Putin's brokers: The activism of the European far-right and the Moscow figure behind it

In the discussion of the situation in Ukraine, nothing is more prominent than the "extreme right" and "neo-Nazis". We would like to emphasize that, as mentioned in the article we compiled earlier, the far-right problem in Ukraine is not an excuse for Russian aggression, but silence will not solve the problem either. We have compiled a series of related articles on the subject. The issue of Ukraine, Russia, and the far-right involves many factors, and there are complex connections between them. It is difficult for a few articles to provide a comprehensive picture, but we hope to try to provide multiple perspectives to look at this complex issue. We have always believed that reliable information is an important cornerstone of any worthy debate.
This article was published on March 24, 2022, originally titled "Exclusive: Russia Backs Europe's Far Right", written by Holger Roonemaa, Martin Laine, Michael Weiss and compiled by Xiaoxin.

It has been more than a month since Russia invaded Ukraine, and New Lines magazine, in collaboration with Estonian media Delfi, Italian media I'Espresso, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and West German Public Broadcasting Corporation, has analysed a collection of documents obtained from the London-based NGO Archives Centre. files and web chats. These materials ironically show Russia's ties to extreme right-wing politicians across Europe, while Russia is talking about lame reasons for "denazification". Clearly, these politicians are more fascist than the Ukrainian government.

On June 18, 2019, a Russian named Mikhail Yakushev sent himself an email. A word document contained in the email read, "During his working visit to Moscow last November, my boss arranged a private meeting with Matteo. We rented a room on the same floor of the Lotte Hotel to Prevent the Western media from learning about this meeting.”

Matteo here refers to Matteo Salvini, the former deputy prime minister of Italy and the current chairman of the well-known far-right party Northern League in Italy. Matteo, the current Italian senator, is Europe's most famous Putin admirer, and in 2019 he called Putin "the best politician on the planet right now".

Mikhail works for a company called Tsargrad. The company aims to "revive the great Russian Empire" and is run by Konstantin Malofeev, known as the "Orthodox oligarch". He was previously sanctioned by the European Union and the United States for being accused by Ukraine of funding illegal pro-Russian paramilitary groups.

In the above-mentioned document, Mikhail is concerned that "the situation has deteriorated sharply" and that "now we cannot continue to engage with Matteo". According to the document, the liaison between Matteo and Tsargrad's company has been his political adviser, Gianluca Savoni. However, in February 2022, the magazine I'Espresso published an article exposing the secret negotiations that Savoni was conducting in Moscow to secure millions of euros in illegal political contributions for the Northern Alliance ahead of the 2019 EU parliamentary elections.

In July 2019, Buzzfeed News released a recording of this negotiation. Shortly afterward, Italian prosecutors opened an investigation into Savoni. According to reports, Savoni is still "under the surveillance of Italian security services". According to Mikhail, Salvoni "has lost touch with Matteo". So he has to think about how to get in touch with Matteo again, "so that he can assign a reliable person to contact us. We can communicate anywhere in Russia or Europe".

At the same time, the document also described a meeting plan. As planned, a congress will be held in the autumn of 2019 at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg. At the meeting, the leaders of the new far-right "Identity and Democracy" group in the European Parliament will be invited to attend, and the conference will be heavily covered by the international media. The group now has 64 seats in the European Parliament, and the Northern League and the French National Front are among its members. The meeting ultimately failed to convene.

Since then, Tsargrad and its Russian members have continued to act as intermediaries between far-right parties in Europe and top Russian leaders. They secretly concealed the connections between European statesmen and the Russian national teacher, the Eurasian philosopher Alexander Dugin. Far-right parties, on the other hand, took advice from their "Russian friends" and blocked proposals in the European Parliament against Russia.

In March 2021, the group formulated a plan to establish a network called "Altintern". The network got its name from the Comintern. Members of Identity and Democracy are expected to join the network. "Without our help for European conservative parties, their popularity and influence in Europe will continue to diminish," said a document produced by Mikhail and circulated among Tsargrad members.

The document also cited stalled efforts to oppose Europe's ongoing Covid-19 lockdown and mass vaccination program and obtain European licenses for a Russian vaccine as reasons to engage with Eurosceptic parties. “We believe that it is still possible to resume engagement with Eurosceptics in order to work systematically to counter the sanctions in Brussels. However, to resume cooperation with them requires a very high level of secrecy. Influence in Russia is fundamentally different.”

It is unclear whether the plan has already begun. In July 2021, however, 16 far-right parties from the EU, led by the French National Front, signed a statement criticizing the EU's integration process. "The European Union is becoming a tool for radical forces. Radical forces want to carry out a cultural and religious transformation that will eventually eliminate European borders and create a European superstate. We still believe that the family is the basic unit of the state. In Europe," the statement said. In the face of a severe population crisis, we must develop policies that support families rather than mass immigration.”

Malofeyev is an oligarch, a Kremlin agent and a Kremlin fanatic, said Karev Stoiscu, a Russian affairs researcher at the Center for International Defense Studies, a think tank in Tallinn, Estonia. "He believed in the Orthodox spirit more than the Russian Orthodox Patriarch," and he was outspoken in his disdain for LGBT rights and in cooperation with anti-gay Christian groups in the United States.

