Last modified: 2025-03-15 by rob raeside
Keywords: russian national unity | swastika | hammer and sickle (black) | blade | national bolshevik party | bolshevik | russian national union | cross: double vertical arm | hammer cross | saltire (black) | pamyat | national social |
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There are reportedly 120 nationalist organizations displaying fascist and neo-Nazi symbols in Russia, the more prominent are the Russian National Union, Russian National Council, and the Russian National Unity. All these groups are extremely xenophobic (distrust of strangers), very antisemitic (hate Jewish people), and blame all of Russia's problems on an imagined "Jewish and Zionist Conspiracy."
Pete Loeser, 22 July 2012
Image by Ivan Sarajčić, 06 May 2000
Russian National Union (RNS) is led by Konstantin Kassimovsky. It is a Racist nazi party. Its Red flag has a black St Andrew cross fimbrated with white, in the center there is white circle (outlined
black) with original black cross ("Cross-Hammer").
Jaume Ollé, 07 May 2000 and 13 May 2000
The top part of the cross looks like cyrillic letter "P" — first letter in russian word "Russia".
Victor Lomantsov, 07 May 2000
According to Andrey Jahwlansky, the symbol of RNS is a lobarum (Jesus Christ monogram) consisting from crossed Greek letters ("X" and "P"). Source: Flag Report 17 [frp]
Jaume Ollé, 07 May 2000 and 13 May 2000
I doubt about the interpretation of this symbol being the khi-ro monogram (the first two
letters of "Χριστος", Greek for "Christ"). While this flag shows a cross potent with a hook extending from the side of the upper arm, the labarum (at least as used now by the Catholic Church though I believe it is quite the same elsewhere) is rather a "P" and an "X" superimposed, the first slightly elongated: "☧". There are big differences between both symbols. Moreover, the use of a religious symbol on a russian neonazi flag would make sense only if it were a distinct Russian
Orthodox symbol, which is not the case.
António Martins, 10 May 2000
The Russkiy Natsional’niy Soyuz (RNS) is a neo-Nazi party based in Russia. The party grew out of the followers of Konstantin Kasimovsky, a leading member of Pamyat in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He split from the Pamyat-led National Patriotic Front in 1992 and formed his own party, the Russian National Union, the following year. This party re-emerged as the "Russian National Socialist Party" (RNSP) in 1998.
The party bases itself on four principles i.e. Orthodox Christianity, a strong state, aggressive Russian nationalism and non-Marxist socialism. The party symbol is the Labarum of Constantine the Great and since 1999 have published a newspaper "Right Resistance," itself a successor to the earlier journal "Stormtrooper."
Pete Loeser, 13 July 2012
Image by Jaume Ollé, 13 Dec 1997
This version is identical to the R.N.E. logo in their posters, badges and stikers.
António Martins, 27 May 1998
This is the main neonazi organization in Russia. Operating in semi-underground regime, it engages
itself in the same kind of activities as its western counterparts.
António Martins, 10 Sep 1997
Russian National Unity lead is by Barkashov.
Victor Lomantsov, 20 Oct 2000
The "bladed swastika" is actually supposed to be a swastika on a cross of St. Andrew.
Marcus Wendel, 13 Aug 1999
Image by António Martins, 10 Sep 1997
This version (bladed swastika black double fimbriated white-black on a white disc double fimbriated black-white on red) was seen by me on Russian TV.
António Martins, 27 May 1998
Image by António Martins, 27 May 1998
Yet another version of the flag of Russian National Unity: This time the bladed swastika is black and is placed on a white square, with tips protuding outside the square, but showing a white fimbriation against the red background; all inside a red ring. Red shade is clearly darker. It would maybe be of interest to know which flag or flags are really used.
António Martins, 27 May 1998, quoting Nazism Exposed | Flags and Symbols (Pål’s site)
The Rossiyskoye Natsional’noye Yedinstvo (RNU) is a far right, ultra-nationalist political party and paramilitary organization based in Russia and operating in states with Russian-speaking populations. It was founded by the ultra-nationalist Alexander Barkashov and claims to have 20,000 members, making the National Unity one of the largest extremist organization in Russia.
Pete Loeser, 13 July 2012
Russian National Socialist Party and Northern Alliance are the second largest neo-nazi parties in Russia, after R.N.E.. Unfortunately I have no flags of RNSP.
Mikhail Paraskan, 22 Oct 1999
The Russian National Socialist Party achieved notoriety in 2007 when a video appeared on the internet showing members decapitating one immigrant and shooting another. The party was one of several neo-Nazi parties started by Konstantin Kasimovsky after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The RNSP was formed in 1999 after Kasimovsky closed down his previous party called the Russian National Union.
Pete Loeser, 13 July 2012
Image by Mikhail Paraskan, 22 Oct 1999
Russian National Socialist Party and Northern Alliance are the second largest neo-nazi parties in Russia, after R.N.E.. Northern Alliance uses four different flags: The tricolor, as was used by General Vlasov Army (ROA) who collaborated with German Army and Reich; I think that is why Severnij Alijans use it together with old Aryan symbol Swastika.
Mikhail Paraskan, 22 Oct 1999
Image by Mikhail Paraskan, 22 Oct 1999
Another of their flags with something like the “shield” used by a Division of Waffen-SS Russische
Mikhail Paraskan, 22 Oct 1999
Image by Mikhail Paraskan, 22 Oct 1999
The Northern Alliance used four different flags: The two double cross shield versions, the Russian tricolor with swastika, and the old ROA flag of General Vlasov's army, which collaborated with the German Army and Reich during World War II (also known as the Flag of Russia and Russian Naval Ensign).
