What would Mussolini/Fascist Italy have thought of a Fascist Russia?

Basically what the title says. This is speculation of course, but what would Mussolini most likely have thought of Fascist Russia, say if Fascist Russia didn't side with the Allies in a hypothetical World War 2? I'm mostly thinking of this being a scenario where Germany becomes communist or remains the Weimar Republic instead of fascist, and where the Whites win the Russian Civil War and the government becomes an authoritarian one focused heavily on revanchism. Would he retain his Slavophobia and think of Fascist Russia as a cheap imitation of his ideology and form of government (I'm also wondering this specifically because I feel like a Fascist Russia could focus a lot on pan-Slavism), or would he be willing to set aside his Slavophobia and differences with Russia in favour of an alliance with a potentially powerful country with which they share ideologies? Or if Italy decides to stay neutral in a World War 2, what would he have thought of Russia "from a distance"? I'm wondering because I've seen some people suggest that such an alliance might occur given this scenario occurs in Russia, but I'm unsure if that'd really be the case. I mean, it may be more possible than an alliance with a Nazi Germany under Hitler, who would still be absolutely against even a Fascist Russia because of his extreme Slavophobia and obsession with Lebensraum, or an alliance with Japan, since Russia and Japan had been mortal enemies for a long time at that point, and I could easily imagine a revanchist Russia wanting revenge for 1905. It should also be worth noting that relations between Italy and the Soviet Union were actually pretty good during the 1930s, and Mussolini was fond of Stalin and once called him a "fascist" as a huge compliment. I can't really find much information regarding this, but what did Mussolini think of Russian Fascists or the Whites during the Russian Civil War? Did he have ties to Russian fascist organisations, like the Russian Fascist Party (which I know was much more about wanting to create Nazism but Russian and that's not necessarily what I'm talking about)? I'm also interested because whenever I see people talk about what would have happened if Russia went fascist and Germany went communist, they sometimes imagine a three-way war between fascism, communism, and democracy, and to that I wonder if Fascist Russia would be alone in this or if an alternate "Axis Powers"-style alliance could be formed with Fascist Russia and some other countries (major powers)? And IF an Italo-Russian alliance did occur, how much of an impact does this make?
 
Last edited:
IMO a communist Germany is really unlikely, unless there is a radically different German Revolution, after that a surviving Weimar Republic is much more likely than a communist Germany (even in the absence of Stalinist doctrines of social fascism, KPD and SPD mostly hated each other, the Weimar SPD had no love for revolution, and the KPD, or even KPD and SPD combined, were never strong enough to take power via elections or by force of arms).

Either way, fascist Italy and fascist Russia are far enough away from each other to be friendly and both are revisionist powers interested in overturning the international order established at Versailles and enforced by the Western powers (Mussolini wants his new Roman Empire, Russia wants Poland, Finland, the Baltic States, Bessarabia back) so it is reasonably likely that an agreement in regards to the Balkans could be found: Mussolini gets a free hand for some border revisions with Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary and maybe Czechoslovakia in his sphere of influence, a free Hand in Greece and support for expansion in Africa, Russia gets a free Hand in Eastern Europe and the rest of the Balkans (provided Italy can buy the needed resources at a good price), an agreement about partitioning Turkey might also be in the cards if the circumstances are right (not saying the agreement will look exactly like this, but I think there is a possibility of an agreement between fascist Italy and fascist Russia).
IMO Mussolini is ideologically flexible enough to downplay his Slavophobia if it gains him a powerful ally (after all he was against National Socialism, before he allied with Hitler), and Russia has enough on its plate to be bothered by Mussolini’s attitudes and might feel it is worth sacrificing some Yugoslavian border territories if gives them an ally that can help them (either against a communist Germany or by keeping France and Great Britain on their toes and keeping them away from Eastern Europe).

