| KKL-Karjalan kansallinen liike KKL-Karjalan kanšallin liikeh | |
 Logo of the Oleynik faction of the organization | |
 Flag of the Kuznetsov faction of the organization | |
| Formation | 2012; 14 years ago (2012) 2022; 4 years ago (2022) (as the Karelian National Movement) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Dmitry Kuznetsov |
| Purpose | Separatism Kareliannationalism Kuznetsov faction: Ethnic nationalism |
| Headquarters | Tartu |
| Location | |
Head of the Kuznetsov faction | Dmitry Kuznetsov |
Head of the Oleynik faction | Vladislav Oleynik |
Military unit | Karelian National Battalion (Oleynik faction) |
| Affiliations | Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum Conservative People's Party of Estonia Finnish far-right organizations[1] |
| Staff | 25+ (2023) |
| Website | Kuznetsov faction: Official Website Oleynik faction: Official Website |
Formerly called | Karelian National Liberation Movement |
TheKarelian National Movement (Russian:Карельское национальное движение,romanized: Karelskoye natsional'noye dvizheniye;Finnish:Karjalan kansallinen liike;Karelian:Karjalan kanšallin liikeh), officiallyKKL-Stop the Occupation of Karelia[2] is an umbrella term for two organizations that split from each other in 2023. The organization led by the original creator, Dmitry Kuznetsov, who also goes by the name Miteri Panfilov, is calledStop the Occupation of Karelia (Finnish:Lopeta Karjalan Valtaus); it was previously known as the Karelian National Liberation Movement.[3][4] The organization led by Vladislav Oleynik is called theKarelian National Movement.[5]
Both of the organizations arefar-rightKarelian separatist groups,[6] dating back to 2012 under the name Stop the Occupation of Karelia.[7]
SomeFinnish andRussian journalists and politicians believe that the organization was used ininformation warfare.[8]
The movement was founded in 2012 under the nameStop the Occupation of Karelia by Dmitry Kuznetsov.[7] In 2014 a website under the same name was created that advocated for the full independence ofKarelia. The website was banned byRoskomnadzor in 2015.[3] In 2016 Dmitry Kuznetsov gained political asylum inSpain after being prosecuted inRussia forseparatism. At the point of prosecution, he had already been living in Spain for more than 2 years.[9] The leader of theKarelian Republican Movement,Vadim Shtepa, refused to cooperate with the KNM, citing their ethnocentrism as the reason. He also stated that the Karelian National Movement has no future due to their extremenationalism and complete misunderstanding of the current situation in theRepublic of Karelia.[10]
On 6 June 2023, the Karelian National Movement was registered inTartu,Estonia as anon-profit organization.[2]
On 20 July 2023, the Karelian National Movement was dissolved as a solid entity after an internal conflict within the organization.[11]
On 15 November 2023, the Karelian National Movement of Oleynik demanded Kuznetsov to stop the conflict and to return control of the originalTelegram channel, after that demand the Karelian National Liberation Movement of Kuznetsov was renamed back to Stop the Occupation of Karelia.[4][5]
The movement became active again after theRussian invasion of Ukraine and changed its name to the current one.[7] It gained new members, many of whom were parts of right-wing movements, as Vladislav Oleynik, the administrator of a right-wing online group called "Væringjavegr ᛝFennoscandia".[12] He became the head of international relations of the organization.[10]
The movement also became part of theFree Nations of Post-Russia Forum.[13] The KKL was in a conflict with the FinnishKarjalan Liitto organization, which representsKarelian evacuees inFinland, due to their refusal to cooperate with the KKL to"return” Karelia.[10] The movement tried to establish contacts with Karelian organizations in the Republic of Karelia.[7]
The KKL considers thePomors one of the most related peoples, so they work closely with the organization "Pomoṙska Slobóda" (pomor. Помо́рьска Слобо́да), which advocates the independence ofPomorie [ru].[14]
On 9 May 2023, the KKL became one of the founding members of the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, which advocates for implementation of "full sovereignty" for thenative peoples of Russia and thecountries of the former Soviet Union.[15]
In 2023 the Oleynik wing of the organization created a new organization namedSuur-Suomen sotilat (Finnish:Soldiers of Greater Finland), aimed at dividing Russia into multiple Finno-Ugric republics, the new organization has close ties withfar-right groups in Finland.[5]
In spring 2024, the movement was designated as an 'undesirable organization' in Russia.[16]
In January 2023 the Karelian National Movement organized avolunteer battalion that became a part of theInternational Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine.[17]
Due to ideological differences on the position of theRussian Volunteer Corps and theFree Russia Legion in theBelgorod Incursions, on 7 June 2023, Dmitry Kuznetsov announced the cessation of communication between itself and the remaining members of the Karelian National Battalion.[18] But Vladislav Oleynik later resumed their cooperation.[5]
Some Finnish and Karelian politicians and journalists called into question the legitimacy of the organization, seeing it as a part of theinformation warfare during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5]
The Russian side believes that the organization was founded in order to stir up conflicts in the Republic of Karelia and create a narrative that Karelia wants to break away from Russia.[19][5]
Some Finnish politicians and journalists believe that the organization was created by theFederal Security Service of Russia in order to stir uprevanchism andnationalism in Finland.Finnish Security Intelligence Service believe that the movement doesn't pose aterrorist threat.[5]
Stop the Occupation of Karelia seeks the creation of an independent Karelian state for Karelians,Finns,Vepsians,Pomors,Samis,Kola Norwegians[10] based on traditionalNordic values.[19] The Stop the Occupation of Karelia movement considered Russians to be the occupiers of Karelia and support their involvement in the movement, which is why they refused to cooperate with theKarelian Republican Movement, due to their more moderate position in 2010s.[10] Stop the Occupation of Karelia opposedpartisan activities in Karelia and expects the development of a scenario following the example ofSlovenia during thebreakup of Yugoslavia.[7]
Stop the Occupation of Karelia also claims territories lost by Finland after theWinter War, including the city ofVyborg to be belonging to an independent Karelian state.[20] Their claims also includeKandalaksha, the southeast of theKola peninsula and the towns ofOnega,Tikhvin andVytegra andKirishi.[10]
The Karelian National Movement is a member ofSuur-Suomen sotilaat, apan-nationalistpan-Finnic movement. The Karelian National Movement wishes for the restoration of Karelian independence and with the creation of comfortable living conditions for the indigenous peoples, the Karelians,Vepsians,Sami and thePomors.[21] They wish to secure rights for the indigenous peoples to do traditional activities, such as fishing and hunting. They also wish to promote Karelian language and promote rights for the indigenous peoples, and give the indigenous peoples their own autonomous areas within Karelia.[5][21] The Karelian National Movement is in favour of working with other movements in Karelia and Russia to secure independence for the Finno-Ugric peoples andrepublics of Russia.[22]
The Karelian National Movement is also affiliated with theConservative People's Party of Estonia and other Finnish pan-Finnic and conservative movements and organizations, such as: Uralin Lapset and Fight Club.[5][23] The Karelian National Movement claims to be "anti-Neo-Bolshevik" andanti-Communist.[24] The Karelian National Movement ispro-Western and wishes to secure relations with theNordic countries upon the achievement of independence.[21]
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