the new russian nationalismpolitical actions, raids of various types came to be seen by many
as the most promising type of activity.
Raids – mostly carried out on the workplaces and living
quarters of those considered to be migrants – were attractive
because they were aggressive without being dangerous. They
required little risk- taking by leaders or ordinary participants.
Some managed to work closely with the police and migration
services, some less so, but, either way, police tolerance was sig-
nificantly higher than in cases of ordinary violence. Raids could
be advertised, and were often covered on television as well as in
film clips distributed via the Internet, becoming a powerful way
to attract supporters as well. Raids did not have to be directed
against migrants only: in 2012 the ‘hunt for paedophiles’ – led
by Martsinkevich – gave the ‘raid movement’ a powerful boost.
Raids were also conducted against ‘spice’ dealers (those selling
quasi- legal smoking mixes), a target shared with pro- Kremlin
youth groups. The widespread anti- gay campaign at the start of
2013 was swiftly reflected in attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) activists, with the police remaining
remarkably tolerant.
It is important to note that the rise in such activities came from
the ‘grassroots’, beyond the main radical nationalist organisa-
tions. The initiative was taken in 2011 by new groups such as
Igor Mangushev’s Bright Rus (Svetlaia Rus’)^13 and the Moscow
Defence League (Liga oborony Moskvy) of Daniel Konstantinov;^14
in 2012, Martsinkevich’s neo- Nazi Restrukt! took the lead. (The
spread of the latter movement was halted only in 2014, when the
police arrested the chief activists.) The authorities’ anti- migrant
campaign was picked up by radical nationalists, with a massive
increase in the number of raids. Open attacks on traders in the
streets, known as ‘Russian cleansing’, also began. This practice
developed in an especially tempestuous fashion in St Petersburg
until the arrest of Nikolai Bondarik in October 2013.^15 New types
of youth movements, like Aleksei Khudiakov’s Shield of Moscow
(Shchit Moskvy), came into the limelight in 2013.^16 Eventually,
the main radical nationalist organisations set up their own ‘raid
projects’ – the Russkie movement, for example, call their project
‘Guestbusters’.