The closing of the Russian mind: how Putin's ideology took the nation hostage

Not so long ago, Russia under Putin appeared to be a corrupt state run by an elite mainly interested in their own privileges and wealth: authoritarian but not fundamentally expansionist. The 2022 invasion of Ukraine made it clear that Putin is driven by far more than simply greed. Putin's Russia is, Andrei Kolesnikov argues, in the grip of intense ideological radicalization, seeking to mobilize its population in support of a form of chauvinistic neo-imperialism using increasingly totalitarian methods. This march towards 'hybrid totalitarianism' is driven by a messianic view of Russia as a superior, 'spiritual' form of 'state-civilization' underpinned by its Orthodox faith and hatred of Western 'decadence'. Based upon a falsified version of history and a profound hostility to modernization, this ideology is making Russia an international pariah and condemning its citizens to endless war and economic stagnation.

Genres

HistoryPolitics

Language

English

Publisher

Polity

ISBN

9781509568154