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Falanga (organisation)

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Not to be confused with Falange Española de las JONS or National Radical Camp § Falanga.
Falanga
LeaderBartosz Bekier
FounderBartosz Bekier
FoundedJanuary 2009
Split fromNational Radical Camp
IdeologyNational radicalism [pl]
Falangism
Polish nationalism
Revolutionary nationalism
Militarism
Eurasianism
Russophilia
Hard Euroscepticism
Anti-LGBT
Anti-Americanism
Anti-Zionism
Antisemitism
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment
Political positionFar-right
Continental affiliationEurasia Movement
ColorsBlack, red and white
SloganPolska! Młodość! Rewolucja! ("Poland! Youth! Revolution!")
Website
www.xportal.press

Falanga is a Polish national radical organization which was founded in January 2009.[1] It is led by Bartosz Bekier [fr], former coordinator of the Masovian Brigade of the National Radical Camp (ONR).[1][2][3][4]

History

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Red, black and white flag
Pre-2019 flag

Falanga was founded by Bartosz Bekier in 2009, based on the Masovian Brigade of the National Radical Camp (ONR). Bekier, who was interested in politics, joined the ONR as a teenager in 2005. Inspired by Italian and Spanish fascism, he became head of the ONR's Masovian Brigade. Bekier left the ONR in 2009 after a failed attempt to take over the organisation and a dispute with former ONR leader Przemysław Holocher. At the peak of its development, Falanga had branches in Kraków, Zielona Góra, Bydgoszcz, Olsztyn, Gdańsk, Poznań and Warsaw. Their ideology is based on opposition to liberalism and globalization. Falanga supports Eurasianism, a geopolitical vision whose core is the alliance of Russia and Western Europe against the United States.[2][3][5] Other notable (current or former) members of Falanga include Michał Prokopowicz, Ronald Lasecki, and Adam Danek.[3]

Missions

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Syria

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Bartosz Bekier holding a Falanga flag
Bekier with a pre-2019 flag in southern Lebanon[6]
Young men, faces blurred, with a banner and flag
Assembly of Falanga and Hezbollah

Falanga began a mission in Syria in June 2013, engaging with the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Falanga representatives met with Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi, the country's Grand Mufti, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christian clergy, government troops, Hezbollah,[7] and representatives of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.[6][8]

Donbas

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Two serious-looking men in front of a Donetsk People's Republic flag
Falanga leader Bartosz Bekier (left) and Donetsk People's Republic prime minister Denis Pushilin[9]

During a mission to eastern Ukraine in 2014, Falanga expressed support for the separatist Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in Donbas.[10] Falanga leader Bekier also met with Denis Pushilin, prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic,[1][11] and interviewed Pushilin for Xportal.[9] In October 2014, Ukrainian border guards detained several Falanga members and banned them from entering Ukraine for three years.[12]

Zmiana party

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Falanga joined the new, pro-Russian Zmiana party in February 2015,[13] which was founded by former MP and Samoobrona RP spokesman Mateusz Piskorski.[13][14] Bekier became deputy head of Zmiana,[15] and Krakow Falanga member Michał Prokopowicz became its security expert and regional coordinator for Lesser Poland.[15][16] On May 2, 2016, Bekier published a statement about his departure from the party.[17] Zmiana leader Mateusz Piskorski was arrested 16 days later by the Internal Security Agency, and was later charged with spying for Russia and China.[18]

Alliance with Czech National Democracy party

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Young men holding flags
Falanga and National Democracy demonstrators in Prague
Small group of young people with various flags
Anti-American protest at the US consulate in Kraków
Two young men holding An American flag upside down
An upside-down American flag
Young men holding flags
National Democracy and Falanga supporters

Falanga allied itself with the Czech Republic's National Democracy party (ND) on July 4, 2015, participating in a joint conference on Central European issues and an anti-American protest at the US consulate in Krakow.[19] On August 15 of that year, a delegation from Falanga and Xportal.pl participated in anti-liberal and anti-immigrant demonstrations organized by the National Democracy party in Prague.[20]

Participation in Anakonda-16

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In June 2016, Michał Prokopowicz and the members of Krakow Rifle Unit Association 2039 (who were associated with him and Falanga) participated in the multinational Anakonda-16 NATO exercises.[21][22][23][24] The Ministry of National Defense denied inviting Falanga members to the military manoeuvres.[24][25] Their participation was announced by Krakow Rifle Unit Association 2039 members, and information about the participation of the "Rifleman" groups appeared on the Ministry of National Defense webpage for NATO exercises. In September 2016, former Foreign Intelligence Agency officer Michał Rybak called the state of affairs a "system error".[26]

