Part 3 When No Lives Matter: М.К.У. and its Affiliation to Domestic Nihilistic Satanism
Part 1 in this series can be found HERE & Part 2 of the series can be found HERE
Bottom line up front of М.К.У. Affiliations and Recruitment Targets
Who
М.К.У. : An extremist group with connections to other accelerationist threat actors, including the National Socialist Order of Nine Angles (NSO9A) and the Satanic Front.
Satanic Front: Formerly Temple ov Blood, aiming to carry out ground objectives rather than esoteric aims.
NSO9A: An offshoot of the National Socialist Order, influenced by the Order of Nine Angles and Atomwaffen Division.
No Lives Matter (NLM): An English-speaking extremist group allied with М.К.У., focused on nihilistic and misanthropic violence.
What
Affiliations and Recruitment: М.К.У. forms alliances with other extremist groups like Satanic Front and NSO9A to promote direct action and violent extremism. They share content and propaganda to inspire and mobilize individuals towards violence.
Ideology and Activities: These groups blend National Socialism, Satanism, and nihilistic violence. They produce instructional manuals and guides for committing violent acts, including vandalism, animal abuse, and terrorism.
When
М.К.У. has been active from 2017 to 2023. The third edition of their Haters Handbook documents their recent activities and alliances. NLM and М.К.У. have seen increased collaboration and activity, particularly in 2023 and 2024.
Where
М.К.У. operates primarily in Russia and Europe, while their affiliated groups like NLM operate in English-speaking countries, including North America and the UK. They are found on Telegram, Xabber, Matrix, Wire, Element and X.
Why
The primary goal of these groups is to inspire and mobilize individuals towards nihilistic and misanthropic violence. They aim to create a significant impact through real-world actions rather than mere online presence, using propaganda and alliances to strengthen their cause and recruitment efforts.
М.К.У. Affiliations to Accelerationist threat actors and Current Recruitment Targets
М.К.У. and their affiliation with the National Socialist Order of Nine Angles and Satanic Front
There is a chicken or egg question that I do not have an answer to, however, either М.К.У. has sought out alliances with Western threat actors, or Western threat actors have sought to affiliate themselves with М.К.У. in order to promote more direct action instead of being keyboard warriors. It is important to highlight that there is no way to determine with open sources if these affiliations are “official” or just done with individuals claiming to be from these orgs. So it is important to take some of this with a grain of salt.
The first symbiotic relationship that will be highlighted is that of М.К.У. and Satanic Front. Satanic Front is the current iteration of Temple ov Blood and have as a stated goal the formation and training of an operational unit of individuals that will carry out “on the ground objectives as opposed to the whimsical ‘esoteric’ aims of most organizations and collectives.” Similar to М.К.У., Satanic Front hold esoteric Hitlerist ideologies, as well as a “serial killer rite”. As with many of these types of actors, the described rituals are not sophisticated and it leads me to believe that true ritualistic practices are not the end goal, but rather they serve aesthetic and propagandistic roles.
In the third edition of the Haters Handbook there is a claim of organizational association between М.К.У. and Satanic Front, as well as indication that the founder of Satanic Front was in contact with members of М.К.У. Contact has also been observed on Telegram between users that are associated to these organizations.
Not only is М.К.У. linking itself to Satanic Front, but it was also sharing content from NSO9A (National Socialist Order of Nine Angles) about nihilistic national socialism. NSO9A was an O9A offshoot of National Socialist Order (NSO) which was the successor of the Attomwaffen Division (AWD). NSO9A is the end result of O9A’s longtime influence on AWD. It is important to note that in May 2023 NSO9A added a dedicated М.К.У. page to their website, which shared the videos of “direct actions” taken by members of М.К.У. between 2018 and 2019.
This was the first known instance of a North American threat actor amplifying М.К.У. propaganda. Shortly after this, NSO9A shared a post on their website about the Trident of Association, in which М.К.У. is named as a “sinister sect” and “sinister affiliate” of NSO9A: “Sinister Affiliates, (or SA Groups for short), are groups within the NSO9A that break off to form another group at the behest of the Trident.” NSO9A’s website has been shutdown since the end of 2023 and there has been no activity from them in 2024.
Finally, in the third edition of the Haters handbook it is stated that М.К.У. and NLM (No Lives Matter) are allied together. М.К.У. also includes in this third edition of this Handbook NLM’s murder guide, an instructional document on how to kill someone. The guide doesn’t hide what it is and the first tactic shared is titled “Just Terror Tactics Truck Attacks.” This phraseology as well as the description of the ideal vehicle and how to acquire it is borrowed directly from ISIS’s Publication Rumiyah, issues #3 and 9. The second tactic described is how to carry out an attack with a bladed or blunt weapon. These are items that are easy to obtain and an attack tactic that a minor could easily leverage. They do also suggest carrying out a mass shooting or a terrorist attack, but do not provide instructions on how to do so. Moving into the more abstract suggestions, the following tactics are more far fetched than the previous ones, such as suggesting the use of homemade poisons, chemicals, poisonous elements or gases, mixing the bones of animals with viruses into drugs and handing them out, or searching for nuclear waste. The first two tactics, truck and bladed or blunt weapon attacks, are more detailed in their descriptions and targeted towards an audience that is does not have easy access to firearms. The subsequent tactics suggested are more performative in nature to add an aesthetic of extreme terrorism, demonstrating that a “Maniac” is one who will do any nihilistic or misanthropic act to achieve their goals.
