Trump assassin part I: The Misanthropic Division
Nikita Kasap and "the Misanthropic Division". International recruiters for Azov, its domestic terrorist allies in western countries. Columbines, Tarrants, McVeighs.
It’s time for some more articles about strange post-soviet neo-nazis. Satanists, accelerationists, racist murderers, double agents, mass shooters…
Unfortunately, there are quite real, global reasons to be interested in the matter. To begin with, because the two groups I will be analyzing in these articles are implicated in the latest would-be Trump assassination attempt. This tracks all too conveniently with the popular hope in Ukrainian media that Trump will be soon ‘overturned by an American mass protest’. Since that isn’t materializing, and given Zelensky’s love for speculating on his lifespan as opposed to Putin’s, other means of achieving the same outcome seem logical.
Next, we will see that these groups seem to be specialized in grooming and encouraging western extremists into committing acts of domestic terrorism. What better than a strategy of tension and dramatic false flags to convince western publics that they need to accept higher military spending and less social benefits? What better way to isolate any advocates of detente with Russia? One of the western extremists involved with today’s Ukrainian group named his radio program ‘Radio Wehrwolf’, the German Nazi ‘stay-behind’ terrorists that NATO’s GLADIO operation was modeled on.
Finally, I believe these stories reveal a deeper aspect of the contemporary condition. It is no coincidence that groups that have created an ideology out of murder of the most oppressed members of society - the homeless, pensioners, working class migrants - emerged in countries most devastated by distilled capitalism. This aspect will be deal with by the sequel to this article, which will analyze the NS/WP network. Today’s text will explore the world of the Misanthropic Division.
Death to parents and presidents
You might have heard of a strange crime in the USA - a young man by the name of Nikita Kasap killed his parents and was apparently planning to kill Trump by means of a drone.
The reason I’m talking about this here is because the FBI documents on the matter released so far claim that Kasap was in correspondence with a Russian-speaking man in Ukraine. He recommended Kasap to blame his attack on the president on Russia. Kasap was also discussing escape to Ukraine. Finally, Kasap was a rightwing accelerationist interested in the satanist Order of the Nine Angles/O9A (see my article on them and Ukraine/Russia).
Kasap’s interlocutor is identified as a Ukrainian national:
He was also talking with people on telegram instructing him on how to get a drone to kill the president. There are certainly plenty of unhinged rightwingers in Ukraine with more drone warfare experience than anyone else on earth:
Finally, the FBI found some sort of manifesto on Kasap’s phone. Or rather, they were screengrabs of a manifesto. It is unclear to me who really wrote the text. It seems more likely that one of his friends in eastern Europe did. Note the usual O9A right accelerationist ideas, wherein the justification for acts of horrific violence are their function in destabilizing society, thereby creating ideal conditions for a fascist takeover:
There are also references to Atomwaffen, the O9A-linked group that spent time in Ukraine, as I wrote here:
Quite a strange tale. It’s hard to tell just how seriously to take it. While it may seem somewhat ridiculous and hard to believe, quite a similar individual, both in appearance and general rightwing basement dweller vibe, managed to shoot a bullet that missed Trump’s skull by a few millimeters last year.
Some Ukrainian rightwing telegram chats are blaming the Kasap story on traitorous pro-Russian oligarchs in Ukraine, who they believe set Kasap up in order to ruin Ukraine’s image. One reason why that seems somewhat dubious is the fact that the Kasap story, as far as I can tell, has gotten very little media coverage.
But judging from the reactions, most inhabiting neo-nazi telegrams are quite positive. See, for instance, the C14-aligned Katarsis, which has over 200,000 subscribers:
The Misanthropic Division: history
So far, the information people are going off is the aforementioned FBI document. However, journalists at the Russian newspaper Izvestia contracted a private OSINT company to identify the telegram chats Kasap was a member of. The results are relevant to my recent articles on pro-Ukrainian neo-nazi groups and school shootings.
Kasap was apparently involved in telegram channels related to the Misanthropic Division and was interested in the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), a Ukrainian-government created military unit whose links to terrorist acts by Russian teens I wrote about here.
