Executive Summary
The Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) promotes the hateful values of Russian nationalism. Zealous members perceive any opposition as a threat to their pure, Russian ethnicity. As a result, RIM holds antisemitic, anti-LGBT, and anti-immigrant stances. Over the past decade, RIM has connected with other supremacist groups, such as the Nordic Resistance Movement, resulting in violent calls to action. Despite RIM’s terrorist organization designation from the United States, the group still remains a large risk because of their heavy online presence. Their social media use allows for their rhetoric and paramilitary training to spread globally.
Origins
RIM is the sinister brainchild of founder Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev. Created in 2002, Vorobyev sought to restore Russia back to its traditional, pre-1917 Tsarist roots of the Romanov dynasty[1]. RIM was framed as a grassroots Orthodox Christian movement, attracting disenfranchised Russian men who were longing for a supremacist brotherhood. The organization was relatively unpopular since its inception; rather, RIM appealed mostly to fringe political groups. To gain traction, Vorobyev aligned RIM with other groups, such as the Russians Ethno-Political Association (REPA)[2]. Afterwards, RIM’s ideology shifted from religious rhetoric and more towards “ethnic nationalism,” emphasizing Russian heritage, anti-immigrant, anti-semitic, and anti-LGBT platforms[3]. By 2012, RIM made feeble efforts to form an opposition party to Vladimir Putin. Their attempts were unsuccessful[4]. RIM went largely unnoticed by the public until their involvement with the 2014 annexation of Crimea. RIM’s paramilitary unit, “The Imperial Legion,” was born. 100 members went to Ukraine to aid separatists in combat and financially.[5] RIM’s prolific training course, Partizan, was developed to militarize separatists[6]. Partizan continued to expand and currently offers multiple online combat classes offered to the public.
Allyships
RIM’s aid in the 2014 Crimea invasion formed a reluctant friendship with the Russian government. From RIM’s perspective, Putin’s administration was not traditional enough and it did not support pure Russian ethnicity. Putin viewed RIM as a thorn in his side. However, RIM is quietly tolerated so long as they act in support with Russia’s foreign conflicts[7]. After Putin’s silent nod of approval, RIM gained notoriety with adjacent hate groups. The Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM), a neonazi group originating in Scandinavia, forged close ties with Vorobyev. The two groups have met frequently to share ideologies. Common themes include: the degradation of Western civilization caused by Jews, taking down the “Jewish Oligarchs” in Ukraine, and the evil “Jewish cabal” that spreads globalization[8]. Words precede actions, and in 2016, two members of NRM were trained in RIM’s Partizan training camp. After learning about explosives at Partizan, the two NRM members bombed refugee centers in Sweden[9]
Since increasing popularity in Europe, Vorobyev sought to expand RIM’s horizons. In 2017, members of RIM conducted a business trip to the U.S. to meet with Matthew Heinbach, the leader of American supremacist group, the Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP). After the prophetic reunion, Heinbach later gushed that “their goals and our goals are very similar” and he intends for TWP to “kind of be the representative of America at the future gatherings of [RIM]”[10]. Continued expansion and global connections raises the risk of a joint supremacist task force, exchanging paramilitary training and propaganda[11]. In efforts to prevent American involvement in RIM’s global indoctrination campaign, the Trump administration in 2020 designated RIM an official terrorist organization[12]. Along with the designation, the US also financially sanctioned Vorobyev, and prominent members Denis Valliullovich Gariev, and Nikolay Nikolayevich Truschalov[13]. Additionally, anyone acting alongside RIM may be given criminal penalties[14].
Social Media Movement
Due to the wide reaching scope of the internet, RIM relies on social media for recruitment and continued education. Preliminary data scraping for RIM digital content yielded a RIM designated Telegram channel, Partizan specific Telegram channel, a Partizan Vkontakte account, a RIM Vkontakte account, a RIM independent website, and an independent Partizan website. RIM’s main Telegram channel has 3,199 subscribers, Partizan’s Telegram account has 4, 820 subscribers, while Partizan’s Vkontakte has 53,949 followers, and RIM’s Vkontakte account has 21,236 followers (n= 83,205). All four accounts generate similar content in conjunction with Partizan’s website, proving close coordination between the platforms. Common messaging included posts denigrating the global Jewish population and non- Orthodox Christian demographics (see figure 1). Additionally, RIM’s telegram advertised group propaganda meetings with contact emails available (see figure 2). Partizan’s content consisted of military-style courses to be implemented in RIM operations, such as Kalashnikov and close combat training, while their independent website has course sign-ups and reviews (see figure 3). RIM’s Vkontakte account parrots the same posts on their Telegram; however, their independent website has sign-up forms and blog posts.
Bibliography
Casey Michel. “Russian, American White Nationalists Raise Their Flags in Washington,” September 22, 2017. https://archive.thinkprogress.org/russian-american-nationalists-washington-5bd15fd18eaf/.
Counter Extremism Project. “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” Accessed February 1, 2024. https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/russian-imperial-movement-rim.
“Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: Nordic Resistance Movement | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey,” November 18, 2022. https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/dangerous-organizations-and-bad-actors-nordic.
Mapping Militant Organizations. “Russian Imperial Movement.” Stanford University. Last modified February 2021. https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles /russian-imperial-movement
Savage, Charlie, Adam Goldman, and Eric Schmitt. “U.S. Will Give Terrorist Label to White Supremacist Group for First Time.” The New York Times, April 6, 2020, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/politics/terrorist-label-white-supremacy-Russian-Imperial-Movement.html.
The Soufan Center. “IntelBrief: Russian Imperial Movement Labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity,” April 7, 2020. https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-russian-imperial-movement-labeled-a-specially-designated-global-terrorist-entity/
[1] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM),” Counter Extremism Project, accessed February 1, 2024, https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/russian-imperial-movement-rim.
[2] Mapping Militant Organizations, “Russian Imperial Movement,” Stanford University, last modified February 2021, https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles /russian-imperial-movement
[3] Stanford University, “MMP: Russian Imperial Movement,
[4] Stanford University.
[5] Counter Extremism Project, “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).”
[6] “Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).”
[7] Stanford University.
[8] “Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: Nordic Resistance Movement,” Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey,November 18, 2022, https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/dangerous-organizations-and-bad-actors-nordic.
[9] “Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: Nordic Resistance Movement.”
[10] Casey Michel, “Russian, American White Nationalists Raise Their Flags in Washington,” September 22, 2017, https://archive.thinkprogress.org/russian-american-nationalists-washington-5bd15fd18eaf/.
[11] Casey Michel, “Russian, American White Nationalists Raise Their Flags in Washington.”
[12] Charlie Savage, Adam Goldman, and Eric Schmitt, “U.S. Will Give Terrorist Label to White Supremacist Group for First Time,” The New York Times, April 6, 2020, sec. U.S., https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/politics/terrorist-label-white-supremacy-Russian-Imperial-Movement.html.
[13] “IntelBrief: Russian Imperial Movement Labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity,” The Soufan Center (blog), April 7, 2020, https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-russian-imperial-movement-labeled-a-specially-designated-global-terrorist-entity/.
[14] “IntelBrief:Russian Imperial Movement Labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity.”
