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How Russia exploits right-wing organizations and polarizes societies

An interview with Kacper Rękawek, senior fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. Interviewer: Andrzej Kozłowski

ANDRZEJ KOZŁOWSKI: How is Russia exploiting far-right organizations in Europe?

KACPER RĘKAWEK: This process began over ten years ago and specifically after the 2012 protests in Moscow, when Russians gathered at Bolotnaya Square to express their disagreement with Putin’s third term as president. Having seen the protesters, who in large numbers were representatives of the urban middle class, the Russian authorities came to the conclusion that it was the liberals who were the main threat to the regime. Although these enemies were identified internally, the Kremlin decided to attack them abroad as well.

September 17, 2024 - Andrzej Kozłowski Kacper Rękawek - Hot TopicsIssue 5 2024Magazine

Photo courtesy of Kacper Rękawek

In this sense, they picked up on the legacy of the late 1980s and the 1990s when the likes of Alexander Dugin or Vladimir Zhirinovsky, stalwarts of the Russian far-right, began to forge connections with likeminded Western Europeans. Only later did the Kremlin decide to involve resources from different levels to achieve its goals and protect the regime. As a result, we can now see a political war that Russia is waging against the West.

Why the far right? And not the far or extreme left, for example?

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