Adolf to Azov

Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People’s Self-Defense was both a political party and a paramilitary wing that worked together. Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) was the name of the political party while, the paramilitary wing was called Ukrainian People’s Self-Defense (UNSO). UNA was founded first and was founded as a small but right wing pro-Ukrainian political party, founded in 1990. The next year, the party was face with even more of a struggle, from pro-Russian politicians, that they set up UNSO in August of 1991, with the help of veterans from the Soviet military.   

UNA-UNSO was against the people of Donetsk leaving and becoming independent, especially when they stopped the Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic and the Donetsk National Guard in the Donbas, from forming. UNA-UNSO also halted the formation of a Novorossiysk Republic in Odesa, when they started brawls with protestors advocating for these causes. In 1992 UNSO did the same thing again when they harassed street protestor advocating for the unification of northern Bukovina and Romania.

During their time in politics the UNA was only able to win a very small number of seats in political positions, a fraction of a percentage of all the seats. Their paramilitary numbers only peaked at around 10,000 in 1994. What made them infamous wasn’t their large numbers or political successes, but rather it was how loud and mean they were, that made them famous. As time went on, and UNA withered away, UNSO was absorbed into the Right Sector when it was formed in 2014.

UNA-UNSO is prime example of paramilitaries and politicians working together to undermine different pollical movements working against them in Ukraine. While UNA had very little political power, UNSO made up for it with their street violence, much like the early NSDAP did, but UNA-UNSO was working towards a much different purpose, the persecution and genocide of innocent minorities living in Ukraine.