Social-National Assembly Соціал-Національна Асамблея | |
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| Abbreviation | SNA |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Dissolved | 2015 |
| Succeeded by | National Corps |
| Headquarters | Kyiv |
| Paramilitary wings | Patriot of Ukraine Azov Battalion |
| Ideology | Ukrainian nationalism Ultranationalism Neo-Nazism Neo-Fascism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Party flag | |
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TheSocial-National Assembly (SNA) was an assemblage of the ultra-nationalist radical organizations and groups founded in 2008 that share the social-national ideology and agree upon building a social-national state in Ukraine. It is located on the far right of the Ukrainian politics and built around the "Patriot of Ukraine". In late November 2013, both the S.N.A. and the "Patriot of Ukraine" entered in an association with several other Ukrainian far-right groups which led to the formation of theRight Sector.[1] As of 2014[update], the S.N.A. was also reported to be close toSvoboda, and Yuriy Zbitnyev, the leader of the nationalist political party "Nova Syla" (New Force).[2][3] As of 2014[update], the S.N.A.'s activities were largelyKyiv-based.[1]
The SNA participated at theWar in Donbas through theAzov Battalion, created as a militia in March 2014 and granted official status in May of the same year.[4][5] Later the SNA and Patriot of Ukraine ended operations as most of its members were engaged in participation on the Azov Battalion.[6]
In 2016, former members of the Azov Battalion and the SNA founded a new party namedNational Corps.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2022) |
The S.N.A. was founded in 2008, after a meeting was held on 8th of November between leaders of several Ukrainian social-nationalist organizations, and a decision was made to create a "United Social-Nationalist force" — The Social-National Assembly.[7] The S.N.A maintained relations with the wider social-nationalist movement in Ukraine.[8] The S.N.A was formed out of 4 social-nationalist organizations that operated at the time;[7]
Co-founder of the organization wasAndriy Biletsky. In the late 2000s, Ukrainian presidentVictor Yushchenko and theOur Ukraine bloc bolstered the S.N.A. and other far-right groups by supporting an explicitly nationalist view of Ukrainian history.[9] Following the 2009 death of Maksym Chaika, an S.N.A member who was killed in a fight with antifascists in Odesa, Yushchenko supported the far-right interpretation of Chaika's death, describing him and others as heroes and victims driven to violence for a just cause.[9]
In 2010, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union reported the S.N.A and "Patriot of Ukraine" attacks Vietnamese and other foreign market stalls in Vasylkiv. Most attacks were carried out by youth and targeted Vietnamese, Uzbeks and Gypsies.[10] According to the S.N.A website, they drove foreigners from the market within two weeks and replaced them with Ukrainians. The S.N.A states that some of their victims were hospitalized.[11] Later that year, Ukrainian authorities shut down an S.N.A.-linked music festival[verification needed] near Kyiv that promoted neo-Nazism and chauvinism among Ukrainian youth. The music glorified the skinhead movement, Nazi aesthetics and the harassment of minorities.[10][dead link]
In August 2011, the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights warned about the growth of extremist organizations including the S.N.A and "Patriot of Ukraine", noting repeated attacks against foreigners and visible minorities.[12] The institute also noted the government's inability or unwillingness to deal with extreme-right movements in Ukraine.[12]
In August 2011 Ukrainian police announced that they thwarted a bomb attack planned for the commemoration of Ukrainian Independence. The "Patriot of Ukraine", a part of the S.N.A, declared that some of their members had been detained by police but maintained no connection with any terrorist plan.[13][14] Spokespersons for the S.N.A and "Patriot of Ukraine" insisted that criminal action against them was a pretext for SBU repression against their organizations.[13]
In 2013, the S.N.A, "Patriot of Ukraine" andAutonomous Resistance all increased in popularity, contributing to the growth of Svoboda as well.[3] The Social National Assembly helped to create an umbrella radical organization - theRight Sector (Pravy Sector). This was also joined by openly radical anti-semitic groups includingWhite Hammer andC14, then the neo-Nazi youth wing ofSvoboda.[1]
During the2014 Ukrainian revolution, the militants from the S.N.A and the "Patriot of Ukraine" were on the front lines of the streetriots in Kyiv. According toIgor Krivoruchko, the leader of the Kyiv's S.N.A. branch, its members started clashes with the police near thePresidential Administration Building (Kyiv) and also initiated theHrushevskoho Street riots. They seized and burned on 18 February 2014 the central office of the ruling party - theParty of Regions - in Kyiv.[15][16]
Oleh Odnoroshenko, the S.N.A and "Patriot of Ukraine" ideologue and also one of the "Right Sector" leaders, stated in February 2014 that the "Right Sector" would be hesitant to enter into the government following the departure ofViktor Yanukovych. Odnoroshenko thought that the politicians would try to use the Right Sector credibility and popularity while pursuing their own agendas.[17]
At the end of April 2014, S.N.A members marched with burning torches to theIndependence Square and came into conflict with the Self-defense of the Maidan units. During the fight, the S.N.A. and Self-defense of the Maidan activists used rubber bullet guns and tear gas, and ambulances later arrived to treat wounded.[18]
Oleh Odnoroshenko volunteered to the press that the S.N.A members organized the attack on the Russian embassy in Kyiv on 14 June 2014.[19]
