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Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right,
Ukrainian nationalist Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...
organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
organizations at the
Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...
revolt in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, where its street fighters participated in clashes with
riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...
. The coalition became a political party on 22 March 2014, at which time it claimed to have roughly 10,000 members. Founding groups included
Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...
(''Tryzub''), led by
Dmytro Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliyovych Yarosh ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Я́рош; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Right Sector's Ukrainian Vol ...
and Andriy Tarasenko, and the Ukrainian National Assembly–Ukrainian National Self-Defense (UNA–UNSO), a political and paramilitary organization.Behind the scenes of Right Sector
, ''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...
'' (1 April 2014) Other founding groups included the
Social-National Assembly The Social-National Assembly (SNA) was an assemblage of the ultra-nationalist radical organizations and groups founded in 2008 that share the social-national ideology and agree upon building a social-national state in Ukraine. It is located on th ...
and its
Patriot of Ukraine The Patriot of Ukraine ( uk, Патріо́т Украї́ни, Patriót Ukrayíny) was an ultranationalist organization in Ukraine founded in 1999, disbanded in 2004, revived in 2005 and defunct since December 2014. In its original form, it was ...
paramilitary wing, White Hammer, and Carpathian Sich. White Hammer was expelled in March 2014, and Patriot of Ukraine left the organization, along with many UNA–UNSO members, in the following months. Right Sector has been described as right-wing, far right, hardline right-wing nationalist, or
neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration s ...
political party and paramilitary movement, and part of the European radical right. Right Sector was the second-most mentioned political group in Russian media during the first half of 2014, and Russian state TV depicted it as neo-Nazi. In March 2014,
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
found no evidence that the group had committed
hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
s. In the
2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May.single-member district A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...
with 29.8% of the votes. Right Sector spokesperson
Boryslav Bereza Boryslav Yukhymovych Blacher-Bereza ( uk, Борислав Юхимович Бляхер-Береза; born 13 June 1974) is a former member of the Ukrainian parliament and a former spokesperson for Right Sector (2014). In the 2019 Ukrainian parl ...
also won a seat as an independent candidate and district with 29.4% of the votes.,
RBK Ukraine The RBC Group, or RosBiznesConsulting (russian: Группа компаний «РБК» РБК, РосБизнесКонсалтинг), is a Russian media group headquartered in Moscow. It was established in 1993. The company holds an infor ...

Boryslav Bereza very short bio
,
RBK Ukraine The RBC Group, or RosBiznesConsulting (russian: Группа компаний «РБК» РБК, РосБизнесКонсалтинг), is a Russian media group headquartered in Moscow. It was established in 1993. The company holds an infor ...

Video of first brawl in Verkhovna Rada becomes a YouTube hit
,
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...
(5 December 2014) In the
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolv ...
, Right Sector took part on a united radical right nationwide-party list with the
Governmental Initiative of Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliyovych Yarosh ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Я́рош; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Right Sector's Ukrainian Vol ...
,
National Corps The National Corps ( uk, Національний корпус, Natsionalnyi korpus), also known as the National Corps Party, and previously called the Patriots of Ukraine, is a far-right political party in Ukraine founded in 2016 and then led by ...
, and Svoboda, winning no seats. The Right sector fought in the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
with its own
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
wing, the
Ukrainian Volunteer Corps The Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps () or simply the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps (), is the paramilitary arm of far-right Ukrainian nationalist party Right Sector. The Ukrainian Volunteer Corps was founded on July 17, 2014, as one of the " ...
. On 5 April 2015, Yarosh was appointed an advisor to the
Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...
. On 11 November, Yarosh formally stepped down as the group's leader. On 27 December, he announced that he and his team would be withdrawing from the group entirely, declaring that Right Sector had fulfilled its purpose "as a revolutionary structure" and was no longer needed. He stated he and his faction were against pseudo-revolutionary activity that threatens the state, fringe radicalism, and were against violent revolts against the government. In a statement issued in response to Yarosh's departure, Right Sector said the schism was due to continuing a "revolutionary path". The departure of Yarosh resulted in at least 20% of Right Sector members leaving with him. In February 2016, Yarosh started a new organisation called the Governmental Initiative of Yarosh. Since 19 March 2016, Tarasenko has been the new chairman of Right Sector. In December 2021, the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Генеральний штаб Збройних сил України) is the military staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and ov ...
refused to disclose any details on cooperation with Yarosh, citing the confidentiality of the information requested.


