Alexey Simonov: The role of anti-fascism in modern Russian politics is zero

On April 5, 2005, the Kremlin.Org website published a remark by the President of the Glasnost Defense Foundation, Alexei Simonov, "Only today, weak shoots of anti-fascism have begun to appear in Russia."

The author believes that in modern Russian society, anti-fascist attitudes not only do not play any role (they do not influence political practice, do not form public opinion, etc.), but in general they are hardly clearly articulated: "We have been accustomed to thinking for so long that we do not have fascism, and cannot be, that only today weak sprouts of anti-fascism have begun to appear in the country .

At the same time, according to the author, "fascism has been present in our lives for quite a long time" - no matter what the name is given to what the police and prosecutors prefer not to notice, justifying or not properly punishing the ideologists and practitioners of racism and xenophobia. Moreover, this fascism is rooted in modern Russian society, since such representatives of the state " "internally sympathize with the fascist ideology .

And an appeal to revanchist tendencies in Western Europe is no excuse. Firstly, "internal fascism" is much more relevant for us, and secondly, it is precisely in Europe that there are restraining social mechanisms that oppose revanchist sentiments.

"Where fascism manifests itself most clearly, the old instincts of self-preservation are still working. People go out into the streets with protests, as was the case in Germany, in Spain, in other countries. The memory of fascism is still alive at the gene level. The ideas of fascism do not cause a mass support. Rather, on the contrary, attempts to implement them cause mass rejection " .

According to the author, over many decades, "the essence of the fascist ideology today has not changed at all, although, due to globalization, the scope of its application has significantly expanded. The actions of the fascists today can be directed not only against the Jews in any one country, but also against the Arabs, Uzbeks, Caucasians, all "blacks". By the way, in order to become the subject of attention of the Nazis, you can simply be Russian in the Caucasus, or not a Bashkir in the same Bashkiria " .

Sources

• Simonov Alexey. Just today, weak shoots of anti-fascism began to appear in Russia. // Kremlin.Org. 2005. April 5.