Russian Question Research Articles

Quo Vadis Europe? The “Russian Question”

This article revisits the key factors that have reshaped European security to serve as a baseline for framing two distinct paths that will determine the continent’s security architecture in the coming decades. At the center of this discussion is Europe’s answer to the “Russian question”: the role that Russia wants to play in Europe as compared to the level of influence it may be able to achieve through economic pressure and military force. It posits that the answer is inextricably connected to how Germany’s foreign policy evolves going forward, especially the German-Polish relationship and military trilateral cooperation between the United States, Germany, and Poland. It will also touch on the issue of Brexit as arguably the most significant development that will continue to shape European security for years to come, and, by extension, America’s European strategy.

К вопросу о размежевании неонароднической среды и образовании народно-социалистической партии

The article is devoted to the origins of the Popular Socialist Party, which is a question that has not been given a clear answer by modern historiography yet. It considers events and discussions during the founding congress of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (December 25, 1905 – January 2, 1906), where the final separation between Neo-Populists took place. The author identifies and analyses the main contradictions between the left-wing and right-wing Neo-Populists related to the party program and its tactics, which became especially acute during the congress. Main differences in the attitudes towards the illegal methods of political struggle that were accepted by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and rejected by the future Popular Socialists are pointed out. The author also analyses their program differences regarding the solution of the agrarian question in Russia: socialization among the Socialist-Revolutionaries and nationalization among the moderate Populists. The socio-psychological factors that hindered any constructive dialogue between the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Russkoe bogatstvo group are revealed. The grounds for classifying the moderate Populists in the early 20th century as part of the Socialist Revolutionary community and the arguments in favor of the independent formation of the Popular Socialist Party are presented.

The Foreign Policy Orientation of the Russian Officers and the Factors of the Formation and Failures of the White Movement: Formulating the Problem

The article examines the political and military orientation of the Russian officer corps after the October Revolution of 1917. Drawing on a wide range of ego-sources, the question is posed as to the validity of the widespread version of the outcome of the Civil War and the fate of the White Movement. The disintegration of the Russian army and the subsequent fragmentation of the vast body of the Russian Empire predetermined a change in the position on the “Russian question” of all the main participants in the Great War, above all Britain, France, Germany, and to a certain extent the United States and Japan. Military considerations dictated the active participation of these countries in the struggle around a potential Eastern Front on the territory of the former Romanov's Empire. The Russian officer corps was also forced to determine who they wanted to support – the German side, the Allies and/or the Soviets. The article provides a general characteristic of the composition and state of the corps by the autumn of 1917 and its further evolution, identifying the factors that predetermined this or that choice. The authors analyse the distribution of political and personal predilections of officers with regard to foreign policy orientation. They examine the full range of motivations for choosing an orientation in the circumstances of 1917–1918 and partly in 1919 for different categories of officers. The question of the motives of those officers who chose the path of “national” self-determination is addressed. Each case is illustrated with examples of prominent officers of the rank of general and officers of the staff. In conclusion, the authors chart the trajectories for further research on the subject of political orientations among Russian officers in exile, up to the end of the Second World War.

British Diplomacy at the 1922 Conference in Genoa

The paper highlights the diplomatic struggle between British and Soviet delegations at the international economic conference in Genoa which was held in the period from 10 April to 19 May 1922. As the author demonstrates, the participants of the prime post-war forum focused on the settlement of the so called “Russian question” relating to Soviet Russia’s acknowledgment of foreign debts in return to Moscow’s commitment to repay them, including pre-war financial obligations and loans made by the tsarist and Provisional governments throughout the global armed conflict. The study entirely reveals the inability to score a compromise on virtually all the problems, both political and economic that were raised by British diplomacy on the eve and during the Genoa conference.

A Letter from the Samara “Consul” to the Prime Minister of France about the Events of the Civil War: A Citizen’s Duty and Self-Interest

The letter by French “consul” Jeannot proposed to the reader highlights the participation of French military and diplomatic representatives in the Civil War in the Volga Region in 1918. Soviet historiography considers Jeannot one of the key figures who caused the situation in the Czechoslovak Corps in the spring of 1918 to destabilise; however, information about him is scarce. This letter highlights the role of Jeannot in events related to the mutiny of the Czechoslovak legion and demonstrates his motivation and understanding of events in Russia between 1914 and 1918. The letter dates from September 1919 and is addressed to Georges Clemenceau, president of the Council of Ministers of France. According to the document, Jeannot wanted compensation for the financial costs that he had incurred during his mission in Russia and aspired to demonstrate his usefulness and competence in the “Russian question” to the officials of the Third Republic. The document touches upon the financial side of French anti-Soviet actions in the Volga Region and French speculation in the Russian domestic market in 1918. Jeannot’s letter is kept in the fund of the Second Bureau of the General Staff of France of the Historical Service of the French Ministry of Defense (Service Historique de la Défense).