Name

The organization's name in
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
is ''Правий сектор'' (transliterated ''Pravyy sektor''), translated as ''Right Sector''. (General-audience publications often transliterate it as ''Pravy Sektor'' or ''Pravyi Sektor''.) One account derives the name from the group's effort to protect the right-hand side of the Euromaidan protestors at one point during the
Maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...
protests. Dmytro Yarosh owns the trademark "Right Sector". Russian language-speakers may refer to members of the Right Sector as ''pravoseki'' ( ru , правосеки); singular: ''pravosek'' ( ru , правосек).


History


Origins

Right Sector was formed in late November 2013 as a confederation of street-fighting soccer fans and right-wing nationalist groups:
Patriot of Ukraine The Patriot of Ukraine ( uk, Патріо́т Украї́ни, Patriót Ukrayíny) was an ultranationalist organization in Ukraine founded in 1999, disbanded in 2004, revived in 2005 and defunct since December 2014. In its original form, it was ...
(Andriy Belitsky), the
Social-National Assembly The Social-National Assembly (SNA) was an assemblage of the ultra-nationalist radical organizations and groups founded in 2008 that share the social-national ideology and agree upon building a social-national state in Ukraine. It is located on th ...
,
Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...
(Dmytro Yarosh), UNA–UNSO ( Yuriy Shukhevych), White Hammer, and Carpathian Sich. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reports that Right Sector's Kyiv organization is primarily formed by Russian-speaking soccer
ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...
who share nationalist views. The organization views itself within the tradition of Ukrainian partisans, such as the
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 ...
, which fought in the Second World War against the Soviet Union and both for and against the
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Yarosh, Right Sector's leader, has trained armed nationalists in military exercises since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Co-founder Andriy Tarasenko told LIGA news agency in January 2014 that most participants were "ordinary citizens not related to any organizations". Right Sector claims to have received donations from the
Ukrainian diaspora The Ukrainian diaspora comprises Ukrainians and their descendants who live outside Ukraine around the world, especially those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Uk ...
.


Entry into Euromaidan

Right Sector became one of the main actors in the January 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots, a part of the
Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...
protests, in their later and more violent stages. On 19 January 2014 the organization encouraged its members to bring bottles to the protests to produce
Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
s and bombs. The Yanukovich government classified it as an extremist movement and threatened its members with imprisonment. Right Sector has been described as the most organized and most effective of the Euromaidan forces when it came to confronting police. Right Sector claims that it was the main organizer of violent resistance against armed attacks by the state at Euromaidan. Yarosh stated that the group had amassed a sizable arsenal of weapons; these include guns taken from police stations in Western Ukraine. The Israeli newspaper ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'' reported antisemitic incidents involving Svoboda and Right Sector during the demonstration, where their militants were calling political opponents " Zhyd" and flying flags with neo-Nazi symbols. According to Haaretz, these organizations were also distributing translated editions of ''
Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...
'' and the ''
Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
'' to the demonstrators in Independence Square. On 4 March 2014, the organization called on readers of its
Vkontakte VK (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; russian: ВКонтакте, meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predomin ...
social-media page to "correct th misunderstanding" that had been created in English and Russian Wikipedia that Right Sector is fascist and neo-Nazi. According to political science professor Olexiy Haran, Right Sector's role in Ukrainian politics was "extremely exaggerated" by Ukrainians associated with Yanukovich.


Recovery of the Secret Ledger

Mustafa Nayyem Mustafa Masi Nayyem ( uk, Мустафа Найєм, ps, مصطفی نعیم) is an Afghan-Ukrainian journalist, MP, lecturer at the Kyiv School of Economics, and public figure who was influential in sparking the Euromaidan in Ukraine. Formerly, ...
stated that he was with members of the Right Sector when they entered
Viktor Pshonka Viktor Pavlovych Pshonka ( uk, Віктор Павлович Пшонка, Russian: Виктор Павлович Пшонка, born 6 February 1954, Serhiyivtsi, Sloviansk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a former Prosecutor Gene ...
's luxurious mansion and that the Right Sector recovered numerous
GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...
files from Pshonka's mansion after members of the Yanukovych government fled in exile to Russia. These files included the secret bookkeeping of
Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...
and the
Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of U ...
' Black Ledger ( uk, Чорної книги) or Barn Book ( uk, амбарна книга), which implicated numerous persons to improper payments from pro-
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
and pro-
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 ...
sources including
Paul Manafort Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American lobbyist, political consultant, and attorney. A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. Manafort served ...
for which the book included the handwritten records of 22 payments over five years to Manafort, nine of which had been signed by Vitaly Anatolyevich Kalyuzhny ( uk, Віталій Анатолійович Калюжний), who was the
Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
's foreign relations committee chairman. On 17 August 2016,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
removed Manafort as Trump's campaign chairman following Trump's first national security briefing directly because of the records in the secret ledger. After Trump won the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
, Manafort demanded that the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, Trump himself, and later
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
actively pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate and discredit Leshchenko and others because Leshchenko had published information from the Yanukovych Secret Ledger that was highly critical of Manafort's work in Ukraine. Manafort provided information to Giuliani and his company
Giuliani Partners Giuliani Partners LLC is a management consulting and Private security, security consulting business founded by former Mayor of New York City, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in January 2002.
, including its employees
Lev Parnas Lev Parnas (born February 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born American businessman and associate of Rudy Giuliani. Parnas, Giuliani, Igor Fruman, John Solomon, Yuriy Lutsenko, Dmytro Firtash and his allies, Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova wer ...
and
Igor Fruman Igor Fruman (born 1966) is a Soviet-born American businessman. He is an associate of Rudy Giuliani who, along with Lev Parnas, allegedly aided in a search in Ukraine for detrimental information on U.S. President Donald Trump's political opponen ...
, to smear Leshchenko and others in Ukraine and entered into a joint legal defense agreement between Manafort's attorneys and Trump's attorneys. Manafort and Giuliani also discussed how to deal with
Marie Yovanovitch Marie Louise "Masha" Yovanovitch (born November 11, 1958) is a Canadian-American former diplomat and retired senior member of the United States Foreign Service. She served in multiple State Department posts, including Senior Advisor to the Unde ...
.


Aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution

In February 2014, Yarosh and the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine agreed to establish a "hotline" to prevent provocations and coordinate actions when issues arise. The group assists in the protection of Jewish sites in
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
. In April 2014, Yarosh allegedly demanded to be appointed Vice Prime Minister for the law enforcement matters but his demand was rejected; he was offered a post of the Deputy Secretary of the
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC; uk, Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, RNBO or RNBOU) is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukrai ...
instead but Yarosh rejected this position as being beneath him. There were discussions of appointing Yarosh deputy head of the
Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...
, but these discussions quickly petered out for unknown reasons. Right Sector became a dominant theme of Russian propaganda, which grossly exaggerated its strength and influence in the new Ukraine. It was portrayed as a mortal threat to Russian speakers and Jews that necessitated a Russian military intervention. By April, Right Sector was being mentioned on Russia television almost as frequently as Putin's own United Russia party. In Crimea and the East, a "Right Sector" vandalism spree targeting synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, and Holocaust memorials was widely seen as a Russian
false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
attack. In Simferopol, a synagogue was defaced with the
wolfsangel (, translation "wolf's hook") or () is a heraldic charge from Germany and eastern France, which was inspired by medieval European wolf traps that consisted of a Z-shaped metal hook (called the ''Wolfsangel'', or the ''Crampon'' in French) th ...
symbol used by the Ukrainian far-right, but in the mirror-image of its normal orientation; in Odessa, vandals defaced a Jewish cemetery with graffiti reading "Right Sector" but misspelled the group's name. The next day Yarosh met with the Chief Rabbi of Odessa to show solidarity with Ukrainian Jews and was photographed helping paint over the graffiti. On 7 March 2014, Tarasenko told
Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...
that the "informal movement" would be transforming itself into a political party at a congress on 15 March. On 11 March 2014, Russian
Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...
opposition leader Valery Rashkin called on Russian special services to "liquidate" Yarosh and Right Sector's leader for West Ukraine, UNA–UNSO member
Oleksandr Muzychko Oleksandr Ivanovych Muzychko ( Ukrainian: Олександр Іванович Музичко, 19 September 1962 – 24 March 2014), nicknamed Sashko Bilyi (Alex White), was a Ukrainian political activist, a member of UNA-UNSO and coordinator of R ...
. He said that Muzychko had fought for Chechen separatists against Russian troops and been charged with banditry. Muzychko (who was given the nom de guerre "Sachko Bilyi") had also become known for the farcical Right Sector video, "Sachko Communicates with a Prosecutor", in which he yells at a local prosecutor, snatches his tie and threatens to drag him to Independence Square with a rope. Muzychko was shot to death in
Rivne Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
, Ukraine, on 24 March 2014. A witness told a local news service that a dozen men took Muzychko out of a cafe, handcuffed him, and beat him and two bodyguards. Others said that they later heard two shots fired near the cafe. Ukraine's Interior Ministry stated that he was shot after opening fire on police and Sokil special forces. He was captured alive and arrested but died from his wounds before paramedics arrived. Police said he was being detained on suspicion of organized crime links, hooliganism and threatening public officials. Right Sector representatives held Interior Minister
Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
accountable for his death and vowed to avenge him. On 27 March 2014, Right Sector supporters demanded Avakov's resignation and tried to storm the
Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
(the Ukrainian parliament). The next day, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, stated, "I strongly condemn the pressure by activists of the Right Sector who have surrounded the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Such an intimidation of the parliament is against the democratic principles and rule of law." A few days later, the group released an app that allows its members to organize tactics at events without being identified. On 31 March 2014, a drunken Right Sector activist started shooting near a restaurant in central Kyiv. Three people were wounded, including the deputy head of the
Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration ( uk, Київська міська державна адміністрація, translit=Kyivska miska derzhavna administratsiia), is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, t ...
.


