rabbi [of Odessa and southern Ukraine] assistance in the protection of Jewish sites of the city.}}</ref> |
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Russia has cited attacks by Right Sector on Russian speakers and Jews as the main reason it sent troops into Crimea. The Associated Press reports that it has found no evidence of hate crimes by the group.<ref name="danilova">{{cite news |last=Danilova |first=Maria |date=March 14, 2014 |title=After Ukraine protest, radical group eyes power |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/after-ukraine-protest-radical-group-eyes-power |agency=[[Associated Press]] |quote=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.}}</ref> |
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In a poll conducted by the SOTSIS research center (25 February–4 March 2014), Yarosh's possible candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections (planned for 25 May) received the support of 1.6% of the respondents.<ref name=socispoll>{{cite news|title=Порошенко лидирует в президентском рейтинге|url=http://lb.ua/news/2014/03/05/258277_poroshenko_lidiruet_prezidentskom.html|agency=LB.ua|date=5 March 2014|accessdate=7 March 2014}}</ref> On 7 March 2014, Kiev chairman Andriy Tarasenko told Interfax-Ukraine that the "informal movement" would be transforming itself into a political party at a congress on 15 March.<ref name="party">{{cite news |title=‘Right Sector’ is becoming a party and Yarosh is going for the presidency |newspaper=Українська правда |location=Kiev |date=March 7, 2014 |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/7/7018003/ }}</ref> |
In a poll conducted by the SOTSIS research center (25 February–4 March 2014), Yarosh's possible candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections (planned for 25 May) received the support of 1.6% of the respondents.<ref name=socispoll>{{cite news|title=Порошенко лидирует в президентском рейтинге|url=http://lb.ua/news/2014/03/05/258277_poroshenko_lidiruet_prezidentskom.html|agency=LB.ua|date=5 March 2014|accessdate=7 March 2014}}</ref> On 7 March 2014, Kiev chairman Andriy Tarasenko told Interfax-Ukraine that the "informal movement" would be transforming itself into a political party at a congress on 15 March.<ref name="party">{{cite news |title=‘Right Sector’ is becoming a party and Yarosh is going for the presidency |newspaper=Українська правда |location=Kiev |date=March 7, 2014 |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/7/7018003/ }}</ref> |
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On 11 March 2014, in Russia's [[State Duma]], opposition leader Valery Rashkin called on Russian special services to "liquidate" Yarosh and [[Oleksandr Muzychko]], the group's West Ukrainian leader.<ref>{{cite news|title=Российский депутат призвал спецслужбы "ликвидировать" Яроша и Белого|url=http://lenta.ru/news/2014/03/11/komm/|newspaper=[[Lenta.ru]]|date=11 March 2014}}</ref> |
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Muzychko{{#tag:ref|Muzychko is (in Ukraine) best know for the Right Sector video ("Sasha Communicates with a Prosecutor") that shows Muzychko ("Sasha The White") yelling at a local prosecutor, grabbing his tie and threatening to pull him to Maidan Square with a rope.<ref name=db1>{{cite news |last=Shynkarenko |first=Oleg |date=March 1, 2014 |title=Can Ukraine control its far right ultranationalists? |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/01/can-ukraine-control-its-far-right-ultranationalists.html |periodical=Daily Beast |quote=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.’ }}</ref>|group=nb}} was shot to death in [[Rivne]], West Ukraine, on 24 March 2014. 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.<ref name="bbc25mar">{{cite news |title=Ukraine far-right leader Muzychko dies 'in police raid' |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26729273 |work=BBC News |date=25 March 2014 |quote=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….’}}</ref> |
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Right Sector continues to occupy buildings in Kiev.<ref name=karmanau1>{{cite news|last=Karmanau|first=Yuras|title=FM vows response if Russians attacked in Ukraine|url=http://www.wsmv.com/story/25316203/fm-vows-response-if-russians-attacked-in-ukraine|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=Associated Press, reprinted by WSMV Nashville|date=23 April 2014}}</ref> Pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine, explaining their April 2014 hostage taking of ''[[Vice (magazine)|VICE]]'' reporter Simon Ostrovsky, claimed he was working for Right Sector.<ref name=karmanau1 /> |
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| ⚫ | Police said he was being detained on suspicion of organized crime links, hooliganism and threatening public officials.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pemble |first1=Adam |last2=Leonard |first2=Peter |agency=Associated Press |date=25 March 2014 |title=Busloads of Ukrainian troops leave Crimea |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/top-ukraine-nationalist-killed-police-operation |quote=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… }}</ref><ref>[http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/interior-ministry-right-sector-coordinator-muzhychko-killed-in-shootout-with-police-340745.html Interior Ministry: Right Sector coordinator Muzhychko killed in shootout with police] ''[[Kyiv Post]]'' Retrieved on March 25, 2014</ref><ref name="rtnews26mar14">{{cite web |url=http://rt.com/news/sashko-bily-dead-reports-013/ |title=Notorious Ukrainian nationalist militant shot dead in police raid |date=26 March 2014 |website=[[RT (TV network)|RT]] |publisher=TV-Novosti |quote=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.}}</ref> Right Sector representatives held Interior Minister [[Arsen Avakov]] accountable for his death and vowed to avenge him.<ref name="rtnews25mar14">{{cite web |url=http://rt.com/news/muzychko-avakov-revenge-ukraine-109/ |title=Nationalists threaten Ukrainian top cop with ‘revenge’ over far-right leader murder |date=25 March 2014 |website=[[RT (TV network)|RT [Russia Today]]] |publisher=TV-Novosti}}</ref> |