The diplomatic situation in Europe depends on what exactly happens in Germany and what choices France makes:
1) Communist Germany in 1919 that somehow survives Entente intervention: France is terrified of Germany and dislikes communists, so an accommodation with communist Germany is out of the cards, so sooner or later it has a choice to make in regards to Eastern Europe: either try to renew the Russo-French alliance (possibly including Italy) and throwing the Eastern European states under the bus or try to prop up these Eastern European states against both communist Germany and a fascist, revanchist Russia (basically trying to fulfil Pilsudski’s Intermarium project). Of course, France will try to balance things and might even be successful in that regard in the 1920s when fascist Russia is still weak, but in the 1930s or the 1940s at the latest this will be no longer an option.
If France choses the Russian alliance then you could see a weird alliance of convenience between communist Germany and countries like Poland (the German communists are still nationalists so Poland would have to make some concessions in regard to Danzig at the very least), the Baltic states and possibly Romania that are in danger of being swallowed up by Russia or made a puppet state. Great Britain might offer some support to this alliance against France/Russia/Italy out of a concern for the balance of power, especially if Russia is making aggressive moves in Asia.
If France choses Intermarium then you have basically a three-way-cold war going on in Europe with communist Germany trying to export the revolution while not provoking its neighbors enough to declare war on it as communist Germany would be too weak to stand against France and its Eastern European allies and even if it won, there would still be fascist Russia to contend with. Should fascist Russia invade Poland or the Baltic states and trigger a European war, communist Germany would likely support France and the Intermarium against Russia while trying to improve its position at the same time.
A reverse Hitler-Stalin pact is unlikely as an autocratic Russia is the historical bogeyman of the German left and it is unlikely that both communist Germany and fascist Russia have undisputed leaders that are as cynically ideologically as Hitler and Stalin were.
or
2) Weimar Germany survives: with Austria-Hungary removed from the picture there is little conflict of interest between Russia and Germany and so a Russo-German agreement to carve up Poland becomes very likely (Weimar Germany entertained such plans even when the prospective partner was the Soviet Union) and Germany has no interest in the Balkan as long as the resource needs of the German industry are met and Germany can hold a dominant position in Central Europe (which Russia would likely be willing to concede to Germany).
Now, both Italy and France have choices to make. Mussolini can decide to sign on with a revisionist Russo-German alliance (Weimar Germany is unlikely to be willing to risk a war with the Entente but would try to push the envelope) as a junior partner in the hopes that he can gain some things (free hand Greece, maybe some border revision with Yugoslavia, free hand against Ethiopia) or he can sign up with Britain and France in the hopes that he can gain some things (free hand in Ethiopia, territory from Yugoslavia if the country is allied to Russia).
France has to decide whether double down on its Eastern European allies (Intermarium again), and hope that they and France/Britain can stand against Russia and Germany together or try to pressure Poland to make some concessions and entice Germany into being friendly with France and remaining distant to Russia (or at least not too friendly with Russia, apart from economic relations).
Of course, either way France will do its utmost to avoid war with Russia but it might have its hands forced if Russia invades Poland; if Russia or Germany are allied it can either fight now or play second fiddle in a Russo-German dominated Europe forever, if Germany is neutral to pro-France not fighting would destroy France’s diplomatic credibility in Europe; appeasement of Russia is a possibility in regards to the Baltic States but throwing Poland to the Russian wolves would collapse the whole Intermarium alliance.
A Russo-French alliance is much less likely as it would very likely lead to very close Anglo-German relations as a response (Germany would feel threatened and look for a possible counterweight, Britain was friendly to Weimar Germany and would feel uncomfortable with a fascist, revanchist Russia), France would have to throw its Eastern European allies mostly under the bus, plus Weimar Germany isn’t that scary to France, especially in the later 20s, and Russia has little reason to be hostile to Germany, which means France would have to offer a lot and that makes it unlikely.
 
Russian fascism never caught on outside of a expatriate community in Manchuria, so I don't think Mussolini ever knew they existed.
If the Whites win the Russian Civil War (possible if not terribly likely IMO), a fascist Russia is not that unlikely, I can think of at least three ways this could happen:
1) Whites win and establish a shaky Republic/shaky constitutional monarchy that is pretty authoritarian but somewhat democratic with the military retaining a strong position in government after having won against the Reds, this arrangement survives the 1920s but with the global economic unrest it collapses and with renewed social unrest there are calls for a strong leader and either a fascist leader comes to power in an alliance with the military or a military leader coups the government and establishes a fascist state. Russian society is pretty antisemitic and nationalistic, the middle class hates and fears socialist/communist agitation after the civil war, there is a tradition of strong men rule in Russia, Russia is a revanchist/revisionist power, there likely is a feeling of having lost the war and being humiliated present (losing territories like Finland, Poland, the Baltic states…), so there is a basis in society for a fascist party to flourish.
2) Whites win the civil war and establish an authoritarian regime, either a Republic in name only or a constitutional monarchy with the Czar as window dressing and the military calling the shots. After the global economic crisis, it evolves into a fascist dictatorship in order to strengthen support for the regime and strengthen central authority as some military leaders in the periphery might have gained great autonomy in the chaos of the civil war and behave like warlords while professing loyalty to Moscow (a situation not unlike the KMT and Chinese warlords in the 1930s).
3) Whites win the civil war but are unable to agree on who is going to lead Russia afterwards, government institutions have been greatly weakened, power rests in the hands of military leaders, and Russia descends into warlordism with the warlords professing loyalty to a United Russia in theory but in practice ruling their own little fiefdoms. One warlord either becomes a fascist, allies with a fascist party or a fascist party takes over a warlord territory, and after more civil war Russia is united under a fascist government (possibly that the KMT, which had pretty strong fascist tendencies in the 1930s, could have achieved this in China without Japanese interference in China and a warlord Russia would share quite a few similarities with warlord China).
 
