Is Russia Against Fascism or Isn't It?
The International Russian Conservative Forum was held in St. Petersburg on Sunday, purportedly a gathering of respectful traditionalists from the European Union, Russia, and beyond, rather than a pep rally for fascists and racists. But the lineup, including Hitler apologists, Holocaust deniers, apartheid fans, and a Russian skinhead who once decapitated a puppy as a publicity stunt, gave it an air of dark surrealism. Speakers condemned the U.S. as the enslaver of Europe and sang the praises of Russian President Vladimir Putin, holding up Russia as the last fortress of Christendom in the war waged on it by liberalism and multiculturalism. “In the West, we are brainwashed to hate Vladimir Putin,” said British anti-abortion-rights campaigner Jim Dowson. He went on to say that Russia is blessed to be ruled by “a real man” while the U.S. is led by the “feminized” Barack Obama. Roberto Fi...