National Bolshevism: ideology and the basic principle

National Bolshevism is a radical political movement whose philosophy is based on the consensus of extreme left and extreme right-wing views. So far, no single definition and concept of this political thought has been worked out. Different ideologists in their own way looked at the movement and had their own ideas. National Bolshevism was extremely popular in Germany in the interwar period and in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Origin

Throughout the history of its existence, the National Bolsheviks (National Bolsheviks) failed to create an influential political movement. Therefore, it is rather difficult to trace the history of the emergence of this political paradigm.

It is believed that for the first time such views were voiced in 1919. At that time, Europe was grabbed by a serious political crisis. Political ideas, once considered utopian, were realized through coups and revolutions. At that time, two new trends were extremely popular: communism and "neo-nationalism." Both camps were oppositional to each other. However, some thinkers found similarities in these seemingly opposites.

Revolutionary movement

In many respects, National Bolshevism owes its appearance to the victory of the revolution in Russia. The Communists who came to power stood on the positions of internationalism. However, some leaders believed that it is possible to build a socialist society in the future of communism, based on the ethnic traditions of peoples. Such views were very popular in Germany.

Torn apart by civil unrest, the country that has just lost the war has plunged into the abyss of the crisis. The Weimar Republic was in total international isolation. The press and officials of the European powers used terms such as "the most despised nation in Europe" and so on against the Germans. This contributed to the growth of nationalism and a strong concept of unity among the Germans themselves. In addition, in the international isolation there was another country, Soviet Russia. Communists categorically did not accept humiliation on the basis of nationality and achieved significant success in the reforms of the social life of the population. The Berlin professor Paul Eltsbacher is developing the concept of a union of a new Germany with Soviet Russia.

Union Concept

First of all, the concept of unification of Russia and Germany, which was considered by national-Bolshevism, was a geopolitical background. Two countries occupied the most important places in the political life of Europe and the whole continent. The United States did not at that time have the same influence on the Old World as it did after the Second World War. Therefore, it was suggested that the alliance between Germany and Russia would control the whole world. The National Bolsheviks proposed the creation of a new political platform on the basis of the Bolshevik revolution, but with the preservation of national traditions and the use of ethnic identity as the engine of the revolution.

Anti-capitalism

The ideology of national Bolshevism is based on the radical rejection of capitalism. All theorists recognized the existence of class war. In this sphere, the paradigm almost completely copies the views expressed by the Communists. In accordance with theory, it is believed that the whole world is divided into oppressors and oppressed. But if the left see the capitalist system only as a method of economic exploitation, then the National Bolsheviks consider the problem also from the "right" side. They believe that the capitalist way of life not only excludes equal rights to the goods produced, but also leads to the degradation of the masses. The immorality of capitalism was actively used by the National Bolsheviks in its agitation, as, indeed, the Communists.

German look

Friedrich Lenz created the organization Der Der Vorkampfer. National Bolshevism acquires the first political party. Many researchers tend to attribute the Strasser brothers to the national Bolsheviks. Opponents of Hitler inside the National Socialist Party rejected the pathological racism of their Fuhrer and believed that the main efforts should go to fight the class enemy. The National Bolsheviks advocated the complete nationalization of all private ownership of the means of production. At the same time, it was proposed to introduce strict state administration of all sectors of the economy. In this regard, the National Bolsheviks were inspired by the successes of Stalin's forced industrialization.

The economy was presented as planned with a clear distribution of labor. Hans Ebeling wrote several significant works on collective farm planning. The planned approach was extremely popular among the left-wing Western Europe. Industrial aesthetics was one of the identification signs of a new nationalism and communism.

National identity

The basic principle of national-Bolshevism presupposed the national traditions of various peoples as the engine of the revolution. The national policy was presented as rather conservative and traditionalist. Many theorists believed that only the solidarity of the people on the basis of ethnic identity will help build a new society. The attitude to religion was different. National Bolsheviks first and especially the second wave were not religious. They believed that religion was only a manifestation of national self-awareness, so they did not oppose it as radically as the Communists in Russia did.

In the post-Soviet period, the political work that David Brandenberger wrote became very popular. National-Bolshevism, in his opinion, originated in the Stalin era. The researcher gave examples of changes in the Soviet system of values on the eve of World War II. Soviet agitation began to appeal to national Russocentric motives and the people's heroes of the past. This was done in the framework of the mobilization of the population before the coming war. Some figures of tsarist Russia were rehabilitated: Nevsky, Kutuzov, Rasputin and others. Such motives are extremely effective. Many political forces now use them.

National Bolshevism in Russia

The first national nazbols appeared among Russian emigres. After the establishment of the Soviet regime, some dissidents revised their attitude towards communism because of the successes of the new regime. The ideas of combining the views of the "white" emigrants and the Red Bolsheviks were expressed. Some people even wrote scientific works and sent them to Moscow. The National Bolsheviks believed that the replacement of internationalism and cosmopolitanism with traditionalism and primordial nationalism would speed up the permanent revolution.

Modernity

Many modern national Bolsheviks idealize the Stalin era of the USSR, considering it an example of the national-Bolshevik system. This is largely due to the appeal of Soviet propaganda to national traditions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first National Bolshevik Party appeared in Russia. Its leader was Eduard Limonov. Along with him at the head stood the philosopher Dugin and singer Yegor Letov. NBP was remembered by a number of quite high-profile actions of direct action in the nineties.

National Bolsheviks seized administrative buildings, ripped off government meetings, attacked corrupt officials. The movement was criticized both left and right. National-Bolshevism and Trotskyism were always in stiff opposition to each other, despite the similarity of ideas. Also criticism

Also the National Bolsheviks are criticized "on the right". Liberals and centrists do not take sharp anti-capitalist positions. In the nineties the national-Bolshevik movement took a truly wide scale. Various associations existed in many post-Soviet countries. In Russia, some national Bolsheviks received long terms of imprisonment under rather strange circumstances. After the arrest of the majority of activists, the movement went into decline. At the moment in Russia and the post-Soviet countries there is not a single legal national Bolshevik movement.