An article published on 18 October in Rizospastis, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), reports on a meeting of nationalist, fascist, and neo-Nazi organisations held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 12 September.
The gathering, operating under the code name “Paladín,” functioned as the founding congress of an entity calling itself the “International Union of Enemies of Globalization” or the “International Union of Sovereign Nations.”
According to the newspaper’s article, about twenty organisations from across the world took part in this event. Among those specifically named were the Falange Española de las JONS from Spain — a group that honours the volunteers of the so-called “Blue Division,” who fought alongside Hitler’s Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front — and Les Nationalistes from France, founded by former SS members and former officials of the far-right Front National. The Hungarian organisation Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement, which campaigns for the revision of the Treaty of Trianon, was also represented, along with neo-Nazi groups from Germany, Serbia, Italy, and Brazil.
From Germany, Robert Rischs, a regional deputy of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Hamburg, took part, while online participation came from Alexander von Bismarck, a former Christian Democratic Union (CDU) member who now openly supports pro-Kremlin positions. From Greece, the newspaper confirms the participation of the criminal neo-Nazi organisation Golden Dawn, which has been convicted for its violent and murderous activities.
The Rizospastis article also highlights the participation of officials connected to the Russian government. Among them were Konstantin Chebikin, a deputy of the ruling United Russia party, and Alexander Belsky, president of the party’s parliamentary group in the Legislative Assembly of the St. Petersburg region. One of the main organisers identified was Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian business magnate with close ties to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The article underlines that the ideological framework of the gathering draws heavily on the theories of Aleksandr Dugin, the far-right nationalist thinker and proponent of “Eurasianism.” Dugin’s ideas — which blend mysticism, nationalism, and anti-communism — serve as a key reference point for the organisers and participants of the “Paladin” event, providing them with a supposed intellectual foundation for their ultranationalist and anti-globalist positions.
Rizospastis notes that the choice of the name “Paladín” is itself symbolic. It recalls the medieval “paladins” — knights serving the Frankish emperor Charlemagne — and, more ominously, a neo-fascist network that appeared in the 1970s under the same name, reportedly linked to the Nazi officer Otto Skorzeny. The newspaper interprets this deliberate historical reference as part of an attempt to mythologise fascism and present it as a force of “heroic defence” of “Western civilization.”
The KKE newspaper argues that the hosting of such a gathering in St. Petersburg, with the participation of far-right organisations from many countries and the open support of figures linked to the Russian state and capital, demonstrates how fascist forces continue to be used as instruments within the capitalist system. The article emphasises that the rise and coordination of these movements show how bourgeois classes, including the Russian one, cultivate and tolerate fascist elements whenever it serves their political and economic interests.
In its conclusion, the article warns that the St. Petersburg meeting is not a random or marginal phenomenon. Rather, it reflects the strengthening of organised fascist networks with transnational connections and state-level backing. The newspaper stresses that this development highlights once more the enduring link between capitalism, imperialism, and fascism — a link that becomes especially visible in times of crisis.
From Germany, Robert Rischs, a regional deputy of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Hamburg, took part, while online participation came from Alexander von Bismarck, a former Christian Democratic Union (CDU) member who now openly supports pro-Kremlin positions. From Greece, the newspaper confirms the participation of the criminal neo-Nazi organisation Golden Dawn, which has been convicted for its violent and murderous activities.
The Rizospastis article also highlights the participation of officials connected to the Russian government. Among them were Konstantin Chebikin, a deputy of the ruling United Russia party, and Alexander Belsky, president of the party’s parliamentary group in the Legislative Assembly of the St. Petersburg region. One of the main organisers identified was Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian business magnate with close ties to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The article underlines that the ideological framework of the gathering draws heavily on the theories of Aleksandr Dugin, the far-right nationalist thinker and proponent of “Eurasianism.” Dugin’s ideas — which blend mysticism, nationalism, and anti-communism — serve as a key reference point for the organisers and participants of the “Paladin” event, providing them with a supposed intellectual foundation for their ultranationalist and anti-globalist positions.
Rizospastis notes that the choice of the name “Paladín” is itself symbolic. It recalls the medieval “paladins” — knights serving the Frankish emperor Charlemagne — and, more ominously, a neo-fascist network that appeared in the 1970s under the same name, reportedly linked to the Nazi officer Otto Skorzeny. The newspaper interprets this deliberate historical reference as part of an attempt to mythologise fascism and present it as a force of “heroic defence” of “Western civilization.”
The KKE newspaper argues that the hosting of such a gathering in St. Petersburg, with the participation of far-right organisations from many countries and the open support of figures linked to the Russian state and capital, demonstrates how fascist forces continue to be used as instruments within the capitalist system. The article emphasises that the rise and coordination of these movements show how bourgeois classes, including the Russian one, cultivate and tolerate fascist elements whenever it serves their political and economic interests.
In its conclusion, the article warns that the St. Petersburg meeting is not a random or marginal phenomenon. Rather, it reflects the strengthening of organised fascist networks with transnational connections and state-level backing. The newspaper stresses that this development highlights once more the enduring link between capitalism, imperialism, and fascism — a link that becomes especially visible in times of crisis.