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On 31 March 2014 a Right Sector activist started shooting in the Ukrainian capital's center near the "Mafia" restaurant. Three people, including deputy head of the Kiev city state administration Bogdan Dubas, were wounded in the incident.<ref>[http://en.itar-tass.com/world/726025 Top Kiev official wounded in shooting incident in city center]</ref> The shooter was later arrested and found to be inebriated.<ref>http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/31/7020930/</ref><ref>http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/497182.html</ref> |
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Right Sector continues to occupy buildings in Kiev.<ref name=karmanau1>{{cite news |last=Karmanau |first=Yuras |date=23 April 2014 |title=Amid Russia warning, Ukraine is in a security bind |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pro-russian-insurgents-hold-journalist-hostage |agency=Associated Press |quote=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.}}</ref> |
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On 22 April 2014 pro-Russian insurgents in [[Sloviansk|Slovyansk]], Ukraine, detained an American journalist for several days on suspicion of spying for the group.<ref name=karmanau1 /> |
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==Ideology== |
==Ideology== |
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[[File:Pravyi Sektor (Right Sector) activists. Euromaidan, Kyiv, Ukraine. Events of February 22, 2014.jpg|thumb|Right Sector activists. [[Euromaidan]], Kiev. February 22, 2014.]] |
[[File:Pravyi Sektor (Right Sector) activists. Euromaidan, Kyiv, Ukraine. Events of February 22, 2014.jpg|thumb|Right Sector activists. [[Euromaidan]], Kiev. February 22, 2014.]] |
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=== Descriptions in the press === |
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As a paramilitary organization created from a number of different Ukrainian right-wing and nationalist organizations,<ref name=welt0222 /> Right Sector's ideology has been variously described as right-wing, far-right, or ultra-nationalist.<ref name=welt0222 /><ref name="monde0302">{{cite news|last=Dreyfus|title=Ukraine beyond politics|first=Emmanuel|url=http://mondediplo.com/2014/03/02ukraine|newspaper=Le Monde Diplomatique|date=2 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=timeshuster /> |
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Right Sector has been described by [[BBC News]] as a "Ukrainian nationalist group"<ref name="reynolds">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27093347 |title=Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting |last=Reynolds |first=James |date=20 April 2014 |website=[[BBC News]] |quote=The Russian foreign ministry accuses the Ukrainian nationalist group, Right Sector, of carrying out the raid.… The role of nationalist groups will now come under increased scrutiny.}}</ref> and an "umbrella organization of far-right groups"<ref name="stern">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26841732 |title=Ukraine crisis: Kiev takes on far right |last=Stern |first=David |date=1 April 2014 |website=[[BBC News]] |quote=These [men and women] were members of the Right Sector: an umbrella organization of far-right groups….}}</ref> |
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According to ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME magazine]]'', Right Sector's ideology borders on fascism, and the group is supported only by Ukraine's staunchest nationalists.<ref name=time-shyster>{{cite news|last=Shuster|first=Simon|title=Exclusive: Leader of Far-Right Ukrainian Militant Group Talks Revolution With TIME|url=http://world.time.com/2014/02/04/ukraine-dmitri-yarosh-kiev/|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=Time Magazine|date=4 February 2014|quote=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.}}</ref> Columnist Conn Hallinan has written that the United States press has "downplayed the role" of Right Sector and other far-right groups, which some media and scholars label as "fascist."<ref name=hallinan>{{cite news|last=Hallinan|first=Conn|title=The Dark Side of the Ukraine Revolt|url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/178716/dark-side-ukraine-revolt|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=The Nation|date=7 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=english>{{cite news|last=English|first=Robert|title=Ukraine's threat from within: Neofascists are as much a menace to Ukraine as Putin's actions in Crimea.|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-english-ukraine-neofascists-20140313,0,7664312.story#ixzz2vrruEo2Q|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=LA Times|date=13 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=hendrickson>{{cite news|last=Hendrickson|first=David|title=The West's Illusions About Ukraine|url=http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/getting-ukraine-wrong-10030|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=The National Interest|date=11 March 2014}}</ref> Political Scientist Cas Mudde writes that Right Sector's constituent groups include "various neo-fascists and neo-Nazis" who formed alliances during Maidan.<ref name=mudde>{{cite news|last=Mudde|first=Cas|title=A new (order) Ukraine? Assessing the relevance of Ukraine’s far right in an EU perspective|url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/cas-mudde/new-order-ukraine-assessing-relevance-of-ukraine’s-far-right-in-eu-pers|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=Open Democracy|date=28 February 2014}}</ref> |