Attempted Ukrainian arson

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On February 4, 2018, an attempt was made to set fire to the Hungarian centre in Uzhhorod, Ukraine.[27][28] The Security Service of Ukraine said at the end of the month that several Falanga members who had acted on orders from the Russian special services were responsible for the arson attempt, and they were arrested by the Internal Security Agency on February 21.[28][29][30] On February 24, Bekier denied that Falanga was responsible for the incident.[31]

In January 2019, several former Falanga members were charged with committing a terrorist act by a Kraków court.[32][33] According to the prosecutor's office, the operation was aimed at "disrupting the system of Ukraine and deepening the ethnic divisions between Ukrainians and Hungarians".[34]

On March 23, 2020, an interim ruling was issued in the case. The Kraków district court of affirmed the position of the prosecutor's office that the crime was a terrorist one, and found all the accused guilty. Arson organizer Michał Prokopowicz was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, and his two accomplices were sentenced to one- and two-year terms. No one appealed, and the judgment became final.[35][36][37][38]

Prokopowicz testified that the terrorist attack was organised and financed by German journalist Manuel Ochsenreiter, whose spokesperson denied the accusation.[39] Ochsenreiter then lost his job with Markus Frohnmaier, an AfD member of the Bundestag. Polish and German law-enforcement agencies unsuccessfully sought him for several years, with reports that he had been in Russia and Morocco. In August 2021, Russian authorities and media announced that Ochsenreiter had died of a heart attack in Moscow.[40][41]

Russian international forum

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In July 2019, Bekier traveled to Russia for the Second International Forum for the Development of Parliamentarianism. In his appeal to Vladimir Putin and members of the State Duma, Bekier demanded that Poland leave NATO and the EU; the implementation of a Polish-Russian alliance; the partition of Ukraine and the annexation of Lviv to Poland. He also suggested the forced federalization of Lithuania and territorial autonomy for the Vilnius Region.

Opposition to Women's Strike

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In October 2020, during the Women's Strike protesting the tightening of abortion regulations in Poland, an interview with Bekier was posted on Onet.pl. According to Bekier, "about 10,000 nationalists are expected to appear in Warsaw in the first week of November, and 1⁄3 to half of them are trained in combat tactics".[42][43][44] On the evening of October 30, several thousand protesters demonstrated.[45] Thirty-seven people were arrested, 35 of whom had attacked protesters.[46][47][48]

Allies

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Falanga has cooperated with:

References

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  1. ^ a b c Mareš, Miroslav; Laryš, Martin; Holzer, Jan (October 25, 2018). Militant Right-Wing Extremism in Putin's Russia: Legacies, Forms and Threats. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-95362-0.
  2. ^ a b "Nie tylko ONR". Przegląd (in Polish). December 4, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Lider faszyzującej Falangi domaga się w Moskwie przyłączenia do Polski Lwowa". oko.press. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Cieśla, Wojciech (October 4, 2017). "A story of the snake that ate its own tail". VSquare.org. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Polscy faszyści na smyczy Putina". KrytykaPolityczna.pl (in Polish). April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Xportal.pl and Falanga on Mission to Syria! [ENG]". Xportal.pl (in Polish). June 17, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Narodowcy z Falangi pojechali do Syrii. Spotkali się z premierem oraz przesłuchiwali więźniów". naTemat.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "Falanga". September 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Dla Xportalu: Denis Puszylin, przywódca Donieckiej Republiki Ludowej [PL/ENG/RUS/IT/CZ]". Xportal.pl (in Polish). May 30, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  10. ^ Wenerski, Łukasz (June 2017). "The Visegrad Countries and "Post-Truth" – Who is Responsible for Delivering the Kremlin's Narrative to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland?" (PDF).
  11. ^ a b c Woźnicki, Łukasz (June 5, 2014). "Narodowcy z Polski pojechali na Ukrainę wspierać separatystów. "Polscy Euroazjaci dotarli do Doniecka!"". Wyborcza.pl.
  12. ^ "Ukraińska straż graniczna zatrzymała polskich narodowców. Trzyletni zakaz wjazdu na Ukrainę". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "Powstała prokremlowska partia Zmiana. Dowodzi nią były poseł Samoobrony". wiadomosci.dziennik.pl (in Polish). February 22, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Zmiana – nowa partia byłego rzecznika Samoobrony". wydarzenia.interia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c "Walcząc kulturą: Rosyjska siatka wpływów w Polsce". Liberté! (in Polish). March 27, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  16. ^ Redakcja (April 10, 2015). "Strzelcy z putinowskimi poglądami". Dziennik Polski (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Złożyłem rezygnację z członkostwa w partii Zmiana". Facebook. May 2, 2016. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Kulisy zatrzymania Mateusza Piskorskiego z prorosyjskiej partii Zmiana. W Polsce miał się odbyć szczyt anty-NATO". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  19. ^ a b "4.VII A.D. 2015, Kraków: Przeciwko USA, za Europą Środkową". Xportal.pl. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "15.VIII A.D. 2015 Praga: Delegacja Falangi na antyimigranckiej demonstracji". Archived from the original on January 9, 2016.
  21. ^ "Falanga i Zmiana idą do wojska. Jedna faszystowska, druga prokremlowska". oko.press. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  22. ^ "Prorosyjska Falanga w elektrowni podczas manewrów NATO Anakonda-16". Portal Międzymorza JAGIELLONIA.ORG (in Polish). September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  23. ^ OKO.press, Konrad Szczygieł (September 20, 2016). "Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej niewolne od radykałów". www.polityka.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Prorosyjska organizacja na ćwiczeniach Wojska Polskiego? MON zaprzecza". defence24.pl (in Polish). September 22, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  25. ^ "Wyjaśnienie MON – Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej – Portal Gov.pl". Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  26. ^ Górzyński, Oskar (September 20, 2016). "Falanga na ćwiczeniach wojska? Ekspert: to "błąd systemu"". wiadomosci.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  27. ^ polukr (February 21, 2018). "SBU: Polacy z "Falangi" winni ataku na biuro mniejszości węgierskiej na Zakarpaciu". Portal polsko-ukraiński (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Prowokacja na Zakarpaciu z udziałem Polaków. Nowy etap wojny informacyjnej? [KOMENTARZ]". cyberdefence24.pl (in Polish). February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  29. ^ "Za podpalenie na Ukrainie ABW zatrzymała działaczy organizacji proobronnej współpracującej z MON, a równocześnie – neofaszystowskiej Falangi". oko.press. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  30. ^ "Ukraiński urzędnik: Polacy, członkowie organizacji Falanga, próbowali podpalić węgierski ośrodek". www.gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  31. ^ Trojan, Marek (February 24, 2018). "Ludzie z Falangi odpowiedzialni za atak na biuro węgierskiej mniejszości na Ukrainie? Bekier: to byłaby samowolka » Kresy". Kresy.pl.
  32. ^ "Rusza proces Polaków oskarżonych o atak na Ukrainie". www.tvp.info (in Polish). January 13, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  33. ^ "Wyborcza.pl". krakow.wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  34. ^ "Śledztwo ABW zakończone wyrokiem ws. podpalenia węgierskiego ośrodka na Ukrainie – Służby specjalne – Portal Gov.pl". Służby specjalne (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  35. ^ S.A, Telewizja Polska. "Sąd skazał trzy osoby za przestępstwa o charakterze terrorystycznym". krakow.tvp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  36. ^ Drożdżak, Artur (March 23, 2020). "Krakowski sąd skazał trzech Polaków za "akt terrorystyczny" na Ukrainie". Gazeta Krakowska (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  37. ^ "Wyrok ws. próby podpalenia ośrodka Węgrów w Użhorodzie". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). March 23, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  38. ^ "Byli członkowie skrajnie prawicowych organizacji skazani za terrorystyczny atak na Ukrainie". krakow.wyborcza.pl. March 23, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  39. ^ "Prokuratura sprawdza, czy Niemiec zlecił Polakom zamach na Ukrainie". Do Rzeczy (in Polish). January 19, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  40. ^ Polska, Grupa Wirtualna (August 19, 2021). "Dziennikarz z Niemiec zmarł w Moskwie. Miał na koncie wiele skandali". o2.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  41. ^ "Flüchtiger AfD-Netzwerker soll in Moskau gestorben sein". www.t-online.de (in German). August 20, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  42. ^ "Szef Falangi: 10 tys. narodowców w Warszawie. Nawet połowa z nich przeszkolona z taktyki walki". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). October 30, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  43. ^ "Lider Falangi w Onecie podsyca społeczne nastroje. Działania zgodne z interesami Kremla?". www.tvp.info (in Polish). October 31, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  44. ^ "Narodowcy szykują się na weekend. "Mobilizujemy ludzi. Niewykluczone, że dojdzie do walk na większą skalę"". Wprost (in Polish). October 30, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  45. ^ "Skończył się jeden z największych protestów w najnowszej historii Warszawy". TVN Warszawa (in Polish). October 31, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  46. ^ "37 osób zatrzymanych po protestach w Warszawie. Wiemy, kim są zatrzymani". www.rmf24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  47. ^ "37 osób zatrzymanych po Marszu na Warszawę. Mieli przy sobie pałki, gaz i wyroby pirotechniczne". warszawa.wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  48. ^ "Policja zatrzymała 37 osób podczas strajku kobiet. Większość z nich to pseudokibice". www.gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). October 31, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  49. ^ Falanga i "Inna Rosja" domagały się w Warszawie rozbioru Ukrainy
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