Three Kinds of Patriotism Competing in Russia, St. Petersburg Commentator Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, August 21 – In every country, citizens give varying content to patriotism, Dmitry Milin says; but in the Russian Federation, the situation is more complicated because at least at present, there are three competing Russian “patriotisms, the ‘feudal,’ the ‘ideological,’ and ‘the national.’”

            In a comment for Rosbalt, the St. Petersburg publicist offers a definition of each.  The “feudal” variant is one whose roots are “in the middle ages in feudal and pre-national states. This is loyalty to ‘the sovereign’ be he kind, tsar, or feudal. People who have this kind of patriotism understand it as loyalty to Putin or their boss” (rosbalt.ru/posts/2018/08/20/1726070.html).

                “Ideological” patriotism in contrast, Milin continues, “is an inheritance of the Soviet state where patriotism involved loyalty to the ideas of ‘Marxism-Leninism’ as they were defined at any particular time.” Now “patriots of the USSR and people of leftist views call ’patriots’” those who reject the views of people on the right and especially liberal ones.”

            Only the third kind, “national” is “genuine patriotism” of the type which arose after the French Revolution “when people recognized themselves not as subjects of the king or the tsar and not as supporters of one or another ideology but as citizens of their own country.” Only these people are loyal to the current Russian Federation rather than to a new tsar or the old USSR.