radical nationalists: true till death?least with suspicion – to the use of force in politics. And radical
nationalists are less skilled in applying other methods.
Third, people prefer to trust the government or the organ-
isations mandated by them to deal with the struggle against
‘illegal migration’, as with any other problem – and not ‘amateur’
groups, least of all groups in opposition to the government. For
all the criticism of the authorities, the Russian public still relies on
them. Of course, this third factor is not a perennial fixture; argu-
ably, neither is the second. Moreover, changes can happen fairly
swiftly, and they are always unexpected, so hope yet remains for
the radical nationalist leaders.
Concluding remarks: The ‘Ukrainian question’ and the
future of the radical nationalists
Considering the situation as of 2014, it seems highly likely that
the attention of radical nationalists – like that of any politically
active Russian citizen – has been focused the whole time on what
is happening in Ukraine. Beginning with the confrontation on
Hrushevskiy Street, Ukrainian events evoked nationalist hopes
of a ‘white revolution’ in Russia: Maidan could be interpreted as
a positive example, especially if the role of the Right Sector was
exaggerated. Since then it has become clear that relations between
the new authorities in Kyiv and the Ukrainian ultra- right still face
many twists and turns. It is too early to say what will be made of
all this in the Russian ultra- right camp.
The move from a phase of conflict involving opposition to the
authorities to a phase of conflict along lines that may be inter-
preted as ‘Ukrainian- Russian’ in the Ukrainian crisis presented
Russian nationalists with a serious dilemma. If the opposition
sector of nationalists steadfastly supported Maidan, very serious
disagreement was bound to arise. Here I will not even attempt to
outline this debate (see Al’perovich 2014), but will focus briefly
on the division among radical nationalists.
The ‘Russian Spring’ – the annexation of Crimea and the mili-
tary actions against Kyiv taken in the Donbas region – garnered
support from organisations such as the Russian All- National
Union, Russian Imperial Movement, National- socialist Initiative