What is Russism? About the ideology of the Kremlin

The worst wars in the history of mankind are not those fought for territory, but those fought for ideas. Their goal is not only to conquer other people's countries, but to "rearrange" the neighbors and the world according to their own ideas. If someone interferes in this idea - it should be destroyed. Such were the religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Such was World War II - a bloody clash of two totalitarian ideologies - Nazi and Communist.
Ukraine found itself at the epicenter of the confrontation, whose participants wanted not only to seize rich resources, but also to "rearrange" Ukrainians either into submissive slaves of Aryan masters or into proletarians without roots, builders of a communist paradise.
The brutality of the current war is also due to the fact that the Russians aim to conquer not only Ukraine, but also the Ukrainians. The Kremlin needs Ukrainians, as builders of a Russian imperial project called the "Russian world." This motto refers to the Russian vision of the reconstruction of the world.
A more accurate definition of the ideology of the current Kremlin was given by publicists who called it Russism. It is a term that is just entering political debates.
The very name of the term indicates closeness to fascism / Nazism.
Indeed, Russism has much in common with these criminal ideologies - belief in the supremacy of one's own people, and thus their right to decide the fate of others, pronounced anti-democracy, cult of leadership, cult of power, neglect of human rights and international law, belief in international conspiracy to stopped this idea, a reference to a heroic past, whose glory must be revived.

The aesthetics of Russism is full of borrowings from fascism / Nazism - from the latest symbols of Russian aggression such as the Latin Z, to the gatherings in Luzhniki, which would be happy to shoot Leni Riefenstahl. However, like everything that the Russians did, this is done with a lot of mistakes and wrong steps.
But Russism is not just Russian neo-fascism. An important role in this is played by the Russian background, the unique Russian sound, the peculiarities of Russian culture. He received such enormous support from the Russians, because he played on their endless imperial feelings, referring to the past, to the greatness of Russia, which is being sought to be renewed.

The aggressor wars of the Russian Federation are justified by the "gathering of Russian countries".
The "Russian world" clearly refers to another imperial project - Pax Romana and one of the key Russian historical myths about Moscow as the Third Rome. The Russian Orthodox Church plays an important role in promoting the ideology of Russism. Especially in Ukraine.

The communist legacy is also very influential. It is no wonder that Stalin, not only for Putin but also for most Russians, is the most prominent person. The Kremlin uses Soviet repressive practices, including imprisonment of dissidents, executions of civilians for intimidation, deportations, and concentration camps.
But not only that.
For Putin and his followers, the USSR is a "promised land" of the past, to which they want to lead their people. Because the Soviet Union is the highest phase of the development of the Russian Empire, the period of its greatest power, which needs to be revived. So in Russism we have a bizarre mix of the legacy of the Romanov Empire and the Bolsheviks who destroyed it. However, they were all united by a desire for Russian greatness and a belief in her messianic role in the world.
The contradictions between the components of the ideology of Russism, which may arise from historically opposite sources, are perceived as a whole, because the supporters do not use a rational approach, but only an emotional one. For them, this ideology is an object of religion, a substitute for religious practices.
Another important element that Russism has borrowed from Communism / Bolshevism is social hatred of the rich and successful. It is she who inspires them to commit crimes in the occupied territories. "Who let you live so well?" - they shouted in Bucha, robbing, raping and killing local Ukrainians, not only because they are Ukrainians, but also because they are more successful.
"Your great Russian dream," said one of the Kremlin's enemies, Dzhokhar Dudayev, "is to drag everyone else into shit."
This is what we now call Russism.
This ideology is not just a painful view of the world of millions of people. That turns the current war against Ukraine into genocide. It is an ideology that encourages Russians to shoot not only at Ukrainian soldiers, but also at civilians, to destroy not only our military facilities, but also hospitals and maternity hospitals, museums and books.
But Russism is losing because it has no future, because it is completely turned to the past, trying to bring history back. It requires enormous efforts, it costs great sacrifices to those who come to it, but in the end it will end in the complete collapse of Russia - a country without a future.