National Bolshevik Party

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Lead too short Template:Infobox political party The National Bolshevik Party (Template:Langx, NBP) operated from 1993 to 2007 as a Russian political party with a political program of National Bolshevism. The NBP became a prominent member of The Other Russia coalition of opposition parties.<ref name="sptimesrussia.com">Stolyarova, Galina (6 March 2007) Thousands Take to City Streets for Protest. Sptimesrussia.com. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref> Its members are known as Nazbols (Template:Langx).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

There have been smaller NBP groups in other countries. Its official publication, the newspaper Limonka, derived its name from the party leader's surname and from the idiomatic Russian word for a grenade. The main editor of Limonka was for many years, Aleksey Volynets. Russian courts banned the organization and it never officially registered as a political party. In 2010, its leader Eduard Limonov founded a new political party, called The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov.<ref name="autogenerated1">Лимонов готов стать гламурным политиком. Ng.ru (12 July 2010). Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref>

Ideology

Template:National Bolshevism

Party platform

File:Evstafiev-neo-bolsheviks.jpg
Members of the National Bolshevik Party at a protest rally in Moscow with a copy of the Limonka newspaper (photo by Mikhail Evstafiev)

The NBP believes in the National Bolshevik ideas that arose during the Russian Civil War, such as those from Nikolai Ustryalov, who came to believe that Bolshevism could be modified to serve nationalistic purposes. His followers, the Smenovekhovtsy, who then came to regard themselves as National Bolsheviks, borrowed the term from Ernst Niekisch, who was a German politician initially associated with left-wing politics and later the National Bolshevik ideology.<ref name="Borestein 2004"/>

The NBP has denied any links to fascism, stating that all forms of antisemitism, xenophobia, and racism were against the party's principles.<ref name="archive2" /> The NBP has historically defended Stalinism, although later on the party said it did not wish to re-create that system.<ref name="archive2">"National Bolshevik Party – FAQ". Retrieved 23 February 2014.</ref> The party is described as a mixture of far-left and far-right ideology, including among its members Sovietism' nostalgics as well as skinheads, with the hammer and sickle (which replace the swastika) in a white circle on a red background as party's flag.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 29 November 2004, participants of the general congress of the NBP adopted a new party program. According to the program, "the main goal of the National Bolshevik Party is to change Russia into a modern, powerful state, respected by other countries and peoples and beloved by its own citizens" by ensuring the free development of civil society, the independence of the media, and social justice.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The NBP was highly critical of Vladimir Putin's government and argued that state institutions, such as the bureaucracy, the police, and the courts, were corrupt and authoritarian.<ref>"Program of the National Bolshevik Party". Retrieved 23 February 2014.</ref>

Counterculture

File:Demonstration of the NBP.jpg
National Bolsheviks during a demonstration

Since its formation, the National Bolshevik Party had relationships with Russian counterculture.<ref>Феномен национал-большевистского движения: идеологический, социальный и культурный аспекты. socionauki.ru</ref> National Bolsheviks often used shock aesthetics from the punk subculture in their propaganda.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NBP attracted a significant number of artists, punk musicians and rock bands.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Criticism

Some Western critics commented on its heavy use of totalitarian and fascist symbols and what they called its "national-patriotic demagoguery",<ref name="radioliberty" /> and academics have described the group as neo-fascist.<ref name="mathyl">Template:Cite journal</ref> In the Russian media, the National Bolshevik Party was usually referred to as a far-left youth movement; however, some critics (including ex-members) allege that the NBP is an organisation dedicated to carry out a colour revolution in Russia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party symbols

The symbols of the National Bolshevik Party are a combination of Soviet, Nazi, and Imperial Russian symbols; the party nonetheless denied any link to fascism and Nazism.<ref name="archive2" />

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Motto

The popular motto, "Russia is Everything, the Rest is Nothing!" («Россия — всё, остальное — ничто!»), served as a powerful encapsulation of the movement's ultranationalist worldview. This slogan expressed the party's absolute prioritization of Russian identity, culture, and sovereignty over all foreign influences or globalist ideals. It reflected the NBP's ideological synthesis of nationalism and revolutionary socialism, framing Russia as a sacred entity whose interests were paramount, while dismissing the outside world as irrelevant or hostile.

