Cells of the student community “Brotherhood of Academists” are opening in Russian universities; furthermore, university administrations are registering them as official student organizations. But this is no ordinary student club. The Brotherhood is sponsored by Konstantin Malofeev, the founder of the “first Russian TV channel” Tsargrad, a platform known for its far-right, nationalist views.
Members of the Brotherhood, who call themselves “Academists,” meet with lawmakers and regional governors. They “quietly” land jobs in state and state-adjacent institutions. They collect humanitarian aid for the war in Ukraine, and some even join Russian troops on the front lines.
Reporting for Groza and Holod, journalist Filipp Smirnov infiltrated the Brotherhood and spoke with its leader to share with readers what this organization is, how it operates, and what purpose it serves to Konstantin Malofeev.
The Brotherhood of Academists was founded in 2020 under the umbrella of the Tsargrad Society. According to the newspaper Vedomosti, this society is a nonpartisan structure, established by far-right politician Konstantin Malofeev to funnel his supporters into the State Duma during the 2021 elections.
The Brotherhood’s stated goals, according to their introduction post on the social networking platform VK, include “fostering skills of self-organisation, as well as national solidarity and mutual assistance in Russian students” and “hosting student discussion platforms and Young Politician Schools”.
Shortly before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Brotherhood of Academists underwent a structural overhaul. From a local group within the Tsargrad Society, it expanded into an organization with cells in numerous major Russian universities. Judging by the Academists’ VK pages, cells have been established in at least 20 cities across Russia, as well as in occupied territories of Ukraine, including Kherson and Crimea.
The cells are active at prestigious universities like Moscow State Institute of International Relations, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg Mining University, Kuban State University, Ural Federal University, Novosibirsk State University, and Kazan Federal University. Crucially, some of these cells are registered as official student societies – meaning they operate with the explicit permission and support of university administrations.
“Over the past years, the Academists have shown that they are not just promising young people but already accomplished individuals ready to perform complex tasks. And there have been quite a few of those, including humanitarian missions to Donbas and Novorossiya, academic conferences, assistance to our compatriots abroad, and much more. And some of our members are defending our Motherland with weapons in hand”. Malofeev wrote on his VK page.
According to the Brotherhood’s brand book that the Groza reporter acquired upon infiltrating the group, it is founded on the belief that “the world order transformations and massive shock waves” are to come soon, and “the Russian Federation will be reborn a new political superpower under the banner and the ideals of the Russian Empire”.
The Brotherhood members see Russia’s mission as a truly global one: the Russian Federation is to defeat “global evil” and to “hold down the fort of the Christian Faith and traditional values”, while the Russian Orthodox Church is to “gain universal status and become the foremost authority in the global Orthodoxy”.
According to the Academists, in twenty years Russia could become “the world leader in scientific and technological progress, and the 21st century will become the golden age for Russian culture; an era of ideological and cultural domination of Russia in the world”.
To be accepted into the Brotherhood, one should live up to four ideals, or pillars, of the organization, that are reflected in its logo: a cross with a two-headed eagle and the capital Cyrillic “A”.
Each end of the cross symbolizes, as cited from the source,
The Academists also believe that the four ends of the cross symbolize the four cardinal directions, to which the cultural, economic, political, and military expansion of the “reviving Russian Empire” extends. The Brotherhood states that all of its members “must be ready to serve in the Army, as well as to defend the Fatherland and the Orthodox Faith”.
Izyumov was born in Krasnodar. As stated on his website, he used to work as a real estate agent, serve in the army where he achieved the rank of junior sergeant (however, he avoided mobilization), and unsuccessfully run for the State Duma as a candidate from the “New People” party.
Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, Izyumov has been using his social media accounts — frequently reposted by Academist communities — to call for the cancellation of concerts by the artists Shortparis, Leonid Agutin, and Angelika Varum, and to urge Russian soldiers to “use strength, toughness, and even violence [on the battlefield]”. He dubs Ukraine a “threat to Russian civilization”,
“The very existence of a hostile Ukrainian project is a constant threat to Russian civilization. It is absolutely irrelevant who governs Ukraine — whether it is a Nazi government, a fascist government, a communist government, or a liberal-democratic one”, Izyumov stated in 2023 in an interview with the “Bloknot Krasnodar” media outlet.
When asked how much control he has over the Brotherhood, Izyumov responded that he is “not an absolute leader”,
“Essentially, they [Brotherhood cells] are the university-based horizontal communities of new Russian people. At first, we worked quite closely with sports collectives under Double-Headed Eagle, but collaborations with Russia’s intellectual youth were lacking. That is exactly why the Academists tradition was revived and is now developing. I am not its absolute leader, though. There is a higher management. I only coordinate the Brotherhood’s development across the country.
