The lecture discusses relations between various Russian actors (activists, politicians, organizations, media, officials, etc.) and the Western far right.
It provides a historical perspective, discussing the pro-Soviet or pro-Russian views of particular Western far-right activists, but its major focus is contemporary Russia. As Moscow has become more anti-Western, contacts with the Western far right have become more intense and have operated at a high level.
This lecture illustrates how the Russian establishment was first interested in using the Western far right to legitimize Moscow’s politics and actions both domestically and internationally, but more recently Moscow has begun to support particular far right political forces to gain leverage over European politics and undermine the liberal-democratic consensus in the West.