ISSN: 2158-7051 ==================== INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RUSSIAN STUDIES ==================== ISSUE NO. 10 ( 2021/2 ) |
IS RUSSIA FASCIST? UNRAVELING PROPAGANDA EAST AND WEST, By Ayse Dietrich*,
Published by: Cornell University Press, by Marlene Laruelle , Year of
Publishing: 2021. Subject Area: Russia, Fascism. Book Type: Political Science,
Sociology, Cultural Antropology. Total Number of
Pages: 256. ISBN: 978-150-175-413-5,
hardback, $39.95.
In this book, Marlene Laruelle examines the
origins and validity of the accusations that Russia is fascist, discusses the
reasons for the European countries labelling Russia as fascist, Russian
domestic issues, and the Kremlin's foreign policy in detail. The book consists of eight chapters, and a
conclusion.
In
the first chapter, “Russia’s ‘Fascism’ or ‘Illiberalism’”, Laruelle
examines the literature on fascism in general, on Russian fascism, on the rise
of illiberalism, and then discusses the theories put forward by historians to determine
where Russia fits within this frame. She defines fascism as “a metapolitical
ideology that calls for the total destruction of modernity by creating an
alternative world based on ancient values reconstructed with violent means”.
She states that the literature on fascism does not include features of Russia,
and most academic literature about Russia deals with different issues of the
Russian political system and the authoritarian practices in Russia. They do not
integrate fascism into Russian politics; and those who blame Russia of being
fascist are public intellectuals and in the minority. She explains the term illiberalism and emphasized that “illiberalism
is not the opposite of liberalism, but an ideology that pushes back against
liberalism after having experienced it”, and it depends on the country, space,
culture and time. Based on her readings of the literature on fascism, she
claims that although the regime in Russia has authoritarian attributes, these
characteristics are not considered synonymous with fascism. While the Russian government
might have some illiberal approaches to the domestic and international sphere
that evoke fascist ideologies, this illiberalism should not be equated with
fascism since, by her definition, there is no total destruction of any sets of
rules in Russia.
In the second chapter, “The Soviet Legacy in Thinking
about Fascism”, the author examines the Soviet understanding of the term
fascism. She states that for the Soviets the term fascism denoted their major
enemy, Nazi Germany and it was an emotional rather than an analytical term
which was paired with the two names okkupanty
(occupants) and zakhvatchiki (invaders).
After WWII, the term fashist was used
as a common insult in Soviet culture. She also talks about the “cryptic” attraction
to Nazi culture via Nazi propaganda, criminal subculture, television and cinema
which depict many attractive features of Nazi culture as in a series called Seventeen Moments of Spring. She also examines the promotion of Aryanism and neo-paganism.
At
the beginning of the third chapter, “Antifascism as the Renewed Social
Consensus under Putin”, Laruelle asserts that the
“the war against fascism” still carries the meaning of “the highest human
values of courage and sacrifice”, and the war still evokes the highest national
sentiments. The Russian fear of “fascism returning Russia and she should be
ready to save itself and the world from this menace” is used by the president
regularly. She states that the Russian authorities still keep the memory of the
Great Patriotic war alive by frequently using patriotic programs to mobilize its
people against a possible future enemy. She claims that for the Russians the
concept of fascism does not have any ideology, it only carries the meaning of struggle
against the enemy, that is, Europe.
In chapter 4, “International Memory Wars, Equating the
Soviet Union with Nazism”, Laruelle points out that
the determining factor in maintaining the relationship between Russia and the Eastern
and Central European countries is the memory of joint resistance to fascism in
WWII. The perception of Russia as being antifascist exists through the memory
of wars. She states that when these countries joined EU and NATO, their memory
began to equate the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany, and that this is a
geopolitical strategy to isolate Russia from Europe. She points out that to
make a foundation for their new postcommunist sense
of identity of being part of Europe, the Central European countries created a
strategy of putting the blame on the Soviet Union for their national suffering.
She also talks about how Russian authorities responded this new historiography.
