Why a Neo-Nazi Gathering Was Held Under the Auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church

Far-right and neo-Nazi groups from across Europe and Latin America convened in St. Petersburg in September 2025. The event launched the International Sovereigntist League (ISL) Paladins. The movement claims to defend “white Christian values” and openly states that “White Christians cannot coexist with non-whites.” ISL Paladins’ stated goals include spreading “truth, faith, dedication,” and defending their nations “till death.”

However, what set this gathering apart was its religious backing: it was preceded by a massive procession led by Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church himself.

An international fascist group is born

ISL Paladin is named after a 1970s far-right organisation founded by a former SS  officer, Colonel Otto Skorzeny, who at the time was known as “the most dangerous man in Europe”.

The September 12 conference was opened by Konstantin Malofeev—dubbed the “Orthodox Oligarch,” Kremlin loyalist and head of Tsargrad—alongside ultranationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin. 

Tsargrad is an Orthodox-fundamentalist network that promotes imperial, anti-Western ideology and funds pro-Russian extremist operations.

Be White! Be Christian!

Brotherhood of Academists

Fifty delegates from 12 countries attended the conference, representing the following extremist organizations, according to open-source reporting:

• Forza Nuova, Lealtà Azione, Rete dei Patrioti of Italy

• Greece’s Golden Dawn

• Serbia’s People’s Patrols and Serbian Action (ultranationalist groups)

• Belgium’s NATION party

• South Africa’s Bittereinders

• The United Kingdom’s Patriotic Alternative

• Spain’s Falange Española de las JONS

• Hungary’s 64 County Movement (HVIM)

• Additional far-right groups from across Europe, Africa, and Latin America

ISL leaders pledged to fight what they call “Єsatanic, misanthropic, transhumanist, LGBTQ propaganda,” and to coordinate far-right action globally—including mass demonstrations back home.

HVIM praised the alliance as heirs to “counter-revolutionary, Orthodox Christian, monarchist traditions,” railing against the West’s supposed “Russophobia” and “demonisation of the sons of this nation.”

A Russian Orthodox cleric attended the conference in person, while a Spanish Catholic priest and a South African Protestant pastor sent video blessings.

After the conference ended, ISL launched a Telegram channel—now filled with racist posts about “saving white Christian children” and claims that the children of refugees are “future criminals” and “a burden”, along with posts opposing LGBTQ+ human rights. 

The conference followed a massive procession reportedly drawing 60,000 people, led by Patriarch Kirill, attended by Tsargrad activists and some ISL Paladin groups. 

This year’s Cross Procession was more unique than ever as tens of White Christian nationalist organisations’ representatives stood and prayed side by side with us.

Brotherhood of Academists

What do we know about ISL Paladins?

Konstantin Malofeev, the Orthodox Oligarch

Malofeev, a devout Orthodox, sanctioned Russian billionaire and key organiser of the St. Petersburg far-right conference, has long been a financier of Kremlin-backed aggression. The Ukrainian Government has opened a criminal investigation into his alleged material and financial support to the Russian-backed paramilitary in Crimea and Donbas in 2014. Since then, he’s organised far-right groups while backing Igor Girkin  in Russia’s military goals. 

Malofeev is also the former employer of Alexander Borodai, the former so-called "Prime Minister" of the "Donetsk People's Republic”—Russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region. Borodai is responsible for numerous killings, torture, organizing terrorist attacks, and other large-scale violations of internationally recognized human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Free Russia Forum, “PUTIN’S LIST” reported.

He visited Crimea a month before Russia’s attempted annexation, touring with the Russian patriarch and Christian relics, FT reported. 

During this trip to Crimea, Malofeev and his network are thought to have paved the way for Russian forces and the Kremlin to invade Ukraine. Girkin, his former employee, led pro-Russian operations in eastern Ukraine, turning Malofeev’s financial and ideological support into active warfare. The following video includes an intercepted call between Malofeev and Girkin made in April 2014, where Malofeev says that Girkin “killed just the right people".

A staunch supporter of Putin, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the Russian Orthodox Church, Malofeev founded Tsargrad TV, a channel that defines itself around Russian Orthodox Christian identity, pro-monarchist ideology, and support for the Russian state while promoting propaganda about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

In 2007, he founded a charity called St. Basil the Great Foundation, in which he has funded charitable, educational, and religiously oriented activities while promoting “traditional values”.

Malofeev has been a stakeholder in several companies that have been sanctioned, yet he has managed to keep money flowing through offshore companies. He’s given Russian soldiers a bonus of 50,000 rubles ($650) per km of Ukrainian territory captured, RFE/RL  reported.

Researchers argue that his “Orthodox” projects serve as vehicles for political influence, media control, and support for ultranationalist / pro-imperialist ideology—rather than purely religious or charitable aims.

Alexander Dugin

Russian far-right ideologue Aleksandr Dugin—often referred to as “Putin’s brain”—was a headline speaker at the ISL Paladin conference, drawing together ultranationalists and far-right figures from across Europe.

Dugin rose to prominence pushing Russian nationalist, traditionalist, and antisemitic propaganda, promoting Russia and Eurasia as a spiritual and civilizational counterweight to the liberal West.

He openly claims Orthodox roots, weaving Orthodox symbols and ideas of Russia as a spiritual community into his political ideology. But his agenda goes far beyond faith: Dugin’s work amplifies Kremlin objectives, while spreading virulently anti-LGBT rhetoric, describing trans people as “demonic”, “sick” and “mutilated”. 

