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October 30, 2023

How Accusations of Russophobia Devolve into Complaints about Jews

“When all else fails, one can usually unite Russians against Jewish influence.”

In the past several years, defenders of Vladimir Putin’s regime—both inside and outside of Russia—have made a habit of accusing critics of Russophobia. Gary Saul Morson has much to say of interest about the origins and evolution of the term, but particularly interesting to me (and perhaps to you as well) is how closely it dovetails with accusations against Jews. The pattern begins with the 1989 book Russophobia by Igor Shafarevich, which popularized the word:

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