What I'm asking is whether or not the Azovs are an official branch of any national military force. I have assumed they are a genuine division of the Ukrainian Army, but I'm not sure about their status in the Polish military.
Various Azov Movement formations are part of the Army, the National Guard (which is under interior ministry), police, and the GUR (military intelligence). But their foreign VCs are only less than officially associated with the GUR.
In Poland these guys are civilians. At least a part of them are also way less hardcore than I thought, one publicly organised faction that I checked (Szturmowcy) seemed inspired most by the British Union of Fascists.
While the Russian VC prominently includes guys for whom Hitler is a god (the Wotanjugend and their Esoteric Hitlerism) and they're very public about their power level.
It seems like there's no real ideological unity among all these factions that are under the Polish military umbrella; same for the Russians and Ukrainians. I suppose you could call the concept that the national border should be permanently fixed and inviolable a sort of ideology. A weak sort of nationalism?
The "going local and autonomous" thing at the end of this article would explain why I've seen them talking about "autonomous nationalism" which is something I never heard before and apparently involves adapting Antifa's black bloc tactics at protests/fights as of the practical aspects (during peacetime).
What I'm asking is whether or not the Azovs are an official branch of any national military force. I have assumed they are a genuine division of the Ukrainian Army, but I'm not sure about their status in the Polish military.
Various Azov Movement formations are part of the Army, the National Guard (which is under interior ministry), police, and the GUR (military intelligence). But their foreign VCs are only less than officially associated with the GUR.
In Poland these guys are civilians. At least a part of them are also way less hardcore than I thought, one publicly organised faction that I checked (Szturmowcy) seemed inspired most by the British Union of Fascists.
While the Russian VC prominently includes guys for whom Hitler is a god (the Wotanjugend and their Esoteric Hitlerism) and they're very public about their power level.
Very informative.
It seems like there's no real ideological unity among all these factions that are under the Polish military umbrella; same for the Russians and Ukrainians. I suppose you could call the concept that the national border should be permanently fixed and inviolable a sort of ideology. A weak sort of nationalism?
They're not any "under the Polish military umbrella", what the fuck. They're civies in Poland.
The only thing the state did is they're not going to be prosecuted for fighting abroad without being foreign citizens.
As for the borders, they just crossed defended (Russian) border with arms and participate in capturing territory.
Speaking of borders and these guys, they're this kind of nationalists lol: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/mar/02/people-of-colour-fleeing-ukraine-attacked-by-polish-nationalists
Also a bit about Szturmowcy in the past: https://notesfrompoland.com/2019/11/15/security-services-detain-leader-of-radical-nationalist-group
The "going local and autonomous" thing at the end of this article would explain why I've seen them talking about "autonomous nationalism" which is something I never heard before and apparently involves adapting Antifa's black bloc tactics at protests/fights as of the practical aspects (during peacetime).
The guys at war in Russia: https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/140np81/video_showing_polish_volunteer_corps_during/