Putin's 'good' and 'bad' fascists

Kremlin rhetoric frequently uses "fascism” to describe the supreme evil that must be suppressed by any means in Ukraine. 

The succession of events in Ukraine prompted the Moscow leader, Vladimir Putin, to use the word in describing the new Kyiv regime that was installed after the EuroMaidan Revolution ousted President Viktor Yanukovych on Feb. 22. Putin annexed Crimea, a peninsula that was in the danger of falling under the influence of the Kyiv "fascist" regime.

But then why is Moscow closely cooperating with all major extremist political factions, especially the right-wing ones in Europe? 

All European right-wing extremist leaders were invited to the March 16 Crimea referendum and their political platforms advocate redefining Europe's borders, as well as setting up small states on the old continent.

Most of them unanimously call on NATO's dissolution and generally oppose the United States.

Therefore, on March 16, the fascists' representatives from all over Europe met in the respective peninsula to learn about organizing such plebiscites.

The Eurasian Observer for Democracy and Election, a right-wing nongovernmental organiation seated in Moscow, hosted that event. 

This NGO also monitored the recent referendums for many separatist regions, such as Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria.

Among the European "fascists” there were members of The Freedom Party of Austria belonging to the deceased Jorg Haider, The North League of Italy, Vlaams Belang of Belgium, Ataka of Bulgaria, The National Front of France, leaded by Marie Le Pen, Jobbik of Hungary, Dveri, the ultraconservative movement of Serbia and Plataforma per Catalunya of Spain. 

They are all right-wing extremist parties in Europe.

A few left-wing representatives came also to Crimea, the Communist Party of Greece, Die Linke of Germany or "Self-defense of Poland."

In conclusion, the European "fascists" participated as invitees of the nongovernmental organizations that share the same political vision with Kremlin, in order to see the "show" of the illegal annexation of Crimea and to take notes on future term. 

It is at least bizarre why the Communist Party of Moldova had no representative at the Crimea referendum. In order to repair the relations with Moscow, the deceitful Vladimir Voronin declared later on that the annexation of Crimea was a legitimate act and an historical compensation. 

The links between Russia and these parties of fascism extraction and extremism are long standing; in the last years, Russia built special relations with them and supported their leaders. Why? Russia is primarily interested in dealing with a Europe as weaker as possible, from a political and internal stability point of view. 

Taking advantage of the euro-skepticism trend caused by the European crisis, Kremlin exploited the favorable moment to play the fascism role to its benefit.

As never before in the EU history, the euro-skeptic parties, especially the right-wing extremists, enjoyed substantial chances of winning numerous seats in the European Parliament and of consolidating a group targeted at militating against the EU, within the EU.

For this matter, there is a close relation between Kremlin and Jobbik, a right-wing extremist faction and the third popular party in Hungary. 

Vona Gabor, the Jobbik leader was invited by Alexander Dughin, one of the new Russia ideologists, to deliver a speech in the lecture hall of the University of Moscow.

Well-known for his Nazi and anti-Semitic rhetoric, the Jobbik leader focused on a euro-skeptic and profound anti-USA message. The same last year, interviewed by the Russian portal "Geopolitics," Gabor stated that”euro-Atlantic orientation must be replaced by Eurasian orientation,” an ideology rooted in early 20th century and promoted by Kremlin through Dughin`s voice. 

The Russian authorities gave equal treatment for much more charismatic Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front of France.

Since its existence, back in 1972, the party has been a pro-American and anti-Soviet one. Last year, Marine Le Pen changed the party's orientation towards Russia an enhanced its anti-EU and anti-USA rhetoric.

The National Front's leaders who paid several visits to Ukrainian peninsula acknowledged the result of Crimea referendum, stating that Crimea is part of Russia, from a historical point of view.

Late autumn of 2013, Le Pen had advanced talks with Geert Wilders, the leader of PVV, the Freedom Party of Netherlands, a right-wing extremist group, with a view to form a pre-electoral alliance, in the offing of the European Parliament elections, which are to take place by end of May, this year and subsequently to form a "group of the euro-skeptic extremists within" the European Parliament.

Moscow has the same strong relations with the Balkan extremists of Ataka (Bulgaria) and The Golden Dawns (Greece).

A day after Crimea referendum, Ataka ask the Sofia Parliament to acknowledge the result of the referendum. Regarding The Golden Dawns, Nikos Michaloliakos, who is the imprisoned leader of this parliamentary party in Athens, received a "geopolitical epistle" from Dughin about a sort of "anti-American political union."

The Kremlin aims at building a solid base of fascist satellites within the European political background, while in Kyiv the fascists are still in power, and so a dilemma tends to be almost rhetorical: Who are "the good fascists” and "the bad fascists” for Putin?

Madalin Necșuțu is an editor in Bucharest, Romania

Written in Kyiv Post