Russian Ressentiment And The War In Ukraine
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Putin has recalled Russia’s identity and future through a revisionist reading of the cultural, historical, and religious connections between Russia and Ukraine — Russia’s future was to be found in its history. When Putin stated that the conflict with Ukraine and The West was about Russia’s survival, he was declaring that Russia’s future was to be found in a re-interpretation of its myths of the past. Ukraine was central to Putin’s reading of Russia’s historical identity.
That Ukraine would pursue a future through integration with Europe, and not in a revisionist Pan-Slavic history amounted to an existential threat to Russia’s identity.
Mikhail Gorbachev complained about disrespect: “Americans have treated us without proper respect,” he declared, “Russia is a serious partner. We are a country with a tremendous history, with diplomatic experience. It is an educated country that has contributed much to science.”
Gorbachev’s contemporary, General Alexander Lebed instinctively understood that as NATO filled the vacuum of the dismantled Warsaw Pact, the issue was not security but humiliation.
“If [the] sense of loss and humiliation that comes with defeat is allowed to fester in the Russian mentality, it may lead…
