Russia’s Unstable Alliance: Risks in Backing Anti-Muslim European Movements

Empowering Weak & Oppressed

Crescent International

Sha'ban 05, 1446 2025-02-04

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

Image Source - AI-ChatGPT

A Russian bank provided Marine Le Pen, France’s anti-Muslim politician, a loan of €9.4 million in 2014.

It would be naïve to assume that such a financial arrangement was not approved, either directly or indirectly, by the Russian government.

Since then, Russia’s support for far-right socio-political movements across Europe has become increasingly overt.

Moscow’s de facto alliance with European far-right parties that advocate for positive relations with Russia is a pragmatic move from a realpolitik perspective.

However, this strategy creates a significant geopolitical contradiction.

Russia is currently engaged in a strategic global standoff with US imperialism—a conflict that transcends mere economic and political dimensions.

This struggle is part of a broader effort to establish Russia as an independent power within a new multipolar global order, free from western hegemony.

This confrontation extends into ideological and cultural realms.

Given that millions of Muslims reside in Russia which shares borders with predominantly Muslim countries, forming strategic and ideological ties with European far-right movements—many of which base their entire political identity on anti-Islamic sentiments—is a precarious approach.

The Russian state has, to some extent, embraced Eurasianist ideology, which emphasizes Russia’s integration with Asia.

By aligning itself with anti-Islamic forces in Europe, Moscow risks making itself vulnerable to internal and external geopolitical adversaries who could exploit these contradictions to foment unrest within Russia and undermine its relations with Muslim-majority countries.

Furthermore, most of Russia’s landmass, along with its vast natural resources, is in Asia.

Aligning with European political groups that harbor hostile attitude towards Muslims reflects a shortsighted strategic calculus.

Nonetheless, it is unlikely that Russia will abandon its association with Europe’s far-right movements, as these parties serve as useful political levers and interlocutors for Moscow.

Russia will likely attempt to balance its relationships between these European allies and its geopolitical ties with the Muslim world.

This balancing act has become even more complicated following the signing of a strategic cooperation pact between Russia and Iran on 17, January 2025.

Unlike weaker states such as Oman or Uzbekistan, whose concerns Moscow can more easily overlook, Iran wields significant regional influence and can exert diplomatic and political pressure on Russia.

One of the major issues is that many far-right European movements are not only anti-Islam but also anti-Iran and pro-zionist, further complicating Russia’s ability to maintain a coherent foreign policy narrative.

Given Russia’s growing economic and political reliance on alternative platforms to circumvent western sanctions, actively siding with anti-Muslim forces risks backfiring.

Iran, now strategically tied to Russia through a formal state treaty, has new leverage to pressure Moscow away from overt alliances with European far-right parties.

Moscow’s association with European fascist movements is not only detrimental to the interests of Muslims but also undermines Russia’s broader standing in the Muslim world.

By pursuing a contradictory approach, Russia risks isolating itself from key partners at a time when global alliances are shifting rapidly.

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