What Is National Bolshevism?
National Bolshevism, whose supporters are known as National Bolsheviks and colloquially as Nazbols, is a syncretic political movement committed to combining ultranationalism and Bolshevik communism. Part of the Socialist family.
Definition
National Bolshevism, whose supporters are known as National Bolsheviks and colloquially as Nazbols, is a syncretic political movement committed to combining ultranationalism and Bolshevik communism.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: National Bolshevism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Fusion of nationalism and communist-style economics.
- Anti-liberal and anti-Western.
- Strong, centralized state.
Origins
Germany in the 1920s and Russia in the 1990s.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Ernst Niekisch, Eduard Limonov
How it is classified
Classified variously as far-left, far-right or syncretic.
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where National Bolshevism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 5 | strongly toward collective / planned | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 85 | strongly toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 84 | toward authoritarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 100 | strongly toward nationalist | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 47 | near the center |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 3 | strongly toward collective ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 71 | toward state restrictions |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 100 | strongly toward nationalist |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 96 | strongly toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 96 | strongly toward autocratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 60 | near the center |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 93 | strongly toward state planning |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 47 | near the center |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 60 | near the center |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A naturalized citizen can belong to the nation as fully as someone born there. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Major industries should be publicly owned rather than privately controlled. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A strong leader who gets things done matters more than following proper procedures. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Markets generally distribute goods more effectively than government planners. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National security can justify restrictions on what journalists publish. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Class distinctions should gradually disappear. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Non-intervention should be the default even when allies request military assistance. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Public safety justifies broad government surveillance in public spaces. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with National Syndicalism, National Bolshevism sits 16 points further toward collective / planned on the economic dimension.
- Compared with Ba’athism, National Bolshevism sits 19 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
- Compared with Strasserism, National Bolshevism sits 31 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
Comparisons
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with National Bolshevism.
Sources
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.