Kasap, however, came with questions - he asked whether it was true that RDK leader Denis Kapustin is Jewish, and whether the organization is financed by Israeli-Russian liberal oligarch Leonid Nevzlin. This may indicate that the RDK wasn’t Kasap’s point of contact in Ukraine. This is also logical, given that the RDK does not release English-language publications on its telegram, and its activities - both covert and conventional - are focused on Russia, not the west.
Meanwhile, Ivestia’s OSINT contractor found that the telegram users mentioned in the FBI affidavit left a range of comments in Russian and Ukrainian on various rightwing telegrams.
Interestingly, one of them was a member of telegram chats for Dagestanis, a Muslim ethnic group in Russia despised and often killed by neo-nazis. He left comments in these groups advertising the possibility for ‘quick and easy money’. While he may have been trying to lure them to their death, it seems more likely to me that he was trying to manipulate them into committing acts of violence against the Russian state - setting a military recruitment office on fire, for instance. The RDK constantly call for their followers to do so, and I wrote here about how Ukrainian government-allied scam call centers force their Russian victims to commit similar acts, often driving them to suicide as a result.
According to Izvestia’s investigation, Kasap was an active member of a telegram named “Philanthropic Division (MD)”. His messages on the telegram no longer exist. With 20,000 subscribers, it is the latest iteration of the online presence of the Misanthropic Division (MD). Unlike the RDK, it often publishes English posts - its description is also in English.
There are other reasons to believe Kasap was interested in the MD. As we will now see, the MD seems to be specialized in recruiting westerners into Ukraine’s neo-nazi Azov movement. The fact that many of its founders came to Ukraine from Russia also fits the FBI affidavit, which writes that Kasap was talking with Russian-speakers in Ukraine. I’ll note, of course, that this isn’t particularly unique - most Ukrainian rightwingers also speak Russian, particularly in private. In any case, onto the history of the Misanthropic Division.
There are differing views on when the MD was founded. Here’s one summary of various views by the Russian thinktank Sova:
According to [Russian] law enforcement, in October 2013, Belorussian citizen Dmitry Pavlov created the Misanthropic Division. (The organization was recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation by a ruling of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court on July 17, 2015).
According to Ukrainian sources, the movement was founded by local football fans with neo-Nazi views in Kharkiv. One version suggests that Dmitry Pavlov was "a certain Dima nicknamed Misanthropic Führer," who died in fighting near Novoazovsk in August 2014.
However, according to the Russian Investigative Committee (SKR), this refers to a different person, and Pavlov’s nickname is not "Führer" but "Bazutchik." Dmitry Pavlov is currently in hiding in Germany.
For her part, Russian neo-nazi expert Natalia Yudina names Mikhail Oreshnikov as among the Russian nationals in Ukraine who founded the first cell of the Misanthropic Division in 2014.
Regardless, most accounts agree that the group emerged when Russian and Belarussian neo-nazis took part in Ukraine’s euromaidan revolution in 2013-14. So much for a ‘revolution for European Values’ - though perhaps there’s nothing more ‘European’ than fascism. Some of the original MD founders had already spent years in Ukraine, in hiding from Russian law enforcement. Others came specifically to take part in this violent, nationalist revolution.
MD then took part in violence against anti-maidan protestors in the eastern city of Kharkov, where on March 15 2014 they were implicated in killing two (none were charged, naturally). They also boasted of taking part in the May 2 2014 massacre in Odessa. The screenshots below relate to the Kharkov incident:
A photo before the fight. We will fight to the end. The storming is in progress! [they mean the storming of the Regional State Administration building in Kharkov, which had been taken by anti-maidan protestors. This storming was conducted by Ukrainian law enforcement and Azov nationalists]
They say we put two of them under. We’re all fine.
Note that the left photo features a song by M8L8TH, the national socialist black metal group led by Alexey Levkin, RDK leader. As I wrote in my article on school shootings in Russia, would-be school shooters or youth recruited as terrorists in Russia often display M8l8th memorabilia. More on the national socialist black metal connection later in this article.
At the start of the war, MD and Azov seemed almost synonymous. Their symbols often appeared alongside:
In a report by Stanford university, the Misanthropic Division is described as ‘having a strong affiliation with Azov’. It states that they ‘share similar ideological views’, namely that they are both ‘nihilistic neo-Nazi paramilitary organizations’. The report was removed from the internet in 2024, to the applause of the Ukrainian ambassador to the US and Azov associates. It can still be read here.