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The ''[[New York Times]]'' has described it as a "nationalist group" and a "coalition of once-fringe Ukrainian nationalist groups".<ref name="higgins" /> The ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' also has referred to it as a "nationalist Ukrainian group".<ref name="harding" /> |
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[[Reuters]] has described it as a "far-right nationalist group"<ref name="balmforth">{{cite news |last=Balmforth |first1=Richard |date=1 April 2014 |title=Ukraine orders disarming of armed groups after shooting |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/01/us-ukraine-crisis-sector-idUSBREA300NP20140401 |agency=[[Reuters]] |quote=Police shut down the Kiev base of a far-right nationalist group….}}</ref> and has cited a United Nations report that identified it as a "right-wing group".<ref name="miles">{{cite news |last1=Miles |first1=Tom |last2=Nebehay |first2=Stephanie |date=15 April 2014 |title=U.N. finds fear-mongering by pro-Russians in Ukraine |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/15/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA3E0EQ20140415 |agency=[[Reuters]] |quote=A report by the U.N. human rights office said … one right-wing group, the ‘Right Sector’ … had caused concerns for the Russian-speaking minority…. There were numerous reports of Right Sector acts of violence against political opponents and representatives of the former ruling party, the report said.}}</ref> |
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The ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' has described Right Sector as an "umbrella group for far-right activists and ultranationalists".<ref name="whalen2">{{cite news |last=Whalen |first=Jeanne |title=Protesters still hang out around Kiev ‘Maidan,’ hanging on to weapons to |newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]] |date=10 April 2014 |url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304640104579487480605158494 |quote=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.}}</ref> |
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Right Sector has been characterized by [[Agence France-Presse|Agence France Presse]] as a "far-right" group<ref name="afp22mar" /> and by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' as a "radical right-wing group ... a coalition of militant ultra-nationalists".<ref name="shuster06mar" /> |
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The [[RIA Novosti|Russian News & Information Agency]] has described it 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".<ref name="ria7Mar">{{cite news |date=7 March 2014 |title=Ukrainian nationalist targeted over alleged Chechnya atrocities |url=http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140307/188181583/Ukrainian-Nationalist-Targeted-Over-Alleged-Chechnya-Atrocities.html |location=Moscow |agency=[[RIA Novosti]] [Russian News & Information Agency] |quote=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.}}</ref> |
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The [[Associated Press]] has called it a "radical ultranationalist group ... demonized by Russian state propaganda as fascists".<ref name="danilova" /> |
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University of Georgia assistant professor Cas Mudde wrote in ''[[openDemocracy.net|OpenDemocracy]]'' that Right Sector's constituent groups include "various neo-fascists and neo-Nazis".<ref name=mudde>{{cite web |last=Mudde|first=Cas|title=A new (order) Ukraine? Assessing the relevance of Ukraine’s far right in an EU perspective|url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/cas-mudde/new-order-ukraine-assessing-relevance-of-ukraine’s-far-right-in-eu-pers|website=[[openDemocracy.net|openDemocracy]]|date=28 February 2014|quote=Pravyi Sektor is a coalition of mostly [sic] smaller far right groups, including various neo-fascists and neo-Nazis, which came together during the protests.}}</ref> Book-series editor Anton Shekhovstov responded: "His 'literature review' seems to draw ... for the most part upon my own works published some time ago. My recent research, however, has been largely ignored."<ref name=Shekhovtsov /> |
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| ⚫ | Shekhovstov wrote, "While the Right Sector has indeed a neo-Nazi fringe — constituted by the representatives from the 'White Hammer' group, 'Patriot of Ukraine' [and the] Social-National Assembly — the main group behind the Right Sector is 'Tryzub', which is far from neo-Nazism, racism and anti-Semitism."<ref name=Shekhovtsov>{{cite web|last=Shekhovstov|first=Anton|title=A response to Cas Mudde’s ‘A new (order) Ukraine’|url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/anton-shekhovtsov/response-to-cas-mudde’s-Ukraine-Far-RIght-How-Real-Russia|website=[[openDemocracy.net|openDemocracy]]|date=3 March 2014}}</ref> |
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Columnist Conn Hallinan has written that the United States press has "downplayed the role" of Right Sector and other far-right groups,<ref name=hallinan>{{cite news|last=Hallinan|first=Conn|title=The Dark Side of the Ukraine Revolt|url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/178716/dark-side-ukraine-revolt|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=The Nation|date=7 March 2014}}</ref> which some media and scholars label as "fascist"{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}. |
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According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', Right Sector's ideology "borders on" fascism, and the group is supported only by Ukraine's staunchest nationalists.<ref name=time-shyster>{{cite news|last=Shuster|first=Simon|title=Exclusive: Leader of far-right Ukrainian militant group talks revolution with TIME|url=http://world.time.com/2014/02/04/ukraine-dmitri-yarosh-kiev/|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=4 February 2014|quote=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.}}</ref> |