Justification of Russia: political views of Russian cosmists

The article is devoted to the investigation of Russian cosmists’ political views. The political theory touched upon in the works of the cosmists is an essential feature of the entire trend. At the same time, a paradox in the political views of cosmists is observed. On the one hand, the project of cosmism is universal, worldwide. On the other hand, not a single cosmist ignored the question of Russia's place in the world, and this reflects the nature of Russian thought. We can see that the problem of political power in cosmism is both universal and national. Unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to this problem, although Russian cosmism is recognized as the core of all Russian philosophy and as an important element of the Russian idea. The study of the political thought of Russian cosmism is an important step in understanding the political characteristics of Russian culture. For a complete review the cosmists’ philosophy of politic, we analyzed the works of Russian cosmists – N.F. Fedorov, V.S. Solovyov, K.E. Tsiolkovsky V.I. Vernadsky, S.G. Semenova and lesser known figures – N.A. Setnitsky, V.N. Muravyov, B.B. Vakhtin, I.M. Borzenko. Dialectical and hermeneutic methods were used to solve the research problems. As a result of the study, the key features of various political concepts of cosmists are identified, the palette of political views of cosmists is presented, including N.F. Fedorov’s autocracy, V.N. Muravyov’s republic, B.B. Vakhtin’s skepticism of the possibility of stable political governance. The philosophical and historical causes of changes in the political views of cosmists are proposed. The proposition that the political views of Russian cosmists synthetically combine the universal and the individual, thereby removing the contradiction between the global and the national, is substantiated. It is noted that various political concepts of Russian cosmists is reduced by a general intention towards a global and cosmic essence of the political structure. This intention is one of the main features of Russian cosmism.

ФАКТОР РОССИИ В ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ НАТО ВО ВРЕМЕНА ПРЕЗИДЕНСТВА Д. ТРАМПА

The article says that the "Russian question" will always be a "stumbling block" in relations between American and European NATO partners. And if Americans, out of habit, find it beneficial to remove any conflicts, including local military ones, from their borders as much as possible, and there is no better field for battle, from which the American speculators will once again emerge victorious than Europe, then Europeans in this Europe - to live taking into account the interests of such a political giant as the Russian Federation. In this regard, the political figures of Putin and Trump in Europe traditionally cause a great public outcry, and following or confrontation with the political positions of both unites and leads political figures from the largest and strategically important countries of Europe (Germany, France, Poland, Ukraine). The United States needs NATO as a conduit for its foreign policy and as a chain dog that will not allow Russia to regain the political gains of the Second World War lost in the 1990s, as well as significant political influence in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics.

