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Thank you for taking your time. First, isn't it really obvious by now that Marlene Laruelle was, to put it mildly, completely wrong in her main assessment? Rus

Thank you for taking your time. First, isn't it really obvious by now that Marlene Laruelle was, to put it mildly, completely wrong in her main assessment? Russia is a Fascist, or more precisely, Putin is. https://www.ponarseurasia.org/is-russia-really-fascist-a-comment-on-timothy-snyder/ https://www.ponarseurasia.org/is-russia-really-fascist-a-com... (and I do not see here nothing more than her creating multiple strawmans and attacking them fiercely). Of course Putin is not inspired by Hitler or Mussolini, there are just certain historical parallels that are very useful to communicate impact of certain contemporary developments. Putin is inspired by Ilyin and Stalin and to degree by others like Gumilev, that he can consume for his goals and there is no contradiction here. Current Russia is a schizophrenic fusion of all imperialist ideas, where children put into Red Army uniform wear proudly St. George ribbons, a highest recognition by Russian Czar who was murdered along with his family by Red Army soldiers, while holding pictures of Stalin stylized as Orthodox icons. The thing is, I'm afraid, I do not think that Ilyin even provides much original thought, he functions just as a good reference and manifestation. I knew about this Russian view of the world way before I was able to put his name behind these ideas. Now about Ukraine. It looks like I included wrong link to Times of Israel. The original story is here https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukrainian-jews-push-back-against-putins-neo-nazi-claim-as-they-gear-up-for-battle/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukrainian-jews-push-back-again... It is account of actual Ukrainian Jews who were working with Azov fighters. The BBC article is a good reference to the claim that there were before indeed Jewish fighters among Azov ranks https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/features-russian-44110741 https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/features-russian-44110741 and this initially wrongly referenced article confirms that there were still Jewish fighters in the battalion https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-zelensky-adviser-40-jewish-heroes-fighting-in-mariupol-steel-plant/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-zelensky-adviser-40-jew... My observations confirm this assessment that there is strong anti-Semetic sentiment in Russia and it is not a problem in Ukraine. I would be very careful with Western authors because they are prone to project their own fears as is evident from the quote you provide. I referenced Snyder not because I take my understanding from him but because he represents my understanding (and can provide some additional valuable historical insights). I would like to know what do you consider as ultra nationalist. To me Ilyin is ultra nationalist, Dugin is, but I have not seen anybody in Ukraine who is. Nobody in Ukraine thinks Ukrainians as superior race like Ilyin and Dugin think of Russians.

wrp 4y ago
> I would like to know what do you consider as ultra nationalist. Well, I can accept the definition at Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultranationalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultranationalism) Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or control over other countries (usually through coercion) to pursue its interests. British political theorist Roger Griffin has stated that ultranationalism is essentially xenophobic and is known to legitimise itself "through deeply mythicized narratives of past cultural or political periods of historical greatness or of old scores to settle against alleged enemies". I'm sure you will agree that the general Russian attitude toward Ukrainians fits that description. In my reply above, I gave references to show that it also describes a Ukrainian perspective toward ethnic Russians in Ukraine. The Russian case more fits the first quote and the Ukrainian more fits the second. I gave Taras Kuzio as an example because he is a Ukrainian historian who is well-known in the West. Richard Sakwa is interesting to read alongside Kuzio because they cover the same history but from opposing perspectives. Thank you for the Times of Israel article about the Azov fighter. That was quite interesting to get a first-hand perspective. >> Based on what is written about this article elsewhere... BTW, if you know of references discussing the Jeffrey Burds article, I really do want to see them.

wrp 4y ago

> I would like to know what do you consider as ultra nationalist. Well, I can accept the definition at Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultranationalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultranationalism) Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or control over other countries (usually through coercion) to pursue its interests. British political theorist Roger Griffin has stated that ultranationalism is essentially xenophobic and is known to legitimise itself "through deeply mythicized narratives of past cultural or political periods of historical greatness or of old scores to settle against alleged enemies". I'm sure you will agree that the general Russian attitude toward Ukrainians fits that description. In my reply above, I gave references to show that it also describes a Ukrainian perspective toward ethnic Russians in Ukraine. The Russian case more fits the first quote and the Ukrainian more fits the second. I gave Taras Kuzio as an example because he is a Ukrainian historian who is well-known in the West. Richard Sakwa is interesting to read alongside Kuzio because they cover the same history but from opposing perspectives. Thank you for the Times of Israel article about the Azov fighter. That was quite interesting to get a first-hand perspective. >> Based on what is written about this article elsewhere... BTW, if you know of references discussing the Jeffrey Burds article, I really do want to see them.