The Double-Edged Sword: How Co-optive Measures Have Influenced the Rise of the Radical Right in Russia
Maas, David S.
2012
- The chaotic conditions in Russia in the 1990s following the breakup of the Soviet Union laid the groundwork for the emergence of the contemporary radical right movement in the country. Seizing on the rise in nationalistic and xenophobic sentiment in society that ensued from the social distress many Russians were experiencing during Yeltsin_�_s rule, the radical right achieved a breakthrough in ... read morethe 1993 parliamentary elections. Vladimir Zhirinovsky_�_s Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) won 22.9% of the vote, and remained a formidable presence in Russian politics throughout the rest of the decade. / The arrival of Vladimir Putin to the Russian presidency has fundamentally changed the nature of the radical right movement in Russia today. Putin_�_s policies have co-opted many tenets of radical right ideology, and his anti-democratic reforms have suppressed his political competition, as even the LDPR now votes in line with the majority rule. These developments have worked to shift the relevance of the movement from the political sphere to the extra-parliamentary arena. In turn, Putin_�_s policies throughout the 2000s have inadvertently influenced a marked rise in the visibility of radical right groups. Since the middle of the 2000s, radical right groups have: staged increasingly impressive demonstrations; organized successful pogroms; employed more everyday violence on city streets; and have more openly opposed the Putin administration. / The radical right movement in Russia today has developed into a significant phenomenon that deserves further examination, particularly as the political climate in the country has become notably unstable in the past few months. /read less
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