ABSTRACT
Russia may be said to inherit fascist traditions, but they are very weak ones by comparison with those of Germany, Italy, or France. Significant fascist tendencies exist within two of the most important institutions of contemporary Russia-namely, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). A certain fascist potential exists in Russia's neo-pagan movement, in the Cossack revival movement, and in some of the many sub cultures to be found among Russian youth. The left-fascist ideology of the National-Bolshevik Party (NBP) enables it to take advantage of both social and ethnic discontent. Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) is now in rapid decline, but for the time being it remains the second largest mass party in the country. However, the Russian National Unity (RNU) was plagued by poor leadership, lacked broad public support in the country as a whole.