Pete Loeser, 13 July 2012
Image by Mikhail Revnivtsev, 19 Apr 2003
On February 11, 2003 the Presidium of the Central Political Council of the National State Party of Russia (an unregistered radical nationalist party, in Russian:
Национально-державная
партия
России | Nacionalhno-derẑavnaâ
partiâ Rossii — "Derẑava" = "das Reich" in German language) has adopted a decision About the flag of the National State Party of Russia, according to which the flag consists of three equal horizontal strips: white, red and black (Spirit, Blood and Ground). Picture of flag from official site of this party.
Mikhail Revnivtsev, 19 Apr 2003
This flag seems to be an appropriate compromise between the German Imperial Flag (colors) and the Russian National Flag, or perhaps the
Russian Imperial Flag (light colors on top,
dark at the bottom). By the way: is this red алый
or кроповой?
António Martins, 11 May 2003
Image by Andre Kovalev and António Martins, 15 Jan 2003
A variation of the Imperial flag, undoubtedly inspired by German WWI and WWII flags, as I saw used by the organisation White Legion 88. I must admit the flag was designed with taste.
Andre Kovalev, 04 Jul 2002
Image by Victor Lomantsov, Mar 6 2005Black flag with white celtic cross inside circle of rays - flag of ultra-right movement "Russian action."Victor Lomantsov, Mar 6 2005
Image by Jens Pattke, 12 Nov 2005
On November, 4, 2005, on a new state holiday of the Russian Federation - the Day of National Unity,
many nationalist and patriotic parties and organizations held marches in Moscow against immigrants and "color revolutions" (see photos). One of organizers of this Right Marche was the Organization of National Patriots of Russia (ONPR), who proudly displayed their flags in the demonstration and march.
Mikhail Revnivtsev12 Nov 2005
Image by Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
The far-right Slavic Union (Slavyanskiy Soyuz), claiming to be Russia's National Socialist Movement, is led by Dmitriy Demushkin, and is one of a number of Russian nationalist groups with neo-Nazi tendencies. The group’s Russian initials spell SS (U+0421U+0421), its members give Nazi-style salutes, and its main flag features a reworked swastika. The group has claimed responsibility for several murders and attacks on Jewish organizations, websites, and groups. They claim kinship to the Russian Nation Union and other Russian extremist organizations such as the National Patriotic Front. The Slavic Union was recognized as an extremist organization and banned by the Moscow City Court in 2010, and by the Supreme Court of the Russia the next year.
(modified text from "Historical Flags of Our Ancestors" website)
The main flag of the Slavic Union displays a white swastika on red field. The aspect ratio varies a lot: from 2:3 (photo, photo) to 1:2 (photo), but 1:1 was also used sometimes (photo) and there was at least one case of 3:2, i.e. width larger than length (photo). The arms usually have the same width as the areas between them (see above image), but might be visibly narrower as well.
Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
Image by Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
Slavic Union extensively uses red flags with the movement name inscribed in two lines in white, in a medieval-looking typeface. The variant which seems to be more used has only the initial letters of
two words in uppercase form and the inscription is aligned at the left-hand side. The flag can be seen here: photo, photo, photo, photo, photo, photo.
Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
Image by Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
A less used variant has the whole inscription in uppercase letters, a rather condensed variant, and the text is centered. This flag can be seen here: photo, photo, photo, photo, photo.
Although the inscriptions on these two flags might mislead the observer to the conclusion that two different typefaces are used, they do employ the uppercase and lowercase letters of the same typeface, the name of which is Izhitsa.
The colors used might actually be a borrowing from Communist and other far-left flags in Russia, whose designs currently in use often show white emblems on red field. The movement name might have also been
chosen to resemble that of the Soviet Union (Russian: Sovetskiy Soyuz). Such borrowings, meant to confuse potential new members in order to facilitate their subsequent indoctrination, are not new to the Nazism and neo-Nazism: the original National Socialists of Germany are thought to have chosen their name and the flag with red field with the same thing in their mind, and modern ultra-rightist flags also frequently borrow design elements of those used by ultra-leftists.
Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
Images by Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
After the Slavic Union was banned, the Slavic Force (Slavyanskaya sila) was founded by Dmitry Demushkin to replace it. The organization uses either red or black flags with the name of the organization in white, inscribed in two lines in a medieval-looking typeface, following the previous practice of the Slavic Union.
(modified text from "Historical Flags of Our Ancestors" website)
The flags with red field may have the text either aligned at the left-hand side (see top image, left) or centered (see top image, right). The flags with black field have so far employed only the left-aligned text (see bottom image, right). The common features of the inscriptions on all of these flags are that the typeface used is another condensed variant of the Izhitsa (see above), but the uppercase and lowercase letters differ here in size only, and the top line of the text is visibly more condensed than the bottom line, regardless of the alignment.
Sources:
Tomislav Todorović, 21 July 2012
Image by Nikolay A. Khimenkov, 12 Apr 2006
This is official flag of the National-Socialistic Society for internal usage.
Mikhail Revnivtsev, 12 Apr 2006
Image by Victor Lomantsov, 12 Oct 2011
This is official flag of the National-Socialistic Society for external use. The letters НСО are Russian for National-Socialistic Society, or the NSS.
Mikhail Revnivtsev, 12 Apr 2006
