First mentions of a "South-Eastern Block" on social networks date back to March 2014, when its founders announced its participation in the storming of the Kharkiv regional administration. Since then the movement was known for its adherence to "anti-Maidan" ideology. It supports a move towards a federalization of Ukraine and was in favor of the Crimean referendum. They also rejected the use of army force in Eastern Ukraine, called for a boycott of the May 2014 presidential election and supported the creation of a "South-eastern Ukrainian republic". At that moment the movement counted around 300 supporters and the same number of sympathizers in Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya and Krivoy Rog. His main leader was Russian actor Igor Beketov under the pseudonym Gosha Tarasevich. At the end of summer 2014, SERB activists moved from Ukraine to Russia, fearing for their safety and following the initiation of a criminal case against Tarasevych by the Security Service of Ukraine. According to Tarasevych, the movement continued to operate in Ukraine nevertheless after his departure. In the winter of 2014-2015, the movement became involved in domestic Russian political life, fighting against the Russian opposition under the slogan "We will not allow a Russian Maidan". According to his leader, the SERB movement was financed by its members. According to Oleg Chursin, a former member of SERB, the movement was supervised by Russian Major Aleksey Okipny, working for the Interior Ministry's Counter-Extremism Center, who was spotted during some of the movement's actions by Solidarity activists. Chursin himself was an acting police major at the time of his activities within the SERB movement.
Activities
SERB activists were reportedly involved in:
The disruption of anti-war and anti-Putin actions in Moscow
Launching attacks on activists, politicians and public figures. Alexey Navalny and Yulia Latynina felt victims of these attacks, for "insulting Russia, the President and Crimea"
The destruction of memorials and the removal of a plaque at the site of Boris Nemtsov's murder
The disruption of cultural events
Attacks on the Turkish and the Ukrainian embassies
Filling lawsuits against members of the Russian political oppositions and organizers of art events
Participating as witnesses in trials against protesters
Authorities' response
While a number of SERB activists were detained by Russian police, no formal prosecution took place. Gosha Tarasevich himself was reported to have attacked a policeman during a rally. He was later beaten by unknown individuals in September 2016. Tarashevich and Aleskandr Petrunko, another SERB activist, were condemned to 7 days of administrative arrest for their attack on Yulia Latynina and the exhibition of Jock Sturges. Russian authorities opened a criminal case on 29 April 2017 for the violation of article 116 of the Criminal Code after an attack committed by unknown individuals on politician Alexey Navalny during which he received brilliant green in the eyes. Four different video recordings of the attack were later shown on REN TV channel and allowed to identify Aleksandr Petrunko and Aleksey Kulakov among the assailants. The case was eventually dropped by prosecution which argued that it could not identify the assailants.
