Page 27 - RusRPTApr23

Last year, Nikitin said he reached out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an effort to get his unit permission to officially “join the fight” and was “given the go-ahead.” The Ukrainian authorities deny any involvement in the corps’ activities. In itself, Russian neo-Nazis fighting on the Ukrainian side is nothing new: a significant number of ultra-right wingers fight on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed March 6 it had thwarted a terrorist attack against sanctioned businessman Konstantin Malofeyev. The attack was organized — according to the FSB — by the same Russian Volunteer Corps that attacked the Bryansk region. A controversial figure, Malofeyev owns the ultra-patriotic Tsargrad TV station and was sanctioned by Western countries in 2014 for financing Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The FSB published a video that allegedly showed the moment the bomb was placed under Malofeyev’s vehicle. In the footage a person stands next to Malofeyev’s Mercedes, which is parked outside, before abruptly leaning down to place something under the chassis and then fleeing the scene. Another video showed how the vehicle was made safe, although — for some reason — the second clip was filmed in an underground parking garage.
According to the FSB, Ukrainian intelligence ordered the attempt on Malofeyev’s life and the attack was carried out by “the founder of the so-called Russian Volunteer Corps, Russian citizen Denis Kapustin.” Kapustin is the pseudonym of Nikitin.
Malofeyev is one of the most controversial figures in Russian business. In the early 2000s he worked with major Russian investment banks before setting up Marshall Capital Partners in 2005. At first, Malofeyev bought assets on the baby food market and combined them into Russia’s largest manufacturer, Nutritek. That project ended in a criminal case over embezzlement. Then, the businessman, who was seen as a protégé of presidential aide and former communications minister Igor Shchegolev,acquired a large amount of shares in state-owned communications giant Rostelecom. Another criminal case arose out of Malofeyev’s activities with Rostelecom.
However, every case against Malofeyev was closed in 2014 after he played an active role in the annexation of Crimea and fueling the war in eastern Ukraine. Among other things, Malofeyev’s employees included Igor Strelkov, who led armed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and Alexander Borodai, the first prime minister of the so-called People’s Republic of Donetsk.
Malofeyev owns the ultra-patriotic Tsargrad TV channel, which broadcasts shows by nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin. Dugin’s daughter was blown up in her car last summer. In its statement March 6 , the FSB drew attention to the fact that the assassination attempt “followed the same plan used to kill Daria Dugina.” Putin also mentionedDugina’s death March 1 when he commented on attacks on the Bryansk region. Observers spotted that the piece of paper from which Putin read his speech that day had a handwritten note that read: “Daria Alexandrovna Dugina.”While announcing the Malofeyev attack, the FSB also accused the Russian Volunteer Corps of preparing another failed attack – an attempt to damage energy infrastructure in the Volgograd region in August. The FSBreported on that incident in the immediate
27 RUSSIA Country Report Russia April 2023 www.intellinews.com