2014 pro-Russian conflict and 2014 Ukrainian election results

In April 2014, Right Sector announced that it had begun to form a special Donbas battalion for its paramilitary operations in the
War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
.Yarosh assembles 'Donbas' special battalion
,
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...
(24 April 2014)
Ukraine's extremists forming battalion in Donetsk region
,
ITAR-TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...
(24 April 2014) On 22 April 2014, pro-Russian insurgents in Slovyansk detained American journalist
Simon Ostrovsky Simon Ostrovsky (russian: Симо́н Остро́вский; born ) is an American documentary filmmaker and journalist. Best-known for his coverage of the Russo-Ukrainian War for ''VICE News'', he reported extensively on events that unfolde ...
for several days on suspicion of spying for the group. Right Sector was officially registered as a political party by the
Ukrainian Ministry of Justice The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство юстиції України) is the main body in the system of central government of Ukraine that regulates state legal policy. It is often abbreviated as "Мinjust" f Ukraine It ...
on 22 May 2014. A regional chief told ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' that it was less interested in running for office than in getting politicians to keep their promises. In the 25 May 2014 presidential race Yarosh received 127,000 votes, 0.7% of the total cast.
 In a mid-May 2014 poll by the sociological group
Rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...
, the party itself scored 1.7%. On 13 June 2014, a prosecutor's office in Kyiv was stormed by people who claimed to be Right Sector activists. Yarosh denied his organization's involvement and claimed that he could not have given orders to picket "the man who helped Euromaidan". On 15 October 2014, around 125 masked men with Right Sector insignia blocked the company
Zaporizhstal Zaporizhstal ( uk, Запорізький металургійний комбінат «Запоріжсталь») is Ukraine's fourth-largest steel maker with an annual capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of steel, 3.3 million tonnes of pig iron, an ...
; Right Sector denied involvement in this blockade and labelled it as an attempt to discredit the organization. In the
2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May.single-member district A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...
number 39 located in Vasylkivka Raion with 29.76% of the votes.
 The party had competed in 35 districts. Yarosh did not join a faction in the
Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
(Ukraine's parliament). In the same election, Boryslav Bereza, Right Sector's chief of information, also won a seat as an independent candidate by winning a district in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
with 29.44% of the votes. Bereza also did not join a faction. Right Sector did not take part in the October 2015 Ukrainian local elections.


2015 clash with Ukraine's special security service

On 10 July 2015, Ukrainian government forces clashed with Right Sector forces in the city of
Mukacheve Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...
, located in Western Ukraine. Two people were killed. According to President of Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...
's
parliamentary faction A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...
leader
Yuriy Lutsenko Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko ( uk, Юрій Віталійович Луценко; born 14 December 1964) is a Ukrainian politician whose most recent post was Prosecutor General of Ukraine from 12 May 2016d from D, or d, is the fourth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Le ...
the conflict of interests between illegal armed groups and a mafia overtly cooperating with law enforcers." Some local leaders indicated the conflict ensued when Right Sector forces attempted to clamp down on the lucrative illegal cigarette smuggling trade to Western Europe, in which local law enforcement have been complicit. Immediate fallout from the events included the sacking of the leadership of the local Zakarpatya district customs service. Ukrainian MP Mykhailo Lanyo, fingered in the smuggling ring, reportedly fled Ukraine. Right Sector leader Yarosh called for calm, and denied that Right Sector troops were being withdrawn from eastern Ukraine.