Greeting

The Russian National Bolsheviks adopted the provocative greeting "Yes, Death!" («Да, смерть!») as a symbolic rejection of bourgeois values and a dramatic expression of revolutionary zeal. This slogan encapsulated the party's militant ethos and its embrace of political martyrdom and struggle, reflecting its fusion of radical leftist and ultranationalist ideologies. As Stephen Shenfield notes in Russian Fascism: Traditions, Tendencies and Movements, the greeting served as a stark emblem of the NBP's nihilistic defiance and ideological extremism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Origins (1993–1998)

File:1999 Impeachment of Boris Yeltsin 01.jpg
Russian communists and members of the National Bolshevik Party at a protest against Boris Yeltsin

In 1992, Eduard Limonov founded the National Bolshevik Front (NBF) as an amalgamation of six minor groups.<ref>Lee, p. 314</ref> Aleksandr Dugin was among the earliest members and was instrumental in convincing Limonov to enter politics. The party first attracted attention in 1992 when two members were arrested for possessing grenades. The incident gave the NBP publicity for a boycott campaign they were organizing against Western goods.<ref>Lee, p. 320</ref> The NBF joined forces with the National Salvation Front, which was a broad coalition of Russian communists and nationalists.<ref>Lee, p. 321</ref>

The FNS was one of the leading groups involved in the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, and Limonov participated in the clashes near the White House in Moscow on the side of the Anti-Yeltsin opposition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When others within the coalition began to speak out against the NBF, it withdrew from the alliance.<ref>Lee, pp. 328–9</ref> On 1 May 1993, Limonov and Dugin signed a declaration of founding the NBP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 28 November 1994, Limonov founded the newspaper Limonka, the official organ of the NBP.

In 1998, Dugin left the NBP as a result of a conflict with other members of the party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This led to the party moving further left in Russia's political spectrum, and led to members of the party denouncing Dugin and his group as fascists.<ref name = "radioliberty" /> Dugin later established the Eurasia Party, that endorses a significantly more radical nationalist and socially conservative view of National Bolshevism.<ref name="KremlinFascist">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Arrest of Eduard Limonov (2001–2003)

Limonov and some National Bolsheviks were jailed in April 2001 on charges of terrorism, the forced overthrow of the constitutional order, and the illegal purchase of weapons. Based on an article published in Limonka under Limonov's byline,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the government accused Limonov of planning to start an armed insurgency in Kazakhstan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After the arrest of the leader, members of the party started activities (including direct action stunts) against Putin's government.<ref name="rferl.org">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2002, members of the NBP participated in a common demonstration of far-left forces in a Moscow a demonstration called Anticapitalism-2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> National Bolsheviks clashed with riot police.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, Limonov was released from Lefortovo Prison.<ref>"Russian Writer is Released from Prison". Retrieved 30 June 2006.</ref>

In opposition to the government (2004–2007)

File:The Dissenters March in St. Petersburg, March 3, 2007.jpg
National Bolshevik Party flags during a Dissenters' March rally in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 3 March 2007

Since 2004, the NBP has formed alliances with other opposition forces, both far-left and right-wing. In 2004, Limonov signed the declaration titled "Russia without Putin."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2006, an anti-Limonovist faction of the NBP that was right-wing formed the National Bolshevik Front.<ref>"An Interview with the Leader of the NBF (Roman Golovkin)" Template:Webarchive. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2014.</ref>

The NBP became a prominent member of The Other Russia coalition of opposition parties.<ref name="sptimesrussia.com" /> In 2007, the NBP members took part in a Dissenters' March and other subsequent demonstrations against the government.<ref>"Police Clash With Anti-Kremlin Protesters". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 3 March 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2014.</ref>

Outlawed and aftermath (2007–2010)

File:NBP Odintsovo.jpg
National Bolsheviks attack a polling station in Odintsovo, Moscow Oblast, during the 2007 Russian legislative election to protest the ban of the party

The NBP was banned by a Russian lower court in June 2005; the Russian Supreme Court overturned that ban on 16 August 2005. In November 2005, the Russian Supreme Court upheld a ban on the party on the grounds that the NBP called itself a political party without being registered as such.Template:Cn On 7 August 2007, the Russian Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the Moscow City Court of 19 April to ban the party<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as an extremist organization.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2009, NBP members took part in Strategy-31, a series of civic protests in support of the right to peaceful assembly.<ref>Питерские нацболы арестованы за участие в акции у Гостиного двора. Grani.ru. 1 November 2010.</ref><ref>Нацболы через суд требуют разрешить акцию "Стратегия-31". Rosbalt.ru. 27 January 2010.</ref> In July 2010, the National Bolsheviks founded a new political party, The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

Direct actions

The NBP often used non-violent direct-action stunts, mostly against prominent political figures.<ref name="rferl.org"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable direct actions

