Perun among the ruins

Paganism

Medieval Rus converted to Christianity in the late 10th century through the efforts of the Kievan prince Vladimir. But before that, Perun was the ultimate god.

A depiction of Perun favored by Ukrainian nationalist telegrams, in the usual Hyperborean kitsch style.

Associated with weapons, thunder and battle, he cuts quite a Thorish figure. The meaning of ‘Perun’ is generally understood to be ‘thunder’ or ‘lightning’. Which, of course, provided the aesthetic basis for several well-known ‘special military-political units’, to put it lightly.

On July 3, 2017, the Azov batallion set up an idol to Perun on its base near Mariupol.

Azov spared no words in explaining their motivations:

The power of every army lies in its glorious military traditions. Unfortunately, our traditions have been desecrated for many centuries. Today, on the Victory Day of Svyatoslav [the Kievan prince’s 10th century victory over the Khazarians], we would like to establish another tradition in our garrison by placing Perun here, the patron of all Slavs and particularly of warriors. Perun, as the forefather and a true protector of his kind, will stand guard over our garrison.

Ever-present

Perun also glides its way across both sides of the frontline. In August 2023, Ukrainian military telegrams announced that a Ukrainian version of the famous Russian lancet drone was being developed, to be called Perun. But in recent months, Russian military channels have been boasting of the capacities of their Perun drone, which can carry up to 200 kilograms and boasts anti-tank grenades.

There are Russian tank drivers with the alias Perun, and there’s a special drone unit of the AFU - the"Perun" unit of the 42nd brigade

‘Sokira Peruna’ is the name of a Kievan metal group that describes itself as ‘white power rock and is close to a variety of Ukrainian rightwing veteran groups. They release songs like ‘White Power Skinheads’, and they have a special swastika reaction option on their telegram. Their 2019 album was called ‘Road to the ATO’, referring to the ‘Anti-Terrorist Operation’ against the Donbass, and featured songs like ‘Azov. Full Contact’ and ‘Hero of My Race’.

They also had a 2001 album called ‘White Terror in Kharkiv’. Some day I hope to introduce my readers to the strange story of how Armenian oligarch Arsen Avakov curated the national socialist sci-fi and black metal scenes of Kharkiv in the 2000s.

Atlanticist favorite, then-prime minister Oleksiy Honcharuk got himself in a scandal for attending one of their concerts back in 2019.

Honcharuk on stage. He came with (wait for it) the Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Displaced Persons. The event was organized by Veterans Strong.

Whence Perun

In the future I’ll try dig deeper into the meaning of this curious ideological trend. An older post mentioned Perun regarding a key Azov figure. But for now I’ll provide a translation of this telegram post from August 2023 by the Russian telegram channel ‘Blocknotes of a propagandist’, which is the most detailed look at it I could find (asides from a certain Russian book I won’t be reproducing as of yet):

Paganism in the terrorist organization "Azov" (banned in the Russian Federation)

Inside "Azov", there is a hidden competition between proponents of Slavic and Scandinavian mythologies, which, however, does not lead to any external conflicts. Supporters of Slavic paganism call themselves "rodichi," while supporters of Scandinavian paganism are called "Scandics."

Mysteries are held in honor of pagan gods, hands are cut, and ritual sports games are organized. The regiment's gym is called ASGARD GYM, and the music festival of neo-Nazis is Asgardreis (Asgard is the abode of the Scandinavian gods). The Kiev sports club of "Azov" is called Ragnarok.

Azov members express their love for paganism not only in sports and music. For example, the Kyiv cell of the Civil Corps "Azov" was involved in regular cleaning of the Perun shrine on the Bald Mountain in Kyiv. Azov members periodically set up wooden idols there, which were burned by concerned Kyiv residents. Those responsible for the arsons were promised to be identified and punished.

In May 2017, Strana.ua published excerpts from a parliamentary appeal by Andriy Biletsky and Oleg Petrenko to the Kyiv administration to help register the pagan community "Rodobozhie." The idea is currently postponed, but the terrorists have not abandoned it. In time, the community planned to create its own schools. "Azov" ideologues are already working on textbooks for the upcoming Kingdom of Odin/Perun.

The leader in the competition among "communities" [obschin, a word used in ancient Rus’] for the right to be the most "pagan" was Zaporizhzhia. Thus, one of the first leaders of the Zaporizhzhia branch of the Civil Corps "Azov" was the priest Svitovit Pashnik. Online materials confirm that he spiritually "nurtured" the regiment's fighters and continues to do so to this day.

A video recording of a ritual he conducted honoring Perun on the Zaporizhzhia island of Khortytsia shows people in t-shirts of the "National Corps" party [Azov’s political party]. Consider also that the priest Svitovit has a certificate from a psychiatric clinic.

Sympathy for neo-paganism implies a distinctly anti-Christian stance. The most vivid example of, at least some "Azov" members' attitude towards Christianity, was the burning of icons and reproductions of religious paintings in Shyrokyne on the Day of the Baptism of Rus on July 28, 2015. History textbooks of the Ukrainian SSR were used as kindling for the bonfire.

"Azov", like all modern terrorist organizations, relies on a mix of destructive ideologies, allowing its fighters to claim that they are bearers of unique knowledge and moral norms and opens up broad opportunities for recruiting a larger number of diverse extremists.

Ruins and renewals

Russian media shared these photos and videos of the remaining Perun monument at the old Azov base near Mariupol. They were mournfully reposted by the Ukrainian rightwing military telegrams Wotan Jugend, I didn’t ask for this, and Tales of the IV Reich:

But Perun played a role in the transition of power between Azov’s commanders as well. Wotan Jugend posted the following in 2022:

In Azov, the change of command took place during a ceremonial assembly at the Azov Kurgan of the Three Swords. Each commander had their personal cold weapon, for example, Andriy Biletsky had a saber in 2014.

In 2017, on the eve of the ceremonial transfer of command over Azov from 'Mose' to 'Radish' [Denys Prokopenko of future Mariupol fame[, an axe was specially made as a traditional symbol of military authority. Archaeologists have found many axes in Ukraine that served as an attribute of military authority among the Scythians - they called them sagaris. The Scythians believed that the axe, as the first weapon, was sent to them by the celestial forefather Papai. The axe was the armed embodiment of the God of war and authority in Rus - Perun. Russian guardsmen wore small axes of Perun around their necks.

This tradition of the Azov special guard unit was carried over to the National Guard, commanded by the second commander of Azov, Igor Mikhaylenko. Commanders of the Southern and Eastern directions of the National Guard (territorial association of cells) ceremonially received forged axes modeled after Scythian sagaris in Kyiv.