The Verkhona Rada, Ukraine's parliament, adopted a resolution on May 2 defining Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's regime as "rascism," also known as "rashism" or "ruscism," a contraction of "Russian fascism."
According to the resolution, Russia's war in Ukraine exposed the "real essence" of Putin's regime, a "neo-imperial, totalitarian dictatorship that imitates the worst practices of the past and embodies the ideas of fascism and national socialism in the modern version of Russian fascism."
The term, first used during the First Chechen War in 1995, reappeared after the invasion of Georgia and during Russia's war against Ukraine.
It refers to Russia's expansionist fascist political regime, mixed with ultranationalism and a cult of personality centered around Putin.
The resolution aims at encouraging "the condemnation by the world states of modern Russia's policies, which lead to "war crimes and the genocide of the Ukrainian people," according to the explanatory note.
The Kyiv Independent
(Updated: )
