Yeltsin Marks Nazi Invasion by Warning of Fascist Trends

Fascism is on the rise in Russia, President Boris N. Yeltsin warned Monday as he called on Russians to reject totalitarianism as a way of solving their country’s political and economic problems.

Using the occasion of the 57th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of the former Soviet Union, Yeltsin decried the growth of skinhead and neo-Nazi groups among young people and said the organizations pose “a big danger for society.”

“Half a century ago, our country saved the world from fascism,” he said in a national radio address. “But it is in Russia today that fascism is rearing its head, befuddling our young people. Teenagers, hypnotized by military symbols, are putting on black uniforms. Again one hears calls for a firm hand and draconian discipline. Some see it as an easy way out of a difficult situation.”

Yeltsin issued his warning the same day a delegation from the International Monetary Fund was scheduled to arrive in Moscow to discuss Russia’s request for a bail-out package of as much as $15 billion to stave off economic collapse.

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In recent months, there has been an increase in assaults on Jewish institutions and people of Asian and African descent. Young people belonging to the neo-Nazi group Russian National Unity have staged marches in the street, raising their arms in the classic Nazi salute.

In May, a powerful bomb ripped a hole in the brick wall of a Moscow synagogue moments after a dozen people had left the building. Earlier, skinheads attacked an African American at a public market and beat him unconscious--apparently not realizing he was a U.S. Marine stationed at the American Embassy.

“In Germany, everything began with a search for an enemy, an enemy in the form of people of a different nationality, with a different color of skin, people who profess a different creed,” Yeltsin said. “Using as a cover lofty words about the revival of Russia and its national spirit, a search is on again for an enemy to humiliate, herd into prisons and execute.”

In a country that lost more than 20 million people fighting fascism in World War II, the growing acceptance of fascist ideology is especially disturbing to many Russians.

Yeltsin’s remarks seemed to be aimed as much at the West as his own people as the Russian government seeks massive foreign aid.

Facing an economic crisis prompted by the Asian financial collapse and the sudden drop in world oil prices, Russia has been beset by protests over unpaid wages.

The Communist Party, which continues to have the support of about 30% of the population, continues to agitate for Yeltsin’s ouster.

The government is scheduled today to consider the adoption of an “anti-crisis” program that will include budget cuts and austerity measures--steps that will be needed to satisfy the IMF that Russia can meet the obligations of a new loan package.

Yeltsin, who visited Russia’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin in honor of the anniversary, made no reference to Russia’s own communist, totalitarian past in his address.

“I am alarmed that the reality of the danger of extremism in Russia is not being felt by all,” he said. “Is it possible that Russians will allow the most terrible ideology ever known by mankind to strike root in our land?”