Ідея слов’янської єдності у творах Олександра Солженіцина

Background: Throughout the ХІХ century, Panslavism actually determined the foreign policy of the Russian Empire, and at the same time was a topic to which Russian intellectuals often referred in their works. And although in the ХХ century the ideas of Panslavism lost their significance, they did not disappear and continued to remain a topic for intellectual discussions and debates in scientific and literary circles. Thus, the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) repeatedly referred to the analysis of the Slavic idea in his works, trying to find out what influence it had on the development of Russia. Purpose: Objectively cover the views of Solzhenitsyn on the idea of Slavic unity and its role in the development of Russia. It is necessary to analyze the journalistic works of O. Solzhenitsyn, in which he considered issues important to our study. Moreover, the article is an analysis of the reaction to the idea of O. Solzhenitsyn, as well as the impact of the idea on the development of Russia's intellectual environment. Results: An analysis of O. Solzhenitsyn’s works gives grounds to conclude that the theme of Slavic unity did not occupy a central place in his work. The writer considered it only in the context of his concept of the historical development of Russia. According to this concept, first the Russian Empire, and later the USSR, constantly interfered in unnecessary foreign policy adventures, ignoring domestic development. In fact, O. Solzhenitsyn mainly mentioned Panslavism in his essay “The Russian Question until the End of the Twentieth Century”, in which he gave a brief overview of Russian history. The idea of Slavic unity and its role in the history of Russia was negatively assessed by the writer, because the Russian Empire, trying to implement it, spent too many resources, which in turn had a very bad effect on the development of the Russian people. Accordingly, the author warned against repeating such mistakes in the future. However, in the works of O. Solzhenitsyn there is a certain inconsistency when it comes to the Eastern Slavs. This situation can be explained by the writer's ideological convictions as a Russian nationalist: all his proposals, including the unity of the Eastern Slavs within one state, were attempts to theoretically substantiate Russia's right to own East Slavic lands. However, Solzhenitsyn's ideas did not have a significant impact on Russian society and government, as the proposal to focus on domestic development, abandoning constant foreign policy adventures, did not correlate with the imperial character of the Russian people. Keywords: O. Solzhenitsyn, Slavic idea, Panslavism, history of Russia. Dyakov, V., 1994. On the historical and sociological concept of A. Solzhenitsyn. Social Sciences and Modernity, 1, pp.64–76. (In Russian) Dugin, A., 2000. Foundations of Geopolitics. Moscow: Vector–Eurasia. (In Russian) Nizhnikov, S., 2014. Socio-political views of A. I. Solzhenitsyn. Philosophical Sciences, 2, pp.64–74. (In Russian) Thompson, E., 2008. Troubadours of the Empire: Russian Literature and Colonialism. Kyiv: Osnova. (In Ukrainian) Saraskina, L., 2008. Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Moscow: Molodaya gvardiya. (In Russian) Saraskina, L., 2010. Frontline fate of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Public Education, 4, pp.59–64. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 1995. To the All-Russian Patriarch Pimen. In: Solzhenitsyn, A. I. Publicism, 1. Yaroslavl: Verhnyaya Volga, pp.133–137. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 1995a. Letter to the leaders of the Soviet Union. In: Solzhenitsyn, A. I. Publicism, 1. Yaroslavl: Verhnyaya Volga, pp.148–186. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 1995b. How can we equip Russia?. In: Solzhenitsyn, A. I. Publicism, 1. Yaroslavl: Verhnyaya Volga, pp.538–598. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 1995c. The Russian Question by the End of the 20th Century. In: Solzhenitsyn, A. I. Publicism, 1. Yaroslavl: Verhnyaya Volga, pp.616–702. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 1997. Television interview with the Ostankino company. In: Solzhenitsyn, A. I. Publicism, 3. Yaroslavl: Verhnyaya Volga, pp.361–382. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 1997. Interview with Rudolf Augstein for the magazine “Der Spiegel”. In: Solzhenitsyn, A. I. Publicism, 3. Yaroslavl: Verhnyaya Volga, pp.285–320. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 1997. Interview with Forbes magazine. In: Solzhenitsyn, A. I. Publicism, 3. Yaroslavl: Verhnyaya Volga, pp.474–482. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 2003. A grain was pleased between two millstones. Novyi myr, 11, pp.33–97. (In Russian) Solzhenitsyn, A., 2006. Russia in a landslide. Moscow: Russkij put'. (In Russian) Message from the President to the Federal Assembly [online]. President of Russia. Available: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/messages/65418 [Accessed: 20 September 2021] (In Russian)

Differences in the views of obstetricians-gynecologists and intensivists based on the survey “Provision of medical care to patients with stillbirth”. Original article

Introduction. The Russian Federation’s stillbirth rate is almost twice that of the United States and Europe, while domestic treatment protocols are still lacking. Objectives. To analyze the results of a survey of obstetricians-gynecologists and intensivists on the problems of providing medical care to patients with stillbirth. Materials and methods. We have developed a questionnaire, which consisted of 23 questions in Russian. A total of 369 Russian-speaking doctors, intensivists and obstetricians-gynecologists took part in the survey. Results. The need to turn off the mother’s consciousness at the time of giving birth to a dead fetus caused great disagreement between the related specialists (p = 0.0001). 56 % of intensivists and 35 % of obstetricians-gynecologists were in favor of turning off the mother’s consciousness. According to 23 % of obstetricians-gynecologists and only 9 % of intensivists, visual and tactile contact of a mother and her dead fetus has a positive impact on the psychoemotional state of the woman (p = 0.002). Respondents from both specialties preferred epidural analgesia in more than half of the cases. Conclusions. A list of issues for which the greatest differences in ratings were obtained has been identified, which will further help to identify priority issues for discussion and points of application for creating agreed documents on the best management of pregnant women with stillbirth.

