Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia

[[File:Yes California logo (v1).svg|thumb|right|165px|The Calexit logo]]
{{politics}}
'''The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia''' (Антиглобалистское движение России, AGMR) is a [[Russian]] government-funded<ref name=gutierrez>[http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Advocate-s-Russian-ties-cause-concern-in-state-10907521.php Advocate's Russian ties cause concern in state secession movement] by Melody Gutierrez (February 3, 2017 Updated: February 3, 2017 10:08pm) ''The San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref> anti-[[globalization]] [[astroturf]] organization, consisting of a single member, Alexander Viktorovich Ionov (Александр Ионов)<ref>[http://archive.ph/ZP5xf Our Team] The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (archived from 5 Feb 2017 01:17:26 UTC)</ref> and two "Honorable" Members, [[Bashar al-Assad|Bashar Hafez Al-Assad]] and [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].<ref>[http://archive.ph/Ur2oM Honorable "Members] The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (archived from 3 Jan 2017 20:33:03 UTC)</ref>

==Calexit==
A '''Calexit''' ballot initiative, sponsored by Yes California (a.k.a., "CalExit"), has received financial aid from and partnered with AGMR.<ref name=gutierrez/> AGMR had a Calexit "embassy" in Moscow in 2017.<ref>[http://archive.ph/RCMq3 'Calexit': Yes California movement opens ‘embassy’ in Moscow] The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (archived from 3 Jan 2017 20:31:01 UTC)</ref> Yes California is itself an astroturf organization, the president of which is Louis J. Marinelli III {{lived|1986 or 1987}}.<ref>[https://ballotpedia.org/Louis_J._Marinelli,_III Louis J. Marinelli, III] ''Ballotpedia''.</ref> Marinelli is a US citizen from [[New York]] who has lived in Russia. He admitted to voting for [[Donald Trump]] in 2016.<ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-12-07/how-to-make-california-great-secede-with-a-little-help-from-putin How to Make California Great: Secede, With a Little Help From Putin: A leader of ‘Calexit,’ the Golden State’s independence movement, sees Trump—and the Kremlin—as a boon] by Leonid Ragozin (December 7, 2016, 5:00 AM PST) ''Bloomberg Business Week''.</ref> Both Marinelli<ref>[http://www.pravdareport.com/news/world/americas/20-09-2016/135660-california-0/ California to leave US under Crimean scenario] 20.09.2016 [[Pravda.ru]]</ref> and Ionov<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/california-secessionist-movement-opens-first-embassy-and-its-in-moscow/ California dreamin': California Secessionist movement opens first "embassy" — and it’s in Moscow] by Alec Luhn (Dec 21, 2016) ''Vice''.</ref> suggested that California might follow the Crimean scenario in which [[Crimea]] voted for independence before being immediately annexed by Russia. In 2017, Marinelli indicated that he would be seeking permanent residence in Russia and that the current petition would be withdrawn.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170420100034/http://www.yescalifornia.org/louis_marinelli_farewell_statement Louis Marinelli's Farewell Statement] by Louis Marinelli (April 17, 2017 1:37 PM) ''Yes California'' (archived from April 20, 2017).</ref> In 2023, Marinelli was still blowing hot air about another ballot measure ("CalExit 3.0"),<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240422040251/https://www.yescalifornia.org/news/announcing-calexit-3-0/ Announcing CalExit 3.0] (January 15, 2023) ''Yes California'' (archived from April 22, 2024).</ref> which did not materialize in 2023 or 2024.

As of 2025, the organization is still tottering along with [[Schism|internalized secession]] consisting of infighting between Marinelli, Ionov and current president Marcus Ruiz Evans, among others.<ref>[https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/calexit-secede-us-20164143.php Two friends started a California secession movement. Now they’re fighting each other: Marcus Ruiz Evans wants to turn Trump 2.0 hate into a statewide independence movement. He’ll have to overcome political obstacles and his former partner.] by Raheem Hosseini (April 21, 2025) ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref>

==Other secession movements==
Russia has also funded other [[astroturf]] secession movements in the United States, including in [[Texas]], [[Hawaii]] and Puerto Rico. The largest secession group in Texas, "Heart of Texas" (txrebels), turned out to be a Russian [[Front group|front]] with over 225,000 followers on [[Facebook]] as of summer 2017 before it was removed by Facebook. The Facebook page was [[xenophobic]], nativist, and anti-immigrant; it had many posts targeting [[Islamophobia|Muslim immigrants]] and refugees, [[liberals]], [[Homophobia|LGBT activists]], [[Vegetarianism|vegetarians]] and [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170910193707/https://extranewsfeed.com/how-russia-created-the-most-popular-texas-secession-page-on-facebook-fd4dfd05ee5c?gi=f328b1265f8a How Russia Created the Most Popular Texas Secession Page on Facebook: When is a Texan not a Texan?] by Casey Michel (Sep 7, 2017). ''ExtraNewsFeed''.</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/10/17/how-the-russians-pretended-to-be-texans-and-texans-believed-them/ How the Russians pretended to be Texans — and Texans believed them] by Casey Michel (October 17, 2017) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

The stated aim of AGMR is "against the global dominance of transnational corporations and supranational trade and financial institutions",<ref>[http://archive.ph/HDnb6 About] December 22, 2016. Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (archived from 3 Jan 2017 20:32:51 UTC)</ref> but is more likely specifically against the economic dominance of the [[United States]] and the [[EU]].

