Russian ultranationalist writer Edward Limonov went on trial on July 8 in the central city of Saratov where he is charged with forming an armed group to carry out terrorist acts, news agencies said.
Five other members of his neo-fascist National Bolshevik Party, who have ties to party chapters in Latvia, have also been charged, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
The trial was immediately adjourned to July 8 to allow four of the five defendants to find lawyers, Limonov's lawyer Sergei Belyak said.
Limonov was detained in Siberia on April 8, 2001, by Russian security services (FSB), two months after four party militants were arrested in the Altai region of southern Siberia in possession of two Kalashnikov automatic we-apons and ammunition, saying they wanted to protect Russians in the region.
The FSB has accused them of illegally acquiring weapons for the purposes of terrorism.
If found guilty, Limonov faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Members of Limonov's party wear black shirts and sleeve bands with the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol patterned to resemble a Nazi swastika.
Four members of his party launched a hunger strike last month to demand that Limonov be given an open trial.
The writer's supporters also wanted the trial to take place in Moscow.
Limonov, 59, whose real name is Edward Savenko, was until recently held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison.
Born in Ukraine, Limonov emigrated to the United States in 1974 and later moved to Paris.
Returning to Russia in 1991, he founded the National Bolshevik Party, lamenting the collapse of the Soviet Union, praising Stalin and criticizing the West.
He expressed strong support for Slav nationalist leaders in Moldova and the Balkans, including Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
His group and its newspaper Limonka, a slang word for grenade, have a limited audience and wield no real influence.
In March, the world writers' group International PEN called for Limonov's release, while stressing that many of his views ran counter to its own.
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