Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Is Putin's Russia Proto-Fascist?

Despite the hopes of many in the West for a more progressive approach from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the Moscow “tandem” of Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin represents a form of “proto-fascism,” one that will only get worse for both its people and the surrounding countries unless Western countries adopt a tough line.

In Kyiv’s “Den’” on July 4, Ukrainian commentator Volodomyr Lesnoy said that the current Russian regime can best be classified as “proto-fascist,” a system he defines as one “in which the characteristics of fascism exist in an incomplete form” but which are sufficiently developed that they recall “the first stage of fascism”.


So is Russia becoming fascist? Or is this an overblown nationalist in Ukraine? I have some pretty strong opinions about Putin and they are, by and large, rather negative. However, calling someone a fascist has a lot of historical baggage in the xUSSR. What do others think?

No comments:

Post a Comment