ABSTRACT
Russian nationalism, commonly referred to in the Russian lexicon as “patriotism”, has played an increasingly prominent role in Russian politics and society since the collapse of the USSR. In particular, since the emergence of an official statist-patriotic programme under former President Vladimir Putin in the early 2000s, nationalism has become entrenched as the political lingua franca in contemporary Russia. Nationalist-patriotic language and symbols are now part of nearly all the mainstream political groups and party’s platforms, as well as having long been the domain of most of the more ‘radical/extreme ultranationalist’ groups at the margins of Russia’s political spectrum. Politicians of virtually every persuasion use nationalist-patriotic rhetoric to legitimate their positions; and indeed, as many commentators have noted, all must express their attachment to “Mother Russia”, their patriotism, and commitment towards promoting the nation’s interests in order to have to have any real credibility or influence (Evans 2008; Okara 2007; Laruelle 2009; V. Shlapentokh 2008).
