What factor is most responsible for the rise of Fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia?

The issue regarding the rise of Fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia has been a reoccurring problem that has characterised the political and social discourse of the country for over twenty years. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been an increase in the prominence of extreme right groups and movements ranging from various neo-Nazi groups such as the Slavic Union to the ultranationalist Movement Against Illegal Immigration. Common discourse often suggests that this increase in extreme right groups can be attributed to political issues such as minority nationalist movements as well as the decline in living standards and increase in inequality following the economic transition to a free market economy after 1991. However, evidence also suggests that the existence of the extreme right in post-Soviet Russia is already many decades old and may be part of an indigenous element that has always been part of Russian Slavic identity in terms of justifying Russian political and cultural hegemony in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This therefore raises the question of whether fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia are a product of continuity or change in issues regarding Russian identity and society. As a result an analysis will be made to determine which of these factors is responsible for the rise of fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia. Before examining the issues raised, it is important that a working definition of fascism is provided. The meanings surrounding fascism can be problematic depending on the context and who is applying it. Fascism can best be defined as a collective of ideas that emphasise the importance of the state, national decline, nationalism, militancy, strong leadership, populism, violence and in many cases racism and anti-Semitism. The ideas that make up fascism are usually considered to be radical and because of the conservative basis that it is rooted in, it exists largely towards the far right of the political spectrum Laqueur.W., Fascism:Past, Present, Future, (United States, Oxford University Press, 1996), p.7. . In the post-Soviet Russian context, it was an imperial power that lost power, influence and territory owing to its defeat and decline politically. In the aftermath of this decline it suffered from multiple economic issues such as high foreign debt and hyperinflation that wiped out many people’s savings Shenfield.S.D.,Russian Fascism:Traditions, Tendencies, Movements, (United States, M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 2001), p.ix. . In addition to these problems, post-Soviet Russia struggled to deal with prolonged economic stagnation and recession. This exacerbated the issues of mass unemployment, hunger and homelessness. Other social problems such as the spread of tuberculosis, an increase in prostitution, increased mortality, huge inequality, a lowered birth rate, corruption and high levels of crime fuelled a fear of national decline. This contributed to a longing for a return to the security and prosperity that existed in the previous social and political system before the crisis. The result was an increase in the prevalence of fascist movements Shenfield.S.D.,p.ix. . While it is easy to presuppose that economic and political turmoil would be followed with an increase in fascist movements, this presumption while possible in some cases is too simplistic when looking at the rise of an ideology such as fascism. What one must first consider is that the development of a fascist ideology or movement is complex. If social and economic conditions were the only prerequisites needed for the emergence of fascist driven movements then the prevalence of fascism would be ubiquitous in nearly every country to some degree during virtually every period of history. It is clear is that under the working definition that is in use in this essay that such applications are not applicable to every country whether they face economic and social crisis or not. An example can be seen in Britain during the inter-war years where mass unemployment and poverty failed to produce a significant fascist movement on this basis despite the efforts of fascist leader Oswald Mosley Eatwell.R., Fascism: A History, (United Kingdom, Chatto & Windus Limited, 1995), p.xviii. . Moreover it can be said that the formation of fascism as an ideology is much deeper and has just as much to do with the specific political history of the country as well as its interactions with social, political and economic conditions. Therefore when examining the factor that is most responsible for the increase in fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia, it needs to be ascertained as to what extent that indigenous domestic prejudices before 1991 had in creating a context for fascist movements to occur in contemporary Russia. The ideological roots of fascism in Russia had already existed prior to the economic and social ills of the 1990s. The first movement in Russia that provided a ‘fascist’ template was The Black Hundred Laqueur.W., p.179. . The Black Hundred while arguable in terms of how far it met the criteria to be considered fascist (due to its association with the Russian church and monarchy) nonetheless proved instrumental at the end of the 19th century in providing a useful template for later fascist movements. The Black Hundred hated liberals, socialist revolutionaries as well as all ethnic minorities. It is from this group that anti-Semitic work such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was published and would become the bible of modern anti-Semitism Laqueur.W., p.179. . Another fascist group that formed in 1905 was known as the Union of the Russian People (URP) Korey.W., Russian Antisemitism, Pamyat and the Demonology of Zionism, (Switzerland, Harwood Academic Publishers, 1995), p.1. . It was characterised by its use of populist propaganda that targeted the Jewish community through the denunciation of a ‘liberal-Jewish capitalism.’ The URP was highly xenophobic and racialist and believed in zhido-masonstvo; a global Masonic-Jewish conspiracy, a characteristic that is common among many contemporary Russian fascist groups Laqueur.W., p.179. . However these fascist movements existed at the end of the 19th century and in to the early 20th century, with the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, The Black Hundred and the URP would be suppressed by the new Soviet leadership. Therefore when looking at the rise of fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia, can it really be said that the fascist movements at the beginning of the 19th century have a direct influence on post-Soviet Russian fascist movements today? Even though one could argue that these early fascist movements had the characteristics that contemporary fascist movements could build upon, an alternative argument could equally question the long term influence of their ideology in terms of how they relate to contemporary fascist movements. It is possible that contemporary fascist movements in Russia such as the neo-Nazi movements derived their ideological influences from cross-national sources in Europe. This is because under Soviet Russia many of these early fascist movements were suppressed and undermined at times. The neutralisation of potential Russian fascist movements can be attributed to the fact that the Soviet system had already fulfilled many fascist objectives such as the promotion of strong leadership, the suppression and at times extermination of ethnic minorities and the construction of a strong nationalist state Korey.W.,p.9. . As a result the anti-socialist nationalist opposition that fled Russia and became émigrés would bring European influences of fascism back with them during the latter part of the 20th century. Russian émigrés were heavily influenced by Western political movements such as Nazism in Germany and would import Nazism that would be developed in to a form of neo-Nazism later in the 20th century. This came in the form of pamphlets in support of Nazism throughout the 1960s and 1970s. An example of this can be seen in the National Union of Workers of the New Generation (NTS) which were influenced by Italian Corporatism and collaborated with Nazi Germany Laruelle.M. (eds.), Russian Nationalism and the National Reassertion of Russia, (United States/Canada, Routledge, 2009), p.15. . However the idea that the influence of Russian émigrés is responsible for the rise in fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia ignores the fact that pre-existing elements that often characterise fascism such as anti-Semitism, racism or nationalism existed in one form or another in Russia as exemplified by the movements of the URP and The Black Hundred. National pride for instance is something that has characterised Russia even before the Soviet era based on its military and imperial achievements and its significant role in global events Szporluk. R.(eds.), National Identity and Ethnicity in Russia and the new States of Eurasia, (United States, M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 1994), p.88. . The collapse of the Soviet Union according to Gregory Guroff and Alexander Guroff destroyed this notion of Russian national identity Szporluk. R. p.88. . Emerging problems regarding the history of human rights abuses, the gulag, environmental degradation and a less than redeemable foreign policy legacy would contribute to this erosion of national pride at the centre of national identity. As a result, ultranationalist and fascist sentiment was enhanced to address the issue with an emphasis on a return to an almost mythical notion of past greatness under the Soviet system. The Pamyat exemplified this in the 1990s with such sentiment such as; “Save Russia! Kill the Jews!” Szporluk. R. p.90. Therefore a case could be made that the cross-national influence of Russian émigrés and the growth of neo-Nazism is more of a grafting and reinforcement of ultranationalist sentiment on to already existing traditions of fascism in Russia. It could be that neo-Nazism represents only a fringe reactionary group and does not represent contemporary Russian fascism as a whole and this may be rooted in the fact that it is largely a reactionary movement in response to social and economic issues that characterise post-Soviet Russia. The fact that social and economic conditions markedly declined following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 may suggest that its existence is based on these factors. As a result a movement organised around anti-immigration has become the basis by which neo-Nazism’s role and legitimacy is given purpose. Even though it could be argued that neo-Nazism is fuelled by economic and social issues, this does not exclude supposed indigenous fascist movements from being affected by this as well. The increase in the prevalence and activities of all Russian fascist movements in general have seen an increase since 1991 with attacks in 2005 alone numbering at 375 SOVA, Galina Kozhevnikova: Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Oppose it in Russia in 2005, < http://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2006/02/d7366/>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] which suggests that economic and social issues have fuelled all fascist movements in general. When looking at The Movement Against Illegal Immigration, this movement is clearly operating in relation to the social and economic issues of contemporary Russia with the emphasis on immigration as the source of Russia’s social ills Program, Movement Against Illegal Immigration, (2009, Last Updated: 2009), < http://www.dpni.org/articles/dokumenti/13255/>, [Accessed: 4th May 2012] . The collapse of the Soviet Union is responsible for the increase in neo-Nazi groups due to an additional loss of a sense of national identity particularly among Russia’s youth Harding. L., ‘Putin’s Worst Nightmare’, The Guardian, Feb. 8th. 