The grand narrative driving Putin’s vision of a strong and spiritually pure Russia

Having inherited the narrative of victimhood at foreign hands and the need for a strongman leader to realise Russia’s destined greatness, Putin is only putting it into practice

Moscow’s actions on Ukraine and Georgia can only be fully understood in this context

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) attends a ceremony to sign documents, including a decree recognising two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent, with the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics Leonid Pasechnik (left) and Denis Pushilin (centre) during a ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 21. Photo: Sputnik/AFP

James V. Wertsch

James V. Wertsch is David R.

Published: 1:30am, 23 Feb 2022Updated: 2:22am, 23 Feb 2022

On Monday, Vladimir Putin recognised the independence of two separatist regions of Ukraine, pushing Russian actions one step closer to large-scale conflict in Europe.

In doing this, the Russian president is following the same game plan that he used in the five-day war with Georgia in 2008, meaning that the next step will be calls by ethnic Russians in these regions for Moscow to rescue them from alleged “genocide” by Ukrainians. But this is a much more serious conflict than in Georgia and is likely to lead to much more deadly and long-term consequences.

Throughout this crisis, the same general question has remained: what does Putin want? Does he want Nato and America to take Russia’s security concern more seriously? Doe he want to regain Ukraine as part of a Russian empire? Is he deflecting attention from economic and demographic problems at home?

People in Donetsk, a territory controlled by pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine, wave the Russian national flags to celebrate Russia recognising its independence on February 21. Photo: AP

Some combination of these is surely part of the answer, but another, little-noticed factor is also at work. This is the long-term vision of Putin and his circles for advancing Russia towards its destiny as the global model of spirituality and strong autocratic rule. This is an old idea to which Putin seems to be applying new muscle.

A key figure in shaping Putin’s ideas on this issue is Ivan Ilyin (1883-1954), a philosopher who left Russia after the Russian Revolution and lived most of his life in Germany and Switzerland. Putin routinely quotes Ilyin, has instructed Russian elites to study his writings, and has brought Ilyin’s archives from Michigan State University and his remains from Switzerland to Russia.