http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/7006-15.cfm
In my view, Russia and its people have always been somehow very prone to totalitarian government. Perhaps its the heritage of serfdom and communism, when the role of the individual (or commoner) was downplayed in favour of the Empire/Nation and the Leader. Soviet Russia was Fascist under Stalin, I really don't think that can be debated. The regime mirrorred Hitler's in many aspects, and was no better in terms of good and evil.#15 - JRL 7006
Novoye Vremya
No. 52
December 29, 2002
"VELVET" FASCISM
Ultra-nationalist ideas are popular among the literary mainstream and political saloons
Author: Andrei Kolesnikov
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
APATHY AND INDIFFERENCE IN THE RUSSIAN SOCIETY ARE A PERFECT NUTRIENT MEDIUM FOR BOTH FASCISM AND SETTLING A TOUGH REGIME WITH FORMAL OBSERVATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. THE ONLY HOPE IS THAT THE INNER RESISTANCE TO THE FASCISM IN BOTH THE PEOPLE AND THE STATE WILL NOT ALLOW THE FASCIST ALTERNATIVE TO REALIZE. FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE SOCIAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ADJUST THE POLICE MECHANISMS FOR PREVENTION OF MASS POGROMS.
An unprecedented pogrom in Moscow after the defeat of the Russian soccer team at the world championship. Beating Armenians in Krasnoarmeisk, the Moscow region and further mass anti-Caucasus rally of local residents. An epidemic of anti-Semitic posters which lead to undermining of Tatiana Sapunova, who tried to take a fascist slogan off. Legalization of the Nationalist-Imperial Party of Russia by the Justice Ministry. Realization of the new migration policy which has made the position of foreign workers very complicated, though Russia's prosperity depends on them. All the aforementioned are links of the same chain, the components of a serious alternative for Russia's democratic development. Precisely speaking, it is a fascist alternative.
Since 2002, Russia has lived in a prolonged pogrom. The genie has been out of the bottle and no one is fighting against the radical and extremist nationalist movements with legal means, despite the law "On political extremism".
The police has not learned how to fight against pogroms, and the impunity of extremists has become the major reason for their growing activities. Sometimes, it seems that the law enforcement bodies and extremists have an unwritten non-aggression pact: when the police are deliberately passive, weak, and few, extremists are especially active.
At the same time, very often the top police representatives speak of skinheads as a "youth subculture" or "hooligans" leaving the ideology behind. Another dangerous trend is that the hysteria around skinheads is diverting the public attention from the real point of the issue. There is an impression that at present, the Russian fascism is represented by skinheads only, which is definitely untrue. Fascism is many-sided, various, and can have the most exotic forms; it is becoming respectable and fashionable; it has many hidden supporters in the police, prosecutor's offices, courts; its most talented leaders are becoming frequents at political saloons, on television, and in outwardly far from fascism parties and movements.
Hence, the repressive and law enforcement machines are unlikely to suddenly start working against the ultranationalist phenomena. Moreover, this year the state - in particular, the Justice Ministry - has made all possible to legalize the movements that are balancing on the verge of the ultra nationalist patriotism. It concerns the registration of the Nationalist-Imperial Party of Russia led by former media minister Mironov, humanitarian scientist Sevastianov, and famous officer Terekhov.
Many members of the nationalist-patriotic movement, who used to have a quite limited audience in marginal nationalist periodicals, have been allowed to use the federal media and other informational institutions. Alexander Prokhanov has got into the literary mainstream and is being considered a slightly provoking author, whose books are worth being awarded the National Bestseller Prize. Alexander Dugin and Geidar Djemal are frequents at rather significant political and political science saloons, authors of articles in respectable democratic Izvestia and Expert periodicals. Ultra right ideas are in fashion. Ultra-nationalism is becoming wide-spread and is acquiring a wide social foundation. This foundation is most the people who are discontent about "foreigners", mostly immigrant workers. It is the "gray mass" which will never beat a Vietnamese or a Senegalese, will not twist the arms of a Georgian, but will always respond positively to the question, "Do you agree with the slogan "Russia for Russians!"
The federal authorities are aware of all this and are trying to find a solution. In particular, they have toughened the migration legislation, which has made it much more subjected to corruption. It is well known that a repressive anti-migrant legislation leads to criminalization of national associations and to international conflicts. Simultaneously, it is said the discontent of large masses with migrant workers can be used for the sake of elections. The main thing is not to go too far and not to lose control of the movement against Moldovan, Armenian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, and so on workers and Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Ukrainian and so on sellers. This has created the idea to from a moderate nationalist right-conservative party controlled by the power or to use the anti-migrant resource by the party of power and the centrists. Taking into account that a powerful political and PR energy has been directed against the communists, it is easy to suggest that the radical right forces can replace the left wing. As a result, a nationalist-socialist party will form, which will take votes from Zyuganov and his party and will expand due to former communist electorate.