Chapter
5, “The Putin Regime’s Ideological Plurality”, is concerned with Putin’s Russia
and the nature of his regime. The author introduces three schools to describe the
nature of Putin’s regime: The first school considers Putin’s regime as a
kleptocracy, and the second school sees his regime as a totalitarian,
neo-Stalinist institution. In the third school Putin’s regime is seen as an
ecosystem which has three components: the Presidential Administration, the
military-industrial complex, and the Orthodox realm. Laruelle
states that the Presidential Administration does not carry any clearly
formulated doctrine, while the military-industrial complex is the continuity of
the new style Soviet regime. Their language is conservative and reactionary
with allusions to fascism, but remains peripheral, and the Orthodox realm has fascist
references at the margins.
In
chapter 6, “Russia’s Fascist Thinkers and Doers”, Laruelle
discusses the grassroots, far right groups’ as a social trend that has no
sociological basis, is less ideologically definite, and stays at the margins with
their militia activities, but avoids entanglements with the regime. She also
examines the issue of the rehabilitation of fascism as a doctrine among small intellectual
circles, who see the Russians as “whites”, and promote Russian Aryanness and neo-paganism. Finally, the author examines another
doctrine inspired by European far-right theories promoted by Aleksandr Dugin to revive fascist political doctrines.
In
chapter 7, “Russia’s Honeymoon with the European Far Right”, Laruelle states that the Kremlin maintained control over
the far-right groups at home and established links with European far-right and
populist parties to strengthen its economic ties. The author also discusses the
pro-European avant-garde, Rodina party which claims that Russia is a European
country that must protect itself against migrants, and new strategy developed
by the Russian authorities to reach out the European Far Right after 2012.
In
chapter 8, “Why the Russian Regime is not Fascist”, the author examines the
arguments on Russia’s fascism developed by Timothy Snyder, and then discusses
the mistakes made in analyzing the concepts of totalitarianism and
neo-totalitarianism. By using Roger Griffin’s arguments, Laruelle
argues that presence of some features of fascism in today’s Russia does not
mean that Russia uses state power to create “an alternative form of modernity
on the basis of revolutionary ideology of racist ultranationalism”. She
emphasizes that Putin’s regime lacks a core element of fascism, namely, mass
indoctrination for the radical transformation of society by mobilizing masses to
promote violence. She also discusses the issue of ultranationalism and argues
that the Putin regime cannot be equated with Nazism, since the state does not
have a “doctrine of Russian ethnic superiority”, and that state policy in the
“near abroad” is not “expansionist but rather protectionist”, therefore it is
wrong to accuse Russia of being imperialistic”. She identifies only one feature
that carries a reference to a scholarly definition of fascism in Putin’s
Russia, that is “the militia subculture”, “a constituted paramilitary culture”
which is a key feature of a fascist regime.
In
the Conclusion, “Russia’s Memory and the Future of Europe”, the author calls
culturally Russified doctrines that share some features with the scholarly
definition of fascism “parafascism”. These doctrines are
outside of the mainstream of the Presidential Administration, and the Russian
regime has continued to reinvent itself since the early 2000s, and cannot limit
its ability to stay in power with a rigid doctrine. It is clear that the debates
over the question whether Russia is fascist or not, and, from Russian
standpoint, whether Europe has fascist tendencies against Russia will continue
and determine the nature of future relations between Europe and Russia.
Is Russia Fascist? Unraveling Propaganda East
and West is a very
well-written scholarly book that makes a valuable contribution to the study of
Russian political culture and state structure, and can be highly recommended to
anyone with an interest in these topics. Laurelle has
presented all of her arguments well and has shed light on a number of key
issues in the understanding of what fascism is in this debate through her masterful
use of numerous valuable sources.
*Ayse Dietrich - Professor, Part-time, at Middle East Technical University, Department of History, and Eurasian Studies. Editor and the founder of the International Journal of Russian Studies e-mail: editor@ijors.net, dayse@metu.edu.tr, dietrichayse@yahoo.com
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