Authors

Discussion

In this talk, I will argue that under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia has undergone a profound transformation into a modern fascist state. This process, driven by Putin and his siloviki allies, is conceived as a revolutionary rebirth—a palingenetic project to restore “Great Russia” through a violent war against Ukraine and the “collective West.” I will show how this transformation permeates every sphere of Russian life: from online propaganda and education to law, ideology, and state policy.

Drawing on the framework developed in Russia and Modern Fascism (2025, co-edited with Ian Garner) and Russia's War on Ukraine: The Four Roots of Putin's Invasion (2025, co-authored with Michal Wawrzonek), I will situate Russia’s imperial nationalism—an intertwining of imperialism and ethnic nationalism—within the broader theoretical category of palingenetic ultranationalism. Through the cult of war and narratives of civilizational cleansing, the Kremlin presents violence as both redemptive and regenerative: a means of destroying “Nazi” Ukrainian identity and reabsorbing Ukrainians into an imagined Russian whole.

I will trace this trajectory from Putin’s early wars in Chechnya and Georgia to the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, arguing that these acts form part of a coherent fascist project. Ultimately, I contend that contemporary Russia must be understood as a fascist state that views perpetual war as the path to rejuvenation, purification, and the rebirth of a mythic Great Russia.