There are two approaches available. Obviously, we cannot fully control the regional cells. We only try to set boundaries: we have such positions, such symbols, and such statements that we subscribe to. Within these limits, everyone is free to act as they please.
Of course, there are situations when someone crosses the line, and we have to step in. But since the Brotherhood has centralized funding, we have management and enforcement tools. If people do not comply, then of course, we stop working with them. These are normal work processes — building and structuring ideology.”
The Brotherhood's work “with intellectual youth” currently manifests in the form of reading clubs, intellectual competitions in annexed Crimea, teleconferences with “war correspondents”, and gatherings for “studying the culture of drinking”, which participants refer to as “symposium”. Additionally, the Brotherhood holds balls — for example, in St. Petersburg.
The Academists also have a list of recommended books. First and foremost, they are advised to study the works of Konstantin Malofeev himself, for example, his three-volume study “Empire”. Additionally, you can find there writings of Philotheus of Pskov, “Ivan the Terrible: The Sovereign”, “Domostroy”, as well as “Geopolitics: A Textbook” and “Genesis and Empire: Ontology and Eschatology of the Universal Kingdom” by Aleksandr Dugin.
As stated on the Brotherhood’s website, military training sessions are being held in Moscow and St. Petersburg for Academists who want to join the war against Ukraine. Academists are taught tactical combat casualty care, drone (UAV) operation skills; they also undergo firearm and tactical training. Military training is available in other regions, such as Voronezh, Krasnodar, and Yekaterinburg.
Training sessions on how to handle anti-tank guns are filmed by Brotherhood cameramen and posted on social media with upbeat music in the background. Before Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion, the Academists had been planning to involve former Wagner Group mercenaries in their military training sessions.
The Voronezh Brotherhood focuses on firearms training, frontline training, and combat. Their social media content reflects strong anti-immigrant views, echoing Tsargrad's materials on migration policy. In addition to parroting the TV channel content, Academists have recently been reposting ultra-conservative rap artist Misha Mavashi and the “Russian Nationalist” VK group.
The official community page of Academists, as well as St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, and Chelyabinsk cells — all publish posts with anti-immigrant sentiment. In Moscow, Academists held a lecture on “uncontrolled migration”.
In addition to military training, members of the Brotherhood organise fundraisers for battalions fighting against Ukraine, like the VDV (the Russian Airborne Forces) reconnaissance unit “Moscow”, which was created by “volunteers — professional athletes and supporters of Russia’s flagship football clubs from “Two-Headed Eagle” society”.
Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, Academists have opposed anti-war student initiatives. For example, they planned to push for the dissolution of the student council of the Faculty of History at St Petersburg State University (SPBSU) in case of an “anti-war demonstration”.
The SPBSU Academists are notoriously ruthless in their persecution of students who oppose the policies of the Russian authorities.
SPBSU dismissed the lecturer and subsequently expelled seven students who had sympathised with him. The Academists even received a letter from the Vice-Rector for Human Resources, expressing gratitude “for the demonstration of their firm civic stance”.
The Yekaterinodar Academists (the pre-1920 name of Krasnodar, a major city in southern Russia), for example, delivered a lecture to schoolchildren titled “Heroes of the Past. Heroes of the Present”. For the Academists of Kuban State University, this is part of a broader initiative,
“Tradition is about passing the torch, not worshipping ashes. That is precisely why we decided to name our project “Plamya” (“flame”, “torch”) — a program for visiting schools with educational lectures,” write the Academists.
Voronezh Academists told schoolchildren about “the heroes of Novorossiya and the ideals they fought for”.
Through its connections with the Tsargrad Society and the World Russian People’s Council (WRPC), the Brotherhood has established ties with European far-right organizations. In April 2024, the “International Club of Moscow Academists” held a teleconference with “Brazilian friends from Nova Resistência” [Portuguese for “New Resistance”], a “patriotic Brazilian organisation advocating for a just and multipolar world order”.
Later, the Academists congratulated the Brazilian people on the anniversary of dictator Getúlio Vargas, who had been ruling Brazil for 15 years. According to them, Vargas was “the greatest political figure in modern Brazilian history”.
Furthermore, in February 2024, the SPBGU Academists presented their club at the Union State Youth Forum at Belarusian State University (BSU). During a roundtable discussion, they and the BSU representatives “discussed further cooperation”.
Since the start of mobilization, some Academist cells have been spreading information about legal consultations offered at a so-called human rights centre affiliated with the Tsargrad Society, while others have been actively encouraging volunteers to enlist. An article in Komsomolskaya Pravda claimed that Moscow Academists were among those who visited military recruitment offices to assist the Russian army.
The Academists also set up cells in occupied Ukrainian territories. However, following Ukraine’s counteroffensive in autumn 2022, these cells had to evacuate. The Brotherhood’s Telegram channel described the evacuation of the Kherson “Russian Club” as a “vacation trip to Russia”.