If the Whites win the Russian Civil War (possible if not terribly likely IMO), a fascist Russia is not that unlikely, I can think of at least three ways this could happen:
1) Whites win and establish a shaky Republic/shaky constitutional monarchy that is pretty authoritarian but somewhat democratic with the military retaining a strong position in government after having won against the Reds, this arrangement survives the 1920s but with the global economic unrest it collapses and with renewed social unrest there are calls for a strong leader and either a fascist leader comes to power in an alliance with the military or a military leader coups the government and establishes a fascist state. Russian society is pretty antisemitic and nationalistic, the middle class hates and fears socialist/communist agitation after the civil war, there is a tradition of strong men rule in Russia, Russia is a revanchist/revisionist power, there likely is a feeling of having lost the war and being humiliated present (losing territories like Finland, Poland, the Baltic states…), so there is a basis in society for a fascist party to flourish.
2) Whites win the civil war and establish an authoritarian regime, either a Republic in name only or a constitutional monarchy with the Czar as window dressing and the military calling the shots. After the global economic crisis, it evolves into a fascist dictatorship in order to strengthen support for the regime and strengthen central authority as some military leaders in the periphery might have gained great autonomy in the chaos of the civil war and behave like warlords while professing loyalty to Moscow (a situation not unlike the KMT and Chinese warlords in the 1930s).
3) Whites win the civil war but are unable to agree on who is going to lead Russia afterwards, government institutions have been greatly weakened, power rests in the hands of military leaders, and Russia descends into warlordism with the warlords professing loyalty to a United Russia in theory but in practice ruling their own little fiefdoms. One warlord either becomes a fascist, allies with a fascist party or a fascist party takes over a warlord territory, and after more civil war Russia is united under a fascist government (possibly that the KMT, which had pretty strong fascist tendencies in the 1930s, could have achieved this in China without Japanese interference in China and a warlord Russia would share quite a few similarities with warlord China).

This, plus the fact that in this setting Russia is clearly one of the losers of the post-war order. Reclaiming lost territories (especially Poland, all the more if the Polish-Russian war goes better for Poland than OTL) will become a fixation. It will also impact Russian's identity, in favour of a more "Great-Russian" chauvinism. Anti-liberal and anti-Western feelings may gain traction, especially if France is seen as having betrayed Russia over Poland.

People like V. Shulgin or even Grand-duke Kirill Vladimirovich would reckon that, to thrive, Russia needs to mix mass politics with the traditional principles of "Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Empire".

Same would go with a whole new generation of officers, battle-forged by the experiences of the civil war: they would contend that the army cannot be a mere apolitical tool anymore, but needs to actively bring about the transformation of Russia. These (relatively) younger officers would challenge the more conservative military junta in power in the early 20's.

I can see the pre-war "Black Hundreds" and other nationalist leagues evolving into a very peculiar, homegrown fascism which would exalt "slavophile socialism", "Moscovite nationalism" or some such: a deeply traumatized Russia, with a revisionist agenda on the international scene, looking inwards, away from "western filth" and towards her "unique path".

The look of such a homegrown Russian fascism would be fascinating, especially in arts and culture: the movement towards "eurasianism" and "scythism", which was already under way before the war, and which briefly thrived in the first years of the revolution (think about Blok, Pilnyak, etc., before they disappeared in the long night), could become a key-component of Russian arts, along with hypothetical concepts such as "Byzantine Futurism" or "Retro-Moscovism". V.V. Nabokov would feel quite lonely in that landscape.

The key problem I see about a closer relation between Italy and fRussia: foreign policy. It would difficult for Russia, and especially for a fascist pan-slavist Russia to abandon Jugoslavia to the prying clutches of Mussolini.

Edit: Great-Russian chauvinism cohabiting with Eurasianism as pillars of Russian fascism may seem contradictory, and that is what makes it fascinating. Eurasianism would not be about granting rights to Asiatic denizens, but rather be a political and cultural tool aimed against the West.
 
Last edited:
What would a facist Russia's policy be towards the islamic population of the Caucasus, volga basin, and central asia?

Mussolini had some weird things with islam.
 
Would Ukraine and Belarus be independent in this scenario? I imagine that a Russian fascist movement would be quite anti-semitic, but they would only rule over a small portion of the former Russian Empire's Jewish community if their western border doesn't include the former Pale of Settlement.
 
Top