Abstract
Abstract The present article aims to propose a theoretical framework capable of elucidating the intriguing resilience of the ideas shaping the attitudes of Russian ruling circles and intellectuals toward Ukraine. Offering a perspective that incorporates the latest findings on Russia’s “empire-nation dilemma” into the explanatory model, it delves into the historical context in which the Russian political and intellectual elite’s worldview and self-narratives were shaped – the period spanning from the 1830s to 1917. It reveals the intricate link between their sense of ontological (in-)security in relation to the West and the belief that assimilating Ukraine was pivotal for bolstering external power and ensuring internal stability within the Russian state.
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