Serbs and AfD politicians take part in far-right forum in Russia

Representatives of two far-right organizations from Serbia and a politician from the German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) took part in a far-right forum in Russia that brought together far-right politicians from several countries, according to footage evaluated by the conference.

The People’s Patrol, known for its actions against migrants, and the clerical-fascist group Serbian Action were represented at the conference. Konstantin Malofeyev, an oligarch with ties to the Kremlin who promotes Russian imperialism and is under Western sanctions for his involvement in Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine, was represented by delegates.

Upon their return to Serbia, the People’s Patrol announced that it would hold a protest rally against migrants in Belgrade in October.

“This conference shows that Russia still believes that some of these far-right groups and movements can be useful in achieving its geopolitical and other goals, including inciting discord in society,” Michael Colborne, a journalist with the investigative media outlet Bellingcat who has been reporting on right-wing extremism for years, told Radio Free Europe.

Information about this forum of far-right organizations was published on September 23. However, Damjan Knežević, one of the founders of the “People’s Patrol,” told Radio Free Europe that the information about the event was published later so that delegates from Western countries would not have “any problems” when returning to their home countries.

He said that the main topic of the conference was “the fight not only against illegal migration, but against migrants in general.” According to him, a declaration on joint work and mutual support among the participating organizations was adopted at this forum. “I see the greatest benefit of this forum for our organizations from Serbia as providing a realistic picture of what is happening in the countries of the European Union, and we expect support in the media and greater involvement in what is happening here from our Russian friends—the organizations ”Two-Headed Eagle“ and ”Bratstvo Akademista,” said Knežević.

Knežević was charged before the Supreme Court in Belgrade with violently overthrowing the constitutional order, but was acquitted in November 2024.

The organization he heads attracted attention in 2020 when its activists stopped migrants on the streets of Belgrade and handed them leaflets with the message that they were “prohibited from moving outside the migrant centers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and that they were not allowed to move in groups of more than three people during the day.”

AfD also involved

According to evaluated footage of the conference, Robert Risch, a member of the Hamburg Parliament (AfD), took part in the event in Russia.

A former AfD member who was expelled from the Hamburg Parliament also attended the conference in St. Petersburg organized by Konstantin Malofeyev.

The forum on September 12 at the Mariinsky Palace from the imperial era in St. Petersburg—announced as the founding conference of an “international anti-globalization law” called “Paladine”—was attended by right-wing extremist politicians from countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and South Africa.

In some of the photos published by the forum, the faces of some participants were obscured, including one showing a man sitting at a conference table behind a banner identifying his German origin.

However, the same individuals can be seen in other published photos without any concealment.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Russian service (REL) showed Sergey Meier, an open-source researcher and investigator at German broadcaster RTL, the photo of a German delegate. Meier identified the delegate as Risch.

Amazon’s facial recognition software confirmed the similarity.

The AfD, which achieved its best Bundestag election result to date in February with almost 21 percent of the vote, is trying to polish up its image.

In May, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency declared the AfD an extremist organization that threatens democracy — a decision the party now wants to reverse.

Risch did not respond to questions from REL via email, and the AfD did not respond to a letter to its Berlin office requesting comment. Analysis of conference recordings and social media shows that another participant was Olga Petersen, who was expelled from the AfD and the Hamburg assembly in 2024.

In March of that year, she participated as an observer in the elections that secured Russian President Vladimir Putin another term in office, and reportedly praised the Russian elections as “open, democratic, and free.”

In February, Petersen—who was born in Russia and now lives in Ukraine—posted photos of herself with Russian soldiers in an occupied part of Ukraine.

Petersen did not respond to questions from REL via Facebook.

Konstantin Malofeyev, an oligarch with ties to the Kremlin and open affection for Russia’s imperialist and Orthodox heritage, has been under Western sanctions since 2014.

Malofeyev has been under sanctions since 2014 for his role in inciting unrest in parts of southern and eastern Ukraine and facilitating Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

He is also the subject of an international arrest warrant on suspicion of founding and financing illegal paramilitary formations.

His media network Tsargrad was an important tool in promoting the so-called “New Russia” project to justify Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories. It served as a crucial platform for disseminating and popularizing the ideas of pro-Russian and far-right ideologue Alexander Dugin, who is seated next to Malofeyev in a photo from the conference.

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