After his discharge, he returned to Moscow and found employment in an underground thermal energy station as an electrician-fitter.

[citation needed] Barkashov joined the far-right nationalist movement Pamyat in 1985 and rose quickly within its ranks.

[4] In 1994, Barkashov published his book, Azbuka russkogo natsionalista (ABC of a Russian Nationalist), which became the primary source of the RNU's platform.

[citation needed] On 6 November 2009 Barkashov formed the movement ″Union of the Defenders of Russia - October 1993″ together with Vladislav Achalov and Stanislav Terekhov, the leader of the Union of Officers.

In a leaked audio recording from spring 2014, Barkashov consulted Dmitri Boitsov, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Army.