Espaniola brigade

The 88th Reconnaissance and Sabotage Brigade "Espaniola" (Russian: 88-я разведывательно-диверсионная бригада «Эспаньола» (88 РДБр), romanized: 88-ya razvedyvatel'no-diversionnaya brigada "Espan'yola") was a Russian irregular military formation created from radical fans of football clubs, including CSKA, Spartak, Torpedo, Zenit, Lokomotiv, Oryol and other teams. Stanislav Orlov, call sign "Spaniard" (Russian: «Испанец», romanized: "Ispanets") and a representative of the Red-Blue Warriors group, served as detachment commander. At the beginning of its existence, the formation existed under the Vostok battalion of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). It was eventually put under the command of PMC Redut from Russia's military intelligence service GRU. Many of the members of the brigade espouse right-wing, far-right, and neo-Nazi views. Espaniola is also known as the "88th Brigade", which according to Molfar is an explicit neo-Nazi reference. Members of the brigade refer to "14/88" and some have the numbers as a tattoo. On October 3, 2025, Espaniola announced its disbandment as a reorganization of the group.