Edited By: Pål Kolstø and Helge Blakkisrud
The New Russian Nationalism
Imperialism, Ethnicity and Authoritarianism 2000–2015
Follows the transformation of Russian nationalist discourse in the 21st century, from imperialism to ethno-nationalism
Russian nationalism, previously dominated by ‘imperial’ tendencies – pride in a large, strong and multi-ethnic state able to project its influence abroad – is increasingly focused on ethnic issues. This new ethno-nationalism has come in various guises, like racism and xenophobia, but also in a new intellectual movement of ‘national democracy’ deliberately seeking to emulate conservative West European nationalism.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent violent conflict in Eastern Ukraine utterly transformed the nationalist discourse in Russia. This book provides an up-to-date survey of Russian nationalism as a political, social and intellectual phenomenon by leading Western and Russian experts in the field of nationalism studies. It includes case studies on migrantophobia; the relationship between nationalism and religion; nationalism in the media; nationalism and national identity in economic policy; nationalism in the strategy of the Putin regime as well as a survey-based study of nationalism in public opinion.
PÅL KOLSTØ is Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Oslo. He has authored two books and a number of articles and book chapters on Russian politics, Russian history and nationalism. Previous positions: researcher at the Norwegian Defense Institute, 1987-1990, interpreter at the Norwegian-Soviet border 1982-83. Main research areas: nationalism, nation-building, ethnic conflicts, nationality policy in Russia, the former Soviet Union and the Western Balkans. Has published roughly 40 articles in English-language refereed journals in addition to numerous publications in other languages. Recipient of six large research grants to study of nation-building and ethnic relations in the post-Soviet world and the former Eastern Europe.
Helge Blakkisrud is the Head of the Research Group on Russia, Eurasia and the Arctic, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Main research areas: federalism and centre-region relations in the Russian Federation, nationalism and nation-building in Russia and Eurasia, including in Eurasian de facto states. Editor in chief of the Nordic journal for East European and Eurasian Studies (Nordisk Østfroum). Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, UC Berkeley, 2009-2010, lecturer at the OSCE Academy, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, since 2008.