After Yarosh's departure

Yarosh resigned as Right Sector leader on 11 November 2015.Yarosh quits as Right Sector leader
,
Interfax Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company publishes in ...
(11 November 2015)
Right Sector chief Yarosh resigns, cedes leadership role of group
,
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...
(11 November 2015) Late December 2015 he announced that he was forming a new political party that would start in February 2016. In February 2016 he started a new organisation called ''
Governmental Initiative of Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliyovych Yarosh ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Я́рош; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Right Sector's Ukrainian Vol ...
''. The departure of Yarosh resulted in at least 20% of Right Sector members leaving with him. At a party congress of 19 March 2016, Andriy Tarasenko was elected chairman of Right Sector.Right Sector declares ambitious plans to partake in elections
,
UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...
(23 March 2016)
"Right Sector" elected new chairman
, ''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...
'' (19 March 2016) Before
Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...
, he and Yarosh were the leading figures of
Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...
(Tryzub). Tarasenko vowed in March 2016 that Right Sector would take part in all
elections in Ukraine Elections in Ukraine are held to choose the president (head of state), Verkhovna Rada (legislature), and local governments. Referendums may be held on special occasions. Ukraine has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which often not ...
. On 19 November 2018 Right Sector and fellow
Ukrainian nationalist Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...
political organizations
Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists The Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists ( uk, Конгрес українських націоналістів ''Konhres ukrayinskykh natsionalistiv'') is a far-right political party in Ukraine. It was founded on October 18, 1992, and registered wit ...
,
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists ( uk, Організація українських націоналістів, Orhanizatsiya ukrayins'kykh natsionalistiv, abbreviated OUN) was a Ukrainian ultranationalist political organization estab ...
and C14 endorsed
Ruslan Koshulynskyi Ruslan Volodymyrovych Koshulynskyi ( uk, Руслан Володимирович Кошулинський; born 9 September 1969) is a Ukrainian politician, nationalist, soldier, and former People's Deputy of Ukraine who served as the 9th Deputy S ...
candidacy in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election. In the election Koshulynskyi received 1.6% of the votes. In the
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolv ...
, Right Sector joined a united party list with the political parties Svoboda, Governmental Initiative of Yarosh and
National Corps The National Corps ( uk, Національний корпус, Natsionalnyi korpus), also known as the National Corps Party, and previously called the Patriots of Ukraine, is a far-right political party in Ukraine founded in 2016 and then led by ...
.Yarosh, Tyagnibok and Biletsky have all formed a single list for the elections
, Glavcom (9 June 2019) Yarosh was placed third on this party list, while Tarasenko placed fourth. In the election, they won 2.15% of the votes, less than half of the 5% election threshold, and no parliamentary seats via the national party list.CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections
,
Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...
(26 July 2019)Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019
, ''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...
'' (21 July 2019) The party did also not win a single-mandate constituency parliamentary seat. In the 2020 Ukrainian local elections, the party gained 3 deputies (mathematically this was about 0.00% of all available mandates). On 2 November 2021, Yarosh said on social media he had been appointed Adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In response to a (December 2021) request by ''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...
'' the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Генеральний штаб Збройних сил України) is the military staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and ov ...
refused to disclose details of its alleged cooperation with Yarosh citing the confidentiality of the information requested. Prior to this request the (army) post of public advisers had been liquidated.The General Staff does not recognize the role of Yarosh. He inspected his volunteer army
, ''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...
'' (13 December 2021) In January 2022, captain Dmytro Kotsyubaylo "Da Vinci" was awarded the title
Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...
and decorated with the Order of the Golden Star for courage on the battlefield by the president of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
.


Paramilitary operations

Right Sector seized military weaponry from an Interior Ministry arsenal in western Ukraine, near Lviv, towards the end of the Maidan revolution. Right Sector delivered some weapons to Ukrainian authorities in the aftermath of the revolution, and kept others. Following the collapse of the Yanukovych government, with police having largely abandoned the streets of Kyiv, groups of young men, including members of Right Sector, patrolled them armed mostly with baseball bats and sometimes with guns. According to Yarosh, Right Sector has recruited retired officers of the interior ministry and the security agencies. He told ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' that, "as in any army", it has specialists who are trained to use S-300 antiaircraft missiles. As of 2022, the group remains armed and operative; in an interview with
Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
in late 2015,
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...
stated that Right Sector was going to be disarmed and taken out of operations in
Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...
.


