The Eurasian Youth Union (ESM; russian: Евразийский союз молодёжи; ЕСМ; ''Yevraziyskiy soyuz molodozhi'', ''YeSM'') is a Russian traditionalist

political organization A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in poli ...

, the youth wing of the Eurasia Party headed by Aleksandr Dugin. The organization has branches in several countries. In 2011, the

Government of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

has branded the ESM as an extremist anti-Ukrainian organization, convicted of a string of

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The ter ...

offenses and banned it in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

Ideology

According to some observers, the ESM was created as a reaction to the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...

in Ukraine and the role the younger generation played in it. It is suggested that ESM represents an opposition to a Ukrainian youth organization PORA. The early-20th century Eurasianist ideology of a part of the Russian emigration and modern

neo-Eurasianism Eurasianism (russian: евразийство, ''yevraziystvo'') is a political movement in Russia which states that Russian civilization does not belong in the " European" or "Asian" categories but instead to the geopolitical concept of Eurasia, ...

developed by Aleksandr Dugin has been declared the main ideology of the organization. On its website, the movement declared the West and in particular the United States as its main opponent and termed it as the "main evil": In its internal policy, the ESM supports the current government of Russia and in particular its President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. Some also claim that the movement receives tacit support from the Russian government eager to see a movement opposed to a possibility of an Orange Revolution happening in Russia.

Activities

In Russia, the ESM has allied itself with organizations like the

National Bolshevik Front The National Bolshevik Front (NBF; russian: Национал-большевистский фронт; НБФ; ''Natsional-bolshevistskiy front'', ''NBF'') is a Russian political party with a political program of National Bolshevism. The party was ...

, and other groups of that type. It organizes and takes part in the annual Russian marches in Russia and other countries of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

. Very often these marches are accompanied by violence, especially in Ukraine. After Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004, the ESM set up branches in several Ukrainian cities and voiced its sharp criticism of the pro-Western Ukrainian government. The ECM was responsible for a string of attacks on property and organizations they deemed pro-Western. It organised attacks on several Ukrainian Security Service branches, monuments to

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...

veterans and

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

attacks on the website of the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

. The most prominent of these attacks that received nationwide attention was the desecration of Ukrainian state symbols on Mount

Hoverla Mount Hoverla (Ukrainian and rue, Говерла, Hoverla), at , is the highest mountain in Ukraine and part of the Carpathian Mountains ( Ukrainian Carpathians). The mountain is located in the Eastern Beskids, in the Chornohora region. The slo ...

in October 2007. The other attack on Ukrainian targets was in Moscow, where several ESM members trashed an exhibition devoted to the

Holodomor The Holodomor ( uk, Голодомо́р, Holodomor, ; derived from uk, морити голодом, lit=to kill by starvation, translit=moryty holodom, label=none), also known as the Terror-Famine or the Great Famine, was a man-made famin ...

(1932–1933). Due to the relatively high profile of these attacks the Ukrainian police asked for assistance from Russia in finding people responsible for them, but no suspects have been apprehended yet. The organization's vandalism and sharp anti-governmental stance received wide condemnation among Ukrainian media and provoked a response from different Ukrainian organizations of the opposite orientation. Several threats were made against the organization and its members and an arson attack was reciprocated on the ESM's offices in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Bans

In 2011, a Ukrainian court banned the ESM and its leaders Dugin and Zarifullin were declared personae non grata. In June 2015, Canada added the organization to its list of sanctioned entities.

Criticism

The "

Sova Center The SOVA Center for Information and Analysis is a Moscow-based nongovernmental organization and think tank conducting sociological research primarily on nationalism and racism in post-Soviet Russia. Currently, SOVA devotes its monitoring, resear ...

" in its classification classifies the ESM as the “ideological neighbors” of radical Russian nationalists. At the same time, Eurasians claim''Сергей Бузунов'
Типа мудрые и бдительные
// Информационно-аналитический портал «Евразия», 21.04.2008 that the

cannot objectively evaluate the patriotic organizations of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, since it is funded from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

.National Endowment for Democracy
/ref> Some Russian and Ukrainian media outlets, the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of

, Kharkiv Human Rights Group,

Galina Kozhevnikova Galina Vladimirovna Kozhevnikova (russian: Галина Владимировна Кожевникова; 16 March 1974 in Kazan – 5 March 2011 in Moscow) was a Russian journalist and human rights activist. Galina Kozhevnikova was deputy directo ...

and Tatyana StanovskayaРоссийская молодёжь: угроза или ресурс?
// Журнал «Индекс/Досье на цензуру», 23/2006 consider the ESM a radical organization.

References

{{Russian intervention in Ukraine 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Anti-Ukrainian sentiment Eurasianism Imperialism Organizations established in 2005 Political organizations based in Ukraine Political organizations based in Russia Russian irredentism Russian nationalism in Ukraine Russian nationalist organizations Youth wings of political parties in Russia Third Position Banned political parties in Ukraine Neo-fascist organizations Russian fascism Far-right politics in Russia Far-right movements in Europe 2005 establishments in Russia National Bolshevik parties Russian entities subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Youth wings of fascist parties