[2][citation needed] Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin a political philosopher, and white émigré journalist, was an ideologue of the Russian All-Military Union.
General Fyodor Abramov [ru], who succeeded Miller as chairman, had to quit the post shortly afterward and was expelled from Bulgaria, where he had resided, since his son was exposed as a Soviet agent.
[6] The OGPU′s successful operations against the ROVS, as well as infighting, intrigues, and antagonisms in the wider Russian émigré community, demoralised and rendered impotent an organisation.
European ROVS members were extremely enthusiastic about Nazi Germany's war against the USSR, hoping to be recognized as allies by Hitler.
This is why a few thousand ROVS members, acting as interpreters, engineers, doctors, and other auxiliaries, joined the ranks of the Wehrmacht and went to the Eastern Front.
"[9]The ROVS continued to be active into the 1990s and had evolved into an organization that was principally concerned with the historical preservation of the precommunist and anticommunist Russian military tradition.
Under Ivanov, the ROVS not only was committed to the preservation of the history and tradition of pre-Soviet Russia but also appealed to the patriotic Russian public as well as the UN Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), advocated for the resolute condemnation of communism.
In the past, he accused the ruling authorities of collapsing Russia’s economy and defense capability which he says they carried out under the guise of "military reform".
He also criticized the ruling regime for pursuing an anti-national course in foreign and domestic policy and for taking a conciliatory and protective position regarding Soviet Russia’s communist heritage.
Ivanov has also been a known opponent of totalitarianism and political extremism; both right and left, equally condemning the theory and practice of communism as well as national socialism (fascism) as anti-Christian and anti-human, thus being unacceptable for Orthodox Russia.
On April 15, 2014, under Ivanov’s command, the ROVS issued an appeal to members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and called for the Ukrainian Army to be prevented from being drawn into further conflict to avoid bloodshed and escalation.
At one point, from July 1 to 4, during the fighting near Nikolaevka, Ivanov’s unit was surrounded but broke through and linked up with friendly forces back in Sloviansk.
As deputy commander, Ivanov directly supervised the defense preparation of Ilovaisk against any offensives attempted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Though the ROVS volunteer detachment took part in the defense of Sloviansk, Ivanov, as head of the political department, pursued a policy of non-partisanship and advocated the revival of the traditions of the Russian Army in the ranks of the militia.
Though Ivanov and the ROVS volunteers for a while made some progress in their reforms within the DPR militia, Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko shut down the program.
Since then, the ROVS has been organizing humanitarian aid programs in Donbass for those affected by the war including assistance to wounded militias as well as refugees.