In March 2014 the Social-National Assembly created a volunteer group,Azov Battalion. In April, members were wounded in combat against separatists in eastern Ukraine. During the first week of May, Kyiv granted it official status and began delivering weapons.[4] On 6 May, the Azov Battalion capturedDonetsk People's Republic defense ministerIgor Khakimzyanov and several other separatist fighters.[20]
On 13 June, 2014 the Azov Battalion stormed separatists' barricades inMariupol and seized control of the city center after a six-hour battle.[4] The group has been assigned to patrol theAzov Sea coastline and prevent arms smuggling.[4]
The ideologue of S.N.AOleg Odnorozhenko said in 2014 that the SNA stood for preserving “European identity”. He said: “We consider the present tendency of Europe leads to the destruction of civilisation, with no control of immigration, the destruction of the family, of religious identity and of everything that made Europe Europe.” He said that it had “contact but not close relations” with theBritish National Party.[21]
In 2014, political scientistAnton Shekhovtsov,Foreign Policy journalistAlec Luhn andHaaretz journalistLolita Brayman described the S.N.A as a far-right, neo-Nazi or racist group.[22][23][24][25][26] A ministerial adviser,Anton Gerashchenko, denies these neo-Nazi allegations, stating that "The Social-National Assembly is not a neo-Nazi organization… It is a party of Ukrainian patriots."[26][27]
The S.N.A is also a "street combat movement" hostile to ethnic and social minorities: according to researchers and its own website it has carried out physical attacks against them.[3][10][11][12]
In 2014, over half the membership of theAzov Battalion, a military group with close ties to the Social-National Assembly, was composed of Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians,[5] as well as a small number of Russian nationals (estimated at 50 in 2015).[28]
Azov was created in March by the Social National Assembly…. Azov was granted official status as a volunteer battalion…. Azov stormed the rebels' barricades, seizing control…. Since then, its main role has been to keep an eye on Mariupol and patrol the Azov coastline, preventing arms smuggling from Russia.
As a result of the raid, several Vietnamese containers were closed, together with the goods of the aliens, and the counters of Uzbeks and Gypsies were removed. The majority of Ukrainians, who were at the open air market at that time, were approving of the actions of national-socialists. As it was already mentioned before, Ukrainians entrepreneurs who sell at the market are firmly against aliens, in particular Vietnamese, Gypsies, and Uzbeks, etc., selling their goods there. Ukrainian entrepreneurs were supported by Social National Assembly, and by the organization «Patriot Ukraiiny». With joint efforts, the patriots and the entrepreneurs forced out the majority of aliens from the open air market of Vasylkiv during the last 2 weeks.
In light of the resurgence of activities by extremist organizations such as "Social National Assembly" and "Patriot of Ukraine", the Committee notes with concern the repeated attacks against foreigners and members of "visible minorities" by young extremists and the information contained in paragraph 85 of the State party's report to the effect that the extreme right-wing movements are "in some respects beyond the Ministry of the Interior's legal competence"
According to eye witnesses, 100 people, reportedly members of the far-right Social-National Assembly, marching with burning torches towards Maidan – the epicenter of the massive uprising that removed former President Yanukovich from power. The marchers came to commemorate those killed during anti-government protests in December–February… Maidan self-defense units blocked the rally at the barricades across from the main post office, prompting a massive fight. The far-right protesters reportedly used firecrackers,traumatic guns, and tear gas. Many of them carried bats and sticks.
At the same time, Nova Syla's Yuriy Zbitnyev is one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi group Social-National Assembly, an organization that is also close to the younger members of Svoboda, but Nova Syla itself, while remaining on the fringes of Ukrainian politics, is not much influenced by these relations.
Interestingly, 'street combat movements' like the SNA no longer focus on ethnic issues: in contrast to the older Ukrainian far right, the new groups are, first and foremost, racist movements. Their disregard for the perceived 'Ukrainian versus Russian' ethno-cultural cleavage allows them to gain support from many 'white' ultra-nationalists. Once drawn to these movements, 'white racists' also contribute to the organizational efficiency of the Svoboda party, which is, to reiterate, considered the only representative of 'white racism' in the Ukrainian electoral sphere.
Some Pravy Sektor protesters on the Maidan sported yellow armbands with the wolf hook symbol revealing their specific political party affiliation—that of the Social National Assembly (SNA), a largely Kiev-based neo-Nazi organization. Other more openly anti-Semitic parties are White Hammer and C14, the neo-Nazi youth wing of the Svoboda party.
On the public request, the authorities stopped the musical festival «Traditions of Spirit» near Kyiv, scheduled for June 26–27, 2010, under the aegis of the radical «Social Nationalist Assembly» with the goal to promulgate among the youth the ideas of neo-Nazi and chauvinism. During the festival, the performances of ultra-right musical bands were planned («Sokyra Peruna», «Seitar», «Nachtigall», «White Lions»), who in the lyrics of their songs openly approve and show in romantic light the skinhead movement, promote Hitlerist aesthetics, and encourage to harass national minorities.
[The] members of Azov Battalion … have been labeled patriots by some, neo-Nazis by others…
