Russian alt-right glossary
Frogs, clowns, and swastikas Alt-right |
Chuds |
Rebuilding the Reich, one meme at a time |
Buzzwords and dogwhistles |
Despite the fact that the Russian Federation is not a democratic state, activists of various political wings are represented there in colossal diversity. The vast majority of Russian right-wingers are either critical of Vladimir Putin's regime or openly hate it. However, this does not prevent Russian nationalists and conservatives from supporting certain initiatives of the Kremlin regime. The Russian right-wingers will gladly support the Kremlin in everything that is against LGBTQ, in Kremlin's wars and attacks on the “former provinces” of the Russian Empire or the USSR “gathering of Russian lands”, and of course everything that worsens the life of Muslim migrants from Central Asia.
(At the same time, accusations of betrayal and overcrowding of the Kremlin with "non-Russians" will continue to sound like a refrain.)
The Russian right wing can be seen as a political compass: imperialists/isolationists & loyalists/opposition. For example, the famous Russian TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov[1] is a Sovietist and Stalinist who expressed sympathy for fascist leader Benito Mussolini.[2] And the Russian nationalist field commander and Neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin is fighting on the side of Ukraine in order to "liberate Rus" after the victory.
Russian right-wing political culture is greatly influenced by the right-wing discourse of the United States. Many memes are borrowed directly (for example, soy boy or cuck). However, in general, Russian hate speech is unique, and to understand the meaning and content of the Russian alt-right ideology, it is necessary to be included in a specific context, which is often impossible for those who have never lived in Russia or the Commonwealth of Independent States. Understanding the nationalist, imperialist, and right-wing discourse in Russia can shed light on the reasons for the rapid rise of fascism in Russian society and Russia's unleashing of the largest war in Europe since WW2.
Dogwhistles[edit]
Agenda[edit]
Повестка (povestka, povestochka) — a term coined by the Russian alt-right (mostly xenophobic YouTubers) to refer to supposedly promoted "leftist" or "liberal" ideas in movies, video games, or literature. In general, in any form of art. Is the main character a lead female protagonist? Obviously a feminist liberal agenda. Is she Black? Double liberal agenda. Does her sister casually mention that she is married to a woman? Absolutely unbridled imposition of the SJW agenda.
Calibration[edit]
Калибровка (calybrovka) — a "joking" term of Russian imperialists for Kalibr missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Denazification[edit]
Денацификация (denatsifikatsiya) — one of the goals of the euphemistically-called Special Military Operation in Ukraine, officially announced by president Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, on the day of the start of a full-scale invasion of the Russian army into Ukraine with the aim of occupying it, eliminating its statehood, mass repressions of Ukrainian political and cultural figures and erasing Ukrainian cultural identity.[3] [4][5]
Dogovornyak[edit]
Договорняк (deprecatingly backstage arrangement) — literally, "agreement", an explanation for any failure, retreat, or flight of Russian troops. Sometimes it is applied more widely. Example: "IN FACT, the rotten Kremlin elites secretly agreed with the West / Kiev and surrendered the Kharkov region to them!". [6] [7]
Power is in the truth[edit]
Сила в праVде - literally, "strength is truth", a Putinist propaganda slogan launched in the spring of 2022 along with the widespread use of the Roman letters Z and V in Russia. A reference to the films "Brother" and sequel "Brother 2",[8] the main character of which utters this phrase during his epic monologue. The film's protagonist is an iconic figure of the Russian right wing: a vigilante, military-trained, racist, openly insulting Muslims, who stops at nothing to kill those who offend his gangster brother. In the sequel, there is a scene where, during a gangster dispute with Ukrainians in the United States, the Russian main characters threaten to “bring to justice for Sevastopol” (a city in Crimea — at that time Crimea was not occupied by Russia). This makes it clear that revanchism was already brewing in Russian society in the late 1990s. This is an interesting example of how Russian nationalist propaganda has weaponized cult cinema of yesteryear to incite chauvinism against victims of Russian aggression.[9]
"Only for the Slavs"[edit]
Только славянам — literally "Only Slavs", a postscript accompanying rental ads published by xenophobic Russian landlords (most ads have this postscript). In fact, "only for the Slavs" means that housing is not rented to Muslim migrants and Muslim citizens of Russia from the North Caucasus Region (such as Dagestan). Germans, Swedes, or French will not be refused, despite their obviously non-Slavic origin.
STOP FEEDING THE CAUCASUS![edit]
ХВАТИТ КОРМИТЬ КАВКАЗ! — a popular slogan of Russian nationalists in the 2010s. The idea is that the Muslim regions of the North Caucasus are allegedly supported by Russian taxpayers. Russian nationalists were ready to separate Muslim regions from Russia, such as Chechnya, Dagestan or Ingushetia, but calls for separatism were criminalized in Russia. In addition, the Russian alt-right imperialists oppose the separation of the Caucasian regions from Russia.
