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Putin's ultranationalist motorcycle gang-
Allies of Putin and soulmates of Trump, Palin, and the Bundys.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/29/russian-biker-gang-in-ukraine-night-wolves-putin
Image of Putin with "The Surgeon" Alexander Zaldostanov:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/29/russian-biker-gang-in-ukraine-night-wolves-putin#img-6
A rumble of artillery prompts the biker gang to pause inside their stronghold. It has been some time since the rebel-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, on the war-torn fringes of Europe, has witnessed any frontline action. An explosion sends pulses racing. “Finally,” grins one of the men. “We’re going to fight.” . .
Stoked by the Kremlin’s narrative that Ukrainian “fascists”, aided and abetted by the CIA, had overthrown a legitimate, pro-Russian government (the notorious kleptocracy of Viktor Yanukovych, accused of presiding over a “mafia” administration that cost the country billions of dollars), Kuznetsov left his family in Moscow in February 2014 and headed south. He and other bikers actively engaged in Russia’s covert invasion of Crimea, swapping leathers for body armour; that summer, they joined Ukraine’s separatist insurgency.
. . .
“The Maidan movement was starting in Crimea. We decided to invest all our strength in preventing it,” Kuznetsov tells us one evening in his sleeping quarters, over shots of fiery moonshine. Religious icons, separatist banners, war medals and Kalashnikov rifles furnish the room, alongside a wolf-emblazoned dreamcatcher and a portrait of Kuznetsov’s grandfather in the second world war.
“The Night Wolves built the first checkpoints,” he says. “We were the first to be given weapons and to patrol Sevastopol. I am one of the million reasons Crimea finally was annexed.” The US later sanctioned the Night Wolves for storming a gas facility and Ukrainian naval base on the Black Sea peninsula, blocking any assets they might have in the US and banning contact with US citizens – a token gesture, given the unlikelihood of patriotic Russians investing there. Meanwhile, in Moscow, The Surgeon received a medal for his efforts.
Stoked by the Kremlin’s narrative that Ukrainian “fascists”, aided and abetted by the CIA, had overthrown a legitimate, pro-Russian government (the notorious kleptocracy of Viktor Yanukovych, accused of presiding over a “mafia” administration that cost the country billions of dollars), Kuznetsov left his family in Moscow in February 2014 and headed south. He and other bikers actively engaged in Russia’s covert invasion of Crimea, swapping leathers for body armour; that summer, they joined Ukraine’s separatist insurgency.
. . .
“The Maidan movement was starting in Crimea. We decided to invest all our strength in preventing it,” Kuznetsov tells us one evening in his sleeping quarters, over shots of fiery moonshine. Religious icons, separatist banners, war medals and Kalashnikov rifles furnish the room, alongside a wolf-emblazoned dreamcatcher and a portrait of Kuznetsov’s grandfather in the second world war.
“The Night Wolves built the first checkpoints,” he says. “We were the first to be given weapons and to patrol Sevastopol. I am one of the million reasons Crimea finally was annexed.” The US later sanctioned the Night Wolves for storming a gas facility and Ukrainian naval base on the Black Sea peninsula, blocking any assets they might have in the US and banning contact with US citizens – a token gesture, given the unlikelihood of patriotic Russians investing there. Meanwhile, in Moscow, The Surgeon received a medal for his efforts.
6 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Ukraine.
Moscow Times:
An Unusual Friendship: Bikers and the Kremlin (Op-Ed)
Seriously, what is it about the Night Wolves motorcycle group that makes them such a toast of the Kremlin? The latest — admittedly, unconfirmed — stories are that they have been granted a sizable tract of land in Sevastopol, Crimea, and for free, or near enough.
Regardless of this most recent story, a report published by Alexei Navalny, and based on official records, found that the Night Wolves have since 2013 been awarded grants worth 56 million rubles — more than $1 million. This was ostensibly for various purposes, ranging from putting on over-the-top "patriotic" extravaganzas to participating in a study on, believe it or not, "identifying the place of motorcyclists in the spiritual life of Russian society."
