Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia's Fascist Youth

Summary

How did Vladimir Putin galvanize the Russian people to back his genocidal war in Ukraine, and why are so many of them willing to embrace fascism? This vivid, on-the-ground narrative reveals how Russia's fascist generation came into being—and the dark future that awaits the country if that hold cannot be broken.

Wartime Russia is drowning in fascist symbols. Zealous patriots attack journalists, opposition activists, and anyone suspected of betraying the motherland. Russians are urged to join the cause by hordes of online trolls and sleek videos of angry young men bellowing patriotic slogans. State television terrifies viewers with trumped up tales of anti-Russian conspiracies and genocidal yearnings. Child soldiers proudly parade across Red Square. This is Russia in the 2020s: a land of performative rage and nationalist untruth, where play-acting, pretense, and broken promises are a way of life. But in a world where pretense has become the norm, a terrifying, apocalyptic mindset is seizing the Russians of tomorrow.

As enrapturing as it is terrifying, Z Generation reveals how Russia ended up where it is today, and where its young people are headed: a fascist generation more zealous, violent, and ideological than anything the country has seen before.