Eurasianism

Eurasianism is a political movement in Russia holding that the country’s culture is not European or Asian but a culture and a civilization unto itself. In the past, Russia was often considered to be Euro/Western-centric and listed among the European/Western countries leading the world. The Eurasianism movement rejects this concept and promotes the idea that Russia holds a unique position on the world stage.

The movement considers many Western ideals as being too liberal and seeks to position Russia as the leading force not only in the area it occupies but also in the world. According to proponents of this viewpoint, the area known as Eastern Europe—which includes the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, and the westernmost section of the Russian Federation—has been and should always be considered Russian territory. In the twenty-first century, this concept, which began in the 1920s, is at the root of much of the conflict between Russia and neighboring Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine.

Background

In about 840 CE, Scandinavian Vikings known as Varangians conquered the Slavic tribes living in what is now Eastern Europe. These Vikings were also known as Rus, which is thought to have meant “men who row” in the old Nordic language spoken at the time. Three Viking brothers split the leadership of the area, which they called Kievan Rus. It became more widely known as the land of Rus, which over time became Russia.

Their successors acquired more land through conquest and treaties. In the late tenth century, Vladimir the Great (958–1015) became ruler of the area. He formed an alliance with the Christian Byzantine Emperor, Basil II (976–1025), and converted to Christianity. Their agreement called for Vladimir to provide troops to the Byzantines in exchange for marrying Basil’s sister. Vladimir introduced Christianity to his kingdom, building schools and churches to spread the new faith. This resulted in increased literacy and prosperity as well as expansion of territory and influence for Kievan Rus. Growth in Rus continued until the thirteenth century, when it fell to the invading Mongols, which were led by Batu Khan (1205–1255).

The Mongols burned the major Rus cities to the ground. They caused such significant damage to the areas of Kievan Rus (now considered to be part of Eastern Europe) that new capital cities were founded farther to the west in Tver, Vladimir, Suzdal, and Moscow. This, along with some manipulative tactics used by the Russian princes that paid homage and tribute to the Mongols to be allowed to rule, fundamentally changed the geo-political structure of Rus. Over time, these princes gained enough strength that some began to refuse to pay tributes, and the Mongols gradually lost power. Finally, in 1700, Peter the Great (1672–1725) signed the Treaty of Constantinople with the Ottoman Empire and declared the State of Moscow as free and autonomous.

Peter became the first Russian Emperor. His rule was strongly influenced by his extensive travel in Europe, and he introduced to his empire many modern, Western concepts. He put the church under state control and took steps to make Russia a naval power. This expanded its ability to trade and increased the country’s potential as a military power. Peter was followed by a succession of monarchs, and the Russian Empire grew. It reached from the Baltic Sea and what is now known as Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean by the time the Russian Revolution put an end to the monarchy and the Empire in 1917.

As a result of the revolution, the Bolsheviks, a far-left socialist group led by Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), took over Russia’s governance, and Russia became the first Communist country. They followed the ideas of German philosopher, political theorist, and socialist revolutionary Karl Marx (1818–1883) who opposed capitalism. Marx believed that all property should be publicly owned, not held privately by individuals, and all people should work and be paid according to their abilities and needs. This led to the formation of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), also known as the Soviet Union, in 1922.

Because of the revolution, many who stood against the Bolsheviks left Russia. They were known as White Russian émigré, or alternatively as White émigré or White Russians. The idea of Eurasianism had its origins among this group. While they opposed the Bolsheviks, they saw the revolution as a natural reaction to the Westernization of Russia that occurred under Peter and the other tsarist imperial rulers. They advocated for an evolution of Russia into a non-European government with a strong Orthodox Christian influence. These early Eurasianists continued to promote their ideas until the late 1930s, when they were suppressed by the government of the Soviet Union.

Overview

While the early Eurasianists were mostly eliminated from the Soviet Union by the 1940s, the idea that the country should be seen and treated differently than European and Western countries never completely faded. The concepts promoted by Russian linguist and historian Nikolai Trubetskoy (1890–1938), one of the 1920s Eurasianists, included the idea that Russia consisted of a unique blend of many ethnicities, giving it its own national identity. The ethnicities were a mix of European and Asian, but different from both, leading to the name “Eurasian.” Ultimately, Eurasianists believed that all people living in and around Russia/the Soviet Union who spoke any variation of the Russian language should be considered Russian, regardless of where the national borders around their country fell.

The concept continued to have adherents throughout the twentieth century but rose to prominence again in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union, which resulted from numerous political and economic factors as well as Western influences. At the time of its collapse, the Soviet Union covered about one-sixth of the land on Earth and was the world’s largest country geographically. It boasted a solid military backed by a large supply of nuclear weapons.

When the USSR’s Communist government collapsed, local leaders in former Soviet states and republics near the country’s western fringes were left to cope with challenges. Many of these border regions, such as Kazakhstan and Tatarstan, had populations that included large groups of people who identified as Russian. These regions also had people from other nationalities. To cope with these problems, the leaders of these peripheral regions adopted Eurasianism, claiming a unique national and ethnic identity for all their residents. In 1994, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev (1940– ) suggested that the former Soviet states and republics in this situation form a Eurasia Union that would function similarly to the European Union.

Around the same time, the ideas of Russian historian Lev Gumilyov (1912–1992) were gaining in popularity. Gumilyoy promoted Neo-Eurasianism, which holds that Russian culture has more in common with Asia than Europe. In Gumilyoy’s view, the Eurasian countries needed to present a united front against the Western world, in particular the United States, Canada, and other Western countries not in Europe and Asia. People packed lecture halls and watched televised coverage of his presentations, which had a powerful effect on them. Gumilyoy’s ideas were so highly regarded that monuments were erected in his honor in the 2000s.

One of those influenced by Gumilyoy’s ideas was Aleksandr Dugin (1962– ), a Russian political philosopher. Dugin envisioned Russia as a world empire that could take on and subdue the capitalist nations of the world. His 1997 textbook, The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia, had a great influence on leaders and future leaders of Russia, including Vladimir Putin (1952– ). Putin, who served as Russian prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012, and Russian President from 2000 to 2008 and 2012 onward, viewed the fall of the Communist Soviet Union as a great tragedy.

At various times during his tenure as prime minister and president, Putin promoted the idea of Eurasia as a unique ethnic group with identifiable genetic coding that needed protection from the liberal, capitalistic ideas of Western countries like the United States. Those who share this view have suggested that Western ideals are an assault on the culture and national identity of Russians/Eurasians, and all countries that have ever been part of Russia continue to share that identity, regardless of how they see themselves.

This concept of Eurasianism has led to several attempts to bring countries that were at one time part of Kievan Rus or the Russian Empire back under Russian authority, even if they considered themselves to be autonomous nations. According to political analysts, the goal of restoring all former territory to Russian governance is a key factor in armed conflicts that have taken place in the area. They believe this to be the case with the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. They contend that this invasion resulted in large part because of Eurasianism.

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