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''[[Die Welt]]'' described Right Sector as "an informal association of right-wing and neofascist factions";<ref name=welt0222/> it has also quoted a researcher who described it as "a 'party' cobbled together from various little right-wing groups and gangs".<ref name="inger">{{cite news |last=Inger |first=Richard |date=11 April 2014 |title=Jewish experts debunk Putin's propaganda |url=http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article126814652/Juedische-Experten-entlarven-Putins-Propaganda.html |newspaper=[[Die Welt]] |language=German |quote=[One] well-known researcher from Ukraine … Anton Shekhovtsov [said] … the little groups and gangs are held together primarily by … its style of ‘romantic militarism’.}}</ref> |
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Volodymyr Ishchenko wrote in the ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' that "previously marginal neofascists from the militant Pravy Sektor" entered into negotiations with Ukraine's police forces.<ref name=ishchenko2>{{cite news|last=Ishchenko|first=Volodymyr|title=Ukrainian protesters must make a decisive break with the far right|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/07/ukrainian-protesters-break-with-far-right|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=7 February 2014|quote=Neo-fascists have become involved in the Euromaidan protest movement and we can’t turn a blind eye to the danger that presents… Previously marginal neofascists from the militant Pravy Sektor (the Right Sector) are now involved in negotiations with Ukrainian law-enforcement bodies. They will be among the undisputable leaders of the more radical part of the movement who will not be satisfied with a narrow rearrangement of powers as demanded by the opposition.}}</ref> ''[[Le Monde Diplomatique]]'s'' Emmanuel Dreyfus wrote that the presence of "neo-fascist groups such as Pravy Sector" in Maidan is a sign of a crisis of identity in Ukrainian society.<ref name=monde0302>{{cite news|last=Dreyfus|first=Emmanuel|title=Ukraine beyond politics|url=http://mondediplo.com/2014/03/02ukraine|newspaper=[[Le Monde Diplomatique]]|date=2 March 2014|quote=Who Was Who in Kiev’s Independence Square}}</ref> |
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Journalist Alec Luhn for the ''[[The Nation|Nation]]'' wrote that "ultranationalists and neo-Nazis" from Right Sector and other groups took control of Maidan's defense forces.<ref name=luhn1>{{cite news|last=Luhn|first=Alec|title=s Far-Right Groups Infiltrate Kiev’s Institutions, the Student Movement Pushes Back|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/178662/far-right-groups-infiltrate-kievs-institutions-student-movement-pushes-back|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=The Nation|date=4 March 2014|quote=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.}}</ref> |
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Rutgers University professor Alexander Motyl writes in ''[[World Affairs]]'' that Right Sector and Svoboda "actively ... cooperated with ... ethnic minorities" on the Maidan and "are far more like the Tea Party or right-wing Republicans than like fascists or neo-Nazis".<ref name=motyl>{{cite news|last=Motyl|first=Alexander|title=‘Experts’ on Ukraine|url=http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/experts-ukraine|newspaper=[[World Affairs]]|date=20 March 2014|quote=Both [the Right Sector and Svoboda], while on the Maidan in Kyiv, actively and easily cooperated with Russian speakers and ethnic minorities.}}</ref> |
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===Other Ukrainians and political parties=== |
===Other Ukrainians and political parties=== |
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In an interview, Yarosh stated that Right Sector and [[Svoboda (political party)|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.”<ref name=yaroshpravda>[http://seansrussiablog.org/2014/02/07/interview-dmytro-yarosh-leader-right-sector/#main English translation] of an [http://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2014/02/4/7012683/view_print/ interview with the leader of Right Sector] by ''[[Ukrayinska Pravda]]'''s [[Mustafa Nayem]] and Oksana Kovalenko. Original published 4 February 2014.</ref> He distinguished the two group's attitudes toward non-Ukrainian nationalities, citing [[Stepan Bandera]]'s philosophy: those who "oppose" the national liberation struggle should be dealt with "in a hostile way," but those living on the land who "do not oppose" the struggle should be treated "in a tolerant way" and those fighting with his group "for Ukraine" should be treated "as comrades."<ref name=yaroshpravda /> |
In an interview, Yarosh stated that Right Sector and [[Svoboda (political party)|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.”<ref name=yaroshpravda>[http://seansrussiablog.org/2014/02/07/interview-dmytro-yarosh-leader-right-sector/#main English translation] of an [http://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2014/02/4/7012683/view_print/ interview with the leader of Right Sector] by ''[[Ukrayinska Pravda]]'''s [[Mustafa Nayem]] and Oksana Kovalenko. Original published 4 February 2014.</ref> He distinguished the two group's attitudes toward non-Ukrainian nationalities, citing [[Stepan Bandera]]'s philosophy: those who "oppose" the national liberation struggle should be dealt with "in a hostile way," but those living on the land who "do not oppose" the struggle should be treated "in a tolerant way" and those fighting with his group "for Ukraine" should be treated "as comrades."<ref name=yaroshpravda /> |
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Tarasenko likewise cited Bandera, stating: "We are enemies to those saying that there [is] no Ukraine, or Ukrainians, or … Ukrainian language."<ref name=lentaint /> |
Tarasenko likewise cited Bandera, stating: "We are enemies to those saying that there [is] no Ukraine, or Ukrainians, or … Ukrainian language."<ref name=lentaint /> |
