You have to take the scale and military power of it into consideration, as well as the all encompassing place it has in society. It is also very aggressive from the very top, and aims to indoctrinate and/or subjugate the majority of its neighbors and its own people. It allows next to no dissenting voices, and worries little about their soldiers looting or raping their way forward.BurtReynolds wrote:There is nothing particularly interesting or unique about Russian nationalism. You have no idea what I'm talking about.
The most natural comparison in modern times is China. Another large military power, a financial powerhouse, ruled by their Communist party, they have certainly killed their fair share of journalists and opposing thinkers. They have also shown militarily that they mean business. China is a dictatorship, while Russia has a failed democracy, after a long history of dictatorship. But China’s nationalism (and patriotism) is far more split, and ultimately far less aggressive to their neighbors. And we could probably write a few thousand words more about the differences between China and Russia, both in general, bur also how they are ruled today.
