The postwar Soviet propaganda represented the fascists as fat Boshes in steel pots and uniform jackets with automatic rifles shouting “Schnell!” and “Verbotten!”. Sometimes they ware lather coats and high crowned caps (like in the epoch-making Soviet TV series “Seventeen Moments of Spring”). Another feature – fascist salutes his fellows in arms with the right arm raised and the “Heil Hitler!” exclamation.

Back in Soviet times a man in the street would call any ungracious or aggressive person a fascist. They would normally say: “His mother-in-law is a real fascist!” This proverbial expression does not at all mean that the old lady is a stickler for the racial purity, corporate social structure or a disciple of a charismatic leader. She deserved this epithet simply for mistreating her son-in-law.

And though the term is widely used, people here in Russia don’t see the fascist underpinning of the racial theory, corporate society ideal and even of the appeals to organize ethnic cleansings, unless those disseminating these ideas ware the uniform with fylfot crosses. Otherwise, we prefer to call them patriots or civilized nationalists (“civilized” in the sense that only highly developed civilizations can afford building concentration camps).

Meanwhile, the Russian political establishment has made the issue of the fascist threat its best-seller. Politicians and the mass media show far more interest in the notorious fascist threat than in the real fascist organizations operating in the country.

In Ukraine the henchmen of Prime-Minister Viktor Yanukovych call the current events in the country a fascist coup. Back in 2004 they said just the same but it didn’t prevent Yanukovych from occupying the Premier’s post under “the fascist” Yushchenko in 2006. Peaceful cohabitation didn’t last long, though. Yushchenko has set early elections that are contemptuous of the Constitution, thus giving the Premier’s camp a pretext to once again incriminate the President in the “fascist coup”.

But the developments in Ukraine are nothing in comparison with the situation in Russia. To believe the politicians and the mass media, we live under a fascist regime which proclaimed fighting against the fascist threat its primordial task.

Publications in the press and political declarations suggest that all our political figures are fascists and militant antifascists at the same time. The pro-Kremlin youth movement “Nashi” pretends to be an antifascist movement but the opposition organization “The Other Russia” considers its activists to be real fascist storm-troopers. However the pro-president party “United Russia” finds the notorious fascist threat in “The Other Russia” itself, for this umbrella coalition includes, among others, the National Bolshevik Party members that used to publicly acknowledge adherence to ideas of Benito Mussolini and other similar theorists.

Dmitry Rogozin, an outspoken Russian nationalist and former leader of the “Motherland” (“Rodina”) party, participates in marches side by side with the proponents of the ideas of racial purity. Political slogans for the event entirely meet Dr. Goebbels’ receipts: citing the existing social problems and appealing to start ethnic cleansing that, allegedly, will alleviate these problems. Rogozin’s former associates from the “Motherland” party have been trying to dissociate themselves from those ideas since they have become members of the “Fair Russia” (“Spravedlivaya Rossiya”) political party. At the same time they insist on prolonging the presidential term and abolishing limit on the number of presidential terms. In other words, they are trying to make of Putin either caudillo or fuehrer, maybe even despite his will.

I will reserve from making categorical judgments concerning Dmitry Rogozin. His perspective is promising. He is properly fit to capitalize on the fascist slogans and he does have proper political associates ready to put these ideas into practice. At least, they will try for real. But as for other actors, they will do neither as real fascist nor as whoever else real.

And still, where does this devotion to strong expressions come from? And why do they talk fascism? Wasn’t it enough that they accused each other of lying, being corrupt, inclined to authoritarian rule and manipulating the electorate (which, actually, is the truth, the whole truth and noting but the truth). Right, we live in the society where a politician is a priori a “bad guy” guilty of all possible crimes, but why would one politician accuse the other of crimes the latter has never committed?

I believe the answer is at the surface. For the men in the street, as we have said, fascism is the Absolute Evil.

Russian politicians unconsciously understand that the Russian people will opt in favor of the existing political forces only if choosing between them and the Absolute Evil (i.e. fascism).

In comparison with any other alternatives our politicians themselves are the Evil, not absolute but quite real. They are like saying: yes, we are crooked, yes, we are evil. But we are not the Absolute Evil. The Absolute Evil are our opponents, so, like it or not, you have to back us against them.

In terms of the Marxist paradigm which dominates minds of the majority of the Russian electorate, all these talks about the “fascist threat” have one more advantage: fight with fascism is possibly the only motivation that can unite all social classes, make the workers support the capitalists, the left unite with the right, the red flags stand near the brown… or am I getting too surrealistic?

I think you’ve got the idea. In order to fight the Absolute Evil we all will march in columns, be it the Dissenters’ March, manifestation of the “Nashi” movement or merely the elections. And we won’t have to think for ourselves, debate or doubt. They will think it for us – we will march.

Stay in step!

Actually, this is where fascism begins.

Boris Kagarlitsky is Director of the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements

19.04.2007