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Freedom House

Putin’s Foreign Admirers

“Putin decides what he wants to do, and he does it in half a day, right? He decided he had to go to their parliament—he went to their parliament, he got permission in 15 minutes.... He makes a decision and he executes it, quickly. Then everybody reacts. That’s what you call a leader.”
—Rudolph Giuliani, former New York City mayor

“In my opinion, Putin is right on these issues.... Obviously, he may be wrong about many things, but he has taken a stand to protect his nation’s children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda.”
—Franklin Graham, American Christian evangelist

“Putin is certainly a pure democrat, but with an authoritarian style. Russia is a great state. The president has been endowed with great power by the constitution.... Putin tries to keep Russian interests from his perspective.”
—Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of Freedom Party of Austria

“As an operator, but not as a human being, I would say Putin [is the most admirable world leader]. The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant.”
—Nigel Farage, former leader of UK Independence Party

“I admire his cool head. Because there is a cold war being waged against him by the EU at the behest of the United States, which is defending its own interests. I admire that he has managed to restore pride and contentment to a great nation that had been humiliated and persecuted for 70 years.”
—Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Front

“Between Putin and [Italian prime minister Matteo] Renzi I will always choose Putin. I wish Putin tomorrow morning became chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy.... Punishment against Russia [through sanctions] is a stupid measure, which will cost us 5 billion euros. If there is a part of Ukraine, which wants to be Russia, I don’t see why not.”
—Matteo Salvini, national secretary of Italy’s Northern League

parties supported Russian interests on a select group of issues. The most reliable pro-Russian party was Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom, followed by France’s National Front, Italy’s Northern League, the Swedish Democrats, and UKIP.10

Putin and other Kremlin officials speak of Russia as a successful example of interreligious harmony, boast of government policies to ensure fair treatment for Russia’s large Muslim population, and denounce those who brought down Yanukovych’s government in Ukraine as fascists and pogromists. Yet when it comes to potential allies in Europe, it makes no difference to the Kremlin whether a party has views that are racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, or even openly fascist. Russia welcomes the support of parties like Jobbik, with its history of anti-Semitism and contempt for Hungary’s Romany population, and has no qualms about right-wing parties that speak of Muslims as criminals and rapists.

For Russia, the payoff from this strategy is a network of parties that identify with the Kremlin’s hatred of liberal values, support Russia on critical foreign policy issues, and praise Putin as a strong leader. While some of these parties are still marginal forces in domestic politics, a growing number are regarded as legitimate contenders, especially since an uncontrolled influx of refugees and an increase in terrorist attacks dented public trust in mainstream parties. Even if Russia remains unpopular in most European countries, the fact that increasingly influential political figures laud Putin for his energy, decisiveness, and eagerness to challenge liberal orthodoxies is regarded as a gain for Moscow. As these parties acquire a share of governing power in EU states, the prospects for a recognition of the Crimea annexation and the abandonment of economic sanctions improve significantly.

The benefit for European far-right parties is less clear. Though they claim to be champions of national sov-

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