Putin’s Nazism through a psychoanalytic lens

On 14 October the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, together with the Association of Ukrainian Organisations in Estonia, will present in Tallinn an in-depth report on Putin’s Nazism, or so-called “rashism”. The presentation will take place at 12:00 in the conference hall of the Park Inn by Radisson Meriton Conference & Spa Hotel Tallinn. 

Putin’s Nazism is essentially sadism, as proven both by researchers and by life itself. Yet even in the eighth month of the full-scale war with Russia and at the stage of nuclear blackmail, there are people and countries that cling to their illusions and believe that dialogue with the Russians is possible in the usual sense. 

This is not only a matter of depoliticisation and personal gain, but also of psychological factors such as fear, inertia, guilt and so on. Some look at Putin’s henchmen through the prism of their own psyche, try to find rational reasons and, failing each time, fall into paranoid delusion, despair and then, even worse, “Stockholm syndrome”. The other extreme is the view that Russians cannot be understood because they lie all the time. But it is quite the opposite: Putin’s officials constantly talk about themselves – they are simply unable to talk about anything else; one only needs to listen to them properly. 

The author of the report, psychoanalyst and Candidate of Historical Sciences of Ukraine Nataliia Davydova, analysing statements by speakers at various levels that belong to the discourse of Putin’s propaganda, has drawn the following conclusions, which she presents in the report:

1. Putin’s Nazism is sadism; the sadist’s thinking is perverse (fetishistic) and archaic. 
2. Russian society is chronically traumatised; Russians have split into shifting groups: sadist-aggressors, accomplices and victims.
3. The “Russian world” is a unique platform for the free expression of violence and a rhetorical territory for those who keep silent about trauma. 
4. Putin’s propaganda and the Russian psychic apparatus perform the same functions: they protect him from encountering reality.

In addition, the report will address:

1. Do Russians (in the sense of “russkiye”) exist?
2. What is Putin’s inner circle afraid of?
3. Why does the Russian army terrorise civilians, why do Russians love sadistic tyrants and how did the post-traumatic Russian syndrome take shape?
4. Can anything be done about this at all, or are the Russians doomed? 

Ignoring and indulging the threat of Putin’s regime has already cost humanity dearly: humanity now faces the threat of nuclear war. The sooner everyone opens their eyes and parts with illusions and temptations, the greater our chances of preserving peace and returning to our former life – a life in which the most frightening prospect was a new COVID lockdown, not a struggle for food and fuel under the dark sky of a global nuclear night.   

We invite everyone interested to attend the presentation, including journalists and media representatives, politicians, experts, opinion leaders, public figures and ordinary citizens. 

To take part, please register via the Google form or confirm your attendance by phone: +37254597507