The Eurasian Youth Union (ESM; russian: Евразийский союз молодёжи; ЕСМ; ''Yevraziyskiy soyuz molodozhi'', ''YeSM'') is a Russian
traditionalist political organization
A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in poli ...
, the
youth wing
A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...
of the
Eurasia Party
The Eurasia Party (russian: Партия «Евразия»; ''Partiya «Yevraziya»'') is a Russian political party. It was registered by the Ministry of Justice (Russia), Ministry of Justice on 21 June 2002, approximately one year after the All ...
headed by
Aleksandr Dugin
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin ( rus, Александр Гельевич Дугин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political philosopher, analyst, and strategist, who has been widely characterized as a fascist.
Born into a military intelligen ...
. The organization has branches in several countries. In 2011, the
Government of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...
has branded the ESM as an extremist anti-Ukrainian organization, convicted of a string of
vandalism
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...
offenses and banned it in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
Ideology
According to some observers, the ESM was created as a reaction to the
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...
in Ukraine and the role the younger generation played in it. It is suggested that ESM represents an opposition to a Ukrainian youth organization
PORA
Pora! ( uk, Пора!, Russian: Пора!), meaning “''It's time!”'' in both Ukrainian and Russian, is a civic youth organization (Black Pora!) and political party in Ukraine ( Yellow Pora!) espousing nonviolent resistance and advocating i ...
.
The early-20th century
Eurasianist ideology of a part of the Russian emigration and modern
neo-Eurasianism developed by
Aleksandr Dugin
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin ( rus, Александр Гельевич Дугин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political philosopher, analyst, and strategist, who has been widely characterized as a fascist.
Born into a military intelligen ...
has been declared the main ideology of the organization. On its website, the movement declared the West and in particular the United States as its main opponent and termed it as the "main evil":
In its internal policy, the ESM supports the current government of Russia and in particular its President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
. Some also claim that the movement receives tacit support from the Russian government eager to see a movement opposed to a possibility of an Orange Revolution happening in Russia.
Activities
In Russia, the ESM has allied itself with organizations like the
National Bolshevik Front
The National Bolshevik Front (NBF; russian: Национал-большевистский фронт; НБФ; ''Natsional-bolshevistskiy front'', ''NBF'') is a Russian political party with a political program of National Bolshevism. The party was ...
, and other groups of that type. It organizes and takes part in the annual
Russian marches in Russia and other countries of
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
. Very often these marches are accompanied by violence, especially in Ukraine.
After Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004, the ESM set up branches in several Ukrainian cities and voiced its sharp criticism of the pro-Western Ukrainian government. The ECM was responsible for a string of attacks on property and organizations they deemed pro-Western. It organised attacks on several
Ukrainian Security Service branches, monuments to
Ukrainian Insurgent Army
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...
veterans and
hacker
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
attacks on the website of the
President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
. The most prominent of these attacks that received nationwide attention was the desecration of Ukrainian state symbols on Mount
Hoverla in October 2007. The other attack on Ukrainian targets was in Moscow, where several ESM members trashed an exhibition devoted to the
Holodomor
The Holodomor ( uk, Голодомо́р, Holodomor, ; derived from uk, морити голодом, lit=to kill by starvation, translit=moryty holodom, label=none), also known as the Terror-Famine or the Great Famine, was a man-made famin ...
(1932–1933). Due to the relatively high profile of these attacks the Ukrainian police asked for assistance from Russia in finding people responsible for them, but no suspects have been apprehended yet.
The organization's vandalism and sharp anti-governmental stance received wide condemnation among Ukrainian media and provoked a response from different Ukrainian organizations of the opposite orientation. Several threats were made against the organization and its members and an arson attack was reciprocated on the ESM's offices in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
Bans
In 2011, a Ukrainian court banned the ESM and its leaders Dugin and Zarifullin were declared
personae non grata. In June 2015, Canada added the organization to its list of
sanctioned entities.
Criticism
The "
Sova Center
The SOVA Center for Information and Analysis is a Moscow-based nongovernmental organization and
think tank conducting sociological research primarily on nationalism and racism in post-Soviet Russia. Currently, SOVA devotes its monitoring, resea ...
" in its classification classifies the ESM as the “ideological neighbors” of radical
Russian nationalists
Russian nationalism is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence in the early 19th century, and from its origin in the Russian Empire, to its repression during early B ...
.
At the same time, Eurasians claim
[''Сергей Бузунов']
Типа мудрые и бдительные
// Информационно-аналитический портал «Евразия», 21.04.2008 that the
Sova Center
The SOVA Center for Information and Analysis is a Moscow-based nongovernmental organization and
think tank conducting sociological research primarily on nationalism and racism in post-Soviet Russia. Currently, SOVA devotes its monitoring, resea ...
cannot objectively evaluate the patriotic organizations of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, since it is funded from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
[National Endowment for Democracy](_blank)
/ref>
Some Russian and Ukrainian media outlets, the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, Kharkiv Human Rights Group, Galina Kozhevnikova and Tatyana StanovskayaРоссийская молодёжь: угроза или ресурс?
// Журнал «Индекс/Досье на цензуру», 23/2006 consider the ESM a
radical organization.
References
{{Russian intervention in Ukraine
2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment
Eurasianism
Imperialism
Organizations established in 2005
Political organizations based in Ukraine
Political organizations based in Russia
Russian irredentism
Russian nationalism in Ukraine
Russian nationalist organizations
Youth wings of political parties in Russia
Third Position
Banned political parties in Ukraine
Neo-fascist organizations
Russian fascism
Far-right politics in Russia
Far-right movements in Europe
2005 establishments in Russia
National Bolshevik parties
Russian entities subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions
Youth wings of fascist parties