Paul Goble
Staunton, June 25 – Neo-Stalinism and political Islam might seem unlikely bedfellows, Sergey Ivaneyev says; but increasingly in the Russian Federation, they are in a symbiotic relationship, with each taking ideas from the other and helping them both to expand.
The president of an NGO that promotes secularism and a member of the expert council of the Duma Committee on Civil Society says that two events highlight this danger: the KPRF’s denunciation of the anti-Stalin campaign and the Russian government’s recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate government (ng.ru/ng_religii/2026-06-25/7_9524_symbiosis.html).
Each of these developments and others as well have allowed neo-Stalinists and followers of political Islam to become allies, although few in either camp talks much about that. Instead, both talk about historical justice, the first in what they see as political justice and the second in what they believe is the requirement of their religious faith.
According to Ivaneyev, the “symbiotic” relationship between the two is growing and will make the fight against both more difficult. Indeed, this unspoken alliance is pushing Russia ever further away from its commitments to secularism, humanism and genuine social justice.
Combatting this phenomenon will be difficult; but the obvious first step is to recognize that it is a problem rather than acting as if those who favor Stalinism and those who support Taliban-style rule have nothing in common. They are far closer together than many Russians now imagine.
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