Korotkikh interview II: social-nationalism, not Nazism

'We believe in some ideals and help people who want to earn money in ways that are not quite legal.' Murders, crime, the 2000s neo-nazi scene.

The following is the second part of the interview I translated yesterday with the infamous Russo-Belarussian(-Ukrainian) neo-nazi Sergei Korotkikh, alias ‘Boatswain’.

I originally intended to publish my article on him first, but I decided to release these interviews first for several reasons. To begin with, they have historical significance - the interviews were conducted by Pavlo Sheremet, a man some accuse Korotkikh of assassinating in Kyiv soon after. Furthermore, the webpage hosting them, Belarussian Partizan, has long since been deleted - I was lucky enough to find links to these interviews while reading other articles about Korotkikh, and found the original through the wayback machine.

Finally, this is also undoubtedly the most detailed interview Korotkikh has ever given about his convoluted life. Most articles on Korotkikh refer back to these interviews, and hence I thought I might as well publish these valuable primary sources before releasing my own article on the man. It is also valuable to preserve the information given here about organizations crucial to the neo-nazi scene of the 2000s - the National Socialist Society (NSO), Russian National Unity (RNE), and Format 18.

Now, onto the interview. I would like to draw the reader’s attention to several key threads.

First of all, Korotkikh’s open admission of his lifelong engagement in organized crime as a way to finance his neo-nazi organizations.

Second, his complex relationship with Russian law enforcement and security services - pro-western left-liberal publications constantly accuse him of being a Russian or Belarussian secret agent who has infiltrated Ukraine.

Third, his admission of activities as a private mercenary in ‘the Middle East or somewhere else’ at some point in late 2013 - right before he came to Ukraine and joined the Azov batallion.

Fourth, Korotkikh’s views on politics. He admires Israeli’s government, and loves Ukraine for the ‘compactness’ of its government and its digitalization of state services. Indeed, laws are certainly quite restricting for a man like the Boatswain.