Interestingly, the Stanford report doesn’t believe that the Misanthropic Division ever ceased its activities:
By 2021, Misanthropic had largely merged with the Azov Battalion and disavowed militant activities. However, Misanthropic Division remained active on social media setting up various shopfronts for selling merchandise, advertising, and fundraising through the Walknvt platform
On the topic of Walknvt (Scandinavian for ‘fallen warriors) - FOIA research put out an article some years back on how a Portuguese national, Paulo Russo, is in charge of its online store.
Some claim that the Misanthropic Division are merely an online group with no real presence. However, they were certainly very active in the war in Ukraine’s east that erupted in 2014 against those who disagreed with the country’s new state of affairs. Below are various photos of Ukrainian fighters with MD and Azov symbolism from around 2014 and 2015. Note that while the Azov logo is in Cyrillic, the Misanthropic Division is always written in English. It seems to me like MD was always a brand intended for western export:
Meanwhile, here is a photo of Ukrainian servicemen with an MD flag from April 19, 2025, shared to the MD telegram:
One well-known MD fighter even received official recognition from Oleksandr Turchinov, top Ukrainian security official at the time. The militant below is Sergei Lipnik, alias ‘Hater’ or ‘Congenital’. Note the nickname ‘Hater’ - it brings up associations with the more recent Ukrainian right-accelerationist group Maniac Killers Cult (MKU), which published a book Haters Handbook. This text, translated into English by O9A followers in the west, gives detailed instructions to would be serial killers and school shooters on how to conduct their crimes. Like MD, the MKU is often claimed to be a figment of Russian law enforcement imagination.
Admittedly, MD was certainly more visible in the past. MD seemed to have been most popular in 2014-2016. Its website no longer exists, though an archived copy can be accessed here.
There are three ways to interpret MD’s erratic media presence.
One is to conclude that MD only exists online, and has no real-life presence. This isn’t particularly convincing. Besides photos of them at war, they were also relatively active in Ukrainian street politics. Below is an MD march on Maidan, Kyiv, in 2016. Their column was part of the larger Azov march on the ‘March of the Nation’ day. This takes place every year on October 14. Don’t get excited, dear reader, assuming this is an obvious reference to the 14 words - not at all, it is merely the same day as Ukraine’s recently-created “Day of the Defender”, and because the Nazi collaborationist Ukrainian Partisan Army was founded on October 14, 1942.
A second explanation is that they were purged for being too radical. After 2014, Azov was constantly integrated into the Ukrainian state. Excessively unruly neo-nazis like the Tornado Battalion and Sashko Bily were killed or imprisoned. Not simply because they were too violent, but more-so because they lacked strong patrons in government, unlike Azov. Perhaps MD also fell victim. But this is hardly convincing, given how closely allied it always was with Azov. In 2016, the MD website was shut down, and they announced the organization no longer existed. But then later that year, they claimed the organization was back.
Judging from the fact that the MD telegram still has 20,000 followers and is constantly posting, at the very least Misanthropic Division, whatever it is, still exists.
International misanthropy
The third explanation is that the MD conducts particularly sensitive international operations, and hence mustn’t have a clear social media footprint outside of anonymous telegram channels.
One obvious such sensitive operation is the recruitment of foreigners to fight in Ukraine. In a March 2015 blog post, the Misanthropic Division released its “14 Points of the Misanthropic Division International”. Here, it clearly defined itself as a servant of the broader Azov movement, but one with a more global focus. Note also the Portugese names in the introduction - Brazilians and Portugese seem to play a major role in the MD international:
14 Points of the Misanthropic Division International
Developped by MD Internal Commission leaded by Joao and Bruno. Approved both by Europa and East MD board. We say thank for this excellent work and the magic final number that sorted out wink emoticon.
14 points to live and to die for:
1. Misanthropic Division is a NS Brotherhood exclusive to european and eurodescendent men. We live accordingly the principles of Nature and we denounce the modern political and corrupt system with his multicultural society.