М.К.У. Current Targets for Recruitment
NLM’s connection to М.К.У. was one of the initial touch points with Com and the 764 network; NLM acts as the English language hub of М.К.У. in order to recruit and mobilize individuals from the English-speaking world. NLM has published three instructional manuals in English: the NLM x М.К.У. Kill Guide, NLM Terror Guide and the NLM Manhunt Guide. The quality of the instructional manuals are poor and borrow heavily from existing instructional material found in Rumsiyah, the Anarchist Cook Book, IRA Green Book, as well as common instructional material about making poisons. The material in these documents does not serve a propagandistic function as is seen with the Terrorgram publications. More than anything the NLM instructional guides serve to fill an aesthetic function, as well as a cultural ploy, whereby the creation of instructional material is what’s expected from a “terrifying terrorist”. Whereas М.К.У. has a history of committing acts of ideologically motivated criminality and violent extremism, NLM is a product of Com meaning that NLM leaders are much more concerned about their clout (which is the currency of how bad someone is in Com) than about carrying out real world actions. Demonstrating their focus on online clout, for the past several weeks the two leaders of NLM on Telegram have been primarily concerned with arguing with a leader of NLM who is linked to 764.
The banality of their arguments is based around three points 1) ownership of the Telegram channels linked to NLM, 2) whether or not NLM/No Lives Matter was an ideology of 764 until a specific user made NLM into a group, and 3) The fact that 764 and NLM should not be conflated as they are now two separate entities as NLM claims they won’t associate with people involved in CSAM.
This type of infighting around ownership and originator of ideas are key identifying behaviours of those in the 764 network, as chasing clout and having the most of it is the main goal, and the way to obtain it is by being the most nihilistic and misanthropic. These same behaviours are key to the point system М.К.У. set in place, which means as individuals in the 764 networks are primed to react positively to that type of structural reinforcement. It is this same type of cultural structure which leads to gaining influence and notoriety in the 764 networks, and is what determines whether an individual will be prey or predator. Though the NLM Telegram channels appear to be more interested in clout chasing and larping, they are still seeking to inspire others to mobilize to violence and criminality.
As of May 2024, the alliance that had existed between 764 and NLM ended. In that same Telegram post (see figure 3), NLM indicates that their only allies are Satanic Front and М.К.У.
To gain membership into NLM, the requirements are similar to those seen in М.К.У. videos and written materials: acts of vandalism, animal abuse/torture/murder, and violent acts (beating homeless people, manhunts, or mass shootings). The animal abuse is unique to NLM and the 764 network and not found in other materials discussed in this piece or that I’ve read as part of this research. It is not a surprising inclusion however, given the type of activities the 764 network is interested in consuming and creating. It is also the type of behavioural markers that are of interest to recruiters seeking individuals willing to carry out real world violence.
The escalation of individuals from the 764 network into groups that are more interested in terrorism and violent extremism has gained momentum over the past six months. There have been Telegram channels dedicated to those from the 764 network willing to carry out real world actions such as vandalism of private property (e.g. this billboard in Saskatchewan Canada Figure 4 below,) to videos of slashing tires, bricking of car windows, and an arson attempt.
This was happening at the same time that individuals joined the 764 network and shared propagandistic materials from М.К.У. in the network’s chats and channels. By April 2024 NLM had recruited individuals from the more extreme parts of the 764 network as well as some adjacent national socialist spaces. While examining chat records I have seen that there are users that are joining, or seeking information about how to join, and how to carry out acts of criminality. While it is very probable that the majority of these individuals are trolls or larpers, there is a steady stream of content that appears to be of individuals from NLM or the 764 network committing some type of crime. We cannot under estimate the nature of stochastic inspiration that permeates both NLM and the 764 networks. For example, in April 2024 a teenager in the UK linked to 764 was arrested and charged with plotting an act of terrorism as he was “preparing for an attack against a single homeless individual”. This type of attack is a calling card of М.К.У..
Finally, though NLM, Com, and the 764 network are a loosely connect ecosystem of chats and channels, NLM as a node in the ecosystem takes on the form of a group, rather than a movement.
NLM has a command-and-control structure that they disseminate themselves as part of their propaganda. This practice, not seen in М.К.У. or with other threat actors, it not surprising to see with NLM. Again what is central to understanding this network, is that clout and clout chasing is central to the culture of this ecosystem. This is why they openly advertise the crimes they commit and they doxx themselves and others. Sharing a “roster” of a specific channel/chat on Telegram is common practice and dictates who has the most clout in a specific community. However in doing so NLM provides outsiders with the name of the group owner, leadership, vetted members, and their alliances which reiterates the ties between NLM, М.К.У. and Satanic Front.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding the intricate and dangerous connections between transnational terroristic and violent extremist (TVE) networks like М.К.У., and how they are seeking to recruit from No Lives Matter (NLM), and the 764 network is crucial for addressing the national security threat they pose. Although these groups operate primarily through decentralized and often clandestine means, their activities have real-world consequences. The complex interplay of their ideologies, which blend elements of esotericism, national socialism, and extreme misanthropy, underpins their violent actions and recruitment strategies. М.К.У.'s evolution from offline extremism to a significant online presence, and its affiliations with Western TVE actors, highlights the transnational nature of this threat.
As we delve deeper into the histories and connections of these groups, it becomes evident that their shared "lore" and self-aggrandizing propaganda complicate efforts to distinguish fact from fiction. However, the documented violent actions and explicit calls for mobilization emphasize the urgent need for continued vigilance and comprehensive counter-terrorism strategies. By shedding light on the origins, ideologies, and interconnections of М.К.У., NLM, and related networks, we can better understand and disrupt their activities, ultimately enhancing our collective security.