Hanna Shelest

In the last decade, there has been an increase in right-wing and far-right political sentiments in many European countries, including Turkey. Some gravitate towards authoritarianism, some towards populism. In her research, Hanna Shelest proposes to look at these political actors’ reactions and positions towards the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and further relations with the authoritarian Russian regime, in light of the fact that some had a history of active cooperation with the Kremlin or affiliated political parties. Shelest will study whether those with authoritarian sentiments are more eager to justify Russian aggression or call for peace on Russian terms than those with a populist tendency, as the Italian example shows.