Russia’s Far Right Using Denunciations as Primary Weapon to Attack Minorities, Memorial and ‘NeMoskva’ Portal Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Feb. 27 – The extreme right in Russia has begun using denunciations on the internet as its primary weapon to attack both migrant workers and ethnic minorities because by putting up charges online extremist groups are able to attract the attention of law enforcement personnel who then pick and choose among those against whom to bring charges.

            That trend has been documented by the NeMoskva portal which tracks developments outside of the Russian capital and by the Memorial human rights organization (nemoskva.net/2026/02/27/ohota-na-bryunetov/ and sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2025/02/d47102/).

            Indeed, these two sources say, the far right and the police are working ever more closely together. The far right sees its attacks being confirmed by official action and has increased its chances of getting it by increasing adopting police language in the internet denunciations they issue. Indeed, it is clear that the police and not others are their intended audience, the two say.

            And the police are only too pleased to have the far right groups bring to their attention actions or reported actions by migrants and minorities so that police and prosecutors can choose among those denounced rather than having to engage in any investigations on their own especially when their political bosses point them in that direction.

            This convergence of the far right and police has been going on since the 1990s but the internet has only exacerbated that trend. Memorial’s Stefaniya Kulayeva in fact cites the words of prominent human rights activist Sergey Kovalyev that the Russian police “aren’t catching bandits but ‘brunettes,” a reference to the darker hair of many minorities.

            Among the extremist Russian nationalist groups which use this tactic the most often are the Russian Community and the less well-known Man’s State, which NeMoskva described as “an internet community based on misogynistic and nationalist discourse, “formally” in defense of traditional values but in fact oppression, women, journalists, LGBT people and migrants.