The russian sense of nationalism and patriotism is quite simply deranged. Of course, this is an easy claim, living within the comfy boundaries of western democracy. Remember that I’m referring to a nation with virtually no democratic traditions, a huge amount of illiteracy and poverty. What most of our neighboring citizens seems to perceive as a ’strong’ Russia, is a Russia capable of inducing fear in others.

The population feels betrayed by and is envious of the west. But the west constitutes a hemisphere many russians admittedly plead ignorance towards. And they still display a certain nostalgia when describing the stalinistic era. This is contradictory, and reveals a sense of hopelessness. The large amount of disillusioned russians thus creates a fertile ground for extremism; religious, nationalistic and socialistic.
The image of the strong and feared leader still lives on, after a democratic period that was deemed a failure. And indeed, the country was hijacked in the ensuing chaos that followed the fall of communism. Jelzin issued free shares on government property, worthless for the starving masses, who more than willingly traded the shares for bread. In the end, only a few people owned the country. It seems like a fairy tale to us, but Jelzin’s concept of absolute privatization created the russian oligarchy. The extreme corruption and the rise of the russian ‘mafya’ can largely be blamed on the former president and his followers. Although I often view the western right-wing politics as being irresponsible towards its citizens, nothing compares to the russian model.

Things had to change. Jelzin appointed the former KGB agent Vladimir Putin as prime minister, another yes-man it appeared, at least in Jelzin’s own eyes. The good life finally caught up with Boris, and he had to resign after severe health problems in 1999. Putin had been working against Jelzin’s policies, and made a name for himself as uncompromising and visionary. A new, strong man to revive mother Russia. Putin immediately dispensed of the remaining oligarchs, forcing them to exile. His later ruthlessness was still in check, and he tried to reform Russia into a decent, well-oiled democracy. Most importantly, he seized many of the privatized businesses, ensuring that the wealth benefited the government instead of the billionaires. He had already inherited the war in Chechnya, thus having the excuse of terrorist threats when enforcing government policies.

Putin freed his back, took the helm and could easily pursue his agenda, with no critical press and rivals. With total control over the media, he could marginalize political opponents, and even commit murder. An example of the new police state was displayed during the hijacking of the Moscow Theatre. A group of terrorists held hundreds of spectators hostage, demanding the release of chechnyan soldiers. The government response was brutal beyond imagination. They simply gassed the venue, killing hundreds of hostages as well as terrorists. You can only wonder about a society and government who disregard human life to this extent. Soon followed the complete eradication of the oligarchs. They were outlawed, tried in court (notably in cages) and sent to the Siberian thundra. Although the country has shrunk from the days of the Sowiet Union, they keep the same sphere of interest in Europe. The difference is that the diplomatic pressure now centers around the supply of oil and gas.

So, we return to my statement on russians being deranged. This is not an universal attitude. If you’re a russian reading this, I believe there’s a big possibility that you’re quite sane. But many russians seems to agree with Putin, and his methods. They actually support the man and the system who’s taken away the civil rights that Jeltsin accomplished (and abused). Given the lack of democratic traditions, I can understand the need for order at least. What I can’t fathom, is the prize they’re willing to pay for it. They must despair, as I see it, or else they wouldn’t talk of the depraved russian communism with longing.