A fascism - or mildly speaking, ultranationalist - alternative is not very successfully added with a police alternative. A police state can be presented to the people as a universal solution for all issues - for the fascism and the disorder which creates it. However, a police state can also be a tool to build an authoritarian system. At the same time it is rather easy to predict that the authorities will be rather willing to turn into a conservative ideological force and distance from the liberal ideology and the liberal politics. In fact, many actions of the Kremlin prove this trend: from Stalin's anthem to restoration of the Soviet star on the banners of the Russian Army. The flirting with the Orthodox Church and the attempt to make this religion the official state religion base on the same ideological grounds.
These events are going on at the unfavorable background of political apathy of the majority of Russians who are busy with surviving, indifferent about the fate of democratic institutions and think that "order is better than freedom". Numerous sociological polls say about such moods in the society. Political apathy and indifference are a perfect nutrient medium for both fascism and settling a tough regime with formal observation of the Constitution.
The only hope is that the inner resistance to the fascist bacillus in both the people and the state - which should support democratic institutions in the working condition at least formally - will not allow the fascist alternative to realize. To begin with, the power should adjust the police mechanisms for prevention of mass pogroms. It is not the main thing in fighting fascism, but it is extremely important from the standpoint of the social and national security.
(Translated by Arina Yevtikhova )
The picture I have been getting (for example, from this forum, no less) is that Russians don't seem to value democracy as much as they value strong leadership at the moment. Although this has always been so, Russia is recovering from a slump after the break-up of the USSR. I am wondering, is this only a phenomena deriving from the social and economic problems in present-day Russia, or do the roots indeed go deeper, is there something about the culture that makes it prone to such form of government?
After the Cold War, Russia was torn. On one side it wanted to cut the chains of the past and move closer to the west with free markets and democratic government, while one side wanted to continue to resist the west, as it had done earlier. I feel that struggle is still not over within Russia, but its starting to look clear who's winning.
I know this phenomena is by no means new, I've been hearing about this rise of extreme-right ideology for some years now, I just thought it might be an interesting topic for discussion.
one more article:
http://rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/5/A9...F1AD450BA8.htmlRussia may seem like an unlikely breeding ground for neo-Nazism considering the devastation German Nazi troops wrought on the country. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, however, Russian human rights groups are warning of growing ultra-nationalist feelings in the country. RFE/RL correspondent Claire Bigg reports from Moscow.
Moscow, 5 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- As Russia prepares to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Russian human rights activists are denouncing what they call an upsurge of racism, xenophobia, and neo-Nazism in the country.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow yesterday, the activists called on Russians not to forget that the Soviet Union also repressed, deported, and massacred ethnic minorities.
Alla Gerber, who heads the Holocaust Foundation in Moscow, said that despite the defeat of Nazi Germany, fascism is deeply ingrained in the Russian mindset. Fascism is a broad term used in Russia to describe any xenophobic attitude, including Nazism.
"We have gathered today on the eve of Victory Day because fascism was not defeated at the root, in the conscience of people, because fascism was always associated with the invaders," Gerber said. "Hitler's Germany was fascist, yes, but we haven't done anything, said anything about the country we lived in, and what happened to us, and today we are witnessing the consequences."
At the news conference, the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights released a report on racism, xenophobia, and neo-Nazism in Russia based on the results of recent opinion polls.
According to the report, half of Russians consider that foreigners in Russia have "too much power" and say they are ready to support measures limiting the presence of nationals from former Soviet Central Asian countries.
The reports also showed that one-third of Russians described neo-Nazis as "cleansers of society" while 43 percent of respondents said they were disturbed by the presence of foreign nationals in Russia.
Participants at the conference said xenophobic feelings were exacerbated by the Beslan hostage tragedy in September. That attack, in which more than 330 people were killed, was blamed on militants linked to the Chechen rebel movement.
Meanwhile, reports of attacks on foreigners have multiplied in recent months -- the latest on 2 March, when two Algerian students were beaten up in the Moscow metro. Both suffered minor injuries.
Others, however, have not been so lucky.
Last year in Moscow and St. Petersburg, a Georgian man was stabbed to death, a Vietnamese student was murdered, an Uzbek migrant worker was beaten and stabbed to death, and a 9-year-old Tajik girl was killed in front of her father by a band of teenagers armed with knifes and chains.
In most cases, witnesses described the assailants as "skinheads."
The authorities, however, often file such attacks under "hooliganism," a charge that angers human rights groups.
Aleksandr Brod, the director of Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, denounced what he calls a lack of political will to fight ultranationalists groups in Russia.
"Russia doesn't have any planned government policy to counter racism, xenophobia, and neo-Nazism," Brod said. "Looking at these brown [racist] newspapers, we see that hundreds of books promoting pogroms and Nazism and dozens of videos are being released and actively sent to libraries, schools, and higher-education institutions. But where is the governmental program to issue antifascist films and books?"
Like many human rights advocates, Brod said the Russian government turns a blind eye to the activities of ultranationalist groups in order to promote its own interests.
"We have the impression that the presence of these brown [racist] forces is very beneficial to someone. This is a well-tested method: neo-Nazi forces, publications, and groups are supported, an atmosphere of fear is created, and then the conclusion is made that the current president is needed otherwise a fascist president will come to power."
The wave of attacks has already forced a number of foreign students in Russia to drop out of university and go home.
In March alone, 15 students from Arab countries abandoned their studies in St. Petersburg and left Russia following a series of attacks on foreigners.
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