[int_19h]

USSR had a nationalist component to it from Stalin onwards (see e.g. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1945...). It is that part that the modern ideologues tap into, blending it with similar stuff from the Imperial Russia period.

[kgran]

I agree. But still - I see no Marxism in Putin's Russia.

[int_19h]

Oh, sure. But then again, many would argue that there was no Marxism in USSR, either (at least not after the first decade or so).

One particular interpretation that seems to be fairly popular in "patriotic" circles is that the original Bolsheviks were Marxist, and they almost ruined Russia because of that; but then Stalin took power, purged them, and restored the imperial glory.