Anti-Putin “Volunteers” Group Claiming Bryansk Raid: “Russian Nationalism Is Not Russian Imperialism” | International

The sabotage operation this Thursday in the Russian region of Bryansk (bordering Ukraine) was carried out by a "group of volunteers, all of whom were Russians and belonging to the Russian Volunteer Corps (CVR)", according to Denis Sokolov, who He introduces himself as the "head of the Resistance Coordination Center in the Civil Council of the CVR."

Sokolov is a sociologist from Saint Petersburg who in the past specialized in the study of the peoples of the Caucasus. Currently, he is in exile and spoke with this journalist through a social network from Warsaw.

The action of the CVR command had "strictly military objectives and everything that has been said about the kidnapping of civilians is a hoax," said Sokolov, according to whom "a dozen people" participated in the operation, "which was led by Denis Nikitin”. In it, he affirmed, "no deaths were recorded."

Sokolov pointed out that he did not know "the details" of the event. “I am dedicated to recruiting volunteers and I did not participate in it,” he said. Asked about the CVR members, he stated that they are "several dozen people." “The number is increasing very quickly and we hope to be able to reach 1,000 soon,” he added.

According to the activist, the CVR operates "within the framework of the Foreign Legion, which is subordinated to the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces." “Most of its members are Russian nationalists, but Russian nationalism is not Russian imperialism,” he stressed. Sokolov considered that his organization "has an echo among ordinary citizens", less response in liberal sectors and is criticized in exile groups.

“We have signed a manifesto in which it is said that we approve the European Convention on Human Rights, we recognize the right of peoples to self-determination and the right of society to self-management. This is the red line that we do not cross, ”he sentenced.

Under the umbrella of the "Foreign Legion" formed in Ukraine there are other groups "that fight against the Russian regime," said Sokolov, who mentioned "the Crimean Battalion", where "there are Tatars and representatives of national republics of the Caucasus such as Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya”. "We hope to form other bodies made up of other nationalities such as the peoples of Asia," he added.

The activist explained that the raid on Briansk is not the CVR's first military operation, but it is "the most notorious." Before, he said, he had carried out two others, one of which, he noted, "jointly with Belarusian partisans" on the Dnieper river.

Follow all the international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.