At the same time, Dugin pushes Moscow’s narrative that Ukrainians are “Nazis,” all while convening a conference alongside openly neo-Nazi participants—highlighting the dangerous fusion of Kremlin-aligned politics, Orthodoxy, and extremist networks that the ISL Paladin platform facilitates. 

Nationalist movements

The groups actively share each other’s social media content, promoting each other's organised protests and presenting themselves as part of a “white Christian brotherhood.” All of the movements have strong Christian and Orthodox affiliations, hold extreme neonationalist views, show zero tolerance for immigration or LGBTQ+ rights, and many have a long history of violence.

Many operate youth programs that include weapons training and combat exercises, aimed at preparing participants to attack political opponents, particularly aimed at “smashing antifa ”.

ISL Paladin explicitly states that “every great nation was forged through wars and conflicts by the strongest and most self-sacrificing men,” and promotes martial arts, sports, and military service as tools to prepare members for violent confrontations.

In a Telegram post, ISL Paladin celebrated antifa protestors being physically attacked by their “brothers,” La Falange, a Spanish far-right group that also attended the conference.

Golden Dawn

Greece’s Golden Dawn was established in 1985 by Nikolaos Michaloliakos, an ultranationalist figure who had previously been arrested for politically motivated violence and found to be involved in a series of bomb attacks. The group's logo resembles a swastika, and its members express admiration for Adolf Hitler. 

Golden Dawn was found guilty of having beaten immigrant fishermen and communist trade unionists, as well as being involved in the disappearance of more than 100 migrants, according to DW reports.

Their violence goes as far as multiple murders, the torture of an Egyptian migrant, the mutilation of an Iranian refugee, carving the group’s initials into the back of a Somali man, and setting fire to the home of impoverished Egyptian fishermen, Human Rights First  reported.

In 2012, Golden Dawn secured 18 seats in the Greek parliament. According to Human Rights First, members of Golden Dawn’s leadership maintained personal ties with officers from Greek military units that had cooperated with Nazi forces during World War II.

In 2020, an appeals court in Athens ruled that Golden Dawn operated as a criminal organization, sentencing Michaloliakos and other top officials to lengthy prison terms.

NATION

Belgium's NATION movement routinely depicts Muslims, refugees, and men of colour as violent, criminal, or barbaric, often framing them as inherent threats. Former NATION president Hervé Van Laethem was detained and questioned by authorities—an action the group suggests may have been linked to his participation in the ISL Paladin conference, according to NATION’s own statements. 

On its website, NATION defended its cooperation with the ROC, stressing that while the group isn’t a religious movement, Orthodoxy’s deep link with Russian patriotism made accepting the invitation reasonable.

Some groups in attendance were vague about specific details surrounding their participation. Others were more vocal, and NATION publicised much of it, even publishing images of Germany’s Alternative for Deutschland  (AfD) party member, whose face in the events reports was blurred. 

Germany’s AfD was the only foreign organisation whose involvement went unmentioned in far-right media reports. However, Robert Risch, a member of the Hamburg city assembly from AfD, was revealed in NATION's published photos. The AfD state executive committee unanimously expelled Risch for speaking at an “international conference of right-wing extremists,” NDR  reported. 

People’s Patrol

Damjan Knežević—another speaker at the ISL Paladin conference and leader of Serbia’s far-right People’s Patrol (Narodna Patrola)— is widely known for promoting hostility toward Roma communities, migrants, LGBTQ+ people, and civil society groups. 

In 2023, Knežević organised a mass nationalist protest and called on civilians to “violently overthrow and replace” the highest state authorities. Knežević has led and promoted vigilante “patrols” claiming to “police” migrants in Serbia. 

In November 2022, he travelled to St. Petersburg to visit the former headquarters of the Wagner Group, and following his visit, he and members from the Russian embassy allegedly encouraged Serbs to join Russia’s Wagner Group. In August 2023, he travelled to the Russian-occupied Donbas region of Ukraine on a so-called humanitarian mission. 

In October 2025, he was arrested for racial discrimination ahead of a People’s Patrol anti-immigrant rally.

Brotherhood of Academics 

Russia’s Brotherhood of Academics was founded in 2020 under Malofeev’s Tsargrad Society. Although it presents itself as a student organisation, it openly declares that its main purpose is to cultivate a “national elite”—the next generation of people who will “build the Russian Empire in the 21st century.” 

Internal documents also state that all of its activities operate “in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation.”

The group lists several core objectives: supporting Russian military operations in Ukraine, combating what it calls illegal migration and “ethnic crime,” targeting so-called Russophobes and “traitors,” and defending the Russian Orthodox Church along with the beliefs and “feelings” of Orthodox Christians. 

The group regularly hosts lectures on Russian nationalism and organizes meetings with regional officials and conservative right-wing speakers. It even briefly operated a branch in the Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine.

The organization sees itself as the future ruling class of Russia, and its social media channels frequently repeat slogans such as “Be white, be Christian.”

According to its own website, the Brotherhood promotes military training programs for members who want to take part in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Participants are later able to join Reconnaissance Detachment 106. Both the Academy and the Tsargrad Society have been working under so-called humanitarian missions in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol since the summer of 2022.

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