Ukrainian Volunteer Corps

Right Sector has its own volunteer battalion that is fighting in the
War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, the
Ukrainian Volunteer Corps The Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps () or simply the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps (), is the paramilitary arm of far-right Ukrainian nationalist party Right Sector. The Ukrainian Volunteer Corps was founded on July 17, 2014, as one of the " ...
(). It was formed late April 2014. On 19 July 2014 Right Sector said it was ready to contribute 5,000 people to fight, if the military provided suitable combat equipment. Right Sector lost twelve fighters when ambushed outside
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...
in August 2014. Yarosh, the group's leader, vowed his group would avenge the deaths. On 17 August 2014 Right Sector accused the Interior Ministry of harbouring counterrevolutionary forces seeking to destroy the Ukrainian volunteer movement. It said that Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Yevdokimov's followers among the police had illegally searched or detained dozens of Right Sector volunteers and confiscated weapons they had taken in combat. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov replied, saying that he had already submitted a request to President of Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...
that Yevdokimov be dismissed. Right Sector's military unit includes about fifty citizens of Russia and Belarus as of 2015. Members come from all parts of Ukraine including the Donbass and Crimea, Russia and other former Soviet republics, and Western countries. In December 2015, group leader Dmytro Yarosh announced that the 5th and 8th battalions, and the medical battalion, would be incorporated into the
Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...
following his departure from Right Sector. The DUK, if possible, would become part of the
National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; uk, Націона́льна гва́рдія Украї́ни, Natsionalna hvardiia Ukrainy, , ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and Internal Troops, internal military force. It is part of the Minist ...
and will in the near future report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs or would be incorporated into the
Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the Army, land forces of Ukraine and one of the five Military branch, branches of the Armed For ...
. In December 2015 the DUK was reformed into the Ukrainian Volunteer Army (). In the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Right Sector volunteers fought in the
Siege of Mariupol The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May 2022, as part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces (alongside the Donetsk People's Militia) and the Ukrainian Armed ...
and
Eastern Ukraine offensive The eastern Ukraine campaign is a theatre of operation in the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that affects three provinces (oblasts) in the eastern part of Ukraine: Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast (collectively the Donbas) and K ...
. In the latter operation, Taras Bobanych, commander of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps's 2nd Separate Battalion, was killed near
Izium Izium or Izyum ( uk, Ізюм, ; russian: Изюм) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion (district). Izium hosts the administration of Izium urban ...
.


Ideology


Description by the party

The party's ideology is based on the Ukrainian national idea. The party believes that idea of a nation is more broad than the concept of people as ethnos, yet nothing even close to the cosmopolitan concept of "political nation", with nation being a conscious and effective unity of people united around the idea of freedom that is based on ethno-social and spiritually cultural factors. According to the party,
Ukrainian nationalism Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...
is an ideology of national freedom, freedom of people, and person; an idea and cause in the name of Ukraine; an ideology of defense, preservation, and state assertion of the Ukrainian nation; and a philosophy of national existence. The main component of Right Sector's natiocentric outlook is natio-existential ''Shevchenko Thought'', based on protection, development, and revival of the nation based on national imperative or absolute order. According to its literature, an idealistic worldview is intrinsic to Ukrainian nationalism.


Descriptions in scholarly work

Scholars
Andreas Umland Andreas Umland (born 1967) is a political scientist studying contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history as well as regime transitions. He has published on the post-Soviet extreme right, municipal decentralization, European fascism, post-communis ...
and Anton Shekhovtsov wrote in 2014 that Right Sector formed as a loose collection of small groups, outside parliament, that were ultraconservative and included a neo-Nazi fringe. In 2021 political scientists Daniel Odin Shaw and Huseyn Aliyev described Right Sector as ultranationalist, and described the paramilitary arm of Right Sector, the UDA, as holding a "generic form of Ukrainian ultranationalism", which allowed the inclusion of ethnic minorities, including Muslim
Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...
and
Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...
, and ethnic Jews, Poles, Hungarians, Greeks, and
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
.


Descriptions in the press

Right Sector has been described by ''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'' as a "Ukrainian nationalist group" and an "umbrella organization of far-right groups", while ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' has described it as a "radical right-wing group ... a coalition of militant ultra-nationalists", with an ideology that "borders on fascism". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' has described it as a "nationalist group" and a "coalition of once-fringe Ukrainian nationalist groups". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' has identified it as a "nationalist Ukrainian group",
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
as a "far-right nationalist group",
Agence France Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D. ...
as a "far-right" group, and ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' as an "umbrella group for far-right activists and ultranationalists". ''
Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...
'', the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', and ''
Le Monde diplomatique ''Le Monde diplomatique'' (meaning "The Diplomatic World" in French) is a French monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. The publication is owned by Le Monde diplomatique SA, a subsidiary com ...
'' have described some of Right Sector's constituent groups as radical right-wing, neofascist, or neo-Nazi, but also that it distanced itself from antisemitism. ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' stated that the party espouse neo-Nazi ideology. Writing for ''
Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
'', Hannah Kozlowska stated that Russian propaganda tried to demonize the Ukraine government and build a case for the annexation of Crimea by depicting Right Sector as a powerful neo-Nazi force bent on taking over the government. During the first half of 2014, Right Sector was the second-most mentioned political group in online Russian mass media. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
has called it a "radical ultranationalist group ... demonized by Russian state propaganda as fascists". The AP reported that it had found no evidence of hate crimes by the group. The
Russian News & Information Agency RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asset ...
has portrayed Right Sector as a "radical far right opposition group" and said that "Russian state media have tried to cast the demonstrations as a predominantly Fascism-inspired movement".


