1August 2018, Vol. 38, No. 7 RUSI Newsbrief

The Night Wolves

Russian tanks are back in Slovakia, or so it may seem. On 26 July, a drone operated by Radio Free Europe/

Radio Liberty journalists caught sight of old tanks, armoured vehicles and police equipment at a former pig farm in Dolná Krupá, some 60 km from Bratislava. Video captured by the drone showed what appeared to be a training field and shooting range. When Jozef Hambálek, the owner, saw journalists filming outside the complex, he came out to threaten the supposed trespassers. Hambálek is the head of the Nočná vlka Európa (Night Wolves Europe) group, a sister organisation of the infamous pro-Kremlin Russian motorcycle club Nochnye Volki (Night Wolves). Although similar organisations have been active in European countries for years, including in Serbia, Romania, Macedonia and Bulgaria, the Dolná Krupá complex is the first base to be opened by one of these clubs on European soil. The Slovak paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (Slovak Levies) is also allegedly using the compound. The report of the discovery immediately caused an uproar, with Slovak President Andrej Kiska calling for preventive measures against what he considered to be a ‘serious security risk’.

However, the Night Wolves deny doing anything illegal. Their tanks are neither real nor Russian, and in fact are quite old vehicles that come from the Slovak Military History Institute. The compound cannot be described as an official representation of the Kremlin either. The Night Wolves are officially an independent bikers’ club and do not have any formal ties with the Russian government. Peter Susko,

the spokesman of the Slovak foreign ministry, acknowledged that Slovakia could not refer to the Russian embassy to address its concerns with the complex at Dolná Krupá. Moreover, the base cannot really be considered a serious security threat. It is highly unlikely that the Night Wolves will drive their old tanks down to Bratislava with the aim of overthrowing the government. Hambálek claims that he plans to open a museum to honour Soviet units who used motorcycles in the Second World War, and as such, Russian media outlets immediately criticised the Slovak authorities’ ‘hysterical’ reaction.

Most of the Wolves’ actions are in defence of the Kremlin’s interests and policies, but they claim this to be a mere coincidence, a convergence of minds and values

While the Night Wolves claim to be nothing more than a harmless bikers’ club, there are grounds for concern, especially considering that one of the club’s mottos is ‘wherever the Night Wolves are should be considered Russia’. This underscores the evaluation of Yale University historian Timothy Snyder, who sees the Wolves ‘as a paramilitary and propaganda arm of the Putin regime’. They effectively use a range of methods to promote Russia’s influence abroad, whether by conducting annual bike parades to Berlin to commemorate

the Soviet victory over Nazism, or encouraging more direct and violent actions in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. The Wolves are also alleged to collect intelligence, recruit fighters who are then deployed to Ukraine and Syria, and to stir up civil discontent and political agitation, all on behalf of the Kremlin. Moscow considers the states of the former Soviet Union as primary targets for this agitation, as they are within Moscow’s traditional sphere of influence. The Night Wolves stand as a prime example of Russian hybrid non-state hooliganism: the Kremlin’s recurring use of allegedly independent organisations to spread its influence and meddle in other countries’ affairs. Although the Wolves are not formally under state control, they are unofficially sanctioned to act on behalf of the Russian state. As such, their settling in Slovakia can be understood as a new move in Russia’s wider geopolitical game.

The Wolves’ history is well known. The club was founded in the late 1980s as a classic bikers’ association: libertarian, utterly anti-Soviet and, by implication, pro-Western. The club made a drastic U-turn in the early 2000s when it became a religious, conservative and openly homophobic movement. The Wolves’ representatives, particularly their leader Alexander Zaldostanov (nicknamed ‘the Surgeon’, given his medical background) are known for their nationalist speeches underpinned by nostalgia for the Russian empire and Soviet Union. Political expert Mark Galeotti claims that ‘they were the new Putinists’ even before the Kremlin began to adopt its more illiberal stance. Russian President Vladimir Putin has

