Autonomous University of Barcelona Faculty of Political Science and Sociology Department of Public Law and Legal History Studies PhD Program in International Relations and European Integration Doctoral Dissertation Russia's Nationalist-Patriotic Opposition: The Shifting Politics of Right-Wing Contention in Post-Communist Transition Author Supervisor Sofia Tipaldou Dr. Francesc Serra Massansalvador Barcelona, June 2015 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations............................................................................................................................6 Abstract.................................................................................................................................................8 Abstract (en castellano)........................................................................................................................9 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................10 1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................11 1.1. The puzzle...............................................................................................................................11 1.2. The outcome variables: emergence and organizational change of the Russian nationalist- patriotic movement........................................................................................................................13 1.3. The Argument.........................................................................................................................15 1.3.1. Definition of the radical right in the existing literature...................................................17 1.3.2. From the radical right to the “nationalist-patriotic opposition”......................................22 1.4. Why study the nationalist-patriotic opposition in Russia?.....................................................24 1.5. Dissertation Outline................................................................................................................26 2. The Theoretical Debate on the Radical Right................................................................................28 2.1. Dominant approaches on the rise of the radical right.............................................................28 2.1.1. Demand-side theories......................................................................................................28 2.1.2. Supply-side theories........................................................................................................36 2.1.3. Internal supply-side theories...........................................................................................44 2.2. Externalist versus internalist studies on the radical right.......................................................48 2.3. My argument...........................................................................................................................53 3. Research Design and Methodology................................................................................................58 3.2. Single-case country studies on Russia....................................................................................58 3.2. Comparative studies on the radical right in Eastern Europe..................................................60 3.3. The Russian nationalist-patriotic movement..........................................................................62 3.4. Methods for data gathering and constraints ...........................................................................68 3.5. Data analysis...........................................................................................................................73 3.6. Ethics and risks.......................................................................................................................76 4. Radical right mobilization in Russia in the 1990s..........................................................................79 4.1. Short History of the Russian Radical Right Movement.........................................................79 4.2. Russian National Unity (RNE)...............................................................................................81 4.2.1. Description of the organization, its leaders and its background.....................................81 4.2.2. Ideological features, influences, symbols.......................................................................86 4.2.3. Internal structure............................................................................................................90 4.2.4. Activities.........................................................................................................................93 4.2.4.1. Relations with the Russian Orthodox Church.........................................................93 4.2.4.2. Propaganda..............................................................................................................93 4.2.4.3. Activities for attracting new members....................................................................94 4.2.4.4. Electoral activities...................................................................................................94 4.2.4.5. Violence...................................................................................................................95 4.2.5. Collapse or transformation in the 2000s.........................................................................96 4.3. National-Bolshevik Party (NBP)............................................................................................99 4.3.1. Description of the organization, its leaders, and its background....................................99 4.3.1.1. Dugin.......................................................................................................................99 4.3.1.2. Limonov................................................................................................................101 4.3.2. Ideological features, influences, symbols.....................................................................102 4.3.3. Internal structure...........................................................................................................105 4.3.4. Activities.......................................................................................................................106 4.3.5. Collapse or transformation in the 2000s.......................................................................107 4.4. Conclusion: overview of the 1990s......................................................................................110 5. The “new” Russian nationalist-patriotic opposition, 2000-2012.................................................113 5.1. The Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI)...........................................................113 5.1.1. Description of the organization, its leaders and its background...................................113 5.1.2. Ideological features, influences, symbols.....................................................................120 5.1.3. Internal Structure...........................................................................................................125 5.1.3. Activities.......................................................................................................................127 5.2. Russian People's Movement (ROD).....................................................................................135 5.2.1. Description of the organization, its leaders and its background...................................135 5.2.2. Ideological features, influences, symbols.....................................................................140 5.2.3. Internal Structure...........................................................................................................145 5.2.4. Activities.......................................................................................................................147 5.3. Conclusion: The radical right movement of the 2000s and its future perspectives..............154 6. Changing structural conditions and organizational change of nationalist-patriotic organizations ..........................................................................................................................................................156 6.1. Changing structural conditions and new societal cleavages.................................................156 6.1.1. The Russian transition...................................................................................................156 6.1.2.The ideological vacuum.................................................................................................159 6.1.3. The demographic factor................................................................................................163 6.1.4. Chechen wars and the rise of terrorist attacks...............................................................165 6.2. The institutional context.......................................................................................................169 6.2.1. Assessment of Russian democracy...............................................................................169 6.2.2. Vladimir Putin's regime................................................................................................170 6.3. The migration issue...............................................................................................................180