Return of the “Black International”: Neo-Nazis flock to St. Petersburg after invitation by Russia’s “Orthodox” oligarch Konstantin Malofeev

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The fascist gathering was preceded by a massive religious procession in St. Petersburg, led by Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Participants included activists from Malofeev’s Tsargrad and Double-Headed Eagle, as well as the Academics Brotherhood and far-right members from at least two foreign groups: Hungary’s 64 Counties Movement (HVIM) and Belgium’s Nation.

The congress at the Mariinsky Palace was opened by Konstantin Malofeyev and far-right ideologue Alexander Dugin. A greeting from Alexander Belsky, speaker of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, was read aloud at the opening, though Belsky himself did not attend. Despite the scale of the event, the first reports of the gathering appeared only on Sept. 22-23, ten days after it had wrapped up. The event’s organizers and participants differed on the key statistics: Malofeev and Double-Headed Eagle claimed delegates came from 15 organizations, while HVIM reported that representatives of 20 groups from 14 countries attended.

At the conclusion of the meeting, delegates announced the creation of the International Sovereigntist League “Paladins” (known in Russian as the “International Anti-Globalist League”). Its declared goals included “defending Christian values and traditional foundations” while opposing migration, globalism, and the so-called “LGBT movement.” The published declaration said members intend to coordinate their actions, exchange political and media experience, and provide mutual support in legal and financial matters.

The name “Paladins” references a group founded in the 1970s by former SS officer Otto Skorzeny and linked to the World Anti-Communist League. Skorzeny’s Paladin Group was a paramilitary organization responsible for kidnappings, assassinations, and a terrorist attack at Rome’s airport that killed 32 people.

A shameful partnership

In their posts about the international congress, Konstantin Malofeev and his Double-Headed Eagle organization did not name a single foreign speaker or participating group. Malofeyev also omitted any mention of his own organizing role, merely writing:

“In the imperial capital of the Russian state, the founding conference of the International League of Anti-Globalists ‘Paladins’ took place. More than 50 delegates from three continents and 15 right-wing patriotic organizations came to St. Petersburg.”

Malofeev’s media outlet Tsargrad simply reposted his message. The Academics Brotherhood made no mention of the event at all, while Double-Headed Eagle was the only group to openly acknowledge its role in organizing the gathering:

“Friends, we are proud to announce that the many years of effort by Double-Headed Eagle in the international arena have borne their first tangible fruit — the founding conference of the International League of Anti-Globalists ‘Paladins’ took place in the imperial capital of Russia, St. Petersburg!”

At the same time, several foreign far-right organizations directly confirmed their participation, with Hungary’s 64 Counties Movement (HVIM) disclosing details of how the event was organized. In its post, HVIM wrote that the organizers were not only Double-Headed Eagle but also the Academics Brotherhood, noting that both groups belong to the umbrella structure Tsargrad.

HVIM and the Belgian far-right group Nation published numerous photos from the congress, revealing attendees who had not publicly acknowledged their presence. The photos also showed that representatives from these organizations took part in the preceding religious procession.

Both HVIM and Nation, however, appeared uneasy about their participation in an Orthodox Christian procession and later sought to justify it to their audiences:

“The overwhelming majority of the 60,000 participants — only Pride events can mobilize this many people in the Western world — were young people, unlike similar events in the West and Hungary, and there was no sign of awkwardness or pretentiousness in a negative sense; on the contrary, the event radiated real strength.”

The nationalists from Belgium attempted a similar explanation:

“NATION, of course, has not become a religious movement. But clearly, in Russia, the Orthodox Christian faith is not only strong and widespread, but it also has a patriotic connotation that is inconceivable in Western Europe. It was therefore natural to agree to participate, which allowed us to meet a believing and patriotic population.”

Not everyone on the European far right approved. Other nationalist movements quickly denounced the trip to Russia. The Europa Revival Telegram channel urged Polish nationalists to boycott HVIM and Spain’s Democracia Nacional at an upcoming nationalist gathering in Poland, citing Dugin’s “imperialist” rhetoric (which includes statements such as “Poland is ours”). Meanwhile, the neo-Nazi brand Runic Storm shared a list of all participating groups, calling the congress “pro-Russian” and accusing its attendees of “pseudo-nationalism.”

From Hungary to Argentina: A full list of participants

The Insider identified all the organizations whose delegates took part in the congress:

• Double-Headed Eagle and Brotherhood of Academics, part of Tsargrad (Russia)
• Golden Dawn (Greece)
• Forza Nuova, Lealtà Azione, Rete dei Patrioti (Italy)
• Falange Española de las JONS, Democracia Nacional, Málaga 1487 (Spain)
• Les Nationalistes, Nouvelle Droite (France)
• Nation (Belgium)
• 64 Counties Movement (HVIM) (Hungary)
• Srpska Akcija and Narodna Patrola (Serbia)
• Bittereinders (South Africa)
• Condor 8 (Argentina)
• UNR (Mexico)
• Nova Resistência (Brazil)
• Patriotic Alternative (PA) (United Kingdom)
• Alternative for Germany (AfD) (Germany)

Here’s what some of them represent.

