Militant Right-Wing Extremism in Putin's Russia

Militancy continues to be characteristic of many supporters of the Russian far right, encompassing a belligerent rhetoric, a strong perception of participants as political warriors and often the use of physical violence. How serious a threat does Russian militant right-wing extremism pose to Russia and the World, and how has the level of threat changed over time? This book addresses this question by exploring right-wing extremism in Russia, its historical context and its resurgence over the past thirty years. Outlining the legacies and forms presented by current right-wing extremism, with a particular focus on militant extremism, it employs a historical, descriptive method to analyse the threats and risks posed. Presented within the framework of research on extremism and political violence related to the Russian political thought, the book outlines the key criteria of identifying threats, such as the level of violence, ability to gain supporters and penetration of governing elites. Primarily aimed at researchers and academics in political science, extremism, security studies and the history of Russia and Eastern, Central and South-East Europe, this book will also be of interest to political journalists and practitioners in international security.

Jan Holzer is a Political Scientist, Professor in the Department of Political Science and Principal Researcher in the International Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. His research interests include Modern Russian Politics; Comparative Area Studies, Political Systems/Regimes of the East European Countries and former Soviet Republics; Theory of Undemocratic and Hybrid Regimes and Theory of Democratization. Martin LaryS is the Chairman and Co-founder of the Centre for Security Analyses and Prevention, Czech Republic, since 2012. He previously worked in business development of post-Soviet countries and as a foreign correspondent for a Czech newspaper in Moscow. He has published several articles on right-wing extremism and also on Russian politics and the politics of the former Soviet republics (particularly the Caucasus and the Ukraine). In 2009, he earned a degree in Political Science from the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. Miroslav MareS is a Political Scientist, Professor in the Department of Political Science and Principal Researcher in the International Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. He is a member of the International Association of Political Science, the European Expert Network on Terrorism Issues (chair of the subgroup on right-wing extremist, left-wing extremist and separatist violence in Europe) and the editorial board of the Radicalisation Awareness Network. His research interests include political extremism and terrorism as well as security policy in East Central Europe.

Introduction Chapter 1 Russia's militant right: Notes on the historical, systemic and ideological conceptualisation of a specific political actor Chapter 2 The Russian militant right: A historical reflection on a specific political phenomenon Chapter 3 Militant right-wing extremism from the beginning of the Putin era to the war in Ukraine (2000-2018) Chapter 4 Right-wing extremist subcultures in the Russian Federation Chapter 5 Terrorism committed by militant Russian nationalists and violent racist gangs Chapter 6 Russian militant nationalism and the war in Donbass Chapter 7 Contemporary pro-Putin Russian militant nationalism in Russia and Ukraine Chapter 8 Contemporary anti-Putin militant right-wing nationalism Chapter 9 Russia's support for militant nationalism abroad Conclusion The Russian militant right and Vladimir V. Putin's conservative authoritarianism