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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.<ref name=db1 /> 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."<ref name=mcphedran /> ''[[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.<ref name=higgins1>{{cite news|last=Higgins|first=Andrew|title=Among Ukraine’s Jews, the Bigger Worry Is Putin, Not Pogroms|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/world/europe/ukraines-jews-dismiss-claims-of-anti-semitism.html|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=9 April 2014}}</ref> |
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.<ref name=db1 /> 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."<ref name=mcphedran /> ''[[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.<ref name=higgins1>{{cite news|last=Higgins|first=Andrew|title=Among Ukraine’s Jews, the Bigger Worry Is Putin, Not Pogroms|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/world/europe/ukraines-jews-dismiss-claims-of-anti-semitism.html|accessdate=23 April 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=9 April 2014}}</ref> |
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According to international-relations consultant Emmanuel Dreyfus, Right Sector defines itself as neither xenophobic nor anti-Semitic but "nationalist, defending the values of white, Christian Europe against the loss of the nation."<ref name=monde0302>{{cite news|last=Dreyfus|title=Ukraine Beyond Politics|first=Emmanuel|url=http://mondediplo.com/2014/03/02ukraine|accessdate=6 March 2014|newspaper=Le Monde Diplomatique|date=2 March 2014|quote=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.}}</ref> |
According to international-relations consultant Emmanuel Dreyfus, Right Sector defines itself as neither xenophobic nor anti-Semitic but "nationalist, defending the values of white, Christian Europe against the loss of the nation."<ref name=monde0302>{{cite news|last=Dreyfus|title=Ukraine Beyond Politics|first=Emmanuel|url=http://mondediplo.com/2014/03/02ukraine|accessdate=6 March 2014|newspaper=Le Monde Diplomatique|date=2 March 2014|quote=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.}}</ref> |
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Tarasenko has stated that the group has no "phobias", that it respects every other nation, and that it supports the [[nation state]] model. On this basis Tarasenko argued that there is no chauvinism or fascism in [[Ukrainian nationalism]].<ref name=lentaint>{{cite news|title=Lenta.ru: |
Tarasenko has stated that the group has no "phobias", that it respects every other nation, and that it supports the [[nation state]] model. On this basis Tarasenko argued that there is no chauvinism or fascism in [[Ukrainian nationalism]].<ref name=lentaint>{{cite news|title=Lenta.ru: "We are not armed forces"|url=http://maidan.charter4.org/2014/03/13/lanta-ru-we-are-not-armed-forces/|date=13 March 2014}}</ref> |
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===Attitude towards Europe=== |
===Attitude towards Europe=== |
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==Policy== |
==Policy== |
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===Domestic policy=== |
===Domestic policy=== |
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Right Sector has the position that the population should keep or bear arms, [[Gun politics in Switzerland|as in Switzerland]].<ref>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."</ref> |
Right Sector has the position that the population should keep or bear arms, [[Gun politics in Switzerland|as in Switzerland]].<ref>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."</ref> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://jpgazeta.ru/uv2014/idi-i-smotri-banderovtsy-kak-oni-est/ Compilation (by Russian newspaper) of documentary videos about Trident of Bandera] |
*[http://jpgazeta.ru/uv2014/idi-i-smotri-banderovtsy-kak-oni-est/ Compilation (by Russian newspaper) of documentary videos about Trident of Bandera] |
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{{Euromaidan}} |
{{Euromaidan}} |
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{{2014 Crimean crisis}} |
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[[Category:Far-right politics in Ukraine]] |
[[Category:Far-right politics in Ukraine]] |
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[[Category:Nationalist parties in Ukraine]] |
[[Category:Nationalist parties in Ukraine]] |
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Revision as of 03:16, 28 April 2014
Right Sector Пра́вий се́ктор | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Dmytro Yarosh |
| Founded | March 22, 2014 |
| Merger of | Tryzub ('Trident') Patriots of Ukraine UNA–UNSO |
| Headquarters | Kiev, Ukraine |
| Membership | 5,000-10,000 |
| Ideology | Ukrainian nationalism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Party flag | |
| File:Right Sector.jpg | |
| Website | |
| pravyysektor.info | |
Right Sector (Ukrainian: Пра́вий се́ктор, Pravyi Sektor) is a Ukrainian nationalist political party[1] and paramilitary collective of several organizations, described by some major publications as having far-right,[2][3][4] nationalist,[5][6][7] or ultranationalist[8][9] views. The group claims to have at least 5,000 to 10,000 members.[10][11] It first emerged in November 2013 at the Euromaidan protests in Kiev, as an alliance of far-right Ukrainian nationalist groups and the Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence (UNA-UNSO).[12][13]
History
Origins
Right Sector formed in late November 2013 as a confederation of several far-right and nationalist groups, including Trident of Stepan Bandera (Dmytro Yarosh), Patriots of Ukraine (Andriy Belitsky), White Hammer (Kyiv Organization),[14][15] the Social-National Assembly,[15] and UNA-UNSO (Yuriy Shukhevych).[12]
