Format18
Format18 (Russian: Формат18) was an extremely violent Russian neo-nazi group based in Moscow, that was suspected of being involved in the murder of almost 600 immigrants in less than a year. It was led by the nazi-skinhead Maxim Martsinkevich, and had close relations with the political party National Socialist Organization.[1]
F18 was known for posting videos on their website containing racist attacks, humiliating interviews with their political opponents (mostly militant anti-fascists). When the Russian police shut down their website in 2007 after arresting Martsinkevich, they had posted nearly 200 videos. A lot of them can still be found on filesharing websites like YouTube and AOL Video. They are believed to be the group that started the trend among Russian neo-nazis of taping their attacks on immigrants and posting them online.
Format18 has appeared in several documentaries about Russian neo-nazis, like "From Russia with hate", and "Ross Kemp on Gangs".
Their website re-opened earlier this year, but was quickly shut down by the police again. A few months later, a group calling themselves "Fanat18" started posting videos of throwing molotov cocktails at the homes of immigrants, and other hate crimes. The people behind these videos are believed to be former members of Format18.
Origin of name
The number 18 is a coded reference to Adolf Hitler, as A is the 1st and H is the 8th letter of the Latin alphabet.
External links
- "Fanat18" website (Russian)
- Format18 on anticompromat.ru (Russian)
- Тесак затупился The New Times 9 July 2007 (Russian)