Beyond that, they have been showered with favor and indulgence. Putin has several times ridden with the Wolves (albeit on a trike) and in 2013 awarded their leader, Alexander Zaldostanov, the Order of Honor. Of course, his involvement with the group plays to President Vladimir Putin's carefully curated macho, bad-boy image. He first publicly visited them in 2009, and has never looked back. Putin himself seems to have a fondness for real bruisers and brawlers — witness his relationship with Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov (himself a friend of Zaldostanov's) — but this is more than just a bromance of PR convenience.
After all, even when he first met the Night Wolves, they already embodied many of the values and virtues that would come to the center of Putinism 2.0 or 3.0, whichever is dominating his third presidential term. They were muscular nationalists; indeed, Zaldostanov had long championed the cause of returning Crimea to Russia.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/an-unusual-friendship-bikers-and-the-kremlin-op-ed/521763.html
Views
On Stalin
The Night Wolves admire Joseph Stalin. On their ride to Berlin in 2015, they displayed red flags with portraits of Stalin and shouted "For the Motherland! For Stalin!"
On Anti-Maidan protests
In January 2015, the group's leader, Zaldostanov, expressed support for a Russian Anti-Maidan movement which said it was ready to use violence to stop anti-government protesters.
On foreign countries
In an interview, Zaldostanov said "For the first time we showed resistance to the global Satanism, the growing savagery of Western Europe, the rush to consumerism that denies all spirituality, the destruction of traditional values, all this homosexual talk, this American democracy."
On LGBT people
In January 2015, Zaldostanov suggested that "Death to faggots" could be an alternate name for the Russian anti-Maidan movement. At a February 2015 "Anti-Maidan" rally in Moscow organized by Zaldostanov, popular slogans included "We don't need Western ideology and gay parades!"
On women
Women are banned from joining the Night Wolves.
Relationship with the Kremlin
The club has close ties to Vladimir Putin and a generally Russian nationalist sentiment. Putin has described them as his "friends" and appeared at their rallies, riding a Harley-Davidson trike. The Night Wolves are funded by the Kremlin, receiving "several hundred million rubles a year" according to a report in 2013.
They also aided the invasion of Ukraine by patrolling the streets of Crimea with unmarked soldiers sent from Russia, fought for the rebels and became involved with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Night Wolves make a motorcycle pilgrimage to holy Russian Orthodox sites several times a year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Wolves
On Stalin
The Night Wolves admire Joseph Stalin. On their ride to Berlin in 2015, they displayed red flags with portraits of Stalin and shouted "For the Motherland! For Stalin!"
On Anti-Maidan protests
In January 2015, the group's leader, Zaldostanov, expressed support for a Russian Anti-Maidan movement which said it was ready to use violence to stop anti-government protesters.
On foreign countries
In an interview, Zaldostanov said "For the first time we showed resistance to the global Satanism, the growing savagery of Western Europe, the rush to consumerism that denies all spirituality, the destruction of traditional values, all this homosexual talk, this American democracy."
On LGBT people
In January 2015, Zaldostanov suggested that "Death to faggots" could be an alternate name for the Russian anti-Maidan movement. At a February 2015 "Anti-Maidan" rally in Moscow organized by Zaldostanov, popular slogans included "We don't need Western ideology and gay parades!"
On women
Women are banned from joining the Night Wolves.
Relationship with the Kremlin
The club has close ties to Vladimir Putin and a generally Russian nationalist sentiment. Putin has described them as his "friends" and appeared at their rallies, riding a Harley-Davidson trike. The Night Wolves are funded by the Kremlin, receiving "several hundred million rubles a year" according to a report in 2013.
They also aided the invasion of Ukraine by patrolling the streets of Crimea with unmarked soldiers sent from Russia, fought for the rebels and became involved with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Night Wolves make a motorcycle pilgrimage to holy Russian Orthodox sites several times a year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Wolves
Harleys
Last edited Tue Feb 2, 2016, 12:44 AM - Edit history (1)
http://gawker.com/heckler-at-ted-cruz-rally-shouts-ted-cruz-looks-so-wei-1756321665