On 24 August 1999, the NBP occupied a tower of the Club of Military Seamen in Sevastopol on Ukraine's Independence Day. Some of the operatives were sentenced to prison.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the Prince Charles' tour of the Baltic states in 2001, a member of the Latvian branch of the NBP hit Charles' face with a flower in an act of protest against the war in Afghanistan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the 2002 Prague summit, National Bolsheviks threw tomatoes at George Robertson to protest against the extension of NATO and American imperialism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 3 March 2004, National Bolsheviks occupied the United Russia headquarters in Moscow and protested against government policy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 22 June 2004, National Bolsheviks occupied Germany's Trade Embassy in Moscow on the anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. They hung a banner with an inscription "Never forget! Never forgive!"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 2 August 2004, a group of National Bolsheviks occupied the office of the Health and Social Development Ministry building in Moscow to protest against the social benefits reform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Police arrested most of the participants, and on 12 December 2004, seven National Bolsheviks were each sentenced to five years in prison.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 14 December 2004, NBP members occupied the presidential-administration visitors' room to protest against government policy. Police arrested thirty-nine National Bolsheviks, with many of them being sentenced to prison.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 25 September 2006, National Bolsheviks occupied the Ministries of Finances building in Moscow to protest against liberal economic policy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

International groups

The National Bolshevik Party founded branches across the post-Soviet states. Relatively strong branches of the party existed in Latvia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Several small groups often made up of Russian immigrants that are named National Bolshevik Party have existed in countries across Europe and North America.<ref>Interview to the "Revolt" French magazine. eng.nbp-info.ru. 15 February 2004. Template:Webarchive</ref> Most of them did not have official registration.

Latvia

Latvia's NBP has had members hold office in Riga,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and has executed notable publicity stunts, but it remains largely marginal there.<ref>Muizneiks, N. (2005) "Latvia" in Mudde, Cas Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe, Routledge, Template:ISBN pp. 101–128</ref> The Latvian branch has been led by Vladimir Linderman and Benes Ayo.<ref>Айо Бенес — магистр биологии и профессор НБП. D-pils.lv (23 March 2005). Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref><ref>Лимонка: Бенес Айо Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>«Красный магистр» Бенес Айо: «Мы готовим такое!..». D-pils.lv (8 November 2005). Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref><ref>Бенес Айо: Когда я дошел до 45 кг, меня пришлось выпустить Template:Webarchive. Rus.tvnet.lv. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref><ref>Рига: Акция против Джорджа Буша. nbp-info.ru. 7 May 2005</ref> In 2003, Linderman was accused of storing explosives and of calling for the overthrow of the political system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He left Latvia and moved to Russia. In 2005, during the visit of George W. Bush in Latvia, local national Bolsheviks and the Vanguard of Red Youth organized meetings "against American imperialism". Police broke up a demonstration and arrested its participants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web. nbp-info.ru. 7 May 2005</ref> The Latvian NBP was also active in anti-capitalist demonstrations and in anti-Nazi blockades during Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires.<ref>День сопротивления в Риге. 16 марта 2006. nbp-info.ru</ref><ref>Рига: Акция протеста против шествия нацистов 16 марта 2005. nbp-info.ru</ref>

Ukraine

Largely based in Eastern Ukraine, the NBP initially joined forces with another small parties and signed a "Declaration of the Kiev Council of Slav Radical Nationalists" together with Ukrainian nationalists.<ref>Ukraine Template:Webarchive. Axt.org.uk. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref> Later, Ukrainian national Bolsheviks were active in demonstrations against Ukrainian nationalists on the anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.<ref>АНТИ-УПА-2009 Template:Webarchive. Nbp.kharkov.ua. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref> National Bolsheviks also organized actions against the rapprochement of Ukraine–NATO relations.<ref>«Нато-Stop!» Template:Webarchive. Nbp.kharkov.ua. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.</ref> During the Orange Revolution, the Ukrainian NBP decided to not support any side. National Bolsheviks also formed armed troop interbrigades and participated in the war in Donbas.<ref>"Нацболы отбили атаку карателей в ЛНР". Template:Webarchive.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

European Court of Human Rights decision

In September 2021, the European Court of Human Rights found that there was a violation of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights on account of the dissolution of the NBP association in 2004 and on account of the refusal to register the NBP political party, and awarded €10,000 jointly to the children of Limonov and four of his followers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable members

Current

Until banning of the NBP in 2007

Former

Deceased

Media depictions

Films

Books

By Eduard Limonov

  • Anatomy of a Hero (1997)
  • My Political Biography (2002)
  • Russian Psycho (2003)
  • The Other Russia (2003)

By other authors

Other

  • Orda, a comic book by Igor Baranko

Notes

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References

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Bibliography

Template:Banned political parties in Russia Template:Eduard Limonov Template:Russian nationalism Template:Authority control

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