Slurs[edit]
Churka/Hach[edit]
Чурка/Хач — Muslim people/Caucasus nations. Attention: not anyone who converted to Islam, but specifically a representative of ethnic groups who profess Islam: for example, a Chechens, an Uzbeks, Arabs etc. Considered highly offensive and banned in official media. Word "khach'" (armenian - խաչ) means the word "cross" in the Armenian language, so it is correct to use "hach" in the direction of Orthodox Armenians, and not other peoples of the Caucasus
Ethnic liberal[edit]
Этнические либералы — Jewish liberals (literally, "ethnic liberals"). In the language of the Russian alt-right, this means that "it is obvious to all Russian patriots what ethnic group the liberal who opposes the Special Military Operation in Ukraine belongs to". By saying "he is an ethnic liberal", the Russian alt-right makes it clear that this person is not to be considered Russian and reliable, or worthy of trust.
Hohol[edit]
Хохол[10] — Ukrainian. It can be used neutrally, even by Ukrainians themselves. However, Russian alt-right and imperialists always use the term with a touch of disdain. Any Russian imperialist claims that the Ukrainians are a fictitious nation, "they do not exist, they are the same Russians". But this will not prevent the Russian imperialist from calling Ukrainians contemptuously and successfully separating them from Russians.
Nerys[edit]
Нерусь - "no-Rus" - any non-Russian. It can also mean the one whom the xenophobe wants to blame for something, and devalue all of the person's arguments.
Noviop[edit]
Новиоп, Новиопы [11] — abbreviation for "new historical community — the Soviet people" (New Historical Community). In short — person of mixed ethnicity. From the point of view of the Russian alt-right, this person does not deserve trust. Originally invented by Russian nationalist Dmitry Galkovsky. [12] In his conspiracy universe, Russia is ruled by a group of people of mixed racial origin: a new multicultural "nation" deliberately racially bred by the Soviet Communist Party to replace Russian white slavs. In fact, the accusation of the opponent of "insufficient Russianness". The accusation becomes especially strong when the opponent has a surname uncharacteristic for Russians (Ukrainian, Turkic, or, worse for him, Jewish). It is no secret that not only ethnic Russians live in Russia. There are other ethnic groups in Russian regions — Chechens, Tatars, Buryats, Tuvans, Jews, Ukrainians etc. For Russian alt-right racists, anyone suspected of "mixed ancestry" is unreliable. Particularly unreliable are people of the leftist, anti-war or liberal views. Russian nationalists like to look for "non-Russian roots" among leftists and liberals — and if they find them, they are very happy about it ("the radar works!").
Pribalts, Labus, sprats[edit]
Прибалты/лабусы/шпроты - insults to indigenous peoples of the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). Russian imperialist propaganda persistently concentrates public attention onto the collaborationism of the nations conquered by Russia/USSR in World War II very persistently, while hiding a huge number of Russian collaborators (400 000 people according to the Russian historian Kirill Alexandrov).[13]
The fate of Baltic peoples is very tragic, but not well known. In 1917-1920, the Baltic nations gained independence,[14] but in 1940 Joseph Stalin through the notorious imperialist tactic of fake "referendums" tried to legitimize the occupation of Latvia, Lithiania, and Estonia. Under Soviet occupation, many Latvians[15] and Estonians[16] were killed or deported to Siberia. And in their homes, a loyal Russian population was settled, according to the old tradition of Moscow imperialism.[17]
The main accusations that Russian nationalists throw at the Baltic peoples are "ungratefulness for civilizing you" and, of course, "neo-Nazism and russophobia". Actually, Latvian far-right activists really dealt a blow to the reputation of their country in 1990s, by starting the glorification of SS Legionnaires[18] who fought against the Soviet army. But the Latvian parliament has repeatedly rejected bills proposing to make SS Legionnaire's Day a national day of remembrance.[19]
Psheks[edit]
Пшеки — a slur for Poles. Hatred of the Poles is common among Russian imperialists and nationalists a kind of identification system “friend/foe”, a rule of good manners that is usually observed.[20] The whole point is that the Poles repeatedly rebelled against the rule of the Russian Empire[21] during which the Russian army carried out massacres in Poland.
