The St. Petersburg Times - News - Nationalists Step Forward To Make Political Claims

In recent weeks, Russian nationalists have been steadily encroaching on the political stage, as seen in the slogans chanted during sanctioned street marches and the spin given to news programs, movies and commercials shown on national television. Given the tight grip the Kremlin holds on the country’s political life, this burst of nationalism could not have occurred without at least a silent nod of official approval. Some say the latest upsurge of xenophobic nationalism was intentionally stimulated by the Kremlin with an eye to the 2007-08 elections. If voters are sufficiently alarmed by the fascist threat, the theory goes, they will support any Kremlin-backed candidate who they believe can curb the brown shirts. Others say the atmosphere of a besieged fortress instilled by the Kremlin after the velvet revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, coupled with attempts to build patriotism by dragging out symbols of Russia’s imperial past, were enough to foster the xenophobic sentiments. All, including leaders of nationalist groups, agree, however, that recent events have allowed radical nationalists to see themselves as a rightful public force and to hope for future political success.