"A new, very long battle has begun." Right populism won in Russia, but at risk of other countries

Recently, I happened to communicate with Russian journalists in exile, and in all interviews we constantly deviated from the topic. It was not about the "Europeanity" of Russia. And not about the fact that in the West no one-neither Americans nor Europeans-were never going to annex to annex any part of the Russian territory. And not about the desire of the European Union, together with Russia, to ensure one fine day the stability and prosperity of our common continent, our “common house”, as Mikhail Gorbachev said.

We did not even talk about the community of our history and culture, which is discussed in the recently published “appeal to the Russian people”, signed by the leaders of the four main political groups in the European Parliament and me. No, Russian journalists asked me questions about folk approval, which, it seems, is used by the “special operation” in Ukraine.

I felt how unhappy and bewildered how they were ashamed of their people, but now, when there were only a few days left before the second round of the presidential election in France, I involuntarily think that if these interviews took place now, I would ask them about France, where Ms. Le Pen could win, since it is only a few points behind the polls.

It was my turn to be ashamed, since half of the French, regardless of social categories and levels of education, supports the extreme right today and shares hostility to Muslims, the rejection of the "elites" and the desire to return to a certain mythologized past of national firmness and greatness.

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