Russian nationalists and imperialists usually quote a poem by Russia's most revered poet, Alexander Pushkin, who generally pursues a rather problematic line of argument in the poem: "Poland is a member of our Slavic family — therefore Western Europe does not need to interfere with our usual domestic violence."[22] A new round of Russian hostility towards Poland has been developing since the spring of 2022 — when Poland took an uncompromising position towards Russian aggression and fully supported Ukraine, ranking third in the world and first in the EU in terms of military assistance by January.[23]
Tuvan degenerate/Tuvan genius[edit]
Тувинский дегенерат/тувинский гений — an insult to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, used by Russian alt-rightists and imperialists who are irritated by defeats in Ukraine. Sergei Shoigu had a Tuvan father and a Ukrainian-born Russian mother. For Russian alt-righters, this is a sign of unreliability and a reason to blame him. In addition, in Russia there is a racist stereotype that Tuvans have very low intelligence and should not manage anything. Russian alt-rightists contrast "silly" Sergei Shoigu with "badass" Yevgeny Prigozhin and the PMC Wagner Group, who supposedly fight better (according to Russian nationalists). However, Wagner PMCs spent 9 months storming the small town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, losing a huge number of soldiers, which casts doubt on their effectiveness and their entire insane cult in the Russian nationalist environment.[24] The huge frustration of militarists and nationalists in Russia was caused by the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash on 23 August 2023 (two months to the day after the coup attempt that Prigozhin started in Russia, before leaving for Belarus). Many Russian alt-rightists and fascist Telegram writers are absolutely convinced that Prigozhin’s plane was shot down on Putin’s orders. However, this theory was also put forward by more respectable Western media[25] (revenge for the rebellion). Meanwhile, Sergei Shoigu is still alive and continues to head the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Vyrys[edit]
Вырусь — literally "torn from the ranks of the Russians," or, better, "people who rejected Russianness" (сompare with "racial traitors"). A very dirty insult, likely resonating with Вирус ("virus") implying that the named ought to be extirpated. It can be used against a Russian nationalist who is fighting on the side of Ukraine. It can even be used against a Ukrainian or Belarusian who opposes Moscow imperialism (within the framework of the Russian imperialist ideology, Belarusians and Ukrainians are sub-ethnic groups of Russians).
How dissenters are silenced[edit]
Russophobia[edit]
Русофобия — accusations of “Russophobia” are standard behavior of Russian nationalists, alt-rightists and imperialists, including the country's leadership. The complaints of representatives of the largest country in the world (by land mass), which has the most powerful nuclear arsenal on the planet,[26] do not look very convincing. It causes awkwardness among the Western countries and irritation among the people whom Russia had once occupied and wants to occupy again, always threatening them with "consequences".[27][28][29]
As a result of the abuse of acting out victims in the Russian alt-right/conservative cultural field the memetic abbreviation РЛО ("RLO") [30] even arose. РЛО is an acronym for Русских Людей Обижают ("Russian people are being offended"), which was a universal comment on any post on the random blog of any Russian nationalist (complaint about the oppression of Russians by Latvians, Jews, Chechens, Ukrainians, immigrants from Tajikistan, the USA, Georgia — the offenders and enemies of Russian nationalism can be listed endlessly).
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKgc9pLTDP8
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-51047746
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on What Russia Should Do with Ukraine.
- ↑ https://censor.net/ru/photo_news/3321989/v_avtomobilyah_rosgvardii_byli_nayideny_schity_i_dubinki_oni_dumali_chto_nujno_budet_prosto_razgonyat
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on List of damaged cultural sites during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- ↑ https://theins.ru/news/249776
- ↑ https://ria.ru/20220913/spetsoperatsiya-1816333215.html
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118767/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EeLM4qPnGw
- ↑ Oseledets § Ethnic slur
- ↑ https://neolurk.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BF%D1%8B
- ↑ https://galkovsky.livejournal.com/199706.html
- ↑ http://historicaldis.ru/blog/43302183596/Bolshoe-intervyu-Kirilla-Aleksandrova
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Pro-independence movements in the Russian Civil War.
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Latvian Operation of the NKVD.
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Soviet deportations from Estonia.
- ↑ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putins-mariupol-massacre-is-one-the-worst-war-crimes-of-the-21st-century/
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires.
- ↑ https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/32674/
- ↑ https://neolurk.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%B8
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Category:Uprisings of Poland.
- ↑ https://classica-online.ru/catalog/to-the-slanderers-of-russia-pushkin/
- ↑ https://www.statista.com/chart/27278/military-aid-to-ukraine-by-country/
- ↑ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/25/wagner-chief-says-20000-of-its-troops-killed-in-bakhmut-battle
- ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/did-putin-kill-prigozhin-wagner-group-death-scenarios-2023-8?r=US&IR=T
- ↑ https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/nuclear-weapons-by-country
- ↑ https://estonianworld.com/security/putin-vaguely-threatens-the-estonian-town-of-narva/
- ↑ https://central.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_ca/features/2022/11/30/feature-02
- ↑ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/finland-set-join-nato-historic-shift-while-sweden-waits-2023-04-04/
- ↑ http://lurklurk.com/%D0%A0%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85_%D0%BB%D1%8E%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%B6%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82