The violence stems from deep animus between two aggressive camps with starkly different visions of Russia’s future — neo-Nazi skinheads who rank in the tens of thousands and militant anti-racist groups that call themselves Antifa, short for anti-fascist.(See photos of Russia on Victory Day.)
Former punk rocker Ivan Khutorskoi, 26, provided security for meetings of antifascists. He also was known for organizing underground bare-knuckle boxing matches among them, and taking part in violent attacks on ultranationalists.
Khutorskoi was gunned down in his apartment building on the city’s outskirts Monday night. A day later, dozens of masked men pelted the headquarters of the pro-Kremlin youth group Young Russia with stones, trash and steel rods, Young Russia’s leader said.(See photos of Obama in Russia.)
