Russian-speaking population in the rhetoric of the right-wing populists of the FRG

Abstract

Migration processes in the modern world are widespread. Socially and economically developed countries, like Germany, are objects of attraction for refugees and migrants from all over the world. Unsurprisingly, this phenomenon brings about the growth of right-wing or protest ideas in these countries. Not all residents are ready to seek common ground and share material goods with representatives of foreign cultures, which results in unusual unions. Thus, Russian-speaking migrants in the FRG support the young right-wing populist Alternative for Germany, mainly characterised as antiMuslim. The involvement of the former USSR immigrants in the political process to get their support became evident for the first time in German history during the election campaign in 2017. The formation of the Russian-speaking population in the FRG, its political views and preferences are in the centre of attention. Economic and cultural motives of Russian migration in the 1980s and the 2000s as well as problems of their integration served as the basis for the protest electorate. Although the Russianspeaking population in Germany cannot have a decisive influence on the elections due to its number and political inactivity, it is becoming an instrument for obtaining additional mandates for representatives of the protest party. It is worth paying tribute to The Alternative for Germany, which focused on Russianness in its work with the poorly integrated part of the Russian Germans: language, mixed culture and lifestyle, which, together with other points of contact between the right-winged and migrants gave a positive effect.