Russia and the Western Far Right Quotes

“The increasingly racialist nature of post-Soviet Russian society19 excludes the feasibility of engaging primarily with Black, Asian or Latin American politicians or activists from particular Third-World regimes who could potentially push anti-Western arguments. Only white Europeans and/or Americans can be seen as those whose views will be deemed as fully legitimate by Russian society. Therefore, the Russian media had to continue to rely on an ever-decreasing pool of Western mainstream politicians who would hold pro-Kremlin views or be interested in providing the required commentary. At the same time, they had to turn to white Europeans or Americans who would expose illiberal and/or anti-Western views, and, thus, corroborate the ‘West is bad’ argument.”
― Anton Shekhovtsov, Russia and the Western Far Right: Tango Noir

“In his comparison of political systems in Russia and China, Ivan Krastev argues that ‘observed from afar, [the Russian regime] certainly looks like a democracy’, as it, in particular, ‘enjoys a democratic constitution, runs elections, has a multiparty political system, [and] has some free media’.1 At the same time, all these democratic institutions are largely a façade that is used to legitimise the authoritarian regime both domestically and internationally; ‘Russia clearly has elections, but no rotation of power. … In the Russian system elections are used as the way to legitimise the lack of rotation’.”
― Anton Shekhovtsov, Russia and the Western Far Right: Tango Noir

“By turning the blind eye to all the non-democratic, corrupt practices in Russia, as well as assisting Russian ruling elites in laundering money in Europe, Western leaders not only emboldened those who were involved in these practices, but also created a very specific image of the West among the ruling Russian elites. The latter understood their own nature well, but the evident acceptance of their dubious practices by the West informed them that Western political and business leaders were as corrupt and double-faced as they were.”
― Anton Shekhovtsov, Russia and the Western Far Right: Tango Noir