Mythical Nazification of Ukraine
Chris Hermann (Letters, Aug 3) is disturbed that I referred in my article on Crimea (3 August) to Russian propaganda banging on about “mythical Nazis in Kyiv”.
It seems I must spell out that I was referring to Russian claims about neo-Nazis permeating/influencing the government in Kyiv, not claiming that they don’t exist in Ukraine, as in most countries. But his claim that Nazis have amassed a great deal of power in Kiev/Kyiv has not only not been “established beyond reasonable doubt”, it is utter hogwash.
He may not believe me but he could listen to an actual Ukrainian, e.g. Taras Bilous, editor and activist of the left-wing Social Movement: https://anticapitalistresistance.org/the-far-right-in-ukraine-an-interview-with-taras-bilous/, or Ivan Gomza https://krytyka.com/en/articles/too-much-ado-about-ukrainian-nationalists-the-azov-movement-and-the-war-in-ukraine.
As a number of scholars have pointed out, Russian rhetoric about “denazification” has taken on a genocidal quality as a justification for eliminating any Ukrainian who resists invasion and occupation.
We should note that in the 2019 Parliamentary elections only one deputy was elected from the most prominent far right party, Svoboda, getting only 2% of the vote, far less than similar parties in Germany, France or Italy.
In 30 years of independence the radical right’s support has rarely exceeded 3%.
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