How Russians will see the status of their country by the end of the century

Abstract

The collapse of the Soviet Union has prompted widespread debates inside Russia about that country's identity, role and destiny. Three paincipal tendencies can be identified in the arguments, which have been stimulated by two particular events: the war in Chechnya and the question of reunification with Belarus. Liberals and Western‐oriented clans wish to see Russia as a key player in Western civilization, which they see as inspired by universal values, and they play down the need for a strong Russian state. Moderate nationalists attack the Western‐oriented liberal media and wish over the longer term to rebuild Russia as a great power, while conceding that this requires temporary accommodation with the West. Radical nationalists, including the Communists and the Liberal Democratic Party, seek a reassertion of Russian nationhood and statehood based on Russia's own natural, human and cultural resources. Moreover, there are divisions in the different groups between ‘optimists’ and ‘pessimists’, who are also divided in their vision of Russia. These various tendencies are to be identified among Russian politicians today. However, without a single dream of the future, the Russian nation is unlikely to attain the social and political stability that alone can assure its attainment.