It is an interesting dynamic. When the Russians say 'Nazi' they mean Nationalist Socialist not 'the national socialist party of Germany 1931-1945'. The founder of the Azov Battalion, Biletsky, was an outspoken Nationalist and allied himself with the socialist-nationalist party of Ukraine. Now the fact is Ukraine under the USSR WAS a socialist nation and it was only thirty years ago that the USSR fell so socialist ideology had already been indoctrinated into the people of Ukraine. That said the USSR could hardly be considered a 'workers collective' and Ukraine was famous for its corruption in post-soviet years with many describing the nation as a Kleptocracy state.

Under Soviet rule Ukraine was treated as an occupied territory and was subjected to russofication- converting social, political and cultural identity into a mirror of Russia. This became and lead too genocide, Holodomor, where 3 million Ukrainians died of starvation and millions more where forced to relocate into Russia proper while Russia nationals took over all industry and political office. Seventy years of Russian occupation lead to a great deal of suffering and oppression among the Ukrainian people.

In 2014 when the Russians invaded and seized Crimea many Ukrainians knew that a Russian conquest was imminent and after the suffering the nation endured during the previous Russian occupation Nationalism became an increasingly attractive ideology. The 2014 Ukrainian army was completely ineffectual against the Russian war machine so many groups began forming their own militias. Neo-Nazis tend to have several characteristics that make them an ideal militia member, they like ingroup-outgroup antagonism, a strong group identity, Strict leadership hierarchy and most importantly guns, neo-nazis really like guns. So while the Ukrainian army may have been ill equipped and lacked firearm training the local Ukrainian neo-nazis did not.

The Azov battalion played dirty-real dirty- like IRA dirty. The short period of Azov being an independent militia only lasted about nine months and was marked by many failures and casualties until the second battle of Mariupol when having been abandoned by the Ukrainian army the Azov battalion marshaled the population of Mariupol to defend themselves providing weapons and basic training. Their victory brought the Militia a great deal of support from the local and eventually national populations.

The popularity of the Azov battalion lead to their leaders gaining political sway and in an effort to contain the Neo-fascist ideology from gaining prominence in Ukrainian politics the Azov where absorbed into the Ukrainian National Guard. During their induction process an effort too purge the most radical and racist members of the militia was undertaken though many have questioned the success of that effort. Being a member of the Ukrainian National Guard conferred many benefits for the Azov including pay, legitimization, and access to heavy weapons and ammunition.

It was the Shyrokyne Standoff that elevated the Azov from local defenders to national heroes. They used a surprise offensive to push the separatists out of three cities before the separatists planned invasion of Mariupol, not only securing territory but deflecting what would have been a disastrous invasion. Fighting continued for four months until July when the Ukrainian government attempted to declare Shyrokyne a demilitarized zone but the Azov refused to retreat and leave Mariupol vulnerable saying "only the enemies of Ukraine can give an order to withdraw". After two more months of fighting the separatists lost their taste for battle and retreated allowing Ukraine to maintain a wider DMZ between Mariupol and the separatist Donbass region.