The Trend in Russian Nationalism in the Last Years of Putin Era

423 Ab Imperio, 4/2009 Dmitry SHLAPENTOKH Верхи и низы русского нацио- нализма. Сборник статей / Сост. А. Верховский. Москва: Центр “Сова”, 2007. 256 с., табл. ISBN: 5-98418-009-Х; Русский национализм: Идеоло- гия и настроение. Сборник статей / Сост. А. Верховский. Москва: Центр “Сова”, 2006. 301 с., табл. ISBN: 5-98418-007-3. The Trend in Russian Nationalism in the Last Years of Putin Era The review of two books published in 2006 and 2007 provides an overview of the development of Russian nationalism, broadly defined, in the last years of Putin’s tenure. The themes of the articles can be roughly divided into several types. The first deals with the general outlines of the development of Russian nationalism from the late Soviet era to the end of Putin’s regime and its confrontation with the regime. The second theme deals with the attempt of both authorities and representatives of Russian nationalism to engage in a mutual flirtation. Aleksander Verkhovskii’s article “The Ideological Evolution of Russian Nationalism: 1990s and 2000s” provides a broad picture of the evolution of Russian nationalism from the Yeltsin era to the Putin era. In Verkhovskii’s view, Russian nationalism became an increasingly dominant trend in the political/intellectual life of society. He notes, in this respect, that the nationalism of the minorities, which played quite an important role in the 1990s, had declined dramatically by the beginning of Putin’s tenure. The nationalism of the minorities has been “privatized” by the local elite or has transformed itself in jihadism. And it is Russian nationalism that, according to Verkhovskii , started to play an increasing role in the country’s social/intellectual life. Russian nationalism underwent several important transformations in the post-Soviet era.1 The early manifestation of Russian nationalism was the “idealization of the late Stalinist empire.” This image was also blended with the image of the Russian empire of the tsars.2 “Real Communism” was seen here as the “emanation of the Russian spirit but not as abstract Western ideology,”3 which provided Russian nationalism with the sense of universalistic bent. Consequently, the proponents of this creed regarded the restoration of the USSR as their major goal, for this 1 Аleksander Verkhovskii. Ideinaia evoliutsiia russkogo natsionalizma: 1990-e i 2000-e gody // Verkhi i nizy russkogo natsionalizma. Moscow, 2007. P. 9. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. P. 10. 424 Рецензии/Reviews violence continued to be a salient characteristic of the country’s life and reached its peak by the end of Putin’s tenure. In Verkhovskii’s view, the violent outburst in Kondopoga can be seen as a watershed in the development of Russian racist nationalism.8 The importance of the Kondopoga events is also confirmed by other authors, such as Galina Kozhevnikova. Her article “Radical Nationalism in Russia and the Counteractions Against It During 2006 and the First Half of 2007” focuses on the violence of Russian nationalist extremists.9 Similar to Verkhovskii, she regards the Kondopoga events as a watershed in the development of Russian nationalistic extremism. She also states that the extremists became increasingly violent and well organized as time progressed. The ideology of present-day radical nationalism is different, not just from moderate official/semiofficial brands, but also from the “Red-toBrown ” nationalism of the early post-Soviet era. One of the essential differences is the identification of foes and friends. Some ideologists of the racist movement took an important step would benefit not just the people of the USSR but all humanity. Another form of Russian nationalism in the 1990s was the resurrection of the nationalistic movements of prerevolutionary Russia and their ideologies.4 This sort of ideology was the framework for groups and quasi-parties in the 1990s such as Pamiat’ (Memory), Chernaia sotnia (Black Hundreds), and so on.5 While the previously mentioned nationalistic groups and their ideologies were rooted in the traditions of the Soviet or even pre-Soviet past, others had appealed to the traditions of Russian emigration. For example, this was the case with the Eurasianists, whose creed became increasingly popular in the 1990s.6 While all of these modifications of Russian nationalism would decline in the future, this was not the case with the nationalism of skinheads and similar groups that developed their own idiosyncratic ideologies. The skinheads and similar groups became increasingly violent. And the pogrom in Tsaritsyn market at the beginning of Putin’s tenure...