Vyacheslav Likhachev about the murder of Motorola

Center expert Vyacheslav Likhachev, an expert on the Ukrainian ultra-right, gave an interview to the SOVA for the murder of DPR commander Arsen on a video message in which Ukrainian neo-Nazis claimed responsibility Pavlov, nicknamed Motorola.

As you know, today a video appeared on the network in which people wearing masks posing in front of the flag of the Misanthropic Division movement and the flag of Ukraine with the symbols of the "Phoenix" group, took responsibility for the murder of DPR commander Arsen Pavlov (Motorola).

- What is the Misanthropic Division movement and what does it do?

- misanthropic Division is an international network youth movement with an amorphous structure. It exists in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as in a number of Western countries, and, as far as I understand, it appeared precisely in the post-Soviet space. Rather, however, right talk not about a single movement, but about a network of completely autonomous groups, between which only informal horizontal connections exist (however, they exist not always). These groups are united by common symbols and partly by ideology. “Partly”, because we are talking more about the totality of worldview attitudes and subcultural veil, from which practical conclusions in the current political situation, you can make diametrically opposed ones - for example, the participation of Ukrainian supporters of MD in the Anti-Terrorist Operation is widely known, less is known about the existence of a similar grouping on the other side of the line front -- Misanthropic Division-Novorossiya.

The foundation of the ideology of MD is openly neo-Nazism, neo-paganism, evolianism, xenophobia and "haterism" - the poeticization of violence.

The arrival of Misanthropic Division almost coincided with the beginning of the Ukrainian Revolution, and the relatively wide popularity supporters of this group acquired it during the events on the Maidan in Kyiv. The social milieu in which the movement originated had arisen earlier around the movement "Restruct" and the activities of Maxim Martsinkevich ("Tesak"), the main place in ideology and activities of which was occupied at that time by the aggressive homophobia.

The Ukrainian group MD, it seems to me, from the very beginning was more organized movement than cells in other countries - she had a program and more or less definite leaders. After victory of the revolution, in March 2014, members of the Ukrainian organization Misanthropic Division took part in a street confrontation with pro-Russian "separatists" in Kharkiv, as part of a group of supporters of Andrei Biletsky. A series of skirmishes with pro-Russian activists, which culminated in a real battle, with the use of firearms and human casualties, on st. Rymarskaya, were of a symbolic nature - the neo-Nazis undermined the existing earlier in the cities of eastern Ukraine a monopoly on violence by pro-Russian activists. A. Biletsky in 2006 - 2011 was the leader of the neo-Nazi groups "Patriot of Ukraine" and the Social-National Assembly, was imprisoned in 2011 on dubious criminal charge. Being released by the Verkhovna Rada as "political prisoner", actively participated in the defense of the Ukrainian territorial integrity and state sovereignty. March - April In 2014, a group of his supporters was called "Right Sector - East", in May 2014 they formed the Azov battalion. Misanthropic Division supporters were actively involved in this process, and as part of "Azov" - in the ATO. About accurate the number of Misanthropic supporters who took part in the hostilities Division is hard to say. The maximum number of simultaneously recorded in group photographs of fighters with the MD flag does not exceed a dozen and a half. By the way, it is known about several Russian members of the group, with the beginning of the war, who went over to the Ukrainian side and fought in Azov. Last times representatives of Misanthropic Division with a separate banner with their symbols (however, "cleaned" from the SS emblem "dead head") were publicly seen on October 14 at the March of the Nation in Kyiv. Obviously some representatives of the group have entered (or will still enter) the group created by Andrey Biletsky political party "National Corps", the founding congress of which was held in same day.

Regarding Misanthropic Division activities outside ATO can say little. Sometimes there is a feeling that the whole The activity of the group takes place only on the Internet. You can remember for example, that Misanthropic Division claimed responsibility for disrupting LGBT festival in Lviv last spring, but in reality significantly more right-wing street radicals than even theoretically could bring out to the streets of MD. In public on social networks, the administrators of groups associated with Misanthropic Division collected funds to help those whom neo-Nazis consider "political prisoners".

- What is the Phoenix group, whose logo depicted on the second flag captured in the video?

- some time ago, earlier this year, Misanthropic Division officially ended its existence, dissolved itself. This was due to pressure on the group in Russia, and also, as far as I understand, with internal conflicts, about which sides are hard to judge. There were accusations that the administration of some groups was captured by the Lubyanka, and the project was decided to be curtailed. Phoenix was an attempt to revive the activity of the movement as an independent project, for which it is transparent hints at the name. However, legitimate succession did not work out - Ukrainian Misanthropic Division leaders did not recognize the new group and resumed activity under the old brand. Phoenix was in Ukraine less successful project - they say that no one has seen more than ten living activists of this group at the same time. In Misanthropic Division, I guess includes about 50 activists.

- What is the relationship between Misanthropic Division and Phoenix group?

• Bad. This is a relationship of competition, a dispute over heritage on symbolic capital and brand, exacerbated by mutual suspicions of cooperation with special services.

- In your opinion, could the activists of the Phoenix group or of the Misanthropic Division really commit the murder?

Of course not. Actually, the leadership of Misanthropic Division denies what has to do with the elimination of a terrorist, and "Phoenix" is too weak and an inconspicuous group to be capable of such a thing. However, it seems to me obvious that such a serious operation in Donetsk could not be carried out with no Ukrainian side at all.

- There are versions that the death of Arsen Pavlov is a provocation from by the Russian authorities. What can be said here?

• I'm not quite sure what the term "provocation" is here. relevant, but it is clear that this criminal was eliminated their own, the only question is at what level the decision was made and an operation was planned - in Donetsk itself, or in Russia. I believe that such no one in the DPR will carry out symbolically significant operations without approval Russian curators.