Radical nationalists from the start of Medvedev's presidency to the war in Donbas: True till death (original) (raw)
2016, The New Russian Nationalism: Imperialism, Ethnicity and Authoritarianism, 2000–15. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
This chapter examines the dynamics of Russian nationalism’s radical wing from the beginning of Dmitrii Medvedev’s presidency in 2008 to the war in Donbass region in 2014. Based on extensive research carried out by the SOVA centre, Verkhovsky’s analysis focuses on those nationalists who oppose the authorities – typically, those who attend the 4 November ‘Russian March’, with the exclusion of the national democrats. In exploring the subsequent evolution of the aggressive ultra-nationalism which emerged in the mid-2000s to promote a ‘White Power’ influenced model of an ethnically pure Russia in place of the lost empire, 2008 is first unpacked as the year in which racist violence peaked but improved law enforcement activity and political manipulation began to impact upon the movement. Verkhovsky then considers the radical nationalists’ fluctuating levels of engagement in political activities and in violence, and the dynamics of their relationship with the authorities, with the 2010 Manezh riot identified as the point at which the federal authorities were forced to elaborate statist nationalism as an alternative to ethnic nationalism. The anti-migrant campaign of 2013 is examined as a surprise lapse in this policy, which significantly inflamed ethnic tensions and generated radical nationalist activity in the form of quasi-legal raids on ‘illegal migrants’. Notwithstanding this surge in activity, Verkhovsky concludes that despite reasonably effective leaders and a variety of strategies for generating support (from raids and anti-paedophile campaigns to Kondopoga-type riots), the movement is unable to broaden its support base. Finally the author briefly summarises ultra-nationalist responses to the situation in Ukraine, provisionally concluding that once the Maidan anti-authorities protest escalated into armed conflict between ‘Russians’ and ‘Ukrainians’, the movement was divided over whether to support the separatists or oppose them. Verkhovsky provisionally concludes that although the Ukrainian situation has legitimized the use of force, it has not improved the radical nationalists’ prospects.
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