The Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) is a Russian ultranationalist, white supremacist organisation based in St.Petersburg. It operates in a training centre known as Partizan. RIM’s activities first gained the attention of Western security officials and researchers in the mid-to-late 2010s. In April 2020, the group was officially designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity by both the U.S. Department of State and the Canadian government. This article analyses RIM’s structure, operations, and its paramilitary element, the Russian Imperial Legion.

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1 Background

RIM was founded in 2002 as a political movement. Despite a history of working with an international coalition of neo-Nazi groups, its ideology leans more towards Tsarist Russia than Nazi Germany.  RIM’s paramilitary group is the Russian Imperial Legion (RIL). It was formed to train militants and has deployed fighters in conflicts, such as the war in Donbas, Ukraine. Over time, RIM has expanded its influence through transnational alliances with far-right groups across Europe and North America. It has become a central node in the global white supremacist movement. Its paramilitary training centre, Partizan, has attracted international recruits and played a key role in exporting far-right violence abroad.

RIM has built a strong online media presence and an active real-world networking effort. It also maintains a large online following within Russia and internationally. This includes dedicated websites and Telegram channels linked to RIM, RIL, and the still-operational Partizan training network. These platforms are used to recruit members, spread propaganda, and raise funds. They also showcase the group’s activism, training, and battlefield operations. [source, source]

2 Key Figures

2.1 Stanislav Anatoloyevich Vorobyev

A law graduate from St. Petersburg State University, he briefly worked in the legal field and was involved with the ultra-nationalist “State Power” movement, serving as chairman of its Leningrad branch. Before leading RIM, he held a leadership role in a predecessor organisation, the All-Russian Party of the Monarchist Centre.

Currently, he is also part of the Union of Russian People’s Main Council and serves as editor-in-chief of RIM’s publications. Vorobyev claims he was imprisoned for his political activism. He often incorporates Russian Orthodox themes into his public appearances, even singing prayer hymns before interviews. However, he is a critic of the Putin regime. Vorobyev has publicly condemned government corruption and alleged election rigging in Russia. His close associations include reactionary figures like Colonel Vladimir Kvachkov, who has lectured at RIM’s Partizan training centre. He has also been classified as a Special Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of State due to his role in overseeing RIM’s paramilitary-style training programs for neo-Nazis and white supremacists. [source, source]

 3 RIM’s paramilitary group – Imperial Legion 

The Imperial Legion, RIM’s paramilitary group, has played a key role in fostering international white supremacist ties. Particularly through its involvement in the war in Ukraine. Since 2014, Ukraine has become a major destination for far-right foreign fighters. It is serving as a combat training ground for extremists from over 50 countries. On the pro-Russian separatist side, RIM reportedly deployed at least 300 fighters in 2014 alone, contributing to the conflict while strengthening global white supremacist networks through battlefield experience.

Social media analysis suggested that RIM’s Imperial Legion had by 2019 expanded its operations beyond Ukraine to other conflict zones, including Syria and Libya, with unverified claims of involvement in the Central African Republic. The group portrays its presence in Syria as a religious mission, calling it “Our Crusade” to defend Christianity. The Imperial Legion, like jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, calls on its followers to take up arms against those it sees as enemies of Christianity. [source]

4 RIM’s International Networks

4.1 Joint Training German Neo-Nazis

German neo-Nazis have reportedly received military-style training at RIM’s paramilitary camp (Partizan) near St. Petersburg. The training included weapons handling, the use of explosives, and close-quarters combat. According to the German magazine Focus, the trainees were linked to youth wings of two extremist parties: the National Democratic Party and The Third Path.

Experts note that RIM has become a central hub for international far-right cooperation by providing not just ideological alignment but also practical combat experience. This includes links to militants from Sweden and Finland who went on to fight in eastern Ukraine with pro-Russian forces. RIM’s global outreach extends beyond Europe. While no Americans are confirmed to have trained at its camps, RIM has established ties with U.S. white supremacists, such as Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Worker Party, one of the organisers of the infamous 2017 Charlottesville rally. [source, source]

4.2 Nordic Networks

Partizan’s training activities have direct links to RIM and other far-right extremist organisations abroad. In particular, RIM has a well-documented relationship with the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM). A neo-Nazi network active in Sweden, Finland, and other Nordic countries. RIM’s leader, Stanislav Vorobyev, has openly cultivated ties with NRM’s leadership – in one meeting, he stressed that RIM and NRM “shared a common enemy” (invoking antisemitic tropes about “Jewish oligarchs”) and discussed a united front to defend “traditional values of Western civilisation”. 

Between November 2016 and January 2017, two men and an accomplice carried out bomb attacks targeting a café and a migrant centre in Sweden, and attempted to bomb a refugee camp. Swedish prosecutors believe they may have acquired their bomb-making skills through training at RIM’s Partizan course. [source, source]

5 The US’s Terrorist Designation

In 2019, the Trump administration significantly updated Executive Order 13224, which had originally been enacted after 9/11 to disrupt terrorist financing. The revision expanded the legal powers of the U.S. State and Treasury Departments, allowing them to more easily designate individuals as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). Notably, it gave the State Department explicit authority to sanction terrorist group leaders and individuals involved in training for terrorist acts, without needing to prove direct involvement in specific attacks.

The U.S. designation of the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) as a terrorist group grants authorities stronger tools to counter its activities. It enables the freezing of RIM’s assets within the U.S. financial system, disrupts its global financial operations, and allows the Treasury to target additional members and affiliates. The designation also imposes travel bans on overseas RIM members and provides legal grounds for investigating and potentially prosecuting those who support the group. Additionally, it enhances law enforcement capabilities and may foster closer cooperation between domestic and international terrorism divisions within the FBI. [source]

6 Conclusion

The Russia-based ultranationalist, white supremacist RIM organisation has influence beyond the border of the Motherland and is now designated as a terrorist organisation by several Western countries. Some analysts warn that the groups’ facilitation of paramilitary training for other bad actors poses a serious transnational threat, comparable to foreign terrorist organisations like ISIS or al-Qaeda.

Efforts to monitor and counter the group are complicated by its relationship with Moscow. The group appears to have the quiet backing of, or is at least tolerated by, the Russian government, giving it somewhat of a safe harbour of operations inside an area that international law enforcement cannot reach. Indeed, some experts argue that despite RIM’s outward criticism of Putin, the group ultimately serves the Russian president’s interests by providing a pool of right-wing militants that can be mobilised, without the Kremlin’s direct involvement on the battlefield, to wage asymmetric warfare, spread disinformation, and destabilise adversaries in exchange for sanctuary.