Knights of Saint Luther
| Ritsaro i Sant Luther Knights of Saint Luther | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Knights of Saint Luther; the red cross represents the blood of Christ as well as the "martyrs" that have died in the struggle for Otekian independence against the Namorese | |
| Leaders | Gregory Kudyev (1960-1967) Peter Ashmaev † (1970-1994) Breuvi Chikmurdof † (1994-2020) Mikhail Shumev Rybak Puren |
| Dates of operation | NMR 2300-NMR 2364 |
| Headquarters | Unknown |
| Active regions | Mostly Txotai, near the Luziycan border, sometimes operating in parts of Geadland |
| Ideology | Otekian nationalism, Christian fundamentalism, Anti-Namorism |
| Allies |  Luziycan governmentFile:Varanken.png Government-in-exile of the Republic of Oteki |
| Opponents |  Namorese government |
The Knights of Saint Luther (Luziycan: Ritsaro i Sant Luther), sometimes referred to by the organization's leaders as the Knights of the Resistance, The Otekian Resistance or simply The Knights, was formerly a right-wing, Otekian nationalist militant group headquartered in Luziyca. It was allied with the Otekian Independence Movement, although it acted independently from the OIM as a whole in recent years. Its aim was a holy war to end Namorese rule over Oteki (Txotai), and the establishment of a Christian fundamentalist state over Oteki, akin to one that ruled Luziyca from its unification in 1863 until the 1960s.
In the first years of its existence, the Knights posed a great threat to Namorese authority over Txotai; however, as the years passed its power began to decline as it suffered large casualties while fighting Namorese security forces and it was locked in a series of disagreements with both the Otekian government-in-exile and the Luziycan government. Such greatly damaged the credibility of the militant group and its leader, Breuvi Chikmurdof. The Knights were formally disbanded after Chikmurdof was found dead by Namorese authorities, and the Luziycan government arrested many of its surviving commanders.
Now, terrorism experts doubt there is a structural and organized group called the Knights of Saint Luther since Breuvi Chikmurdof's death. The Namorese government reports that some perpetrators of terrorist attacks in Txotai and elsewhere in Namor claim to be part of the Knights, but they are more likely lone wolf operatives who perpetrated attacks without receiving orders from any high command. Security analyst An Kuan said that "right now, there is no actual organization called the Knights of Saint Luther...it's just a bunch of militants who like to use the 'Knights' brand."
History
The Knights of Saint Luther was first established in the NMR 2290s and NMR 2300s by Gregory Kudyev, and it waged attacks against Namorese in the region of Txotai/Oteki. Little is known about when the Knights was actually founded - some documents say it was founded in NMR 2298 while others say the organization's foundation can be traced as early as NMR 2290, when the PRN first administered Txotai. The Knights was made up of physically fit, devout Christian Otekians, and received weapons and training from East Luziyca. Kudyev, head of the Knights, was able to secretly recruit many Otekian youth to join the Knights by portraying the militant group as "crusaders" defending Christian soil from foreign occupation. As such, Christian fundamentalists heeded the Knights' call for armed resistance and supported its ideology and message.
In NMR 2306, the Knights organized a region-wide coup against the Namorese administration, killing the leader of Txotai Prefecture and taking over most parts of Txotai. This marked the peak in the Knights' strength; during the Txotai War which followed abruptly afterwards, the Knights were an elite force in the Otekian rebel army, and it engaged in many battles with the Liberation Army and pro-Namorese militia.
After Oteki was recaptured by the Namorese in NMR 2310 the Knights retreated into the stage of waging armed insurgency and carried out attacks on the Namorese military and civilians whom they considered non-sympathetic towards their cause. With East Luziycan help, the Knights were able to lead the overall insurgency against Namor. In retaliation, Namorese authorities ordered a stiff and brutal crackdown on the Knights throughout the NMR 2320s, significantly reducing the Knights' capabilities.
