Russophilia

Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th century, Russophilia was often linked to variants of pan-Slavism, since the Russian Empire and the autonomous Serbia were the only two Slav-associated sovereign states during and after Spring of Nations.
Russophilia in Europe
Russophilia in Serbia
Russia is popular in Serbia, and many Serbs have traditionally seen Russia as a close ally due to shared Slavic heritage, culture, and Orthodox faith. According to the European Council on Foreign Relations, 54% of Serbians see Russia as an ally. In comparison, 11% see the European Union as an ally, and only 6% see the United States in the same manner.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, People's Patrol, a far-right group, organized pro-Russian rallies in Belgrade, which were attended by 4,000 people.
The inhabitants of the Serbian village of Adžinci renamed their village Putinovo in honor of Vladimir Putin.
Russophilia in Ukraine
Following Ukrainian independence in 1991, in the 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum 92% (including 55% of ethnic Russians) voted for independence from Moscow, but some Ukrainians, mostly in the east and south of the country, voted to see a more Russophile attitude of the government, ranging from closer economic partnership to full national union. Russia and Ukraine had especially close economic ties, and the Russophilic political party, the Party of Regions, became the largest party in the Verkhovna Rada in the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election, receiving 33% of the votes. It would remain a dominant force in Ukrainian politics, until the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Following the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the overall attitude of Ukrainians towards Russia and Russians has become much more negative, with most Ukrainians favoring NATO and European Union membership.
A survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in 2016 found that 67% of Ukrainians had a positive attitude to Russians, but that only 8% had a positive attitude to the Russian government.
41% of Ukrainians had a "good" attitude towards Russians (42% negatively), while in general 54% of Russians had a positive attitude towards Ukraine, according to an October 2021 poll of the country's population.
Russophilia in Finland
The Communist movement in Finland during the Cold War inclined towards pro-Soviet tendencies, of which the Taistoist movement was especially pro-Soviet.
The Finnish political party "Power Belongs to the People" is unique in its strong support of Russia, being the only pro-Russian party in Finland as of 2022. It protested against sanctions to Russia and supported the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Finnish political activist "Johan Bäckman" is known for pro-Russian views and has recruited Finns to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine. Bäckman later joined the party "Power Belongs to the People" lead by Ano Turtiainen. However, a few members of the Finns Party have had pro-Russian views.
Russophilia in Germany
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche described Russia as "the only power that has durability in it, which can wait, which can still produce something...the antithesis of that pitiable European petty-state politics and nervousness, with which the foundation of the German Reich has entered its crucial phase..." in his 1895 book The Antichrist
Russophilia in Asia
Russophilia in Vietnam
Favorable perceptions of Russia in Vietnam have 83% of Vietnamese people viewing Russia's influence positively in 2017. This stems from the former Soviet Union support of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Russophilia in Iran
According to a December 2018 survey by IranPoll, 63.8% of Iranians have a favorable view of Russia.
Russophilia in Indonesia
Support for Russia remains high among Indonesians as they found animosity towards the West and support for Russia owing to Moscow's perceived ties with Muslims and the Islamic world. The US and its allies also invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, and perceive neglectful treatment towards Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories Palestinian territories occupied by Israeli forces.
Even this movement that compare Indonesian to support Vladimir Putin to fight against Ukraine to supporting Suharto for fight against East Timor during invasion in 1975. Besides, there are also plenty of left-wing figures in Indonesia who supports Vladimir Putin due to admiration of late Sukarno's past closeness with the Soviet Union. These figures mostly come from governing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle led by Sukarno's daughter Megawati Sukarnoputri who openly criticized Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russophilia in the Americas
Russophilia in the United States
According to the Marly Rusoff Literary Agency, American author Robert Alexander wrote: "I love Russians for their dramatic, emotional nature. They're not afraid to love, not afraid to get hurt, not afraid to exaggerate or act impulsively."
See also
All-Russian nation
Eurasian Economic Union
Eurasianism
Euroscepticism
List of pro-Russian political parties
Nostalgia for the Soviet Union
Putinism
Russian avos'
Russian nationalism
Russification
Slavophilia
Union State
References
Orest Subtelny. Ukraine. A history. University of Toronto Press. 1994. .
External links
Culture of Russia
Foreign relations of Russia
Admiration of foreign cultures