By Ekaterina Janashia | 2025-09-23

When Anna Tazheyeva, a public figure from Novosibirsk, sees cars marked with the white-and-black sticker of Russkaya Obshchina (RO), she feels sick. For her and others across Russia, the far-right nationalist group has become a symbol of menace, one that activists say is growing stronger with the quiet blessing of the state.

Encouraged by support from senior law enforcement officials and a more tolerant political climate, RO -- Russian Community in English -- is rapidly gaining influence nationwide, according to rights advocates and opposition media.

The group, founded in 2020, presents itself as a defender of Russian values, but critics warn its xenophobic ideology and vigilante-style activities are creating a climate of fear.

RO openly promotes anti-immigrant, anti-Islamic and anti-Caucasian views, along with opposition to LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. Despite its radical message, the group largely aligns with the Kremlin, backing the war in Ukraine and supporting government initiatives by supplying military equipment and training fighters.

A 'frightening' personal experience

Tazheyeva's story illustrates the group's impact on the communities. In an interview with Kontur, she called her encounter with RO a "frightening experience."

"I still feel uneasy," she said.

Tazheyeva first heard of the group last year, after she stepped in to defend an 8-year-old Kyrgyz schoolboy who had been beaten by 12-year-old schoolmates. The boy said his attackers shouted racist insults used in Russia against people from Central Asia and the Caucasus.

When authorities opened an investigation, the mother of one of the aggressors tried to defend her son by releasing a video with RO. In the video, she falsely claimed that Kyrgyz abductors had kidnapped her child.

Tazheyeva and Natalya Shishkina, a deputy in the Prokudsky village council in the Kochenevsky district, conducted their own inquiry and determined the claim was fabricated. They said RO had encouraged the mother to file a false police report as a way to launch a persecution campaign against the Kyrgyz boy's family and their supporters.

Police declined to pursue a criminal case into the alleged kidnapping, ruling it never happened.

Allegations, fines and threats

Meanwhile, Tazheyeva and Shishkina filed a series of official statements urging authorities to investigate the case and recorded a video explaining what they had uncovered.

"As soon as our video was posted, Russkaya Obshchina started harassing us," Tazheyeva said.

She noted that members took clips from their video, edited them into new content and reposted them with comments calling for her and Shishkina to be raped, killed or deported to Kyrgyzstan.

The two women filed a police report over the threats to their lives and safety, but investigators declined to open a case.

In February, a Kochenevsky district court fined both women 5,000 rubles each (about $60). The case stemmed from complaints by RO members that they had reposted material from an "undesirable" organization. The Russian government uses this designation to ban groups it claims threaten national security or constitutional order. The reposted content was a one-minute video by the League of Free Nations about "Russians going against Russians."

As the threats persisted, Shishkina appealed to the Federal Security Service (FSB). According to Tazheyeva, an FSB officer told her colleague that the agency was aware of the group but that its members "have the green light" from Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia's Investigative Committee, and nothing could be done.

The officer allegedly arranged a deal with a group member: the harassment would stop if the women agreed to end their public criticism.

"When I see cars with their stickers, I feel sick," Tazheyeva said.

Who are the members?

RO was founded in late 2020 by three figures rooted in Russia's ultraconservative political scene: Yevgeny Chesnokov, formerly a coordinator of the radical anti-abortion movement "For Life!" and active in anti-vaccination campaigns; Andrei Tkachuk, a former deputy speaker of the Omsk City Council who later became a political commentator and social media activist; and Andrei Afanasyev, a journalist tied to Orthodox Christian outlets including Spas and Tsargrad TV.

Since its creation, the group has built a sizable online following, attracting supporters on Telegram and YouTube and claiming more than 150 chapters across Russia's 11 time zones.

Analysts and media reports have pointed to the group's close ties with law enforcement, particularly Bastrykin, who is described as an unofficial patron.

"Their groups are growing, and so is the number of their followers," Tazheyeva said. "They have radical, far-right nationalist content on their VK pages, and even though we complain, the technical support staff won't shut them down."

The organization's ranks have also swelled with military veterans returning from the front lines, bringing a more radical and confrontational edge.

According to Tazheyeva, many members are "illiterate people who rarely travel and are incapable of analyzing the current situation." She added that people subjected to state television propaganda about Russian exceptionalism, along with those who embrace jingoism, are also drawn to the movement.

RO has even developed a mobile app featuring an emergency "panic button" that members can use to call for assistance. Videos circulated by the group show members intervening in disputes and detaining people accused of minor crimes until police arrive.

"The goal of the group is to distract the public from the real problems and create an enemy out of migrants," Tazheyeva said. "People who have a sense of purpose and have achieved social status won't join a group like Russkaya Obshchina."

She said the organization's rise reflects a troubling trend in Russia, where nationalist and xenophobic sentiments appear to be increasingly tolerated -- and in some cases, actively supported -- by the state.