Supporters of the pro-Putin motorcycle group Night Wolves honored the memory of fallen soldiers during the Second World War at the Olšan Cemetery on Monday. The group is an offshoot of the Russian motorcycle club. Its members are from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Macedonia or Estonia. Even their opponents participated in the event. “However, it does not have such a response in our environment,” political scientist Miroslav Mareš from the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University told Radiožurnál.
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Prague
17:52 May 6, 2024
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Political scientist Miroslav Mareš from the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University. | Source: Profimedia
Russian members of the group have not been allowed to travel to the Czech Republic since the beginning of Putin’s war in Ukraine. So what kind of group is this?
They are people from those regional branches of the Night Wolves. The Night Wolves are no longer only a Russian club that operated in the territory of the Russian Federation, or in the territory inhabited by Russians, but there are also supporters from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other countries.
Listen to an interview with political scientist Miroslav Mareš
Sometimes they are also people who work in the west, or maybe some, for example German members, may already have German citizenship. Therefore, they can move freely within the Schengen area.
So far this year, is their event somehow visibly connected to Russia? Does it somehow refer to the war in Ukraine?
So far, I have had the opportunity to monitor, for example, the Brno meeting, the Brno commemoration, and I would say that this is very much tied to history. Those references to the current war appear more among some supporters who come there and are not as visible as they were in the years of the second decade of the 21st century.
But in the speeches I’ve heard, it’s really dominantly focused on the Second World War period.
What do you think is the future potential of Night Wolves? How influential is this group? In the past it was said that they have ties directly to Putin.
Yes, Putin is an honorary member of the Night Wolves. I talked about the symbolism of the past years and I remember that already in 2019 they even carried a flag with the image of Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechen pro-Putin president, who is also an honorary member of the Night Wolves.
The night wolves in Brno laid wreaths at the Red Army monument. They also met with protests on the spot
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I would say that their potential is perhaps no longer as strong as it was in the years 2015 to 2017, or in subsequent years. Precisely because the core of the Russian Night Wolves is now on the territory of the European Union.
The mobilization potential for supporters of the current Kremlin regime still exists, but I would say that the main, most important years as an actor of hybrid action were experienced in the years I mentioned.
I am not saying that they are not completely insignificant at the present time. I would even say that they are experiencing some expansion in the Balkan area. In our environment, however, it no longer has the same response as it did seven or eight years ago.
Why do you think they are gaining popularity in the Balkan area?
It is related to the geopolitical interests of Russia and the events there in the internal politics of those countries.
There are strong pro-Russian tendencies in the internal politics of Serbia, or even the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because they see the Kremlin regime as a certain defender of such Great Serbian ideas.
The same can happen with the Slavic population of Macedonia, where it can be understood as a certain defense against some external pressures that they subjectively feel there.
And of course, in such an environment, Russia uses its traditional tool and tries to apply such strength, masculinity, masculinity transformed into those strong bikers in the area of the Balkans.
Their driving, especially now during the war in Ukraine, arouses resentment. Even today (Monday), members of the Kaputin group want to protest in Olšany. So under what circumstances or conditions is such an action legal?
It is legal in a situation where it is announced as an act of honor to the victims of World War II. The second thing is that really at the moment I would say that there has been a moderation of the whole attachment to contemporary politics compared to, for example, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Supporters of the Night Wolves with Foldyna honored the memory of the fallen soldiers. Opponents shouted: Shame on you traitors
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The state did not take a repressive approach to this at the time, so at the moment the question is how and on what basis they will take action against it, when in the past these actions took place basically with the state’s tolerance.
Once even the then governor of the South Moravian Region Michal Hašek (now PRO 2022) met with the Night Wolves.
Is it possible to define which boundaries would have to be crossed in order for the authorities to intervene?
There would have to be some approval of the contemporary Russian aggression said directly and to such an extent that it fulfills the conditions of the criminal code.
Some symbols could be promoted there, which could be identified as problematic by law enforcement authorities, or from the point of view of criminal proceedings.
But here we run into the well-known problem that, for example, some symbols of the totalitarian Soviet Union are not perceived realistically in our justice system in the same way as, for example, the symbols of Nazi Germany.
Věra Štechrová, Jud
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