Debates on the Peasant Question in the Nikolaevan Era

A large scholarly literature exists about plans for a peasant reform in the reign of Nicholas I. However, the most important archival documents about the debates on the peasant question remain unpublished. The new book by T. V. Andreeva “The distant approaches to the Great Reform: The peasant question in Russia in the reign of Nicholas I” seeks to fill this lacuna. The book begins with a historical survey of the six government committees that were tasked with planning reforms, followed by an extensive collection of archival documents of both official and private provenance. In the debates under Nicholas I, the specific problem of serfdom was folded into the larger question of the social position of the peasants, which the government regarded as a source of both political instability and economic backwardness. The solution that officials envisioned was a reform that was comprehensive, multi-faceted, and gradual. Step-by-step, the evolution that had led to creation of serfdom from the 17th century onward was to be reversed: the landlords were gradually to lose their power over the person of the serfs, who were to be attached only to the land itself. Eventually, the serfs were to be emancipated with land; in the meantime, restrictions on the power of landlords and a comprehensive reform of the state peasants were to serve as preparatory steps. According to Andreeva, the vision of Nicholas and his advisors was too limited and conservative, and premised on the mistaken belief that it was possible to modernize the country without touching the core of the sociopolitical system.

Report NATO 2030: Italy in a Changing Alliance

In March 2020, a group of experts was appointed by secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to examine the situation of the Alliance in these uncertain times and to provide a proposition for the principles of the Alliance for the coming decade. After the completion, the Report mostly stayed under the radar. My goal is to identify those fields in which Italy can take a leading role, or on the contrary: the fields in which Italy has more to do. During my research, my method was to find the Report’s most significant recommendations and to assess Italy’s position on the issue, trying to find the main implications for Italy. I identified four major fields in which the changing NATO goes lack consensus, and causes intra-Alliance frictions. One of these is the question of Russia. Italy has a good relationship with the old rival, but NATO – not excluding the possibility for cooperation – has a way more negative perspective about Russia. Almost the same stands for China. Italy’s and several other Member States’ relationship with China causes some controversy among the Allied States. Among other factors, these cause strategic divergencies in the Alliance. Different friends and adversaries, different interests and values sometimes make the cooperation hard. Because of this, it is of utmost importance to improve political coordination and cooperation. The most important field, in which Italy can take a leading role is the Southern Strategic Direction. Italy is already a very active player in the Mediterranean region, as it is a vital area in Italy’s security. I believe Italy will have the military and political power, and most likely also the willingness to be among the leading nations in implementing the findings of NATO 2030, if it can maintain or strengthen its position in the Alliance.

Русские вещи из золотоордынской столицы — города Сарай ал-Джедид (к вопросу о расселении русских в золотоордынских нижневолжских городах)

The purpose of the article is to study the archaeological evidence of the presence of the Russian Orthodox population in the Golden Horde capitals of Saray and Saray al-Jedid and in other Lower Volga cities. The chronological framework of the study covers the middle of the XIII — beginning of the XV centuries. The main sources are written sources and archaeological materials. The work is based on a comprehensive comparative-critical analysis of known sources. The article describes the objects of Christian Orthodox worship discovered during archaeological research at the Saltpetre settlement (Saray al-Jedid). The article provides information on the frequency of Orthodox items and other samples of material culture of the Russian population in the Lower Volga Golden Horde cities. A comparative analysis of information and archaeological sources about the stay of Russians in the Golden Horde capitals (Saray and Saray al-Jedid) and the cities of Hadji Tarkhan, Ukek, Beldjamen, Gulistan is carried out. In the process of considering the time of appearance on the Lower Volga of immigrants from Russian lands, the author’s version of the name of the Golden Horde city of Hadji Tarkhan is proposed. It is assumed that during the existence of the Lower Volga metropolitan region of the Ulus of Jochi, the residence of compact groups of the Russian population on its territory was orderly. In the XIII century. For this purpose, the cities of Hadji Tarkhan and Ukek were identified, and in the XIV century — the cities of Ukek, Beldjamen, and Gulistan. The Golden Horde capitals were probably visited by Russian people only briefly and irregularly. At the turn of the XIV– XV centuries. The “Russian question” was decided in the city of Sarai al-Jedid.

