Russia has become a "Weimar republic"?

[Marukusu]

Very unequal distribution of wealth, a long history of violent anti-semitism and racism, increasing nationalism... things are bad in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Groups like the National Bolsheviks are very popular as people seek more radical ideas for change to "the better", just like in Germany during the Weimar republic, something I find very alarming...

What do you think about the future for Russia? Is a nazi revolution not far away or am I exaggerating the situation?

[Guest1]

Fascism only comes from repeated defeats of a mass revolutionary movement.

There is no mass revolutionary movement, so the most we will see in russia right now is maybe a right-wing military dictatorship, which is not the same thing but still pretty bad.

[LSD]

Fascism is a very specific, very localized form of government. It's not just another word for "dictatorship" or "oppression".

Yes, Russia has a long history of racism, but then so does most of Europe. You'd be hard pressed to find a single first world nation that doesn't have a disugstingly nationalist past. That's how "great powers" become "great", after all, they dominate.

In terms of Russia's abysmal economic condition, again, that is not and never has been exclusively a precursor to fascism. It don't think there can be any doubt that Russia is in dire straits, but general misery is not the only ingredient of fascist victory!

Fascism is about much more than political tyranny, it's about defending capital against working class agitation. Perhaps even more importantly, it's about serving anachronistic class interests.

It is actually not inconcievable that "fascism" as it is technically defined can never return. That's not to say that the capitalists will not be bloodthirsty in their opposition to worker liberation, but there is more than one way to fight the proletariat.

And without a strong "mittelstand" to stand on, classical fascism is practically irrelevent.

Remember, the NBP may cloak itself in fascist rhetoric and symbology, but it does so for the same reason that it co-opts red icons -- to portray power. Nazbol policies may be despicable but they are hardly "Hitlerian" or "Mussolinian" in nature.

There are very few actual Nazis in the arab world today, and yet the swastika is a constant at middle eastern anti-zionist rallies. The symbol and the emotions that it evokes are more powerful than the ideas that it ostensibly represents.

The NBP aims to shock and startle, it's use of Soviet and National Socialist icons is nothing more than party politics.

None of this is to say that Russia is not headed towards absolutism, it's just highly unlikely that fascism is the route it will take to get there.