Curiously, despite being funded from the Russian government (or perhaps to distract from the obvious astroturf of the site), there are three news feeds from radical partner organizations on the main webpage: Black Agenda Report, Fight Back News, and Rsf.ie News (Republican [[Sinn Féin]]).

{{anchor|Uhuru House}}
==African People’s Socialist Party/Uhuru House==
'''Uhuru House''' and its lesser-known parent organization, '''African People’s Socialist Party''' (APSP), have been associated with AGMR, having sent delegates to Moscow in 2015 for an anti-globalization conference organized by AGMR.<ref name=barrett>[https://wapo.st/3gz6abd Russian national charged with U.S. political influence operation: Florida activist group was used to sow discord and spread pro-Russian propaganda, Justice Dept. says] by Devlin Barrett (July 29, 2022) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> In 2023, four American members of APSP (Omali Yeshitela, Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel and Augustus C. Romain Jr.) were charged with conspiring to act as unregistered foreign agents for Russia under the direction of Ionov and two other Russians (Yegor Sergeyevich Popoov and Aleksey Borisovich Sukhodolov).<ref name=doj>[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-citizens-and-russian-intelligence-officers-charged-conspiring-use-us-citizens-illegal U.S. Citizens and Russian Intelligence Officers Charged with Conspiring to Use U.S. Citizens as Illegal Agents of the Russian Government: Defendants Sought to Sow Discord, Spread Pro-Russia Propaganda and Interfere in Elections Within the United States] (April 18, 2023) ''The United States Department of Justice''.</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/18/russian-influence-florida-missouri U.S. charges four Americans with aiding Kremlin efforts: Charges are the latest Justice Department effort against secret foreign propaganda networks on U.S. soil] by Devlin Barrett (April 18, 2023 at 2:02 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> In 2024, those same four were convicted of interfering in an election in St. Petersburg, [[Florida]].<ref>[https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/activists-convicted-of-working-with-russian-government-to-interfere-with-st-pete-elections/ Activists convicted of working with Russian government to interfere with St. Pete elections], Nathaniel Rodriguez, ''WFLA'' 12 September 2024</ref>

===Black Hammer Party===
[[File:Gazi Kodzo.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Infamous [[Juggalo]] wannabe Gazi Kodzo.]]
The African People’s Socialist Party also operates under the name '''Black Hammer Party''' in [[Georgia]].<ref name=doj/> Black Hammer is led by '''Augustus Cornelius Romain Jr.''', who also goes by the name 
Nazi Bozo
 "'''Gazi Kodzo'''". The group is notorious for their [[antisemitism]], such as burning copies of Anne Frank's diary.<ref>Mira Fox (December 12, 2022). [https://forward.com/culture/475131/how-could-anyone-ever-hate-anne-frank-why-a-fringe-group-declared-war-on/ "How could anyone ever hate Anne Frank — why a fringe group declared war on the Holocaust’s most famous victim"]. ''The Forward''.</ref><ref>[https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/black-hammer-organization The Black Hammer Organization], ''[[Anti-Defamation League]]''</ref> In 2021, they tried to buy land in the [[Colorado]] desert in order to build an ethnostate, but they failed miserably.<ref>[https://coloradosun.com/2022/02/08/black-hammer-utopia-norwood-colorado/ A Black separatist group’s utopian dream for land near Telluride withered after an armed standoff], Grant Stringer, ''Colorado Sun'' 8 February 2022</ref> Ultimately, the group, dubbed as a [[cult]] by many of its former members, fell apart in 2022 after Kodzo was arrested because a dead body was found in a house rented by Black Hammer.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/infamous-cult-leader-gazi-kodzo-arrested-after-dead-body-found-in-home Infamous ‘Cult’ Leader Arrested After Dead Body Found in Home], Will Sommer, ''The Daily Beast'' 20 July 2022</ref>

==External links==
*[http://archive.ph/zsPby The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia] (archived from 5 Feb 2017 01:16:18 UTC)
*[http://archive.ph/ZSCxE Антиглобалистское движение России] &mdash; the Russian language version of The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (archived from 4 May 2013 06:34:32 UTC)
*[http://archive.ph/ublgE Антиглобалистское движение России] &mdash; the Russian language version of The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (archived from 11 Sep 2014 10:44:05 UTC)
*[http://www.snopes.com/2017/01/30/calexit-campaign-supported-russia/ Is the #Calexit Campaign Supported by Russia? There are ties between the Yes California campaign and an "anti-globalist" Russian group that has received funding from the Kremlin] by Bethania Palma (Updated: Jan 31, 2017) Snopes.com]
*[https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/12/13/from-his-home-in-russia-calexit-leader-plots-california-secession/ From His Home in Russia, #Calexit Leader Plots California Secession] by John Sepulvado (December 13, 2016) ''KQED''
*[https://apspuhuru.org/about/the-uhuru-movement/ African People’s Socialist Party]

==References==
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[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:Black nationalism]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Convicted felons]]
[[Category:Crime]]
[[Category:Cults]]
[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Florida]]
[[Category:Government surveillance]]
[[Category:Hate groups]]
[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Right-wing troll campaigns]]
[[Category:Russia]]
[[Category:Vatniks]]

Categories: Antisemitism, Black nationalism, California, Convicted felons, Crime, Cults, Economics, Florida, Government surveillance, Hate groups, Organizations, Propaganda, Racism, Right-wing troll campaigns, Russia, Vatniks