Ruscism

Ruscism ( RUSH-iz-əm), sometimes Rashism or Russism (and also referred to as Russian fascism), is a pejorative portmanteau and neologism used to describe the political ideology, social practices, and aggressive foreign policy of Russia under Vladimir Putin, characterizing the regime as neo-fascist. It combines Russian ultranationalism, neo-imperial expansionism, militarism, the doctrine of the "Russian world", state propaganda and a cult of personality around Putin. Originally popularized in 1995 during the First Chechen War by Dzhokhar Dudayev, the term gained widespread international currency during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to its designation as Russia's state ideology by the Ukrainian parliament and its formal condemnation by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in 2023. The term is a subject of scholarly debate. While scholars such as Timothy D. Snyder and Vladislav Inozemtsev argue that modern Russia meets the criteria of a fascist state, others such as Stanley G. Payne and Roger Griffin characterize it as an aggressive, conservative autocracy or mafia state. The Russian government rejects the term, and state censor Roskomnadzor has ordered internet platforms to censor it.