Authors

Zbynek Vydra¹;  ¹ University of Pardubice, Czech Republic

Discussion

The radical right represented a significant political force in Russia before 1914. Ideologically, it was based on the official doctrine of "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality" and defended the principles of monarchism. One of the basic features of the radical right was strong anti-Semitism. The radical right was based on traditional Russian conservatism, but at the same time, it carried elements of radical populism. Its great weakness was intense factionalism. By the time of the 1917 revolution, it no longer existed as an effective political force capable or willing to face the revolution and defend the monarchy. After the revolution and civil war, many representatives of the pre-revolutionary right ended up in exile, where they continued their political activities. The paper mainly deals with the question of the search for a new identity for the radical right in exile. The main questions are: to what extent continuity existed with pre-revolutionary ideology and practice; to what extent the right has innovated its program and worldview in the context of contemporary phenomena (e.g. the global rise of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s), and concerning the generational change in the ranks of Russian exile politics. The paper examines the question of continuity and discontinuity on the example of three main wings of the radical right: monarchists, fascists and the so-called Young Russians (Mladorossy).