Golden Dawn (Greece)

One of Europe’s most infamous neo-Nazi parties, Golden Dawn was founded by Nikolaos Michaloliakos and held seats in the Greek parliament from 2012 to 2019, at one point becoming the country’s third-largest political faction. The party promoted an openly anti-immigrant and racist agenda, glorified Nazi Germany, and invoked the ideals of the “Spartan state.” According to its charter, only “Aryans by blood and Greeks by descent” were eligible for party membership.

Golden Dawn members took part in violent attacks on migrants and political opponents. In 2013, a party activist stabbed to death anti-fascist musician Pavlos Fyssas, a turning point that led to a years-long investigation. In 2020, an Athens appeals court ruled that Golden Dawn was a criminal organization, sentencing Michaloliakos and other senior members to lengthy prison terms.

The group, however, claims it is not formally banned and that it remains a “legitimate political force.” Its supporters continue to hold public events and issue statements. In September 2025, its official and affiliated platforms published reports on commemorative gatherings.

Forza Nuova, Lealtà Azione, Rete dei Patrioti (Italy)

Three Italian organizations participated in the St. Petersburg congress: Forza Nuova, Lealtà Azione, and Rete dei Patrioti, though, according to Belgium’s Nation, Forza Nuova joined remotely.

Forza Nuova is a neo-fascist party founded in 1997 by Roberto Fiore and Massimo Morsello. It advocates “national reconstruction,” rejects immigration, abortion, and LGBTQ rights, and promotes Catholic traditionalism and Euroscepticism. In the 1980s, Fiore and Morsello fled to London following an investigation into the 1980 Bologna train station bombing, returning to Italy only in the late 1990s.

Although it never gained significant parliamentary representation, Forza Nuova is known for street violence and ties to far-right groups across Europe. In 2021, its activists stormed the headquarters of Italy’s largest trade union, and in 2022, party members took part in a controversial funeral procession in Rome that featured Nazi flags. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Forza Nuova openly expressed support for Moscow, and some members reportedly fought on the Russian side.

Lealtà Azione (“Loyalty Action”) is an ultranationalist movement founded by former members of the Milan branch of the neo-Nazi network Hammerskins. The group brands itself as “traditionalist” and “civic,” but its activists regularly hold torchlight marches, honor Mussolini’s soldiers, and express public admiration for ideologues like Dugin. Lealtà Azione frequently stages rallies alongside Forza Nuova and CasaPound: in 2021, members in Milan gave Nazi salutes during a joint event, and in December 2022, they organized a torchlit march under the banner of “peace” — calling for an end to Western military aid to Ukraine, lifting sanctions on Russia, and opening negotiations with Vladimir Putin. In September 2024, the group held a performance in Milan featuring a banner that read “Russians, you are our brothers!” Pyrotechnics were also involved, footage of which was later shared by Russia’s Double-Headed Eagle.

Rete dei Patrioti (“Network of Patriots”) is a federation of far-right communities, clubs, and movements that emerged in Italy in the 2020s as an effort to coordinate local nationalist initiatives. The organization’s manifestos warn of “demographic winter,” “Masonic globalism,” and a “non-European invasion.” On social media, it promotes campaigns under the slogan “Remigrazione” (“reverse migration”), calling for the deportation of non-European newcomers to the country. The group participates in street demonstrations and frequently uses rhetoric centered on “defending the traditional family” and “restoring order.”

In August 2022, one of the group’s delegates appeared at a small protest outside a villa allegedly owned by Volodymyr Zelensky in Forte dei Marmi, where activists unfurled a banner reading: “Stop arming the comedian-militarist.”

Serbian “brothers”

Two Serbian organizations took part in the St. Petersburg gathering: the ultranationalist Narodna Patrola (“People’s Patrol”), and the radical Orthodox nationalist Srbska Akcija (“Serbian Action”).

Narodna Patrola is known for its aggressive anti-migrant agenda. The group regularly stages street patrols claiming to “ensure safety” in areas where the “corrupt regime” and police “fail to act.” In practice, its actions often involve intimidation and assaults on people of Middle Eastern or African appearance. On social media, the group runs campaigns against what it calls “population replacement” and “transit migration routes,” combining slogans about “defending Serbian streets” with traditionalist and anti-globalist rhetoric.

Representing Narodna Patrola at the forum was Damjan Knežević, an organizer of pro-Russian rallies in Belgrade. In March 2022, far-right groups held a “rally in support of the Russian people” in the Serbian capital, where Knežević declared that “every Serb has Russian brothers.”

