Why Did A Ukrainian Neo-Nazi Just Kill Their Country’s Top “Linguistic Nationalist”?
Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter
Irina Farion gave voice to what her fellow fascists believe, who look down upon ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking Ukrainians, even those who consider themselves Ukrainian.
A Neo-Nazi with the nom de guerre “Ukrainian Autonomous Revolutionary Racist” (UARR) claimed credit for assassinating fellow fascist Irina Farion on 19 July. This ex-MP was an infamous “linguistic nationalist” who was investigated by the SBU for defaming the armed forces after claiming late last year that Russian-speaking members of the Azov Battalion aren’t real Ukrainians. Their video manifesto, which was reported on by Ukrainian media here and summarized here, sheds some light on the motive.
The author condemned her as a “wrecker and racial traitor”, the first presumably in connection to her abovementioned scandal that inadvertently served to divide the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the second in response to her teaching Ukrainian to Africans, which they showed a clip of in their video. They also promised to “punish everyone who sold the country after the Maidan”, thus implying that she was one of those who they deemed guilty of this crime.
The UARR is allegedly connected to the “National Socialism/White Power” group, which the previously cited Ukrainian media report conspiratorially speculated is run by Russian intelligence. That’s a kooky theory though which is only being circulated to deflect from the fact that Ukrainian fascists just killed one of their own icons. It also builds upon GUR chief Kirill Budanov’s narrative that the culprits, which he strongly implied are linked in some way or another to Russia, “try to use any tools to divide our nation.”
The reality is that the Western-backed spree of urban terrorism and associated coup in early 2014, which are collectively known as “EuroMaidan”, were what irreparably divided Ukraine.