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On April 21, a judge made an unprecedented ruling when he sentenced a man to one year in prison for fighting fascism.
Your first thought is that this case happened in Latvia, where former Waffen SS members march freely on their favorite holidays commemorating Latvian veterans who fought alongside the Nazis in World War II. But the sentence was actually handed down in Moscow's Tagansky District Court, where anti-fascist Alexei Olesinov was convicted.
When I write that he was sentenced for "fighting fascism," I do not mean this metaphorically. Officially, he was sentenced to prison for causing a fistfight with a security guard outside a Moscow nightclub -- although the guard and the club owners withdrew their complaints against Olesinov in court.
But, in reality, Olesinov was convicted for his anti-fascism. The prosecutor's intention in this case was clear. His indictment stressed that Olesinov's biggest offense was leading the Antifa (an abbreviation for anti-fascism) movement, the goal of which "was to oppose the interests of individuals promoting fascism."
As we all know, Russia is surrounded by enemies. Why so many enemies? The bourgeois from all Western nations are burning with envy because Russia is building the most advanced society in the world. This is something that the Kremlin propagandists particularly like to pound into the heads of the members of Nashi, the Kremlin-supported youth movement.
Fascism asserts that a given people or race are superior to others and that enemies surround the state. If the ideology taught to Nashi is not fascism, then what is it?
We tend to associate the word "fascism" with a fighting a war with an external enemy. But fascism involves fighting a war against internal enemies as well. That is why Russia's state ideology has a distinct warlike component.
In domestic affairs, this manifests itself in the war against business. This is not simply a matter of confiscating the private property of others. Expropriation is an important part of a larger ideological-based campaign, and it is considered a legitimate way of strengthening the siloviki and their hold on power.
Moreover, since Russia's elite keep their assets in the West, they understand very well that it is better to battle their own businessmen than try to fight Western armies. What's more, such conquests fill them with a feeling of importance and strength.
Fascism is by no means the ideology of heroes. It is an ideology that allows any scumbag to consider himself a hero. Take, for example, the March 31 attack on 68-year-old human rights leader Lev Ponomaryov, who was beaten up outside his Moscow home by a group of young thugs. Driven by a fascist ideology, I am sure they felt like true national heroes.
There is a simple, unwritten agreement between Russia's ruling elite and the siloviki who protect them: The authorities closest to the Kremlin have a free reign to rob the wealthiest Russians, while other law enforcements agencies get to plunder the rest. The problem is that this agreement collapsed when the crisis hit.
If the economic situation deteriorates and the people start staging massive uprisings, the police, who have acted like an occupying force toward the people, will no longer risk their necks to protect the authorities from the angry hordes. They will join the mob and start marauding for themselves.
Yulia Latynina hosts a political talk show on Ekho Moskvy radio.
