The Alabama-based League of the South is launching a Russian-language section of its website designed to attract people interested in "Southern nationalism."
Classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the neo-confederate organization made the announcement in the days after President Trump met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The new page will reflect that the Russian people and Southerners are natural allies, according to a letter from league president Michael Hill posted to the group's website.
"As fellow Whites of northern European extraction, we come from the same general gene pool. As inheritors of the European cultural tradition, we share similar values, customs, and ways of life. And as Christians, we worship the same Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and our common faith binds us as brothers and sisters," Hill wrote.
"A firm and resolute understanding and commitment to cooperation between the Russian people and the people of the South could indeed be the foundation for a better world in which our peoples thrive and prosper far into the future," he added.
Hill wrote the Russian language section will be "first step in this direction."
According to the Anti Defamation League, Hill, a former history professor at Stillman College, founded the league in 1994. It claims chapters in 16 states, including several in Alabama. The group held rallies in the state as recently as April.
A date for releasing the Russian-based site has not been announced.