After Empire - Nationalist Imagination and Symbolic Politics in Russia and Eurasia in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century

Igor Torbakov investigates the relationship between Russian political imagination and the decline and fall of Russia's imperial polity over the last hundred years. He highlights the country's dramatic political discontinuity, with three historical transformations in the 20th century, and its geopolitical stability as an imperial entity since the 18th century. The book explores the emergence and development of Eurasianism, the role of Ukraine for the Russians, and the contemporary Russian elites' exercises in historical legitimation.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 260 pages
Publication date: 08 December 2021
Publisher: ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild u Christian Schon

Igor Torbakov delves into the intricate interplay between diverse manifestations of Russian political imagination and the seemingly cyclical process of decline and fall of Russia's imperial polity over the past century. While Russia's historical trajectory may not be entirely unique, two distinctive features of its development stand out. Firstly, Russia's history is marked by profound political discontinuity. Throughout the past century, Russia underwent three significant historical transformations: following the disintegration of the Tsarist Empire, accompanied by violent civil war, it was reconstituted as the communist USSR, which disbanded a quarter century ago, giving rise to the present-day Russian Federation. Each of these dramatic shifts in the 20th century had a profound impact on the conception of what Russia is and what it means to be Russian. Secondly, in contrast to Russia's political instability, there exists a paradoxical portrayal of geopolitical stability and remarkable longevity as an imperial entity. At least since the early 18th century, Russia has maintained a persistent presence on the northeastern margins of Europe, perpetually aspiring to the status of a great power. Against this backdrop, the book's three sections explore (a) the emergence and development of Eurasianism as a form of (post-)imperial ideology, (b) the crucial role Ukraine has historically played for the Russians' self-understanding, and (c) the contemporary Russian elites' exercises in historical legitimation.

Weight: 468g
Dimension: 149 x 211 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783838212173