#chechen wars

My (in fact, not only mine) theory: look for the origins of Russian fascism in the reign of Boris Yeltsin. Claiming that everything started with Putin is too superficial, and to say that “Russians have imperialism in their blood” is a determinism that explains nothing. Now articles and reflections about the Chechen war have begun to appear more often, but not about Yeltsin’s two presidential terms. But in vain!

• Revanchism and hatred of the West are directly related to neo-liberal reforms - the very same “shock therapy”. Neo-liberal reforms were designed not only by guys like Yegor Gaidar and Anatoly Chubais, but also by Western economists like Jeffrey Sachs. The Russian market was filled with Western goods - in times of mass unemployment, hyperinflation and banditry. The US and Western Europe got on very well with Russia. All this created fertile ground for the growth of feelings of resentment and the mood “Russia was handed over to the West for McDonald’s.” And yes, although Putin constantly contrasted his policies with the 90s, he is a direct consequence of Yeltsin’s rule! Why? Because:
• Anti-democracy. “Putinism” won in 1993 during the shooting of the White House, when the Yeltsin administration didn’t want to compromise with the Congress of People’s Deputies and the Supreme Council. Btw, the problem also concerned “shock therapy”, which was opposed by the deputies, but Yeltsin’s officials wanted to continue it. “Putinism” also won in 1996, when a some oligarchs backed Yeltsin for fear of losing illegally privatized property. Finally, “Putinism” won during the election of Putin himself, when he was chosen as “successor” by Yeltsin’s daughter and her husband, as well as by the oligarch Boris Berezovsky. Putin seemed to be the most loyal to Yeltsin and also the guarantor of the preservation of the oligarchy.
• Tolerance for violence. Of course, the Chechen wars played a major role here. Although, tbh, the Chechen separatists led by Dzhokhar Dudayev weren’t “good guys” (however many people now think so), the federal government had the opportunity to resolve the conflict peacefully. But the Yeltsin administration was a supporter of the deployment of regular troops into Chechnya (read - the destruction of the city of Grozny, the flow of Chechen refugees, war crimes against the civilian population). Now, during the invasion of Ukraine, we see many episodes of cruelty that were in the Chechen wars: attempts to “take” the city by carpet bombing, shooting objects (cars, houses) with the inscriptions “children” and “people live here”, etc.