Knežević has been an outspoken supporter of Russia’s war against Ukraine. In November 2020, he visited the Wagner Group Center in St. Petersburg, bringing a Russian flag inscribed with “Donbas — Russia, Kosovo — Serbia.” Then, in August 2023, he traveled to Donbas on a “humanitarian mission.”

Another Serbian group that was public about taking part in the gathering, Srbska Akcija, openly glorifies Dimitrije Ljotić, a World War II Nazi collaborator and leader of the pro-Nazi Serbian Volunteer Corps. Srbska Akcija’s ideology blends clerical nationalism with social populism, rejecting liberal democracy and capitalism while advocating a “national-social order” under strong authoritarian rule and Orthodox monarchy.

Its manifestos call for the “spiritual rebirth” of Serbs, make territorial claims on neighboring regions, and propose a strategic alliance with Russia and Belarus. The group’s symbolism combines Christian motifs with traditional nationalist imagery.

The reserved Germans

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was the only international organization whose participation was not explicitly acknowledged in far-right media coverage. The face of its representative, Robert Risch, a member of the Hamburg city parliament, was deliberately blurred in most photos from the event. Risch did not respond to The Insider’s questions about the purpose of his trip or why the organizers concealed his identity.

Evidence that Risch attended as an AfD delegate comes from a report by Hungary’s 64 Counties Movement (HVIM), which mentioned a delegation from an unnamed German organization. No other German groups were present, and Risch was photographed sitting at the table marked “Germany.”

The mysterious “Academics”

The Russian Academics Brotherhood (Bratstvo Akademistov), also linked to the event, did not publicly acknowledge its participation either, though numerous photos show members attending. The group has avoided mentioning the “Paladins” or foreign far-right movements on its Russian-language pages — yet on its English-language Telegram channel, several posts have already appeared promoting the newly created channel ISL Paladins.

Founded in 2020 under the patronage of Konstantin Malofeev and his media empire Tsargrad, the Academics Brotherhood presents itself as a student organization that quickly expanded to major universities across Russia — from Moscow’s MGIMO and St. Petersburg State University to Ural Federal University and Kazan Federal University — as well as to the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. The group brands itself as the “future national elite of Russia” and “builders of the new Russian Empire.”

Its social media mixes images of fancy-dress balls and “wine symposia” with reports on military training, volunteer trips to the front lines, and “humanitarian aid” collections for the Russian army.

The Brotherhood promotes monarchist ideals, a cult-like reverence for Pyotr Stolypin, and a far-right conservative agenda. The organization maintains close ties with Tsargrad and the affiliated Double-Headed Eagle Federation of Traditional Sports. Its coordinator Nikita Izyumov works directly with Malofeyev. The group’s stated goals include shaping “ideologically correct youth” with the aim of promoting them into universities and government institutions and preparing loyal cadres for a “future empire.”

The Brotherhood also operates its own international Telegram channel, which it uses to coordinate activities with foreign far-right groups. In April 2025, the Academics reported a “joint action in support of Syrian Christians” together with Serbia’s Srbska Akcija and Narodna Patrola, Greece’s Youth Front (the youth wing of Golden Dawn), France’s Les Nationalistes, South Africa’s Bittereinders, Hungary’s 64 Counties Movement, Argentina’s Condor 8, and several Italian and Spanish neo-fascist groups.

In May 2025, the same channel published details of another “joint action against migration” with the same partners, this time joined by the UK’s Patriotic Alternative and Spain’s Falange Española, all of which later participated in the St. Petersburg congress.

Faces of the “Paladins”

The names of those who attended the far-right congress were mentioned even less frequently than the names of participating organizations. The vast majority of guests, including the heads of the delegations, were not identified publicly. However, The Insider was able to confirm the identities of more than 20 participants and profiled the most prominent among them.

Russia

Aside from Konstantin Malofeev and Alexander Dugin, who served as the key figures of the congress, several other Russian participants were present:

• Konstantin Chebykin, a lawmaker in St. Petersburg’s Legislative Assembly representing the country’s ruling party, United Russia.
  
• Vladislav Evpyatyev, head of the St. Petersburg branch of the Academics Brotherhood.
  
• Yevgeny Yermolayev, a member of the Academics (Belgium’s Nation referred to Yermolayev as the Academics’ president).
  
• Andrei Solovyov, another member of the Academics (identified by The Insider through his now-private VKontakte account).
  
• Vladislav Malyshev, a priest who ministered to victims of the bombing that killed pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky; Malyshev later received an award for “patriotic education.”

