Russia and Modern Fascism

Russia seems to be hurtling toward fascism. Vladimir Putin and his allies—domestic and foreign—have obliterated and colonized Ukrainian cities in a “holy war,” committed tens of thousands of war crimes, introduced Draconian domestic crackdowns on free speech and political opposition, and rewritten the constitution to seize power in perpetuity. The state and its propagandists declare their intentions to destroy the Ukrainian state and commit genocide against the Ukrainian people, to overthrow the liberal international order, and to recreate the tsarist and Soviet empires. Meanwhile, the Russian population languishes in a militarizing culture in which civic life has been replaced by a cult of war, past and present. Each of these phenomena invites comparisons with past fascist regimes. This volume gathers leading experts in the first scholarly study of a new Russian fascism that draws on distinctly modern forms of control and violence as much as on historical precedents. An array of theoretical debates and case studies from across disciplines makes this a pioneering study of modern Russian politics. The volume’s contributors include Jaroslava Barbieri, Paul D’Anieri, Jolanta Darczewska, Maria Domanska, Alexander Etkind, Joanna Getka, Andreas Heinemann-Grüder, Vladislav Inozemtsev, Alexander J. Motyl, Andreas Umland, and Michał Wawrzonek.