To Russia, With Love

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Since Putin first established himself as “defending traditional values” at the start of his third presidential turn in 2012, a growing array of right-wing groups within the United States have looked to Russia as an ally in their war against the disastrous moral excesses of liberalism. Pat Buchanan, a thrice-failed presidential candidate, lauded the Russian leader in 2013 for “seeing the future with more clarity than Americans still caught in a Cold War paradigm.” Numerous prominent anti-LGBTQ+ organizations, including the World Congress of Families and the Alliance Defending Freedom, have turned to Russia in search of compatriots and allies. Even prior to Putin’s conservative pivot [politicalresearch.org], Holocaust deniers, white supremacists, and other members of the U.S. radical right have linked arms with Russian nationalists, including Dugin.”

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