‘Russia Community’ Sees Itself as Political Force in the Future, SOVA Analyst Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 9 – The Russian nationalist Russian Community currently positions itself as a non-political force interested only in supporting order and Russian traditional values; but its leaders have been playing a more political role in the run up to the Duma elections and anticipate becoming an even more active political force in the future.

            That is the judgment of longtime SOVA analyst Aleksandr Verkhovsky who analyzes Russian extremist groups and other observers with whom journalist Ivan Zhilin spoke in the course of preparing an article entitled “Violence and Power” (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/09/09/nasilie-i-vlast).

            Verkhovsky and the others say that the Russian Community was a marginal group until Putin launched his expanded war in Ukraine  and was happy to have this organization on his side to maintain order at home and to ensure that Russians would live according to what he defines as their traditional values.

            Their role as enforcers, sometimes independently and sometimes as allies of the government’s force structures, grew; but in the last months, it has increased exponentially with Russian Community activists involving themselves in the election process  by attacking and pushing out of races opponents of the Kremlin.

            That has led to some splits in the group, but it means that many in the Russian Community see themselves as having an ever-larger political role once the time is right. When there is any weakening of the Kremlin, they may thus prove as much a threat to the Russain leadership as its ally, the SOVA analyst suggests.