Knuttarna is part of the club Nattvargarna, led by the founder Alexander Zaldastanov. Several of them have written the letter “Z” on their vehicles, a sign that has become a symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As the rally was about to get under way, Zaldastanov said that the Russian quest for victory “is eternal”.
According to the organizers, the procession, which goes by the name “Roads of Victory”, will reach Volgorad – once known as Stalingrad – on Monday, May 1.
Zaldastanov, who has described himself as a “friend” of President Vladimir Putin, is under Western sanctions over his support for Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and the full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, which began last year.
How he and the others will manage to get to the German capital is unclear. In May 2015, Zaldastanov was banned from entering Poland where he wanted to organize “a motorcycle-borne victory tour” through Europe.