Hungary

Hungary’s 64 Counties Youth Movement (HVIM) sent the largest delegation to St. Petersburg, with eight people in total. In a post about the trip, the movement wrote that the “demonization of the sons of this [Russian] nation” had only “fueled the delegates’ curiosity.”

HVIM’s representative at the congress was Tamás Boór, one of the main hosts of the movement’s video blog Mi Magunk (“We Ourselves”), where Boór interviews other far-right activists — including Russians — and discusses topics such as “Hungarian rainbow families,” the spread of “LGBT propaganda” in Hungary, and the killing of Darya Dugina, Alexander Dugin’s daughter.

Argentina

Among the Argentine participants, The Insider identified Diego Pappalardo, a journalist and vice president of the Sovereignty Expert-Analytical Association.

Little is known about the organization, which describes itself as a think tank dedicated to “promoting the idea of multipolar sovereignty.” It claims its mission is to “foster a deep understanding of sovereignty and geopolitics through meticulous research.” No references to the group or its other members could be found in major media outlets.

Pappalardo has authored articles discussing the apparent decline of NATO and criticizing the “Anglo-American centripetal approach” to relations with South America.

Germany

Alongside Robert Risch, another German attendee was identified: former Hamburg city parliament member Olga Petersen, who also represented Alternative for Germany (AfD). Her presence was confirmed through a photograph from the event, as a woman with a distinctive collar and hairstyle was visible behind Risch. That same day, Petersen posted a picture of herself wearing the same blouse at Stakenschneider, a St. Petersburg restaurant where she celebrated her birthday.

Born in Omsk, Petersen moved to Hamburg with her parents at the age of 16. In June 2024, she returned to Russia with her children, claiming she faced threats from Germany’s “juvenile justice system.” German authorities denied this, saying the case involving Petersen concerned a problematic family situation.

Earlier in 2024, Petersen was expelled from the AfD and stripped of her mandate after traveling to Russia as an “election observer” during the presidential vote. She has filmed openly pro-Russian videos from close to the front line in Ukraine.

The Insider previously reported on Petersen in its Antifake column after the state-controlled Russian news agency RIA Novosti used her comments, falsely presenting her as a “former German lawmaker” and distorting their context.

Notably, Petersen was the only woman visibly present in photographs from the forum.

France

Perhaps the most prominent foreign attendee at the St.Petersburg conference was Yvan Benedetti, one of France’s best-known ultranationalist politicians. Benedetti leads the French far-right movement Les Nationalistes and also heads the Belgian group Nation. In 2012, he succeeded Pierre Sidos as leader of L’Œuvre Française, an organization later banned for its neo-Nazi ideology and glorification of the Vichy regime.

After being expelled from Marine Le Pen’s National Front for antisemitism (having joined the movement following the ban on his own group), Benedetti co-founded Jeunesses Nationalistes (“Nationalist Youth”) with Alexandre Gabriac, later becoming the main spokesman for Les Nationalistes. He has been convicted multiple times for making antisemitic statements and engaging in Holocaust denial.

In recent years, Benedetti has also been a vocal supporter of Russia. In 2024, he traveled to the city of Novosibirsk in western Siberia as an “international observer” for the Russian presidential election and publicly praised the conduct of the vote, which Vladimir Putin “won” despite widely reported falsifications and irregularities.

Another French participant, Alain de Benoist, joined the forum remotely via video link. De Benoist is the founder of the New Right (Nouvelle Droite) movement and head of the ethnonationalist think tank GRECE (Groupement de Recherche et d’Études pour la Civilisation Européenne). He opposes Christianity, human rights, representative democracy, and egalitarianism. His writings helped shape the idea of “ethnopluralism,” which advocates separating peoples along cultural and ethnic lines.

In his youth, de Benoist supported France’s colonial wars, justified apartheid in South Africa, and defended the “white minority” regime in Rhodesia. Later, he shifted toward “metapolitics” and intellectual criticism of liberalism. Although de Benoist rejects the label of “fascist,” researchers identify him as a central figure in European far-right revivalism. His ideas are frequently cited by identitarian movements and the American alt-right, though he has attempted to distance himself from that milieu. He has maintained ties with Russia since the late 1980s, having collaborated with Alexander Dugin and contributed to his publications.

Also appearing remotely was Alain Soral, one of France’s most controversial far-right activists. Born Alain Bonnet, Soral began his career as a Marxist. However, by the 2000s, he had shifted to hard-right politics, founding the movement Égalité & Réconciliation (“Equality and Reconciliation”).

Soral is one of France’s leading conspiracy theorists, known for promoting antisemitic ideas, Holocaust denial, and homophobic and anti-feminist rhetoric. He has been repeatedly prosecuted and fined for antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and incitement to hatred

In recent years, Soral has aligned himself with pro-Iranian circles and, following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, publicly defended the group’s actions — prompting a French investigation on charges of “justifying terrorism.”