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.[16][17] Yarosh, Right Sector's leader, has trained armed nationalists in military exercises since the collapse of the Soviet Union.[18]
Co-founder Andriy Tarasenko told LIGA news agency in January 2014 that "most participants" were "ordinary citizens not related to any organizations".[12][19]
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.[20]
Right Sector has received some financing from the Ukrainian diaspora.[11]
Entry into Maidan
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.[15][21] On 19 January 2014 Right Sector encouraged its members to bring bottles to the protests in order to produce Molotov cocktails and bombs.[12] The Yanukovich government classified Right Sector as an extremist movement, threatening its members with imprisonment.[22]
According to Volodymyr Ishchenko, in an op-ed piece in The Guardian, Right Sector was responsible for the violent 1 December 2013 attack on the Ukrainian administration and also led another violent provocation against the police.[23] Right Sector's leader, Dmytro Yarosh, has stated that it has amassed a lethal arsenal of weapons.[24]
Right Sector has been described as the most organized and most effective of the Maidan forces. Following the collapse of the Yanukovych government in February 2014, with police having largely abandoned the streets of Kiev, groups of young men, including members of Right Sector, have been patrolling the streets armed mostly with baseball bats.[25][26]
After Yanukovych
Yarosh was proposed as a deputy to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council[27] but was not appointed.[28] He was then offered the position of deputy head of the National Security Council but rejected it as being beneath him.[29]
A Haaretz reporter in Tel Aviv has written that members of Right Sector used neo-Nazi symbols during Maidan demonstrations, and that there were "reports, from reliable sources" that Right Sector and Svoboda members distributed copies of Main Kampf.[30]
In February 2014 Yarosh and the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine agreed to establish a "hotline" to prevent provocations and coordinate actions when issues arise.[31][32] The group assists in the protection of Jewish sites in Odessa.[33]
Russia has cited attacks by Right Sector on Russian speakers and Jews as the main reason it sent troops into Crimea. The Associated Press reports that it has found no evidence of hate crimes by the group.[8]
In a poll conducted by the SOTSIS research center (25 February–4 March 2014), Yarosh's possible candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections (planned for 25 May) received the support of 1.6% of the respondents.[34] On 7 March 2014, Kiev chairman Andriy Tarasenko told Interfax-Ukraine that the "informal movement" would be transforming itself into a political party at a congress on 15 March.[1]
On 11 March 2014, in Russia's State Duma, opposition leader Valery Rashkin called on Russian special services to "liquidate" Yarosh and Oleksandr Muzychko, the group's West Ukrainian leader.[35]
Muzychko[nb 1] was shot to death in Rivne, West Ukraine, on 24 March 2014. 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.[36]
Police said he was being detained on suspicion of organized crime links, hooliganism and threatening public officials.[37][38][39] Right Sector representatives held Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accountable for his death and vowed to avenge him.[40]
On 31 March 2014 a Right Sector activist started shooting in the Ukrainian capital's center near the "Mafia" restaurant. Three people, including deputy head of the Kiev city state administration Bogdan Dubas, were wounded in the incident.[41] The shooter was later arrested and found to be inebriated.[42][43]
Right Sector continues to occupy buildings in Kiev.[44]
On 22 April 2014 pro-Russian insurgents in Slovyansk, Ukraine, detained an American journalist for several days on suspicion of spying for the group.[44]
Ideology
_activists._Euromaidan,_Kyiv,_Ukraine._Events_of_February_22,_2014.jpg)
Descriptions in the press
Right Sector has been described by BBC News as a "Ukrainian nationalist group"[45] and an "umbrella organization of far-right groups"[46]
The New York Times has described it as a "nationalist group" and a "coalition of once-fringe Ukrainian nationalist groups".[5] The Guardian also has referred to it as a "nationalist Ukrainian group".[7]
Reuters has described it as a "far-right nationalist group"[47] and has cited a United Nations report that identified it as a "right-wing group".[48]
The Wall Street Journal has described Right Sector as an "umbrella group for far-right activists and ultranationalists".[49]
Right Sector has been characterized by Agence France Presse as a "far-right" group[4] and by Time as a "radical right-wing group ... a coalition of militant ultra-nationalists".[9]
The Russian News & Information Agency has described it 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".[50]
The Associated Press has called it a "radical ultranationalist group ... demonized by Russian state propaganda as fascists".[8]
University of Georgia assistant professor Cas Mudde wrote in OpenDemocracy that Right Sector's constituent groups include "various neo-fascists and neo-Nazis".[51] Book-series editor Anton Shekhovstov responded: "His 'literature review' seems to draw ... for the most part upon my own works published some time ago. My recent research, however, has been largely ignored."[52]
Shekhovstov wrote, "While the Right Sector has indeed a neo-Nazi fringe — constituted by the representatives from the 'White Hammer' group, 'Patriot of Ukraine' [and the] Social-National Assembly — the main group behind the Right Sector is 'Tryzub', which is far from neo-Nazism, racism and anti-Semitism."[52]
Columnist Conn Hallinan has written that the United States press has "downplayed the role" of Right Sector and other far-right groups,[53] which some media and scholars label as "fascist"[citation needed].