The Night Wolves Settle in Slovakia, and the Kremlin With Them? Sébastien Gobert

As the infamous Russian motorcycle club ‘The Night Wolves’ establish a permanent presence in Central Europe, the Kremlin is well-placed to exert its influence in this problematic part of the EU

2August 2018, Vol. 38, No. 7 RUSI Newsbrief

met with Zaldostanov several times and rode alongside the Wolves in August 2011 – albeit on a less intimidating three-wheeled motorcycle – which highlights the importance the organisation has for the Kremlin. According to British journalist Peter Pomerantsev, the club was approached by senior Kremlin aide and chief propagandist Vladislav Surkov, who was able to secure police sympathies, media exposure and funding for the Night Wolves. The Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny published a report in 2015, which claims that the Night Wolves have received a series of grants worth a combined 56 million roubles (more than £655,000) since 2013. The Wolves’ impressive and well-funded ‘bike shows’ tend to attract large audiences – often numbering in the thousands – who come to see dramatic motorcycle performances, light displays and Stalinist-themed speeches alongside Christian Orthodox preachers. Back in 2013, Pomerantsev asked Aleksei Weitz, one of the group’s representatives, if Stalin had a contradictory relationship with the Orthodox faith. Weitz answered:

‘We don’t know why [Stalin] was sent by God. Maybe he had to slaughter them so the faith could be tested. We don’t know. It’s not for us to judge. When you cut out a disease you have to cut out healthy flesh too’. This eclectic mix is characteristic of Putin’s new Russia — one that does not concern itself with contradictions.

It is highly unlikely that the Night Wolves will drive their old tanks down to Bratislava with the aim of overthrowing the government

The 5000-strong Night Wolves are quite active in Russia. They volunteered to guard Orthodox cathedrals after the protest group Pussy Riot organised a ‘punk prayer’ on the soleas of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in February 2012. The bikers’ gang also

speaks out against LGBT groups. They were among the main organisers of the Russian version of the so-called ‘Anti-Maidan’ movement, which put pressure on the Russian political opposition following the events of 2013–2014 in Ukraine that saw former President Viktor Yanukovych deposed. Most of the Wolves’ actions are in defence of the Kremlin’s interests and policies, but they claim this to be a mere coincidence, a convergence of minds and values. These muscled and tattooed bikers have proven useful when it comes to using unsanctioned non-state violence. In 2012, the Wolves were involved in a deadly fight with a rival motorcycle club affiliated with a group based in the US known as the Tremia Dorogamy (Three Roads). As non-state hooligans, the Wolves demonstrate the Kremlin’s power to tame potential opponents and hostile groups, in order to use them as tools of control.

The Wolves are likely to be instrumental in the Kremlin’s project of expanding Russia’s influence abroad and interfering in the domestic affairs of

The leader of the Night Wolves motorcycle club Alexander Zaldostanov rides his motorcycle during a ceremony marking the opening of a new motorcycling season in May 2017. The group has strong, albiet unofficial, links to the Kremlin and are active in Eastern and Central Europe. Courtesy of PA Images/Peter Kovalev/TASS

3August 2018, Vol. 38, No. 7 RUSI Newsbrief

neighbouring countries. For example, the annual bike parades to Berlin often prompt criticism from those countries the Wolves pass through en route. Back in April 2016, Latvia added the local Night Wolves leader Igor Lakatosh to its list of personae non gratae. The Wolves are also banned from entering Poland. Yet, the bikers still make their way across several countries to reach the German capital, meeting supporters, facing opponents and asserting Russia’s soft power along the way. The parades’ practical and visual aspects set the tone. Bikers tend to fill the roads, blocking other road users and attracting attention with flags and loud music. However, sending groups of ‘patriotic citizens’ abroad to promote Russia’s historical legacy is nothing new. Back in 2007, the Estonian government decided to relocate a Soviet-era statue of a bronze soldier from the centre of Tallinn to a suburban cemetery. Protests erupted and the pro-Putin youth movement Nashi (Ours) instructed some of its members to take part in demonstrations and scuffles with the police. Officially, the Kremlin did not take a side, but it nevertheless attempted to support the patriotic Russophones who considered the removal of the statue to be offensive to their grandparents’ heritage.