Yes and no answers to Russian negative polar questions

Yes and no answers to Russian negative polar questions

СТРАТЕГИЧЕСКИЕ НАРРАТИВЫ КАК ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЙ РЕСУРС МЯГКОЙ СИЛЫ: «БЕССМЕРТНЫЙ ПОЛК» НА СТРАЖЕ ИНТЕРЕСОВ РОССИИ

The article examines the question of Russia's use of "soft power" in its foreign policy in the context of a nar-rative scientific direction. The research goal is to describe strategic narratives as a communication technolo-gy of "soft power". The author evaluates the heuristic possibilities of the concept of strategic narratives as an analytical research tool. As the civil action "Immortal Regiment" is chosen as a political practice, it was nec-essary to clarify whether the photograph is a kind of narrative and to offer a triangulation of narrative and quantitative methods of analysis. The empirical part of the study is based on content analysis, allowing re-cording the dynamics of the global spread of the Immortal Regiment campaign. The outcome is an assess-ment of the effectiveness of using strategic narratives as a resource of Russia's soft power in foreign policy on the example of the "Immortal Regiment" campaign at the global level. The classification of media re-sources as communicative intermediaries in the spreading of strategic narratives is carried out. It is shown that the narrative that Russia is trying to convey is the history of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War, reflecting the official discourse of historical policy and the policy of commemorating these events.

Rosyjskie towarzystwa rolnicze u schyłku XIX i na początku XX w. w opinii współczesnych

The article is devoted to the views of A. G. Shcherbatov on the role, tasks and significance of the agricultural societies of the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Shcherbatov was the Chairman of the Moscow Imperial Society of Agriculture and an official of the Ministry of Agriculture. His position largely determined the ideology of agrarian public organizations. He contributed to the formation of state policy in agriculture. A. G. Shcherbatov considered agricultural societies a simple and effective way to solve the agrarian question in Russia. The agrarian public organizations performed many functions. The most important task A. G. Shcherbatov considered was to improve the commercial profitability of agricultural societies and their competitiveness on the market. Their activities became more effective with the support of the state and zemstvos. Regional agricultural societies had their own specifics. Prior to the First World War, these agrarian associations achieved significant results. The program of A. G. Shcherbatov on agricultural societies was to some extent realized.

Medical and psychological support of women with stillbirth in the perinatal period: a national study

In the Russian Federation, the stillbirth rate in 2018 was 5.51 per 1000 live and dead births, which is almost twice the figure in the United States and Europe. This study aimed to conduct a rating analysis separately for each factor that influences the selection of techniques for the management of labor and the postpartum period in women with stillbirth.
 Material and methods. A questionnaire was developed, which consisted 23 questions in Russian. A total of 402 Russian-speaking medical workers took part in the survey.
 Results. In this study, 49.7% of the respondents seldom encounter patients with stillbirth. Moreover, 59.5% of the respondents find it easy to create a supportive communication with these patients, 70% believed that contact between the mother and her stillborn child has a negative influence on her psychoemotional state both at the time of delivery and in the long term, and only 27.7% found that mothers wanted to spend time with the child. As the optimal method of analgesia, 57.2% of the respondents chose epidural analgesia for stillbirth delivery. Furthermore, 57.7% believed that patients with stillbirth were satisfied with the quality of medical care, and 74.1% gave a positive assessment of the quality of medical care provided to patients with stillbirth in their medical institutions. Moreover, medical professionals (89.3%) consider it necessary to develop clinical recommendations on this problem.
 Conclusions. The results indicate that a unified technique of managing the peripartum period with stillbirth is still not established. Clinical guidelines on this problem are necessary.

Реакция официального Вашингтона на развитие политической ситуации в России в конце 1917 – начале 1918 г.

The present study considers the attitude of the US government to the development of the political crisis in Russia in November 1917 – March 1918. The author examines the main factors that influenced the position of the official Washington in relation to the opposing parties to the conflict during this period: the beginning of separate negotiations between the Soviet government and Germany, the lack of unity in the anti-Bolshevist camp, the desire of the allies to use the situation in Russia in order to realize their own interests. Particular attention is paid to the White House’s striving to preserve a single central government in Russia during World War I and the desire of American leadership to distance itself from direct intervention in the conflict and thus maintain the possibility to interact with all opposing sides. The study evaluates the role of this stage in the evolution of the US government's views on the “Russian question” and its impact on the implementation of the American program on a post-war peaceful settlement.

