Putin using 'Nazi' narrative to justify attack

[Bad Thoughts]

9. "Khazars"

Russians tend to use an antisemitic slur in order to get away with accusing Jews, especially from Ukraine, of being Nazis.

The slur comes from the pseudo-scientific theory that all European Jews are descendants of the medieval Khazars, a Turkic kingdom whose nobility supposedly converted to Judaism in order to maintain balance between Christians and Muslims. (There is scant historical evidence this happened or how deeply it happened.)

Russians will talk about "Khazar mobsters" as a destabilizing, criminal force, allowing them to say other antisemitic things, but avoiding the stain of antisemitism. According to them, Khazars infiltrate European governments and enterprises.