Nationalism as Fascism

Putin’s propaganda brands anyone who thinks Ukraine should be inde­pendent as a “Banderite,” and argues that a self-appointed “junta” is now in power in Ukraine. The Russian media constantly tries to make a con­nection between independence, Banderites, and fascism.

Since the 1930s, the anti-fascist scenario has been standard cover for all Soviet failures. In Stalin’s worldview (already evident in the 1920s), the fas­cists served as the omnipresent other, the enemy that infiltrated, undermined, and subverted all Soviet projects. Putin has now revived this anti-fascist politics. By arguing that, under instructions from the USA and the EU, the Ukrainian population voted overwhelmingly for a “fascist junta,” he is also indicating that the West is responsible for installing fascism in Ukraine.