A defeat by Ukraine could trigger Russians to reexamine their national identity and refocus the country’s priorities away from empire and toward domestic reform, according to an article published by Foreign Policy magazine and reprinted by Caliber.Az. The analysis argues that because imperial ambition has intertwined with Russian nationhood for half a millennium, a departure from conquest is unlikely to originate from within without a decisive military setback.
The Precedent of Democratic Reform in the 1990s
A domestic focus prioritizing civic development over territorial domination previously emerged during the waning days of the Soviet Union. Around 1990, reformist politicians organized a liberal, patriotic agenda under the Democratic Russia movement across Moscow, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and other major urban centers. Leaders of this nascent movement included human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov, civic activist Mikhail Astafyev, Orthodox priest Gleb Yakunin, and soon-to-be Moscow Mayor Gavriil Popov. According to Caliber.Az, these figures sought to repair the damage inflicted on the Russian people by 70 years of communist dictatorship.
During the August 1991 coup attempt by military hard-liners attempting to crush reforms and restore Soviet rule, members of this movement were the first to unfurl the Russian tricolor at the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR). Boris Yeltsin, then president of the newly formed Russian republic, leveraged the symbol of liberalism and resistance to undermine the central Soviet apparatus and transfer power to the Russian republic. Yeltsin’s inner circle included anti-imperial figures such as Gennady Burbulis, a drafter of the accords that dissolved the Soviet Union, and former dissident Galina Starovoitova. Economic reformer Yegor Gaidar subsequently led liberal nationalists in founding the Democratic Choice of Russia party, capturing 18 percent of the seats in the 1993 parliamentary elections as part of Yeltsin’s coalition.
Shifting Post-Soviet Institutions and Domestic Priorities
In the early years of post-Soviet independence, Yeltsin promoted Russia as the homeland of the Russian people. While attempting to bind the 15 independent post-Soviet states into a confederation, Yeltsin engaged constructively with neighboring non-Russian states and recognized their sovereignty. Outside of Russian support for separatist movements in newly independent Georgia and Moldova, Yeltsin largely avoided destabilizing territorial disputes across his borders.
The state discarded Soviet symbols and references to the Russian Empire, replacing them with a focus on building civic institutions, political parties, trade unions, veterans organizations, environmental groups, and cultural associations. The national anthem shifted from the Soviet tune to the “Patriotic Song,” a melody composed by Mikhail Glinka without accompanying lyrics.
The Resurgence of Imperial Opposition
Despite these early institutional shifts, revanchist and chauvinist imperial forces retained significant influence. According to Caliber.Az, a powerful conservative opposition formed within the Russian Duma, nearly unseating Yeltsin in an effort to replace him with Vice President Alexander Rutskoy. Imperialist ideologies continued to challenge the domestic reform agenda as the post-Soviet political landscape evolved.