When asked about new cells, Nikita Izyumov responded,
“Most of our new cells were established from scratch, however, some existing communities joined us [the Brotherhood]. We are building a living organization — not a top-down state-run youth movement, but an organic structure. The first step is to find leaders who can bring people together in different regions and universities, then support them in working with university administrations to ensure there are no obstacles from those in power.
So generally, we seek out such groups in universities and then start supporting them. Sometimes we publish announcements and they respond, sometimes we reach out through professors of these universities who know active students with similar views.”
If the teachers do not agree or are not ready to support such groups, the Brotherhood leadership may try other negotiation tactics. This screenshot, for example, shows members of the Brotherhood discussing the ‘resolvable’ issue posed by an unnamed ‘uncooperative’ professor during their effort to establish a club in Kherson which at the time was occupied by the Russian army.
Publicly, however, Izyumov presents the opening of the Kherson club in a positive light.
“We had established a club in Kherson during the beautiful period of liberation of the city. It did not last long though, the city was abandoned by our forces, and our boys had to leave… These people were born and raised in the Ukrainian state, all but young students, yet they retained their Russian identity, the ideals of the Russian Empire. That is why we are actively working and engaging with students. But for now, those club members were relocated here, to the region of Kuban.
As for Zaporozhye, after we left Kherson the people there have become more apprehensive. In Donetsk and Lugansk, however, the process of creating new cells and holding more negotiations is still active.
In Mariupol, funnily enough, there are still several institutes with lots of young people. We posted photos of meetings with them. Our volunteers commute there a lot. It is a good-natured, reciprocal exchange, a dialogue; maybe we will establish a cell in Mariupol as well. There are people there who receive scholarship money from our benefactor, they would make a good core for a local branch.”
Almost every cell of the Brotherhood collects humanitarian and medical aid for the Russian military; the head of the Brotherhood also encourages collecting funds for military drones. St. Petersburg and Omsk Academists delivered “paramilitary cargo” for the “people’s militia of the LPR (Lugansk People's Republic)”.
Vladislav Yevpatyev, the current press secretary of the Brotherhood, explains, “Academists are builders of the Empire. It is essential for us to be on the forefront of its formulation not in word but in deed.”
Here is what Izyumov has to say about Academists who joined the Russian army,
In the 2010s, Konstantin Malofeev, the founder of the Brotherhood of Academists, planned to enter the Federation Council, but failed — in 2012 he was suspected of bribing voters during the election of deputies in the village of Znamenskoye in the Smolensk region (a district at the border with Belarus). Then Malofeev was removed from the voting lists.
In 2014, the oligarch sponsored separatists on the territory of the self-proclaimed LPR (Malofeev denied this), and according to “Novaya Gazeta”, he may have been involved in the creation of a plan for Russian interference in Ukraine’s internal politics which got leaked.
Malofeev did not receive any visible political positions in the Russian Federation during the first eight years of the war in Donbass, except that in 2015 he was awarded the Order of the “Republic of Crimea” “For Loyalty to Duty”.
Academists are often introduced to local elites: representatives of city and regional administrations. For example, in the Ivanovo region, academics met with the head of the region, Stanislav Voskresensky; Moscow academists met with the governor of the Chelyabinsk region, Alexey Teksler; and Kuban academics were invited to listen to a report by the Public Chamber of Kuban on the state of civil society.
The Chairman of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, Alexander Belsky, also spoke about the Academists: “We see that these are serious young people. We recently had a meeting with them — it was an open and clear dialogue. We see young people who are not motivated by the idea that they must be involved in power or have any questions related to funding. None of that is present. These are good, decent young people, well-raised. One could even say they are idealistic.”
“Because the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs is an inorganic structure. A completely different approach to work is needed here. I am someone who has a critical view of the actions of our current government and the system in general. I understand that the only effective method of achieving some positive change is through an active evolutionary path. For this, we need many people who can do more than just post online about their greatness. We need people who will have the skills of public administration and will be intellectual.
As for the quasi-governmental organizations with which one has to interact by virtue of service, the “Young Guard of United Russia” is completely dead and only exists due to the budget, and it exists only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, while the regions are struggling significantly. “The Movement of the Firsts” is a truly state-run movement, but competing there is pointless. It is a non-ideological entity, and even local officials do not really know what to do with it.
We can take the position of a reserve. We are preparing ideological personnel in our paradigm, whom we can promote. If the personnel meet the criteria: they are not just good Russian people who love the black-yellow-white flag, but those who are capable of writing documents, working with programs, and so on. Then we promote them. We have successful cases — guys who are assistants to deputies, employed in city administrations, in youth parliaments. Gradually, work is progressing, but the state is not in a hurry to share its resources.”
