At the center is an insoluble conflict: Russia, as Europe’s adversary, must protect its traditional Russian values from the devious, corrupt Europeans. Because the Russians are fundamentally different from all other peoples in the world, the authors believe. The Russians like to be in a collective and pursue collective goals, while the Europeans are individualistic and only indulge in their private interests.
The Russians put morality above material prosperity, the Europeans are corrupt. The Russians would like to live in a traditional family, while the Europeans would fuck anything that doesn’t turn three. And the Russians value their state above all else; loyalty to the state is in their blood. The well-being of their state is more important to them than their own, unlike the Europeans, who selfishly only think about themselves and hide their unwillingness to fight for their country behind a hypocritical pacifism.
The Russians are a people willing to make sacrifices, ready to die for their country at any time, even collectively. So this is how the Russians are, according to the official document from the presidential administration: even if they may not yet know that this is how they have to be. But it is only a matter of time and patriotic education before all citizens are explicitly informed about this.
Russia’s new ideology can be summed up in one word: “war.” Only a sustained war can secure the regime in the long term. It is not necessarily about a kinetic war with weapons and soldiers, it can also be waged with fear and abuse, with drones and threats, with AfD MPs and confused swearers, an existential war with the aim of breaking the West.
This war is intended to keep the current leadership in power in Russia indefinitely without isolating the country internationally. Other friends remain; Russia has just signed an economic agreement with the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Afghan exports from agricultural production are expanding. The Taliban is already supplying apples, lavender and melons to Russia.
The earlier concept of a “Europe from Vladivostok to Lisbon”, as it was called back then, which dates back to the Gorbachev era, has had its day and is being rejected. The new “concept” will remain with us for a long time as a lasting consequence of the war in Ukraine.
Even after the imminent expansion and freezing of the conflict in Ukraine, after the departure of the Russian president, this new ideology will not disappear and will continue to poison the relationship between Russia and Europe as a key factor in foreign policy.
It will be unpleasant for the Russian population, but not unbearable; the country is not completely closed to the world, only to Europe. The trips to Dubai, the Taliban’s apples and the Chinese electric cars will keep the people happy as a sign of the new cosmopolitanism.