According to Time, Right Sector's ideology "borders on" fascism, and the group is supported only by Ukraine's staunchest nationalists.[54]
Die Welt described Right Sector as "an informal association of right-wing and neofascist factions";[16] it has also quoted a researcher who described it as "a 'party' cobbled together from various little right-wing groups and gangs".[55]
Volodymyr Ishchenko wrote in the Guardian that "previously marginal neofascists from the militant Pravy Sektor" entered into negotiations with Ukraine's police forces.[56] Le Monde Diplomatique's Emmanuel Dreyfus wrote that the presence of "neo-fascist groups such as Pravy Sector" in Maidan is a sign of a crisis of identity in Ukrainian society.[57]
Journalist Alec Luhn for the Nation wrote that "ultranationalists and neo-Nazis" from Right Sector and other groups took control of Maidan's defense forces.[58]
Rutgers University professor Alexander Motyl writes in World Affairs that Right Sector and Svoboda "actively ... cooperated with ... ethnic minorities" on the Maidan and "are far more like the Tea Party or right-wing Republicans than like fascists or neo-Nazis".[59]
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.”[60] He distinguished the two group's attitudes toward non-Ukrainian nationalities, citing Stepan Bandera's philosophy: those who "oppose" the national liberation struggle should be dealt with "in a hostile way," but those living on the land who "do not oppose" the struggle should be treated "in a tolerant way" and those fighting with his group "for Ukraine" should be treated "as comrades."[60]
Tarasenko likewise cited Bandera, stating: "We are enemies to those saying that there [is] no Ukraine, or Ukrainians, or … Ukrainian language."[61]
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.[15] 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."[62] 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.[63]
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. When asked whether Bandera was responsible for the 100,000 Poles murdered in Volhynia, Tarasenko argued that this is "nonsense."[64]
According to international-relations consultant Emmanuel Dreyfus, Right Sector defines itself as neither xenophobic nor anti-Semitic but "nationalist, defending the values of white, Christian Europe against the loss of the nation."[57]
Tarasenko has stated that the group has no "phobias", that it respects every other nation, and that it supports the nation state model. On this basis Tarasenko argued that there is no chauvinism or fascism in Ukrainian nationalism.[61]
Attitude towards Europe
Right Sector's website says that its members distrust the "imperial ambitions" of both Russia and the West.[65] Popovski states that Right Sector is pro-European and supports Ukraine's entry into the European Union.[62]
Policy
Domestic policy
Right Sector has the position that the population should keep or bear arms, as in Switzerland.[66]
Military force
Right Sector seized military weaponry from an Interior Ministry arsenal in western Ukraine, near Lviv, towards the end of the Maidan revolution.[67] Those weapons reached Kiev in February, but according to protest leaders and analysts played little role in overthrowing the Ukrainian government.[67] Right Sector delivered some weapons to Ukrainian authorities in the aftermath of the revolution, and kept others.[67]
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]
Notes
References
- ^ a b "'Right Sector' has become a party". Українська правда. Kiev. March 22, 2014.
Combining radical parties and organizations of Ukrainian patriots, 'Right Sector' has decided to become a political party.… 'It happened on the legal and human-resource base of [the] Ukrainian National Assembly,' … [Denisenko] said.
Cite error: The named reference "party" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ 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.
- ^ Polityuk, Pavel (8 March 2014). "Far-right leader to run for president in Ukraine". Reuters.
Ukrainian far-right leader Dmytro Yarosh said on Saturday he would run for president and launched a scathing attack on the new government, two weeks after he helped bring it to power through street protests.
- ^ 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).
- ^ 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….
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b 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…
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ 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….
- ^ 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…
- ^ a b c Nemtsova, Anna (19 March 2014). "Yarosh: Russians, Rise Up Against Putin!". Newsweek. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Groups at the sharp end of Ukraine unrest". BBC News. 1 February 2014.
The Right Sector is a radical nationalist opposition group…
- ^ Die Extremisten vom Majdan, FAZ vom 23. Februar 2014
- ^ Official announcement of the Right Sector. Right Sector. 6 March 2014
- ^ a b c d e Shynkarenko, Oleg (March 1, 2014). "Can Ukraine control its far right ultranationalists?". Daily Beast.
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.'
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ Baranova, Maria (3 March 2014). "No one has done more for Ukrainian nationalism than Vladimir Putin". New Republic.
- ^ Klußmann, Uwe (3 March 2014). "Conflict with Russia". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ "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?].
- ^
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.
- ^ Radicals a wild card in Ukraine’s protests, The Washington Post (2 February 2014)
- ^ Eugen Theise, "Radical 'Pravy Sektor' group shifts Kyiv protests to the right," Deutsche Welle World (11 February 2014). Retrieved 01 March 2014.
