Forgotten Empire

 

The history of Russia has always been loud. It’s like an ancient orchestra, where trumpets heralding triumph harmonize with requiems that remind the audience of echoes from the glorious past. For those on the sidelines watching history unfold, this is just another chapter of international politics; however, for Russia, it is an existential fight about how the country will be remembered, juxtaposed with how it is perceived in contemporary times.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia began searching for a new identity. Even though the USSR was dismantled, the Russian mindset and the scale of Russia’s future greatness never deviated. For some Russians, this was a relief, the idea of finally obtaining freedom from the oppressive Soviet regime. For others, however, this change signaled a loss of power that needed to be compensated for. The restoration of influence became an idea engraved in the minds of many, becoming part of the Russian language, in which Russia explains its place in the world to itself.

The West views this idea from an entirely different perspective. For Europe and the United States, Russia's influence sounds like a threat, a reminder of a past the world so desperately wanted to move away from. When Russia speaks about the sacrosanctity and protection of traditions, the West hears revisionism and control. In this way, two different narratives describe the same reality, but the louder one narrative becomes, the less accepting it is of hearing the other.

Cultural deafness isn’t a new phenomenon. From the Napoleonic Age through the Cold War, Europe and Russia have existed in regimes of competing hegemony. Europe tried to advance its cultural norms, whilst Russia turned to defensive assertion. Even in the present day, when countries refer to sanctions, diplomacy, and borders, old fears re-emerge. For Russia, it is the fear of being surrounded by the West; for Europe, it is the fear of the Russian Empire being reborn.

Empires rarely disappear without leaving a lasting legacy in the symbols, habits, and language of the peoples they ruled. The historian Eugeniy Anisimov wrote that “the Imperial thought is not politics, but the psychology of the country, used to greatness.” Russia’s inheritance is based on its imperial greatness, driven to be the center, rather than a part of the world system. However, in the 21^stcentury, greatness isn’t proven through the occupation of other countries, but through ideas, the protection of cultural borders, the restoration of justice, and the fight for a voice on the world stage.

Ultimately, the West is held captive by its own Imperial ambitions. Russia views Western sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and export controls on its natural resources as a modern form of Western imperialism. From Moscow’s perspective, these coercive actions, motivated by the West’s aim of restoring human rights, don’t differ much from the previous idea of civilizing the East. While the West sees its actions as protecting global democracy, Russia sees them as an instrument of control. Regardless of time and place, the same history remains, as world powers fight to define what is right.

One of the most vivid examples of this fight is the current war in Ukraine. For Ukraine, the war is a question of existence: the battle for independence and the choice of self-determination, free of Russia and under a democratically elected president. For Russia, questions of safety, identity, and historical mission are prominent motivations. Ukraine serves as a reminder of shared roots under the Soviet Union, where the ideals of brotherhood and collectivist nations bore world greatness.

In the Western media, this war is often described as aggressive and controversial. In contrast, Russian media outlets draw on the country's national identity, referring to the war as a conflict aimed at ‘saving the people.’ Between these polarities, a truth often goes unheard, as millions of citizens on both sides of the conflict fight against a historical cycle repeating itself. The current War, like wars fought throughout human history, has become an instrument of many diffuse meanings, not only in a geopolitical context but also in terms of the absolute truth about what happens at the front.

The paradox is that both Russian and Ukrainian media outlets use the same rhetoric—writing about peace, sovereignty, and justice —but convey opposite meanings. Ukraine views sovereignty as freedom from prior control, which held the country captive until 2014, when Viktor Yanukovych's presidency ended. Russia, on the other hand, hearkens back to the notion that sovereignty is the right to act according to its own rules. While the world is constantly arguing over which side is correct, the fear that fuels the war continues: the fear of losing a national identity.

Modern Russia is a country that tries to tame three epochs: the Imperial tradition of power, the Soviet belief in reform, and the post-Soviet feeling of uncertainty, when the country was seen as fantastic but unknown in its reasons for greatness. In this search for identity, the country fights against Western beliefs while simultaneously trying to embody them, criticizing Imperialism but speaking in its language.

We can debate who is right and who is wrong, but it’s more important to ask why history never leaves a country. Of course, there’s no answer to that. But amid the deafening noise of geopolitics, the voices of thousands of citizens are lost, who only desire to stop spinning in circles.