AAO’s Mikhail Zhlobitsky Nucleus (Anarchist Entity, Greece)

• Local Name: ΆΑΟ – Πυρήνας Mikhail Zhlobitsky​
• Transliteration: AAO – Pyrínas Mikhail Zhlobitsky
• Alternatives: N/a
• Status: 2019 – 2019 (Disbanded)
• Conflicts: Greek Anarchist Militancy

The AAO’s Mikhail Zhlobitsky Nucleus [AAO – Pyrínas Mikhail Zhlobitsky] was a left-wing extremist outfit that acted as a branch of the Greek wing of the Informal Anarchist Federation [AAO; Átypi Anarchikí Omospondía]. It was named after the Russian anarchist who died in a bomb attack on a police station in the city of Arkhangelsk in October 2018.¹ On Mar. 22, 2019, two of the outfit’s operatives hurled a hand grenade at the Russian consulate in the Greek capital city’s Halandri suburb, causing only minor damage.² The attackers’ motorcycle was found burning in the Exarchia neighborhood shortly afterwards.³ On Apr. 18, the AAO-NMZ claimed responsibility for the action in a message posted on an anarchist website.⁴ In the statement, the attackers denounced Russia’s long history of “nationalistic and chauvinistic domestic and foreign policy” and expressed solidarity with imprisoned anarchists in the country.⁵