“...About the Beginning of the Slavic-Russian People”: the Views of the Russian Thinkers of the 16-17 Centuries on the Origin of Russian Civilization

The special role of Russia in the world history and its civilizational status is recognized by all representatives of the civilizational approach. However, this understanding did not arise from nowhere, but relied on the basis of the already prepared deep and complex intellectual work of Russian scribes. The question of Russia’s role and place in the world historical process as a separate civilization was studied by Russian authors since the earliest times. At the national level, that issue was actualized in the 16-17 centuries. On the basis on the analysis of the texts of the 16-17 centuries. the author of the article examines in detail what approaches to the understanding of their place in the world’s Christian history were developed by the scribes who were involved in the formation of the historical policy of the Russian state. The author suggests to distinguish two such approaches – the dynastic and the national ones.

Features of Functioning and Development of Network Scientific Journals in the Modern Digital Landscape System: Russian and Bulgarian Experience Comparative Analysis

The article analyzes the experience of development of electronic scientific journals in Russia and Bulgaria in the context of general trends of digitalization and transformation of the sphere of science management in recent decades and also the implementation of a strategy to increase the competitiveness of science in the global scientific community, which is reflected in the activities of scientific journals. The main problem that draws attention of the authors is how universal digitalization changes the usual view of science, affecting the development of periodicals, and how, on the contrary, the network form of social institutions of science affects its development, what place such journals occupy in the general view of science. The article examines the potential of journals in Russia and Bulgaria to promote the achievements of scientists, increase the credibility of representatives of individual scientific and educational institutions, meet the requirements of scientometrics, reflect the trends of transformation of the global scientific landscape, and fight against “fake” science. The object of the research is a number of journals in the fields of political science, philosophy, history, cultural studies, sociology, psychology, communications and information technologies published in Russia and Bulgaria, which originated as a network or use the network form as one of the main ones in their activities. The main method used in the study is an expert survey. The guide of the expert interview includes 18 questions in Russian and Bulgarian. A total of 12 interviews are conducted with editors-in-chief and members of editorial boards of 9 Russian journals, and 8 interviews with editors-in-chief of Bulgarian journals. The comparative analysis reveals similarities and differences in the goal setting of creating electronic journals, their advantages and disadvantages, the role of scientometrics, the choice of access forms and technological solutions for communication, and development prospects. The role of electronic journals in the digital socialization of scientists – authors, editors, and reviewers, and in the transformation of the usual forms of research activities of modern researchers is shown. The question of the key role of electronic journals in the fundamental change in the global scientific landscape at the same time identifies the problem of the crisis of confidence in e-magazines related to as with tradition, accepted by the scientific community, and with inadequate understanding of goal setting of electronic periodicals and their differences from print publications.

Великий Русский Народ как национальная идея России

The present research featured the state-forming status of the Russian people. The article focuses on the issue of fixing the legal status of Russians as the state-forming nation in the preamble to the Constitution. The research was based on a complex extrapolation modeling, comparative historical analysis, and behavioral approach. The author justified the amendments and explored domestic and foreign policy prospects for the long-overdue constitutional reforms. He introduced three possible constitutional solutions to the so-called Russian question and commented upon the opinion expressed by the judge of the Constitutional Court K. V. Aranovskiy on the state historical continuity of the Russian state. The author believes that there is no alternative to the national roadmap proclaimed by the President of the Russian Federation. However, there is a legal option to restore sovereignty by correcting the incorrigible "Yeltsin" Constitution. The country can claim its political sovereignty by adopting a new fundamental law and conducting the national Referendum on the New Constitution. The author gives evidence in favor of the spontaneous onset of the Russian irredenta in Ukraine. The denationalization of the state-forming ethnic group probably determined the collapse of the USSR and triggered the current constitutional crisis. The research also involved a geopolitical strategic analysis of various projects that proclaim the USSR and the Russian Federation the direct successors of the Russian Empire. The article features the traditional global practice of granting constitutional status to the dominant state-forming ethnic group. The analysis proved the Russian national idea as the optimal political and legal structure for solving the Russian question.