New studies indicate that a firm mutual admiration linkage has become fragile. This is hard to reconcile since over the last two decades, during Mr. Putin’s years as Russia’s hard-fisted leader, the far right in the West has enjoyed a close relationship with the Russian state and Russian groups of the same ilk.
This ideological marriage, not perceivable during the cold war, actually makes sense. It’s easy to identify a shared social and cultural conservative ideology, disdain for democratic systems, admiration for tough-guy leadership and appreciation for autocratic style of government.
Similarities can be drawn on a theoretical basis. But the behaviour of the extreme right in action is visible on the street, and comparisons between the USA and Russia are telling. Which family offshoot is more destructive?
Political violence driven by a far-right credo is substantially more common in Russia than in the West. In a study from 2000 to 2017, annual levels of lethal far-right violence in Russia were five times higher per unit of population than in the USA, and more than seven times higher than in Western Europe.
(Pikemalt saab lugeda Eesti Elu 1. detsembri 2023 paber- või digilehest eestielu.ca)
