Teaching Comparative

Russian Nationalism

The Economist offers an interesting perspective on Russian nationalism and racism. It might be interesting to save this article and compare it the state of things a year or two from now.

The article is not one of the premium articles and is available online to everyone.

Playing a dangerous game
Alarmist rhetoric from President Vladimir Putin; skinhead violence on Russian streets. Is there a connection?

"...Unfortunately, the idea of international friendship, like the near-defunct tradition of the subbotnik, is less popular in Russia than it was... [Racist violence is seen by some as] the reincarnation of old Russian neuroses that a combination of internationalist rhetoric and strong security services had managed to suppress during Soviet times...

"At the last count, 52% of those polled by the Levada centre supported the idea of 'Russia for the [ethnic] Russians'; large numbers confess to hostile feelings to Chechens, Roma and others...

"The relationship between this rhetoric, the Kremlin's bid to revive national pride using tsarist and Soviet symbols, and the hate on Russia's streets, is murky. Alexander Verkhovsky of the SOVA Centre, a Moscow think-tank, sees all of them as different manifestations of feelings of imperial nostalgia. Others think Mr Putin is deliberately tolerating, even cultivating, radical nationalism as a political tactic...

"From the pogroms of the 19th century to the intermittent racism of the Soviet Union, Russian rulers have tried to manipulate nationalism for their own ends. If that is the Kremlin's game, it is a risky one, and not just for the beleaguered immigrants—as the Kremlin may already have discovered. The Motherland party is widely thought to have been created by the Kremlin in order to drain votes away from the Communists in the parliamentary election of 2003. It was banned from participating in December's local election in Moscow after it ran an anti-immigrant advertisement with the slogan, 'Let's rid our city of rubbish.' But Motherland's real crime, many thought, was not being too offensive—but becoming too popular."

posted by Ken Wedding @ 12:05 PM