WotanJugend may be recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia

Russia plans to recognize the neo-Nazi organization WotanJugend as terrorist and ban it. This was reported by a source of Izvestiya on December 2.

The community was created in 2012 by Russian citizen Alexei Levkin, who is now registered in Kiev. Representatives of the association mainly belong to the Slavic neo-pagan sect of Rodnovers. WotanJugend cells exist in Moscow, Tver, Ryazan, Izhevsk, Penza, Belgorod, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities. In addition, there are branches in Kiev and in the Czech Republic.

The members of the association actively cooperate with international nationalist groups, participating in their events outside the Russian Federation. In 2012-2014, WotanJugend activists organized 25 nationalist concerts and festivals, where 40 Russian and foreign musical performers performed. In addition, the association holds martial arts tournaments and trainings in shooting and mine blast training.

In April 2016, law enforcers conducted 24 searches of members of Russian WotanJugend cells in seven regions of Russia. They seized live firearms and cold steel weapons, ammunition, extremist literature and symbols from the neo-Nazis. The founder of the association, Levkin, a native of Tver, in turn, was arrested in absentia in 2018 in the case of participation in an extremist community (part 2 of article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and incitement to hatred or hostility (part 1 of article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and was put on an international wanted list.

After the start of the special operation to protect Donbass, Levkin and underground cells of the organization supported Ukrainian nationalists. At the time of the start of the SWO, the founder of WotanJugend served in an assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), and in the spring of 2023 participated in an attempted invasion of the Belgorod region as part of the "Russian Volunteer Corps" together with the "Legion "Freedom of Russia" (both organizations are recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia).

Now Levkin recruits fighters in the AFU, calls for terrorist attacks on Russian territory and spreads fakes about the actions of the Russian army. His girlfriend Ekaterina Stefanovskaya, a native of Perm, lives in Ukraine and takes part in paramilitary activities.

Earlier, on October 5, Russia recognized the group "Concept A.N.V. (Vanguard of People's Will)" as a terrorist group, the Central District Military Court ruled accordingly. The members of this organization in August 2022 assembled an explosive device and wanted to test it near CHP-2 in Tyumen, but law enforcers detained them. In addition, the members of the group planned terrorist attacks in other parts of Russia.