Other Ukrainians and political parties

In an interview, Yarosh stated that Right Sector and Svoboda "have a lot of common positions when it comes to ideological questions," but that Right Sector "absolutely do s't accept certain racist things they voboda membersshare." Tarasenko cited
Stepan Bandera Stepan Andriyovych Bandera ( uk, Степа́н Андрі́йович Банде́ра, Stepán Andríyovych Bandéra, ; pl, Stepan Andrijowycz Bandera; 1 January 1909 – 15 October 1959) was a Ukrainian far-right leader of the radical, terr ...
, stating: "We are enemies to those saying that there sno Ukraine, or
Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
, or …
Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...
." According to journalist Oleg Shynkarenko, Yarosh has indicated that Right Sector opposes
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
and has also implied that the right of the nation trumps human rights. ''The New York Times'' has written that "Right Sector, a coalition of ultranationalist and in some cases neo-Nazi organizations," has attempted to distance itself from antisemitism, citing Yarosh's pledge to fight racism in Ukraine. According to ''Spiegel Online'', Dmytro Yarosh has stated that antisemitism is not a part of Right Sector's ideology. Tarasenko has stated that the group has no "phobias", that it respects every other nation, and that it supports the
nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
model.


Attitude towards Europe

Right Sector's website says that its members distrust the "imperial ambitions" of both Russia and the West. Yarosh told ''
Spiegel Online ''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON''). It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wit ...
'' that anti-Christian organizations are in active operation in the European Union and that the European Commission, rather than the member nation, has control of lifestyles such as gay marriage. The authors note that Yarosh studied linguistics. See generally '' Webster's Third'', s.v. "totalitarianism" ("1. Centralized control by an autocratic … hierarchy regarded as infallible."). He does not see Europe or NATO as a potential partner and believes that they are part of a coalition against Ukraine.


Domestic policy

Right Sector has the position that the population should keep and bear arms, as in Switzerland. Yarosh told ''The New York Times'' that the organization's lawyers were drafting a bill modeled on Swiss notions of firearms possession.


Moral issues and crimes

According to historian and political scientist
Andreas Umland Andreas Umland (born 1967) is a political scientist studying contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history as well as regime transitions. He has published on the post-Soviet extreme right, municipal decentralization, European fascism, post-communis ...
, Right Sector is ultra- Christian conservative and radical-right nationalist. On 2 June 2015, the party sent an open letter to
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyivpride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
to be held two days later citing "danger of provocations". The letter also quoted
Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major ar ...
of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...
Sviatoslav Shevchuk stating "Ukraine rejects the false values as gender ideology".A letter to the mayor of Kyiv to hold so-called "March of Equality"
, Right Sector official website (2 June 2015) The letter also claimed Europeans still have an ambiguous attitude about "
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...
" stating "in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
abortion is banned in general, not to mention
same-sex marriages Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
". In a Facebook post on 6 June 2015, Right Sector leader
Dmytro Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliyovych Yarosh ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Я́рош; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Right Sector's Ukrainian Vol ...
claimed the gay pride parade "spit on the graves of those who died and defended Ukraine", and promised that the group's members will "put aside other business in order to prevent those who hate family, morality, and human nature, from executing their plans. We have other things to do, but we'll have to deal with this evil too."Right Sector threatens Kyiv gay pride march
,
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...
(6 June 2015) Right Sector spokesman Artem Skoropadskyi stated about the pride parade that "gay propaganda is destructive and doing harm to our Christian nation, we can't allow that". The pride parade was held, and during the march five policemen were injured in scuffles after unidentified people attacked the rally with smoke bombs and stones. Right Sector denounced the violence, and Skoropadskyi stated: "We can't beat weak persons like gays – that's a disgrace!" According to the report by
UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis ...
on 4 May 2016, Right Sector is one of "potentially violent militias that acted seemingly on their own authority, thanks to a high level of official toleration, and with almost complete impunity, both in the
Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...
region and in wider Ukraine" that "use violence or threats of violence to exert pressure on persons holding dissenting views, the judicial system and other mechanisms of accountability": "The Special Rapporteur is concerned by cases of physical attacks on journalists, writers, defence lawyers and judges, including the cases of
Oles Buzina Oles Alekseevich Buzina ( ua, Оле́сь Олексі́йович Бузина́, translit=Oles Oleksiyovych Buzyna; 13 July 1969 – 16 April 2015) was a Ukraine, Ukrainian journalist and writer known for his criticism of Ukrainian politi ...
(who was killed in April 2015 in Kyiv) and
Sergei Dolgov Sergei Dolgov, also transliterated as Sergey or Serhiy, (ca. 1964), was a Ukrainian journalist from Russia who served as editor for the ''Vestnik Pryazovya'' and ''Khochu v SSSR'' in Mariupol, Ukraine before he went missing. He was notorious for pr ...
(who was arrested or disappeared on 18 June 2014 by masked armed men in civilian clothes in
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...
and whose whereabouts continue to be undetermined despite indications that he might have been killed). The Special Rapporteur is also concerned at an apparent pattern of intimidation of lawyers and judges by civilian armed groups in connection with their defence or investigation work related to the violence of 2 May 2014." Neither of Buzyna's accused killers (Andrey Medvedko and Denis Polischuk) nor those accused of abducting Dologov (the SBU / Anti-Terrorist Center) are associated with Right Sector, though Polischuk belonged to UNSO, whose political arm later merged into Right Sector.