The Night Wolves have been particularly active in Ukraine since 2014. They supported the annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and have helped to consolidate the pro-Russia rebels’ control over parts of eastern Ukraine. As a Kiev-based press correspondent, the author has personally met them twice, on the streets of Simferopol in Crimea, and in separatist-held Krasnodon in Eastern Ukraine. Both times they held a parade and organised patriotic rock concerts to promote the Kremlin’s nationalistic policies. Through this, they support and encourage the idea of a grassroots movement in favour of Crimea’s ‘reunification’ with Russia, even though this is against Ukraine’s state policy and Russia’s annexation of Crimea has not been recognised by the international community.

In December 2014, US intelligence reported that the Wolves actively assisted Russian special forces in their annexation of Crimea by storming a gas distribution station and the Ukrainian

Naval Forces Headquarters, for which Zaldostanov was awarded a ‘Return of Crimea’ medal by Putin himself. The Night Wolves also took up arms during the conflict in eastern Ukraine and have fought against Ukrainian troops, retaining a small presence there today. The war in Ukraine has seen several mercenary groups taking an active role as a way to hide, among other things, the direct involvement of regular Russian troops. Both the Night Wolves and Zaldostanov have been under US sanctions since 2014 for their involvement in the Ukraine conflict, as are some private businesses allegedly linked to the club.

The Wolves are likely to be instrumental in the Kremlin’s project of expanding Russia’s influence abroad and interfering in the domestic affairs of neighbouring countries

The Wolves act as a multitasking complement to Russia’s other means of influence, including internet activism, promoting disinformation and forging partnerships with political parties across Europe. A 2017 report by the Budapest-based research and analysis institute Political Capital focuses on the Kremlin’s interests in promoting its own links between nationalist and extremist political parties in Central and Eastern Europe. ‘Links are not accidental’, the report says, in a region that is important to Russian interests, both historically and politically. Since 2014, the Ukrainian crisis has been a key element of political influence as it has ‘resulted in the allocation of more financial resources to and the organisation of more active measures by the Kremlin in the region’. Budapest’s concerns for Ukraine’s Hungarian minority and Czech President Milos Zeman’s advocacy of a ‘Finlandisation’ of Ukraine – whereby the country would neutralise its policies instead of becoming affiliated with either a Russian or Western-backed political or

military organisation – are both seen to be the result of Russia’s influence. The recent opening of the Night Wolves’ compound in Slovakia coincided with Slovak MP Peter Marcek’s trip to Crimea – which the international community does not recognise as Russian. He and former national intelligence chief Igor Cibula held several meetings with the peninsula’s Russian officials. The trip remains unsanctioned by the Slovak government. As the Political Capital report notes, ‘the efforts of Russian meddling remain unchallenged in most countries’ in the region, and in the EU in general.

Following the inauguration of the Dolná Krupá compound, more than 200 Slovak celebrities have signed a petition demanding that Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini take action against the club’s activities. The local village authorities also requested that the complex be shut down out of concern for the town’s reputation and safety. The foreign ministry offered assurances that the security services would be monitoring the area, and the government ordered a state inspection of the compound to determine whether a Second World War museum can be legally built on an area that is officially registered to Hambálek’s agricultural company. Furthermore, the defence ministry has claimed that the old military equipment within the compound belongs to the Slovak Military History Institute and should be returned. Given this, the Night Wolves’ first basecamp within the EU may not last long. Yet, the establishment of this outpost demonstrates a clear intent to expand their influence to other countries and to continue to act as an extension of the Kremlin’s policy in Europe.

Sébastien Gobert Sébastien is a French journalist who has been based in Ukraine since 2011. He is the correspondent for several publications including Libération, Le Monde Diplomatique and Radio France Internationale. He is also the co-founder of the collective of independent journalists called Daleko-Blisko.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s, and do not necessarily reflect those of RUSI or any other institution.

The Night Wolves