The links between Malofeev and the European far right are an open secret in Europe and began many years ago. Karev said Malofeyev carried out the Kremlin's mandate to interfere in the Bosnian and Polish elections. He organized meetings of the far-right in Europe and brokered an 11 million-euro loan from Russian banks to the National Front.

Malofeev and other Russian politicians have arranged numerous secret meetings with far-right parties in Europe. In early 2016, Suwanee organized a conference. In his email to the mailbox at the Tsargrad address owned by Dugin's daughter, he said, "On January 28, the Northern Alliance will meet with Marie Le Pen, Strache. President of the Austrian far-right Freedom Party) and the rest of the European bloc have a big meeting in Milan. As we said in December, we will even invite United Russia and Alexander Dugin.” According to The meeting also included a private lunch "with Matteo, some key members of the Northern League party and our Russian friends," according to the email.

A few days before the meeting, Suwani sent another email to Dugin himself. He explained that the Northern Alliance has come under attack by international media that are reporting on Russian funding of Italian political parties. "We know this is not true, but we must avoid the official attendance of the Russians. The party of Wilders [Dutch far-right politician] has officially asked that the Russians had better not attend the public meeting on the evening of the 28th." Instead , Savoni asked Dugin if Malofeev would speak to Le Pen on the phone so that "we can meet her on the morning of the 29th in a hotel rather than in public."

In several other emails, several prominent far-right politicians in Europe met with "K" in a hotel room in Moscow. "K" should refer to Malofeyev. Malofeyev's subordinates arranged for meetings between the politicians and Russian politicians, including Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian Federation Council's foreign affairs committee, who is also under sanctions.

In January 2019, Savoni appeared to have arranged a trip to Moscow for representatives from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. In an email, he said "Mr. K will be waiting for you and Mr. Björn Hock at his office in Moscow at the end of January, if possible. On the same day, I will introduce you to United Russia's foreign relations director. Andrei Klimov, we will also visit the central office of the party. Of course, the meeting with Mr. K is private.”

These actions by Malofeev not only spread pro-Kremlin talking points across the European political landscape, but also provide amendments to different bills to the European Parliament or EU national legislatures. In March 2015, for example, Gabrius Landsberg, a Lithuanian MEP at the time and now the country's foreign minister, prepared a motion criticizing Russia in Brussels.

Claudio D'Amico, then the Northern League's foreign office, wrote in an email to Alexei Komov, head of the Russian chapter of the World Congress of Families, "The content is very bad, please send your amendments to We, we will submit at an opportune time." The World Congress of Families is an anti-LGBT group backed by Malofeyev and U.S.-sanctioned Russian oligarch Yakunin.

"We will send you the revisions as soon as possible," Komov replied in an email. The email was CC'd to Suwanee. Suwani replied, "Perfect! Send us the amendment so we can have a 'good fight'!". In late June, three MEPs from the Northern Alliance called the motion "Russian" and "suicidal" and voted against it.

In 2017, Savoni emailed the now deceased AfD member Manuel Ochsenreit, a special commentator for the Russian state media, saying: "Our Russian friends are concerned about Syrian refugees from Europe. Return to Syria". He asked Ochsenreiter to obtain more details from AfD about the situation of Syrian refugees in Germany. "After knowing these things, we can organize an action meeting in Moscow."

Another memo written in Russian on 15 February 2016 by Tsargrad employee Ekaterina Minashina mentioned actions against parliaments in Austria and Italy. In the first part, "Resolution on the lifting of Austrian anti-Russian sanctions," Catherine listed Johannes Hubre of the Austrian Freedom Party as a potential sponsor. The theme of the resolution is "irreparable damage to the Austrian economy caused by the anti-Russian sanctions". In another section, the document appears to reveal the "value" of the proposal. The effort will cost about $20,000, the document says, and another $15,000 if the vote is successful.

Although the draft lacks context and further details, in June 2016, Johannes introduced a motion in the Austrian parliament called "Resolution on Lifting Austrian Anti-Russian Sanctions". In the motion, Johannes said that "this EU policy towards Russia has caused considerable damage to the economy of the Republic of Austria". The motion was ultimately rejected.

The second part of the above-mentioned memorandum discusses the proposal in Italy that "sanctions against Russia 'have caused irreparable damage to the Italian economy'". Senator Paul Tosato served as sponsor. "This campaign is 'worth' 20,000 euros and 20,000 euros in donations. If the vote is successful, there will be an additional 15,000 euros," the memo states. It is unclear where the donation came from.

New Lines Magazine requested responses from Tsargrad and sent a detailed list of issues. In a reply, a spokesman for the group compared the magazine to the Nazi Germany's Volks Observer, adding, "These questions are based on information provided by your EU, US and UK intelligence agencies. They have long been openly Helping the Ukrainian side, which means that they have a direct connection with the death of civilians in the Donbass and the murder of Russian soldiers." The speaker finally invited New Lines to visit Moscow.

(Editor in charge: New Bremen)