Component groups

Academic and media sources have described some of Right Sector's constituent groups as right-wing nationalist,
ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...
,
neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration s ...
, right-wing, far right, ultra-conservative, paramilitary, and including neo-Nazi elements. A plurality or majority of Right Sector's members belong to street fighting soccer-fan clubs, or have no specific affiliation.


Sich

Sich A sich ( uk, січ), or sech, was an administrative and military centre of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The word ''sich'' derives from the Ukrainian verb сікти ''siktý'', "to chop" – with the implication of clearing a forest for an encampme ...
(Carpathian Sich, ''Карпатська Січ'') is a
Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
battalion from
Transcarpathia Transcarpathia may refer to: Place * relative term, designating any region beyond the Carpathians (lat. ''trans-'' / beyond, over), depending on a point of observation * Romanian Transcarpathia, designation for Romanian regions on the inner or ...
. Its name derives from the Ukrainian Cossack term for a command and administrative center.


Tryzub (Trident)

Tryzub is a far-right Ukrainian paramilitary organization founded in 1993 by the
Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists The Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists ( uk, Конгрес українських націоналістів ''Konhres ukrayinskykh natsionalistiv'') is a far-right political party in Ukraine. It was founded on October 18, 1992, and registered wit ...
(former Bandera faction of the
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists ( uk, Організація українських націоналістів, Orhanizatsiya ukrayins'kykh natsionalistiv, abbreviated OUN) was a Ukrainian ultranationalist political organization estab ...
). Its full name is the
Stepan Bandera Stepan Andriyovych Bandera ( uk, Степа́н Андрі́йович Банде́ра, Stepán Andríyovych Bandéra, ; pl, Stepan Andrijowycz Bandera; 1 January 1909 – 15 October 1959) was a Ukrainian far-right leader of the radical, terr ...
All-Ukrainian Organization "Tryzub" and states that its main goal is to create a Ukrainian united independent state. According to Tryzub, its enemies in achieving this goal are ″imperialism and chauvinism, fascism and communism, cosmopolitanism and pseudo-nationalism, totalitarianism and anarchy, any evil that seeks to parasitize on the sweat and blood of Ukrainians″.


Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self-Defense

The Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self-Defense (UNA–UNSO) is a Ukrainian political organization perceived as far-right in Ukraine and abroad. The faction supplied a volunteer battalion that in 1993 participated in the war in Abkhazia, which was depicted in a documentary film ''Shadows of War'' by
Georgiy Gongadze Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and film director who was kidn ...
. While the Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) acted as the organization's legal political party-wing; on 22 May 2014 it merged into Right Sector. The UNA-UNSO continues to operate independently.


Legal status

After the start of the
Russian-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revo ...
, many volunteers formed their own groups as territorial defense battalions; however, these battalions were legal parts of various Ukrainian security agencies, most of them serving under the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Interior. Their volunteers were required to follow orders of the commanders appointed to these agencies. In May 2014, the group became registered as a social organization under Ukrainian law. The status of the Volunteer Ukrainian Corps is not official.


Election results


Verkhovna Rada


Presidential elections


References


External links


official site (in Ukrainian)

official site (English version)

Briefing No. 27 .pdf Ukraine’s volunteer battalions – advantages and challenge
article by Margaret Klein for Swedish Defence Research Agency {{Authority control 2014 establishments in Ukraine 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Euromaidan Eurosceptic parties in Ukraine Far-right political parties in Ukraine Nationalist parties in Ukraine Organizations that oppose LGBT rights Political parties established in 2014 Ukrainian nationalism Neo-Nazism in Ukraine Neo-fascist parties Ukrainian nationalist organizations Conservative parties in Ukraine Right-wing parties in Europe