Trnava, Slovakia (October 7, 2018) BTN — A small village in
Slovakia has received unusual attention in recent months since a very large motorcycle club alleged to be linked to the Russian president.
The club, known as the Night Wolves motorcycle club, opened their European
headquarters on a nearby abandoned pig farm not far from the regional capital of Trnava.
New European headquarters of the Night Wolves MC
The farm was abandoned, one of many relics left behind from
the era of Communist Czechoslovakia.
"The centre was planned as a patriotic museum, where
the WWII items would be on show so that the people — children and adults alike
— could see and touch them," Andrei Bobrovsky, co-creator of the Night
Wolves Europe centre, tells Euronews. "We also planned to have a space for
children and family activities, and, of course, the Night Wolves Europe
clubhouse — a place for our club members to live and meet guests."
"It's not that we wanted to create a centre in
Slovakia," he continues, "we just saw active, honest and decent
people who could do something together with us despite all this European
politics."
A 'patriotic museum'
As residents of Dolna Krupa village mingle with family on a
hot Sunday, many of them agree that, thanks to the bikers, the pig farm now
looks a lot better.
The farm gives off eerie vibes as you drive past it, then
upon entering the village, local eyes follow closely.
A young, tattooed man approaches in a sleeveless shirt,
staring with suspicion.
“I don’t see what the problem with the Night Wolves
is," he says. "I have been riding with them every time they come
around here to show their respect to fallen comrades from the [Slovak] National
Uprising against fascism. They have been coming and going for many years, and
nobody cared.”
The sprawling compound of the Night Wolves MC
The conversation seems mild, but there is something in the
air — distrust.
Another housekeeper down the main road adds: “I can tell
you, people here were more peaceful when the bikers were not around. I mean,
there are other bikers here, but these Russians, they're certainly something
different."
"I have always supported Russia, until I saw what
happened in Crimea. And these bikers, I read in the papers the other day that
they were involved in the fighting in eastern Ukraine. I'm not sure how to feel
about that when they're now camping out in our backyard.”
The compound looks like a military base with buildings
painted in camouflage, high fences lined with barbed wire, and warning signs
calling for no photography of private property.
"We estimate that our active members total thirty to
forty thousand people," says Bobrovsky. "There are several thousand
people in every country we go to. We're becoming a serious force that can move
mountains and share our idea to the very end. It's become a mass
movement."
Jozef Hambalek owns the compound and serves as the chief of
the Night Wolves faction in Slovakia.
He previously conducted military training for another local
patriotic group, a group whose earlier members were found on the front lines in
eastern Ukraine fighting on the side of the Russian-backed separatists — the
same place where members of the Night Wolves gang had been seen.
Hambalek also boasts ties to Slovakia's former Minister of
Interior, Robert Kalinak, who shares his love of motorbikes and gangs. Kalinak
was forced to resign earlier this year amid a swirl of controversy surrounding
the murder of an investigative reporter and his girlfriend in February. Jan
Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were killed, execution-style, at their home in
Veľka Maca. They were both 27-years-old.
Back patch of the Night Wolves MC
Kuciak was looking into alleged corruption and ties to the
Italian mafia among politicians and their staff in Slovakia's ruling party.
Seven months later, four suspects were arrested.
They were identified by authorities examining data from
Google street view, which was used in a successful police raid.
Slovakia, a member of the European Union since 2004, has
seen its fair share from the rise of nationalism recently, creating a bottom-up
divide from beer talks in bars to the highest tiers of politics in Parliament.
Since the war in Ukraine started four years ago, many
citizens by then began to fragment into two groups: One against the European
Union, favouring Russian politics and supporting separatists in Eastern
Ukraine. The second looks up to the EU and supports democracy in Ukraine.
By 2015, the political dispute had deepened when European
countries started to see thousands fleeing the Middle East and arriving on the
continent. It became a political weapon. Almost no refugees left Ukraine for
Slovakia. People in the pro-Russian group began to believe nothing bad was
really happening in Ukraine.
'I don’t understand why people are freaking out'
The political divide is apparent in Dolna Krupa as well, a
village of just over 2,000 people which stands both for and against the
presence of the Night Wolves. Put simply, the locals there reflect the national
stance on these issues.
“It is the liberals”, a young mother proclaims as her child
plays nearby. “Young liberals from around here have been fighting them. It was
them who started the petition against the bikers, [but] I don’t understand why
people are freaking out.”
A local activist claims the bikers don't venture into their
village, they just drive through it, but the issue is broader and that's why
they started a petition against them.
But Hamalek, Night Wolves chief and owner of the compound,
received a €33,000 fine in the summer for having military equipment and
vehicles stationed in there. Slovak law dictates that such exhibits must be
reported to officials.
