Is Russia Fascist?
No.
One of the dumbest bits of reddit analysis I ever saw was in one of those self-professed “contrarian” subs, under a picture of Azov delagates in Washington: “We should be really worried about Russia, because the RF is objectively much closer to fascism than Ukrainian nationalists cosplaying their favorite 20th century anti-Semites are.”
This might have been funny if it was satire, but I assure you the poster was completely in earnest.
Ok, I’m gonna need all the kings and generals to evacuate this building until you can get some health and safety inspectors on your channel, because that is a lot of smoke.
AI Generated thumbnail?
“Why do videos on Russia always have terrible AI-generated art for their thumbnails” is perhaps the more pressing question.
I wouldn’t say the current regime is really left wing, unlike the USSR. Yeltsin really leaned into the “free market” stuff (with disastrous consequences), and while Putin may have added more elements of planning and protectionism compared to that, he isn’t and doesn’t claim to be any kind of socialist.
while Putin may have added more elements of planning and protectionism
And that was as a concession to reality, basically – free market doctrine simply doesn’t work, for anybody except Wall Street and US arms dealers, and Putin was smart enough to see this. (“Reality,” said Kim Jong-Il about the future path of Russia, “is a harsh judge,” and time has proved him right).