2009, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/08/russia-race,>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] . This is reinforced even further when considering that in Soviet Russia many of these early fascist movements were suppressed as mentioned before. Even though there were fascist traditions in Russia predominantly built around anti-Semitism as expressed in groups such as the URP and The Black Hundred, the neutralisation of potential Russian fascist movements can be attributed to the fact that the Soviet system had already fulfilled many fascist objectives Under Stalin the Soviet Union had become more powerful than it had ever been which reduced the fascist cause significantly. Laqueur.W., p.180. Furthermore the prevalence of racist and anti-Semitic sentiment through most levels of Soviet government further weakened the need for support for indigenous fascist movements weakening their resolve against the government Korey.W., p.9. . This would therefore restrict the growth of fascist movements to the catalyst of the social and economic issues that emerged after 1991 that would allow them to oppose the government. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it had created a vacuum that seems to exist under the question of national identity that underpins the rise of fascism in post-Soviet Russia. Since the decline of the Soviet Union there has been a debate surrounding the context and creation of a ‘national idea’ that provides Russia with a level of distinctiveness and character Tuminez.A., Russian Nationalism and Vladimir Putin’s Russia, (United States, PONARS, American International Group Inc, Council on Foreign Relations, 2000), p.2. . The neo-Nazi group the Slavic Union under its leader Dmitry Dyomushkin believe that the cause of the Slavic Union is to fight in order to save Russia’s national identity Slavic Union, Programme, (2012, Last Updated: 2012), < http://www.demushkin.com/page7.php#faq1>, [Accessed: 4th May 2012] . This desire to forge a ‘national idea’ stems from the perceived feeling in a breakdown of national identity. This was produced by the insecurities caused by mass unemployment and increased inequality as well as the loss of political, military and diplomatic power globally. Furthermore the perception that Russian national identity is under decline was further fuelled by conflicts between ethnic Russians and other ethnic groups in the newly established states that had emerged from Soviet rule. Often in these new states nationalist hostilities against ethnic Russian cultural hegemony would undermine Russian Slavic security. In addition to this undermining of Russian Slavic insecurity, independence movements from retained territories such as Chechnya would result in a war of independence and a series of terrorist attacks such as the apartment block bombings in 1999 that killed over 300 people Russell.J., Chechnya-Russia’s ‘War on Terror’, (United States/Canada, Routledge, 2007), p.77. . This would fuel the belief among many fascist groups such as the Slavic Union that they are at war with non-Russians and thus would lead to the formation of a death complex particularly within the neo-Nazi movement. This has not been helped by the post-Soviet government under Vladimir Putin in which it can be argued that xenophobic sentiments have been inflamed under his leadership. Putin came in to power with an equal interest and desire in enhancing Russia’s sense of national identity and reversing the perceived perception of national decline. Vladimir Putin emphasises a strong nationalism based moderate statism in which he defines the interest of the Russian state in civic terms with emphasis on the creation of a strong state and the restoration of Russia to the status of a great power Tuminez.A., p.3. . Consequently this desire to restore Russia’s prominence has conflicted with the independence ambitions of the Chechen separatists of whom during the course of the conflict Putin would galvanise and reinforce ethnic tensions through the characterisation and generalisation of Chechens as “bandits, terrorists, scum and dark forces” Tuminez.A., p.3. . This in part has reinforced suspicions and fears of other ethnic groups in Russia outside of ethnic Russian or Slavs who currently make up a fifth of the population. On the other hand Putin’s rhetoric can be seen as being reactionary to the conflict and terrorism that had been inflicted by Chechen separatist groups. These terrorist attacks perhaps had more resonance with public opinion on other ethnic groups in Russia thereby fuelling racism and xenophobia Harding. L., ‘Putin’s Worst Nightmare’, The Guardian, Feb. 8th. 2009, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/08/russia-race,>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] . Subsequently this perception has seen a spike in racist attacks many of which have been conducted by neo-Nazi groups who believe that non-Russians, ethnic minorities or groups that don’t look ‘Russian’ are engaged in a plot to undermine the Russian state. This may appear to be an unintentional by-product of Putin’s nationalist rhetoric but in other areas Putin as well as many members of the Russian government have intentionally incited nationalist sentiment. This was done in order to distract from economic issues as well as to secure popular support from the public while attempting to shift support away from Russian fascist groups. This has emerged frequently in the form of blaming immigrants for high unemployment levels as well as crime. In this situation the post-Soviet Russian government has used the climate of insecurity and uncertainty to scapegoat immigrants and ethnic minorities as a social problem and perhaps even as a collective enemy to the state Putin Trumpets Russia’s ‘Cultural Dominance’, (Russia Today, 23rd January 2012), < http://rt.com/politics/putin-immigration-manifest-article-421/>, [Online] . This has further contributed to the rise and increase in fascist violence and movements that are racially motivated. In addition to this the climate of racism has generated potential mass support for many aspects of fascist ideology among the Russian populace. Over 60% of all Russians believe that ethnic Russians should have rights that take precedence over other ethnic groups. Another 60% believe that immigration is at the heart of the country’s problems Russia. Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, Racism, Xenophobia, Ethnic Discrimination and anti-Semitism in Russia, (Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, 2005), p.1. . These ideas have filtered through every part of society to a point where the victims of attacks or murders rarely receive justice or protection owing to a corrupt and inefficient police force SOVA, Are There Radical Rightists in the Petersburg Police?, < http://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/news-releases/2008/07/d13834/>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] and judicial system that share much of the same prejudices as everyone else in post-Soviet Russia. The resulting effect of this is that neo-Nazi groups such as the Slavic Union are able to operate with very few restrictions because the climate racism and xenophobia exists at all levels of society and promotes a culture of prejudice on the basis of a warped perception of nationalism. Through Putin’s nationalist sentiments along with the Russian government the intention may be to shift focus away from fascist tendencies and ideologies, their rhetoric appears to be in sync with the fascist way of thinking. It could be said that government rhetoric though not supposed to be aligned with fascist ideology, is for all intents and purposes is similar to the ideas of traditional fascists. Therefore the point would not be lost on the traditional fascists that they are getting encouragement from the state. In other words the state would be hard pressed to disassociate themselves from fascist activities and would therefore have great difficulty in opposing them which in itself facilitates the rise of fascist movements. It could be seen that the post-Soviet government is more tolerant of fascist movement compared to that of the prior Soviet government. This could possibly be attributed to the underestimation of Russian fascist movements SOVA, Galina Kozhevnikova: Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Oppose it in Russia in 2005, < http://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/reports-analyses/2006/02/d7366/>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] . The Soviet government had no tolerance for fascist groups owing to the threat that it posed to the consolidation of Soviet influence throughout the USSR. However this could be disputed because in 2010 the Russian government officially took action against the Slavic Union by labelling them as fascist and thereby illegal under state law. On the other hand this reveals more of a gap and indecisiveness between the government’s rhetoric and actions when it comes to how fascist movements are dealt with in Russian society Tsvetkova.M., ‘Russia bans Neo-Nationalist Group After Violence’, Reuters, Apr 18th 2011, < http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/18/idINIndia-56412820110418>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012]. In attempting to answer which factor is most responsible for the rise of fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia, it is clear that there cannot be any single factor that is responsible for the rise of fascism in Russia. Rather it appears to be a combination of the influence of the unique political history intertwined with the impact of social and economic factors. This is shown in Russia’s heritage of xenophobia, populism and anti-Semitism embodied by The Black Hundred and the URP and later through Soviet nationalism. However it would be the issue of the loss of national identity that would provide a crucial component to the rise of fascist movements in Russia combined with the post-Soviet government’s poor handling of this issue. With the decline of the Soviet Union, the economic, political and social collapse would undermine notions of national identity and would incite xenophobic, populist sentiment against non-Russians in an attempt to consolidate an image of a Russian identity. This would contribute to the rise in fascist movements that seek to reaffirm Russia’s national identity in an attempt to address its social and economic problems and bring the nation back to a period of national pride. Bibliography: Eatwell.R., Fascism: A History, (United Kingdom, Chatto & Windus Limited, 1995) Harding. L., ‘Putin’s Worst Nightmare’, The Guardian, Feb. 8th. 2009, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/08/russia-race,>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] Korey.W., Russian Antisemitism, Pamyat and the Demonology of Zionism, (Switzerland, Harwood Academic Publishers, 1995) Laqueur.W., Fascism:Past, Present, Future, (United States, Oxford University Press, 1996) Laruelle.M. 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Sharpe, Inc, 2001) Slavic Union, Programme, (2012, Last Updated: 2012), < http://www.demushkin.com/page7.php#faq1>, [Accessed: 4th May 2012] SOVA, Are There Radical Rightists in the Petersburg Police?, < http://www.sova-center.ru/en/xenophobia/news-releases/2008/07/d13834/>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] Szporluk. R.(eds.), National Identity and Ethnicity in Russia and the new States of Eurasia, (United States, M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 1994) Tsvetkova.M., ‘Russia bans Neo-Nationalist Group After Violence’, Reuters, Apr 18th 2011, < http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/18/idINIndia-56412820110418>, [Accessed: 1st May 2012] Tuminez.A., Russian Nationalism and Vladimir Putin’s Russia, (United States, PONARS, American International Group Inc, Council on Foreign Relations, 2000) Lyndon Mukasa- Fascism and the Post War Extreme Right What factor is most responsible for the rise of Fascist movements in post-Soviet Russia?