an eventual European super-state. His decision to enter politics was not without controversy and in 1995 he was subjected to a series of physical attacks and burglaries of his home by unknown assailants. Although the culprits were never identified Ivanov-Sukharevsky pointed the finger at rival right-extremist leader Alexander Barkashov. Barkashov's Russian National Unity movement had consistently rejected offers to co-operate with the NNP, largely because Barkashov viewed Ivanov-Sukharevsky as an unnecessary rival for the leadership of the ultra-nationalists. Ivanov-Sukharevsky has been jailed on more than one occasion, notably in February 1999 when he was remanded for inciting hatred. During this period he shared a cell with Semyon Tokmakov, the leader of the Russian skinhead gang Russian Goal, and he began to recruit the skinheads to his cause. The two published a joint letter from Butyrka prison in the PNP paper Ya-Russky, and as a result the paper became a popular seller among racist skinheads. He was found guilty in April 2002, although he was almost immediately released under an amnesty. Ivanov-Sukharevsky was largely supportive of Vladimir Putin when he was first elected as President of Russia, describing him as an 'indispensable and extremely important politician' and the 'hyper-link between Marxism and Russism', although adding that 'his ideology reflects the past stage of history'. Although he had not specifically supported Putin's candidature in the election, he had not declared support for any candidate for the Presidency. Ideology Ivanov-Sukharevsky follows an ideology that he calls Russism (or Ruscism), which emphasises the centrality of race above all divisions. Russism is attractive to racists who adhere to Paganism rather than the Russian Orthodox Church, which is generally afforded a central role on the Russian extreme right. Russism seeks to build a link from pre-revolutionary orthodox monarchism to Nazism, and identifies the two great heroes of the Twentieth century as Nicholas II of Russia and Adolf Hitler, arguing that Hitler was revenge on the Bolsheviks for the revolution. According to his personal ideology the Russy consists of eight branches i.e. the "Great Russians", the Belarusians, the Ukrainians (the three groups from which he has descent), the Ruthenians of Carpathia, the "New Russians", the Siberians, the Cossacks and the Pomors. References Further reading External links 1950 births Living people Politicians from Rostov-on-Don Russian neo-Nazis Russian people of Belarusian descent Russian people of Ukrainian descent Soviet film directors Russian nationalists Neo-Nazi politicians Film people from Rostov-on-Don