Ruscism
Term describing Russian political ideology / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ruscism, also Rashism or sometimes Russism, (Ukrainian: рашизм, romanized: rashyzm; Russian: русизм, romanized: rusizm) (or Russian fascism)[lower-alpha 1] is a derogatory term used by a number of scholars, politicians and publicists[3][4] to describe the political ideology and the social practices of the Russian state in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, especially during the rule of Vladimir Putin. It is also used in reference to the ideology of Russian military expansionism,[5][6][1][7] and has been used as a label to describe an undemocratic system and nationality cult mixed with ultranationalism and a cult of personality.[8][9] That transformation was described as based on the ideas of the "special civilizational mission" of the Russians, such as Moscow as the third Rome and expansionism,[10][11][12] which manifests itself in anti-Westernism and supports regaining former lands by conquest.[13][14][15] Ukrainian officials and media often use 'Rashist' to broadly refer to members and backers of the Russian Armed Forces.[16][17]
The term's current usage originated in 1995 during the First Chechen War, but it became more prevalent after the Russo-Georgian and Russo-Ukrainian wars, and especially during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.