Is Russia just about to experience Weimar?

On December 8, 2005, the Internet magazine New Politics published an article entitled "The Weimarization of Russia?", whose author Maxim Artemiev discusses the similarity of the current political situation in Russia with Weimar Germany.

M. Artemyev's material was prompted by the recent vote at the by-elections to the State Duma, during which Vladimir Kvachkov, who is in pre-trial detention on charges of attempting to assassinate Anatoly Chubais, the head of RAO UES, took second place in one of the constituencies.

“A person accused of attempted murder for political reasons, in other words, a terrorist, enjoys the support of a third of voters, and not just anywhere, but in Moscow!” the author of the article is indignant and continues: “Those who voted for Kvachkov voted for the act. assassination attempt delighted them ... Such moral nihilism, no matter how you justify it ... is fraught with the most negative consequences .

The author makes an excursion into Russian history, arguing that after the acquittal of Vera Zasulich, "society was already hopelessly poisoned by the poison of relativistic morality, which allowed murder for the sake of a "bright future" , and everything ended badly - in 1917.

Then M. Artemyev proceeds to compare the current Russian situation with Weimar Germany and finds a lot in common. The defeat of Germany in World War I, the difficult economic situation, hyperinflation - all this seems to him similar to the Russian situation after 1991. The heyday of political extremism in Germany in the 1920s, a series of political assassinations and, most importantly, the attitude of society towards this extremism also remind M. Artemyev of the situation in Russia today - the author draws a parallel with the supporters of V. Kvachkov.

Sources

• Artemiev M. "Weimarization" of Russia? // New policy. 2005. December 8.