The United States on Monday (local time) designated a Russian far-right group as a foreign terrorist organisation, the first time when the country has targeted white supremacists considering the threat of these sinister ideologies.
In a statement, the Department of State said that it is designating the Russian Imperial Movement - also known as RIM - as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), along with three other leaders of the group, namely: Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, Denis Valliullovich Gariev; and Nikolay Nikolayevich Trushchalov.
"These designations are unprecedented. This is the first time the United States has ever designated white supremacist terrorists, illustrating how seriously this administration takes the threat. We are taking actions no previous administration has taken to counter this threat," the statement said.
RIM is a terrorist group that provides paramilitary-style training to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and it plays a prominent role in trying to rally like-minded Europeans and Americans into a common front against their perceived enemies. RIM has two training facilities in St. Petersburg, which likely are being used for woodland and urban assault, tactical weapons, and hand-to-hand combat training, the Department said.
"These historic designations are just one part of the Administration's broader efforts to counter white supremacist terrorism abroad. We're bringing all of our counterterrorism tools to this fight - information sharing, countermessaging, combatting terrorist travel, engaging with tech companies, and building partner capacity to protect soft targets like synagogues and mosques," it added.
The Department stressed that today's designations further imply that the United States will not hesitate to use its sanctions authorities aggressively, while being prepared to target any foreign terrorist group, regardless of its ideology, that threatens the American citizens, interests abroad, or allies.
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