One of the most dangerous arguments of the Axis of Dictatorships and Erefia against the West is the widespread overuse of leftist values and LGBT rhetoric in recent years, against which Putin portrays himself as a “conservative.”
Putin’s dictatorship is already officially calling itself “conservative” both for domestic Russian audiences and abroad. Realizing that leftist identity politics is not popular in the West, Putin decided to focus on shaping the image of Erefia as an alternative to leftist liberalism. Russia is presented as the cradle of the traditional family, moral values (!), conservatism and traditions.
And this has a propaganda effect: Russian supporters in the West appear not only for Gazprom’s money, but there is no shortage of useful idiots among the influencers. When many citizens believe that their country, and civilization in general, is developing in the wrong direction and going the wrong way, they start looking for other guidelines. And the Kremlin spares no effort to present itself as a conservative reference point that supports the traditional family and conventional gender roles.
And against the backdrop of the onslaught of leftist values in the West, this has a disappointing result for democracy. Not only in France, Hungary, or Germany are there influential anti-Western political forces in parliament that capitalize on conservatism and traditional values. But the list of European countries where Eurosceptics and Muscovites are gaining popularity is growing. Unexpectedly, in addition to Slovakia, where Robert Fico won earlier, a threatening situation has emerged in Romania, where the influence of anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian forces calling themselves “conservative” and oriented toward Russia is growing.
This is despite the fact that Putin’s fascist policy has nothing to do with conservatism. On the contrary, it is characterized by such features as:
- The cult of glorification of the state leader;
- National chauvinism and the cult of superiority over other nations;
- Destruction of democratic institutions;
- Aggressive foreign policy and seizure of foreign lands;
- The cult of power and militarism;
Russia is 100% fascist and falls short of Nazi Germany only in the absence of a racial policy of “ethnic purity of Russians,” although this does not prevent many Putin’s chauvinists from calling Russians “Aryans.” Apart from empty rhetoric, Putin’s regime has nothing to do with conservatism.
Conservatives not only respect but also defend democracy from threats of usurpation from above and below. While the Putin regime buried Russian democracy a quarter of a century ago.
Conservatives really respect the rule of law, and do not nullify the constitution to make the Kremlin dwarf president again in violation of the law.
Conservatives respect the church and religious institutions, and do not subordinate them to the special services to turn them into another propaganda tool.
Conservatives honor the traditional family as an environment for the development of a healthy human personality, and do not turn it into a conveyor belt for stamping out laborers and cannon fodder for Putin’s wars.
Conservatism never wanted anything to do with fascism, although fascists wanted to copy conservative features for their own legitimization. As did the founder of fascism, Benito Mussolini. Conservatism is primarily about respect for rules and traditions, not about breaking them over the knee to please an unbalanced dictator. No true conservatism has ever emerged without respect for laws and democratic traditions, and this is one of the most important features of why Putin’s dictatorship has nothing to do with conservative values.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk
