Recently, Andrey Nazarov, the deputy prime minister of the government of the Republic of Bashkortostan, who is known to be particularly close to its leader, surprised the public with the news of an upcoming visit to the republic by the leader of the French far-right «National Union» (formerly National Front) party, Marine Le Pen.
Nazarov, who heads the economic bloc in the government, presented the case as if Le Pen’s visit would help attract European investment to Bashkortostan’s economy. However, the fact is that, unlike Nazarov, Marine Le Pen not only holds no positions in the French government, but is also considered a controversial figure in France, despite her popularity among a significant portion of voters. It is highly unlikely that any serious representative of the French business community would want to associate his name with her, let alone invest in the economy of Bashkortostan — despite all the respect for the latter.
So what is the purpose of such an invitation? Is it to imitate activity in the European direction? This is a plausible version, because it is in the style of Russian officials who, in conditions of alienation from serious European circles, are ready to support highly questionable figures like the aging alcoholic Gerard Depardieu or the extremist Marine Le Pen for the sake of self-assertion.
But there is another aspect to this invitation. In addition to being a «friend of Russia,» Le Pen is a politician with specific beliefs — anti-immigrant, nationalist, and Islamophobic — that shape the way she is perceived around the world.
So what message is the leadership of Bashkortostan sending to the world by inviting such a politician to the republic? Is it concerned about the problem of mass and illegal immigration? As far as we know, it is not relevant for the republic — on the contrary, it has a negative migration balance with the neighboring regions of the Russian Federation.
Or perhaps it supports the ideas of nationalism among the indigenous peoples? But this does not fit well with the fact that the leading representative of Bashkir nationalism, Ayrat Dilmukhametov, has been repeatedly imprisoned for promoting his ideas, and the largest Bashkir national organization, «Bashkort», is under pressure.
Therefore, there is only one justification for the ideological proximity between the leadership of Bashkortostan and Marine Le Pen — their Islamophobia. This is, of course, only a theory, but a plausible one, considering that the children of the head of the republic, Radiy Khabirov, who identifies himself as a Muslim, somehow turned out to be Christians, which he proudly discusses with journalists (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=35262).
And no other explanation comes to mind as to why Le Pen’s upcoming visit to Russia, where she is advocating a ban on the wearing of hijabs and halal meat, would be brought to a republic with a Muslim majority.