The modern definition of “paladin” refers to any of the 12 legendary peers or knightly champions who attended the 9th-century Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. More commonly, however, it is used to describe any determined advocate or defender of a noble cause.

But who are the new “Paladins” — a group who call themselves an “international league of anti-globalists” and held their founding conference on September 12th in St. Petersburg, Russia?

As though born fully-formed from the head of Zeus, they seem to have sprung out of nowhere. But their first gathering, at the Imperial-style Mariinsky Palace (the site of St. Petersburg’s Legislative Assembly) in Russia’s pre-Revolutionary capital, was attended by far-right politicians and extremists from a number of nations, reportedly including France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, South Africa, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina, and the United Kingdom.

Following a religious procession led by Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, their inaugural forum began with a welcome by Russian politicians, far-right ideologues, and priests . . . and “a minute of silence for the slain young leader of American traditionalists, Charlie Kirk.” [Meduza.io, September 24, 2025.]

That alone — if nothing else about this event — raises questions in my mind that I would rather not contemplate . . . the first being what, if any, connection might exist between this group and any government official or private citizen of the United States.

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But enough said about that, for now. Turning to the people who were in attendance, there are a couple of notables.

First and foremost is the principal organizer of the conclave: 51-year-old Konstantin Malofeev: a Russian media mogul, oligarch, financier, and rabid monarchist, who has been under Western sanctions since 2014 for his involvement in Vladimir Putin’s invasions of Ukraine.

Described by some as “Russia’s real strongman,” and “part Steve Bannon, part Elon Musk,” he has been pressing Putin for years to destroy Ukraine. In 2014, he helped organize, and possibly even instigated, the Russian separatist movement in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that led to Putin’s later all-out invasion. [Paul Starobin, Business Insider, February 23, 2025.]

His closeness to Putin, his media access, and his wealth place him in a position potentially to wield considerable influence on Kremlin policy. And he is virulently anti-Western. Following Donald Trump’s election in 2024, Malofeev posted on Telegram an image of Trump with a raised clenched fist, and a caption saying that Trump “is our enemy. He wants a great America.” But then he goes on to suggest that it might be possible for Trump and Putin to come to an agreement on how to divide the world between them. And he finishes with a sardonic: “LET’S MAKE RUSSIA GREAT AGAIN.” [Id.]

Considering the months of delays and excuses issuing from both Putin and Trump over a solution to the conflict in Ukraine, one might wonder how much of Malofeev’s bizarre suggestion was serious, how much was meant as a joke . . . and how much weight it might carry with two volatile, autocratic tyrants as they vie for world dominance.

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Not surprisingly, another attendee at the St. Petersburg gathering of self-styled Paladins whose name was all too familiar was Aleksandr Dugin — self-styled philosopher, ultra-nationalist, and noted paranoid whack-job sometimes referred to as “Putin’s Brain.”

This is the guy about whom I wrote earlier (8/20/24: “Putin’s Rasputin”), who told American right-wing fruitcake Tucker Carlson in an interview that Ukrainians are “a race of degenerates who crept up from sewers and deserve to be eliminated through genocide,” and that Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories is actually an “opposition to the junta and Ukrainian Nazism that exterminates civilians.” [Julia Davis, CEPA, May 2, 2024.]

He has somehow managed to work his way into Putin’s circle of friends and advisors, though it isn’t clear how much real influence he has. Still, the involvement of both Dugin and Malofeev begs the question of whether this is indeed Kremlin-sanctioned . . . and if so, to what purpose?

It’s too soon to tell; but it will be interesting — as always — to keep an eye on them.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/30/25