- ^ Ishchenko, Volodymyr (22 January 2014). "Ukraine protests are no longer just about Europe". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ 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….
- ^ Gatehouse, Gabriel (1 March 2014). "Ukraine: Far-right armed with bats patrol Kiev". BBC. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Luhn, Alec (3 March 2014). "As Far-Right Groups Infiltrate Kiev's Institutions, the Student Movement Pushes Back". The Nation. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
Ultranationalists and neo-Nazis from groups like Svoboda and Right Sector took over Euromaidan's self-defense forces…. Right Sector, whose social network page features extensive neo-Nazi imagery, has been patrolling alongside police….
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Апарат [Staff]". Рада національної безпеки і оборони України [National Security & Defense Council of Ukraine (website)]. Kiev. February 28, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Pfeffer, Anshul (25 February 2014). "The New Dilemma for Jews in Ukraine". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
The greatest worry now is not the uptick in anti-Semitic incidents but the major presence of ultra-nationalist movements, especially the prominence of the Svoboda party and Pravy Sektor (right sector) members among the demonstrators. Many of them are calling their political opponents "Zhids" and flying flags with neo-Nazi symbols. There have also been reports, from reliable sources, of these movements distributing freshly translated editions of Mein Kampf and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Independence Square.
- ^ "'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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Right Sector [has] offered protection for Odessa Jews". Ukrainian Pravda (in Ukrainian). 10 April 2014.
The representative of the Right Sector offered the [chief] Rabbi [of Odessa and southern Ukraine] assistance in the protection of Jewish sites of the city.
- ^ "Порошенко лидирует в президентском рейтинге". LB.ua. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ^ "Российский депутат призвал спецслужбы "ликвидировать" Яроша и Белого". Lenta.ru. 11 March 2014.
- ^ "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….'
- ^ 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…
- ^ Interior Ministry: Right Sector coordinator Muzhychko killed in shootout with police Kyiv Post Retrieved on March 25, 2014
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Nationalists threaten Ukrainian top cop with 'revenge' over far-right leader murder". RT [Russia Today]. TV-Novosti. 25 March 2014.
- ^ Top Kiev official wounded in shooting incident in city center
- ^ http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/31/7020930/
- ^ http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/497182.html
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.… The role of nationalist groups will now come under increased scrutiny.
- ^ 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….
- ^ 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….
- ^ Miles, Tom; Nebehay, Stephanie (15 April 2014). "U.N. finds fear-mongering by pro-Russians in Ukraine". Reuters.
A report by the U.N. human rights office said … one right-wing group, the 'Right Sector' … had caused concerns for the Russian-speaking minority…. There were numerous reports of Right Sector acts of violence against political opponents and representatives of the former ruling party, the report said.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Mudde, Cas (28 February 2014). "A new (order) Ukraine? Assessing the relevance of Ukraine's far right in an EU perspective". openDemocracy.
Pravyi Sektor is a coalition of mostly [sic] smaller far right groups, including various neo-fascists and neo-Nazis, which came together during the protests.
- ^ a b Shekhovstov, Anton (3 March 2014). "A response to Cas Mudde's 'A new (order) Ukraine'". openDemocracy.
- ^ Hallinan, Conn (7 March 2014). "The Dark Side of the Ukraine Revolt". The Nation. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Inger, Richard (11 April 2014). "Jewish experts debunk Putin's propaganda". Die Welt (in German).
[One] well-known researcher from Ukraine … Anton Shekhovtsov [said] … the little groups and gangs are held together primarily by … its style of 'romantic militarism'.
- ^ Ishchenko, Volodymyr (7 February 2014). "Ukrainian protesters must make a decisive break with the far right". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
Neo-fascists have become involved in the Euromaidan protest movement and we can't turn a blind eye to the danger that presents… Previously marginal neofascists from the militant Pravy Sektor (the Right Sector) are now involved in negotiations with Ukrainian law-enforcement bodies. They will be among the undisputable leaders of the more radical part of the movement who will not be satisfied with a narrow rearrangement of powers as demanded by the opposition.
- ^ a b Dreyfus, Emmanuel (2 March 2014). "Ukraine beyond politics". Le Monde Diplomatique.
Who Was Who in Kiev's Independence Square
Cite error: The named reference "monde0302" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ 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.
- ^ Motyl, Alexander (20 March 2014). "'Experts' on Ukraine". World Affairs.
Both [the Right Sector and Svoboda], while on the Maidan in Kyiv, actively and easily cooperated with Russian speakers and ethnic minorities.
- ^ a b English translation of an interview with the leader of Right Sector by Ukrayinska Pravda's Mustafa Nayem and Oksana Kovalenko. Original published 4 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Lenta.ru: "We are not armed forces"". 13 March 2014.
- ^ a b 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."
- ^ Higgins, Andrew (9 April 2014). "Among Ukraine's Jews, the Bigger Worry Is Putin, Not Pogroms". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ Bielecki, Jędrzej (January 29, 2014). "The leader of the Bandera: The genocide in Volhynia is nonsense". Rzeczpospolita. Warsaw.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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."
- ^ 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.
External links
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