Despite the war, Russia is still part of Europe — and both sides need to remember this for lasting peace
Published Date – Sat 03 Jun 23 at 12:30pm
Anna Matveyeva
After a year of war in Ukraine, Western commentators generally believe that the war is deeply rooted in “Russian mentality”, history and culture. Russians are said to have an imperial mentality. Russian citizens bear collective responsibility, regardless of their individual status. They failed to stop Putin and Putinism and now they have only themselves to blame. The only way the Russians can learn is for Russia to be defeated. Failure prompts repentance.
common narrative
In Russia, too, there has emerged a general narrative of accepting the basis for the war — even if not fully supporting it. The framework is that the West opposes Russia and is determined to cut it off from Europe. This war may not need to be provoked by Putin, but the current situation has no way out, and Russia can only bite the bullet. Even many who were originally opposed to the war accepted this.
One reason for this is the lack of alternative stories that the Russian public can relate to. This has nothing to do with media bans and shutdowns. State media dominates — but YouTube and Telegram provide platforms for the Russian opposition, as well as access to Ukrainian channels and Western news. Despite government warnings, the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to access banned websites remains common.
The problem is that those who follow these channels find them increasingly difficult to accept as both sides are caught in a polarizing dynamic. The Ukrainian narrative is downright hostile – “Russianness” is a problem in itself, and the country should be renamed “Moscow” to symbolically “de-Russia”.
Ukraine is defending itself in a brutal war—the desire to undercut the enemy through words and images is understandable—but few in the Russian public subscribe to its messages.
believable narrative
Russia’s opposition in Europe has largely failed to offer a credible alternative. Some exiles have called for violent resistance inside Russia, but that carries enormous risks. Others, like Garry Kasparov, believe change should come through a military victory in Ukraine.
However, cries from abroad that “Russia has failed miserably” have found little resonance among Russian citizens. It’s hard to expect many Russians to want to see their army defeated, even if they oppose the war. The war in Afghanistan was unpopular, but no one welcomed the massacre of Soviet conscripts.
Likewise, when some 300 Russian soldiers were killed by Ukrainian strikes as they sat down to New Year’s dinner in Makiivka, the expressions of joy in the West raised doubts about the existence of humanity. Any loss of life is tragic. The resulting lines are very lacking in nuance. Russia has a lot of problems – war certainly has problems – but not everything about Russia is wrong. Experts disagree.
For many, the entire Russian society was infected with imperial syndrome. It destroys itself and others around it. It’s hard to love and impossible to be in a relationship with.
These are dire times – making them darker only alienates both sides. Unless the opposition comes up with ideas that bring hope, it risks being confined to an isolated and aggrieved group focused on their own squabbles as interest in war in the West wanes.
besieged
Rhetoric from the West, Ukraine and the Russian opposition left the Russian public feeling besieged on all sides. The Russians I met thought it was too risky to speak Russian in public in the West, and that they would be hated if they traveled.
Cut off from Europe and cut off from academic and scientific collaboration, Russians feel persecuted as a people. Despite sympathies in Asia and elsewhere, Russia is a European country, and Russians are Europeans. As noted journalist and chairman of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, Fedor Lukyanov wrote:
“The Russia of the future, as long as it lives there now, was, is and will be a country of European culture and tradition. Whether it affirms it or denies it, whether it fights it or rejoices in it, does not matter Relationships. Our worldview is shaped by the influence of Europe and the perception of Europe as a landmark.”
European exclusion matters—but only in the sense that it serves to disempower society and bring it along with the state, not as an aspirational influence. Justification for war is easy with a black-and-white narrative—but a more complex narrative is needed to find peace.
Sooner or later the war will end and Russians and Ukrainians will find a way to get along with each other. The Russian people will rebuild their country – more likely towards the end of the Putin era – and start reckoning with how a country that gave the world Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky also committed Boucher and Il Peaceful war crimes.
Russia will rejoin the European path, but Europe needs to lend a helping hand, no matter how difficult that may be. The salutary view that the Russian public can unite and not cast the image of Russians as perpetual villains is crucial to a better future.