2. Misanthropic Division is composed with people who refuse this repugnant modern world. Our misanthropy is a cry of hatred towards human weakness and all that oppose traditional values based on the laws of Nature. The main purpose of NS is the Ubermensch, deprived of weakness, defects and ugliness.
3. Misanthropic Division is nietzschean and promotes the revival of our primordial religions, that of our ancestors. Therefore, Misanthropic Division rejects all beliefs and religions strange to our ancestral heritage.
4. Misanthropic Division members are free to join and to be part of any other political organisations that promote our Cause, but always bearing in mind their allegiance to Misanthropic Division principles and brotherhood.
5. As a brotherhood, all Misanthropic Division members must be treated as equal by all national chapter members. No offense or disrespect will be tolerated to other member or Chapter of our Misanthropic Division brotherhood. Those who violate this basic principle will face disciplinar sanctions and may be expelled from Misanthropic Division.
6. Internal Rules are full responsability of each Misanthropic Division Chapter. New members should prove their intents to join Misanthropic Division for, at least, one year.
7. Misanthropic Division Chapters should struggle by all means necessary and whatever it takes to rebuild a common european society, based on Family, Folk and Tradition; protecting our European Culture and Identity.
8. Misanthropic Division main purpose is the immediate support of military in ATO [The Ukrainian government’s Anti-Terrorist Operation against pro-Russian forces in the east] - EIU] AZOV and DUK [Right Sector - EIU] – without forgetting that they are fighting and representing our cause.
9. All Misanthropic Division Chapters should produce their own local propaganda, according to the national situation of each country.
10. Misanthropic Division is neither a gang or a terrorist organisation. Misanthropic Division members are political soldiers promptly to fight for a worldview. As so, Misanthropic Division denounce gang behaviour (drug consumption/dealing, robbery, etc) as part of modern decadence.
11. We should defend the integrity of all European ethnicities ,Languages and Traditions as our own Heritage.
12. Family is the basic cell of a community, as so all Misanthropic Division members put their families as a priority, since in our families lies the future of white children and consequently of our Race as a whole.
13. It is mandatory to Misanthropic Division members to assist our members who are facing judicial problems or are behind bars, as well when a member or a family member needs help in any form may it be.
14. All MD brotherhood members will proceed with Honour and Loyalty, remembering that UNITED WE WILL WIN!
The role of MD in international recruiting for Ukrainian military units was analyzed in a 2022 article by Seth Harp. It looked at the case of a French neo-nazi by the name of Wilfred Bleriot, whose death in action was commemorated by the MD telegram channel:
If you search ‘Bleriot’ on the current MD telegram, you will find 11 commemorations. He was also memorialized by Ukraine’s infamous International Legion:
Harp asked the leader of Azov about whether they recruited foreigners. He contradicted himself. Clearly, Azov would be interested in using a network without a clear public trace to conduct such operations:
I met with Andriy Biletsky, the founder of the Azov movement, at their base in Kyiv. I had not heard of the Misanthropic Division then, but I did ask Biletsky about foreign fighters. “We have volunteers from different countries,” he told me. “We’ve had Europeans, Japanese, people from the Middle East.” He also mentioned Belarusian, Georgian, Russian, Croat, and British volunteers. He pointed out that some of them had been Jews. However, “I can assure you that there are no Americans,” he said. “Not even western Europeans for that matter,” he added, slightly contradicting himself.
National socialist black metal is another means of international networking. According to the German publication Belltower, Misanthropic Division recruits fighters for Azov around Europe through national socialist black metal. Among those noted for public allegiance with MD are French NSBM group Peste Noire, German neo-nazi and convicted murderer Hendrik Mobus, and of course Levkin of M8L8TH.
Naturally, MD dedicated plenty of posts to Hitler’s birthday yesterday. One of them was a list of all the international allies of the MD on telegram:
🎂 Happy Birthday, Allvater - 136!
Our team will always honor that day
✙ PHOENIX
✙ NSBM
✙ Black Magick SS (Magick Metal)
✙ PVC patches 1 (https://t.me/pvcpatches)
What other kinds of sensitive operations could these MD affiliates in the west conduct? Now we enter the world of mass shootings and domestic terrorism. Become a paid subscriber to find out more.
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