The Return of the Russian Leviathan

Winner of the 2020 Pushkin House Book Prize

Russia's relationship with its neighbours and with the West has worsened dramatically in recent years. Under Vladimir Putin's leadership, the country has annexed Crimea, begun a war in Eastern Ukraine, used chemical weapons on the streets of the UK and created an army of Internet trolls to meddle in the US presidential elections. How should we understand this apparent relapse into aggressive imperialism and militarism?

In this book, Sergei Medvedev argues that this new wave of Russian nationalism is the result of mentalities that have long been embedded within the Russian psyche. Whereas in the West, the turbulent social changes of the 1960s and a rising awareness of the legacy of colonialism have modernized attitudes, Russia has been stymied by an enduring sense of superiority over its neighbours alongside a painful nostalgia for empire. It is this infantilized and irrational worldview that Putin and others have exploited, as seen most clearly in Russia's recent foreign policy decisions, including the annexation of Crimea.

This sharp and insightful book, full of irony and humour, shows how the archaic forces of imperial revanchism have been brought back to life, shaking Russian society and threatening the outside world. It will be of great interest to anyone trying to understand the forces shaping Russian politics and society today.

Auteur

Sergei Medvedev is Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Texte du rabat

Russia's relationship with its neighbours and with the West has worsened dramatically in recent years. Under Vladimir Putin's leadership, the country has annexed Crimea, begun a war in Eastern Ukraine, used chemical weapons on the streets of the UK and created an army of Internet trolls to meddle in the US presidential elections. How should we understand this apparent relapse into aggressive imperialism and militarism?

In this book, Sergei Medvedev argues that this new wave of Russian nationalism is the result of mentalities that have long been embedded within the Russian psyche. Whereas in the West, the turbulent social changes of the 1960s and a rising awareness of the legacy of colonialism have modernized attitudes, Russia has been stymied by an enduring sense of superiority over its neighbours alongside a painful nostalgia for empire. It is this infantilized and irrational worldview that Putin and others have exploited, as seen most clearly in Russia's recent foreign policy decisions, including the annexation of Crimea.

This sharp and insightful book, full of irony and humour, shows how the archaic forces of imperial revanchism have been brought back to life, shaking Russian society and threatening the outside world. It will be of great interest to anyone trying to understand the forces shaping Russian politics and society today.

Résumé

Winner of the 2020 Pushkin House Book Prize

Russia's relationship with its neighbours and with the West has worsened dramatically in recent years. Under Vladimir Putin's leadership, the country has annexed Crimea, begun a war in Eastern Ukraine, used chemical weapons on the streets of the UK and created an army of Internet trolls to meddle in the US presidential elections. How should we understand this apparent relapse into aggressive imperialism and militarism?

In this book, Sergei Medvedev argues that this new wave of Russian nationalism is the result of mentalities that have long been embedded within the Russian psyche. Whereas in the West, the turbulent social changes of the 1960s and a rising awareness of the legacy of colonialism have modernized attitudes, Russia has been stymied by an enduring sense of superiority over its neighbours alongside a painful nostalgia for empire. It is this infantilized and irrational worldview that Putin and others have exploited, as seen most clearly in Russia's recent foreign policy decisions, including the annexation of Crimea.

This sharp and insightful book, full of irony and humour, shows how the archaic forces of imperial revanchism have been brought back to life, shaking Russian society and threatening the outside world. It will be of great interest to anyone trying to understand the forces shaping Russian politics and society today.

Contenu
Preface to the English Edition

Part One: THE WAR FOR SPACE
Sovereign Territorywith No Roads
The Smoke of the Fatherland
Sacred Ice
Crimea as a Territory of the Subconscious
Drum Solo
Jihad in Donetsk
Global Biryulyovo
Seduced by Geopolitics
Profession: Invader
Noughts and Crosses
The War with Pokémon
Kremlin Firewall
A Sovereignty Full of Holes

Part Two: THE WAR FOR SYMBOLS
The State's Game Reserve
The Elite Avenueto Death
An Ode to Shuvalov's Dogs
Missile Mania
Tank Invasion
Purveyors of Threats
Churchill Dreamt It All Up
A Racketeer with Rockets
The Torch Procession
Olympic Schizophrenia
The Thugs' Game
The Sovereign from the Back-Streets of St Petersburg
Putinism and Questions of Linguistics
War of the Avatars

Part Three: THE WAR FOR THE BODY
Punitive Hygiene
The King's Body
The Condom as a Sign of Protest
The Protocols of the Elders of Sodom
Test for Homophobia
The 'Miss Prison' Contest
Breaking 'The Silence of the Lambs'
The Politics of the Female Body
A 4-by-4 as a Teaching Aid
A Russian Potlatch
A Requiem for Roquefort
The Land of Abandoned Children
The Amputation of Conscience
The Fiasco of 'Operation Sochi'

Part Four: THE WAR FOR MEMORY
Hysterical Revisionism
The Holiday of 5 March
The Oblomov and the Stoltz of Soviet Power
A Bear of a Man
Maidan in Moscow
A Holiday without Tears
Waltz of the Urals Chekists
The Return of the Ghosts
Tyrants Destroyed
Russian Resentment
The Flower Revolution
Who's Afraid of Svetlana Alexievich?
The Private Nuremberg of Denis Karagodin
The Battle at the River Iset
Constitution Day

Glossary and List of Abbreviations
Notes