Russia’s Path of Development
From Empire to Nation-State
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Russian Federation is neither a true democracy nor a Russian nation-state. It is a remnant of the Russian and Soviet empire, which was held together by authoritarian power. Russians’ understanding of themselves has yet to shed its imperial and Soviet cocoon either. It vacillates between imperial revanchist chauvinism, Russophobe self-abasement, and fear of a collapse of nation and state. The “end of Russian history” will only be reached when a truly democratic Russian nation-state that eschews imperial ambitions in the post-Soviet realm has become part of the supranational European community.
(Osteuropa 10/2011, pp. 3–20)