The Knights began shifting from guerrilla warfare towards carrying out surprise hit-and-run attacks on the Namorese. It bombed government offices, assassinated armed police officers and attacked border villages. The Knights were involved in arms smuggling activities across both sides of the Namo-Luziycan border. The Knights claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Municipal House in Kusef, which killed Txotai Prefecture's governor, Jeffrey Xong, in NMR 2354.
When Txotai became an autonomous republic in NMR 2355, that same year the Knights claimed responsibility for the June 28 Attacks in Namo. The administration of Alicia Wolf began a crackdown on suspected Otekian nationalists. Hundreds of suspected militants (as well as activists supporting Otekian independence) were arrested by the government.
In NMR 2362, Namor announced that it had captured Breuvi Chikmurdof dead as he tried to travel from Txotai to Luziyca. According to the Namorese Ministry of Defense, Chikmurdof was traveling in a van with a number of other militants and the van was attacked by police. Chikmurdof committed suicide before police got their hands on him. The death of Chikmurdof led to a power vacuum which greatly deteriorated the Knights from within.
Chikmurdof's successor, Mikhail Shumev, broke away from the Knights' radical faction and formed the Otekian People's Association. The OPA supported negotiations with Namorese authorities, although this was opposed by the radicals under the leadership of Rybak Puren. The OPA won the power struggle among Otekian exiles after the Luziycan government classified the Knights of Saint Luther as a terrorist organization. The Knights' headquarters in Luziyca was raided by police, and many Knights training bases throughout Luziyca were raided as well. The Constitution reported that Rybak Puren and 25 other members of the Knights were arrested, while 16 are still missing and are wanted by authorities. Despite this, many believe the Luziycan classification of the Knights as terrorists has officially disabled the organization from functioning.
Ideology
The Knights of Saint Luther is closely affiliated with the Otekian Independence Movement, although its leaders are increasingly critical of the OIM leadership's policies, which they saw as too relaxing and reformist. For one, it rejects a two-state solution for Namorese and Otekians in the region, maintaining that "since the Lord gave Oteki to the Otekian people and them only, just like how He gave Namor to the Namormen and Geadland to the Geads, it is foolish to concede privileges to the non-Otekians on our soil, provided that we have enjoyed independence without them in the first place." The Knights call for a "complete Namorese retreat" out of Oteki, saying that "if the Occupation ends, so does the Resistance." Unlike more moderate leaders of the OIM, the Knights of Saint Luther has vehemently supported the "Oteki for Otekians and Otekians only" initiative, which calls for all Namorese and Geads to be expelled out of an independent Oteki.
Terrorism experts have said that the Knights' sole goal is to "promote hatred between the Namorese and Otekian ethnic groups, in order to incite rebellion against the ruling Namorese order in the troubled region."
Despite the Knights' hardline stance against the Namorese government, two heavily-defended factions have emerged within the organization---a moderate faction which seeks to align the Knights closer with the OIM, while the radical faction supports the Knights' continuous policies of waging "holy war" on Namorese authorities.
Attacks
Due to a lack of Namorese government reports filed before the Txotai War, the number of attacks the Knights of Saint Luther conducted on the Namorese up to the foundation of the Second Republic of Oteki is unknown. Scholars put the number of attacks carried out by the Knights of Saint Luther from NMR 2300-2305 up to around 200-400, therefore it is widely accepted that before the Txotai War the organization served as an actual threat to the Namorese authorities in Txotai due to many factors, some of them including that there was a small Namorese population in the region at the time, and also the flexibility of the organization back then, and its abundance in operatives and weapons.
After the Txotai War did Namorese authorities begin counting the number of attacks the Knights of Saint Luther conducted. During the NMR 2310s and 2320s, guerrilla raids and targeted assassinations were more prominent, but by the NMR 2330s and the Otekian Unrest the Knights mostly conducted bombings, suicide bombings, communications hijacking and aircraft hijackings.