The Essence of the Phenomenon
Nashism is a form of collective narcissism. A typical trait of nashism is religiously fanatical support for the vozhd, the leader, the führer. Nashists believe that it is precisely their movement that should shape the country's leaders, so that these leaders help advance new members of their movement. In this sense, the nashist movement is also a form of collective protectionism.
The term "nashism" is usually applied to post-Soviet Russia and to countries that were once part of the USSR, although the name conveys the essence of such a movement well and can also be applied to analogous phenomena in other countries and eras.
History of the Term
Initially, the word "nashi" ("ours") was used as a provisional term to designate a new youth movement for promoting the policies of Vladimir Putin.
Supporters of this party called one another "Nashi" ("Ours"). They had no need to choose any political platform that might have given the party a more substantive name. Because the original name consisted of a single pronoun, using it required either putting it in quotation marks (which creates difficulties when citing it) or adding the suffix "-izm" to it. The term "nashizm" proved successful: the word resembles the words "natsizm" ("Nazism") and "fashizm" — "fasizm", "fashizm", fascism, "fascism", "fascismo" — words known since the previous century and denoting similar phenomena; and the English calques "us-izm" and "us-ism" likewise sound similar to the analogous terms "racism" and "racizm".
A factor behind the emergence and spread of nashism is the presence of an economic crisis in the country, one that causes or exacerbates a crisis in the social and political sphere as well.
Application
Nashism is used to seize power in a country or to hold on to power during a time of crisis. Nashism imitates popular support for unconstitutional, anti-state, KGB-style methods of governing society. The leaders of nashist movements are suspected of banditry and terrorism.
Characteristic manifestations of nashism are mass demonstrations and marches accompanied by violence or threats of violence against the rest of the population — those who are "not ours" in the sense that they are not nashists and do not support nashism. Nashism often finds support among the younger members of society who lack advanced professional qualifications.
Interesting Facts
- Besides fanatical support for their führer, a characteristic trait of nashism is the readiness to sacrifice legality, human rights, and universal human values for the sake of the triumph of the patriotic idea, which is proclaimed in a theatrical, quasi-mystical spirit.
- Nashists usually do not consider themselves fascists; they accuse their opponents of fascism and consider themselves anti-fascists and democrats.
- Nashist events tend toward buffoonery, are costly, and amount to self-parody — factors that limit the spread of the movement.