While Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the absurd claim that he is waging war to "de-Nazify" Ukraine, his regime has a long record of collaboration with far-right extremists, writes Robert Horvath.
Comment:
An excellent example of accurate contextualisation puncturing myths and stereotypes through humanities and social science research.
*Note the 2 per cent vote for the far-right in recent Ukrainian elections.
Extract 1:
Many commentators have already debunked Russian President Vladimir Putin's absurd claim to be waging war to "de-Nazify" Ukraine.
Some have pointed out the far right received only 2 per cent of the vote in Ukraine's 2019 parliamentary elections, far less than in most of Europe. Others have drawn attention to Ukraine's Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the efforts of the Ukrainian state to protect minorities like Crimean Tatars and LGBTQ+ people, who are subject to brutal persecution in Russia.
Extract 2:
First, [the regime] used the neo-Nazi threat to justify the adoption of anti-extremism legislation, a longstanding demand of some Russian liberals. Ultimately, this legislation would be used to prosecute Russian democrats.
Second, the Kremlin launched "managed nationalism", an attempt to co-opt and mobilise radical nationalist militants, including neo-Nazis, as a counterweight to an emerging anti-Putin coalition of democrats and leftist radicals.
