Russian Federation. In the past, he accused the ruling authorities of collapsing Russia’s economy and defense capability which he says they carried out under the guise of "military reform". He also criticized the ruling regime for pursuing an anti-national course in foreign and domestic policy and for taking a conciliatory and protective position regarding Soviet Russia’s communist heritage. And though the ROVS official stance on the restoration of the monarchy has been reticent at best, he has often been in favor of the revival of the monarchy in Russia, though he warned against the premature and violent introduction of a monarchical form of government. Ivanov has also been a known opponent of totalitarianism and political extremism; both right and left, equally condemning the theory and practice of communism as well as national socialism (fascism) as anti-Christian and anti-human, thus being unacceptable for Orthodox Russia. Russo-Ukrainian War On April 15, 2014, under Ivanov’s command, the ROVS issued an appeal to members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine calling for the Ukrainian Army to be prevented from being drawn into further conflict to avoid bloodshed and escalation. In June 2014, Ivanov and a detachment of ROVS volunteers deployed to Krasnodon, Luhansk Oblast, where they traveled to Sloviansk in the Donetsk Oblast. There, they met up with forces of the Donetsk People's Republic who were defending the city. By that time, Sloviansk had already become surrounded by Ukrainian forces and so the detachment took part in the defense of Sloviansk. In that campaign, Ivanov took command of a Separate Assault Company as a squad leader. At one point in the period of July 1-4 during the fighting near Nikolaevka, Ivanov’s unit was surrounded but they were able to break through and link back up with friendly forces back in Sloviansk. On July 6, 2014, attached to the Slavic brigade, Ivanov arrived in Donetsk and was appointed deputy commander of the 2nd infantry Slavic battalion (under the command of battalion commander V.P. Kononov stationed in Mospino and Ilovaisk. As deputy commander, Ivanov directly supervised the defense preparation of Ilovaisk against any offensives attempted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of his and his volunteers actions, Ivanov achieved the rank of Major and became the first head of the political department of the DPR militia. Though the ROVS volunteer detachment took part in the defense of Sloviansk, Ivanov, as head of the