Many European far-right parties have condemned the attack on Ukraine despite their ties to Russia.
17.3. 06:29 • Updated March 17 06:29
The propaganda machinery of the Russian state declares that neo-Nazis have seized power in Ukraine. The special military operation launched by Russia on 24 February aims to liberate Ukraine.
However, Russia seems to have forgotten that after the occupation of Crimea in 2014, Europe turned its back on Russia and a marginal political group remained in Europe as partners of the Kremlin.
The far-right parties in Germany, Austria, France and Italy are united by conservative values, resistance to immigration, EU criticism and strong ties to Russia.
Russia does not seem to be moved by the fact that the ideology of these groups is extremely touching neo-Nazism.
Austrian politics is cracking because of Russia
The Austrian far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) returned to the Austrian governing coalition in 2017.
Although the general line of the FPÖ is considered to be quite moderate compared to other European far-right parties, the party is known for the statements of its members who approach neo-Nazism.
Published in 2017 in the document (you switch to another service) it was calculated that between 2013 and 2017, dozens of statements were published in the ranks of the FPÖ that meet the signs of political extremism.
Since the start of the Russian invasion, the FPÖ has signed up (switch to another service)as an opponent of both war and sanctions. The party has justified its policy with a constitutional article on Austrian neutrality in a conflict situation.
In Austria disputed (switch to another service) whether Ukrainian refugees should be admitted. According to the FPÖ, refugees should be taken in primarily by Ukraine’s neighbors.
The links between the FPÖ and Russia also speak in Austria.
Real evidence of links between the FPÖ and Russia was obtained in 2018.
When the then Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl married in the summer of 2018, among the wedding guests was seen the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
In June 2021, Kneissl was appointed to the board of Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer. He also serves as a Russian propaganda horn RT (you switch to another service) as a columnist.
In recent years, Russia’s ties to Austrian politics have shaken the whole of Austrian politics.
In 2017, video material leaked to the public featuring an FPÖ politician Heinz-Christian Strache seemed willing to take money from the Russian side. The video also discussed how the content of the magazines could be affected.
Strache served as vice chancellor at the time, and the uproar led to the resignation of Strache and, ultimately, the entire board.
This year, a case has erupted in Austria in which Russian big businessmen received EU passports after donating several hundred thousand euros to a leader in the Austrian far right.
The candidate for the Alternative Party to Germany recognizes Crimea and does not want Ukraine to go to Europe
Since the 2015 refugee crisis, the main theme of the German Alternative to Germany (AfD) party has been the policy of crossing borders.
AfD’s links to neo-Nazis have been one of the topics of German domestic policy debate in recent years. In East Germany in particular, the party is said to have active members with links to far-right radical groups.
In addition, the party’s close ties with Russia speak for themselves.
In 2018, eight people representing the AfD in the Bundestag traveled to Crimea (go to another service) as election observers in the presidential election. Germany, like no other European country, has not recognized the peninsula’s accession to Russia.
In 2019, the Dossier Center and Der Spiegelin (switch to another service) the investigation revealed that a member of the United Russian Duma Viktor Šreiderin assistant Petr Premjak had suggested in 2017 that Russia should support AfD Markus Frohnmaieria In the German parliamentary elections.
The idea was that this would give Russia a “member of its own” in the German parliament. In return for assistance in correspondence promised (switch to another service)that Frohnmaier would pursue a pro-Russia policy in parliament.
Both Premjak and Frohnmaier denied having been in correspondence.
Markus Frohnmaier was elected to the German parliament in 2017 and 2021. He is known as a supporter of Putin’s policies. He has also traveled to the disputed Donbass region and expressed support for recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.
Frohnmaier has denied receiving financial support for his election campaign from Russia.
Following the Russian invasion, Frohnmaier has posted statements on his Facebook page that Ukraine should not be accepted as a member of the European Union.
AfD party leadership line (switch to another service) is that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cannot be justified in any way. Party-led Tino Chrupalla insists, however, that Germany refrain from being neutral in the conflict and that Germany should not take the side of Ukraine.
The French National Front is struggling to shake off its reputation as an extremist movement
The French National Front has been seen as a model for all European far-right parties. In recent years, the party line (switch to another service) has become more moderate on issues such as NATO and the EU, and has sought to clean up its reputation as a far-right movement.
According to Le Penn, the National Front does not support Russian military action in Ukraine. However, according to the party, Russia is a European country and it is necessary to continue the dialogue with it.
Among other things, the National Front’s connections with Russia are known for the fact that the party has received at least one large loan from a banker close to Putin.
In September 2014, the bank granted a EUR 9.4 million loan from the Russian-Czech bank. The bank was headed by an oligarch who was related to Putin at the time Gennady Tymoshenko.
Party member, businessman Jean-Luc Schaffhauserin alleged to have acted as a loan intermediary. He is also said to have received a fee of € 100,000 for arranging the loan.
British BBC (switch to another service) has reported on correspondence between Kremlin officials and the party. According to documents, the loan was granted to Le Pen as a “thank you” for the party’s line towards Crimea.
The National Front is in favor of recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, and Schaffhauser has traveled several times to Donetsk and observed the 2014 regional elections.
Italian t-shirts are still remembered
Called the Italian ultraconservative party, the Northern Alliance, also known as la Lega, rose to Italy’s ruling coalition in the late 2010s.
Party leader Matteo Salvini known for his spectacular abductions.
Among other things, he has appeared at a meeting of the European Parliament in a t-shirt calling for an end to sanctions against Russia. Salvini also supports the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia.
Although Salvini supports Ukraine, he has openly refrained from criticizing Putin or his military action. The la Lega party has also said in a statement that it opposes the war.
The Italian la Lega has at least tried to cooperate with the Kremlin.
In 2019, the American Buzzfeed News (switch to another service) published a memorandum on the discussions between La Lega representatives and three Russian politicians. Among other things, Salvin’s colleague, a far-right politician, took part in the discussions Gianluca Savoini.
According to the memorandum, he said the party would “build a new Europe” and that Italy should be closer to Russia because then Italy could retain its true sovereignty.
During the talks, Italy also promised to resolve the sanctions problem.
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