Nasty, Repressive, Aggressive -- Yes. But Is Russia Fascist? Experts Say 'No.'

Among the characteristics Putin's Russia manifests that mirror fascism are historical revanchism and the embrace of hypermasculine authority -- "the macho cult of Putin" -- said Maria Snegovaya, a postdoctoral fellow in political science at Virginia Tech and a visiting scholar at George Washington University's Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies.

In addition, like Adolf Hitler's Germany, Snegovaya said, Russia has experienced a version of "Weimar syndrome," a shorthand term for the sense of dislocation, isolation, and loss of status that Germany experienced after World War I and that Russia endured following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The further development of both countries was driven in part by the ability of leaders to manipulate a powerful mixture of anxiety, nostalgia, and resentment.

"Anti-Westernism and revanchism have become more pronounced" over the last five years, Snegovaya said, and these ideas are "much more consistently promoted by the state" in the media, cultural affairs, and the schools.

Read the full article and more from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.