INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS The Ultra-Right in Russia in 2012 ALEXANDER VERKHOVSKY September 2012 n In the Russian Federation, autonomous neo-nazis and fierce political nationalists are dominating the politically marginalized and radicalized ultra-right scene with its activists belonging to the radical fringe of society. They all are placed outside the existing political institutions and lack access to the system. n Although the extreme right remains a marginal phenomenon in Russian politics up to now, it is a widely held view in Russian society that nationalism is an ideology with a future and will gain more popularity in the years to come. n The development of the ultra-right movement in Russia is currently being restrained by police pressure and repression only, while there is a lack of a real counter-strategy, albeit state-driven or deriving from the civil society.