the kremlin’s new approach to national identitya more robust identity than the old rossiiane one. Instead of
postulating a community based on state borders, the Kremlin
now narrows down the national identity to something imme-
diately recognisable for the majority of the population – while
also keeping the borders of the in- group sufficiently blurred
to be able to welcome much of the rest of the population into
an expanded self. When Putin in his election platform spoke
of ‘Russian Tatars’ and ‘Russian Germans’, using the epithet
russkie and not rossiiskie (Putin 2012b), this indicates the inclu-
sive, even potentially expansionist, nature of the new project.
Some non- Russians may be ‘ethnic’ in form, but can be accepted
as ‘Russian’ in content.
On the whole, as stressed in Mikhail Alexseev’s contribution
to this volume, Russia’s national identity is far more dynamic
than its Western counterparts; more than two decades after the
breakup of the Soviet Union, it is still very much in the making.
And as shown here, the Kremlin is unwilling to define this iden-
tity further: it is ethno- culturally Russian at the core, but it is also
multi- ethnic and multi- confessional. The ethnic Russians may be
held up as the ‘state- forming’ nation – and yet, Putin categorically
refuses to redefine the Russian Federation as a Russian nation
state.
This is undoubtedly a deliberate ambiguity and a calculated
blurring of borders. According to the Kremlin, the russkii identity
should not be constrained by state borders; it represents a sepa-
rate, unique civilisation (russkii mir). The new take on national
identity thus not only contributes to rallying considerable support
for the regime within the Russian Federation, it also opens up for
reaching out to the Russian and Russified diaspora in the neigh-
bouring states. The lack of a clear definition has sometimes been
seen as a challenge to successful nation- building in Russia (see, for
example, Shevel 2011) – but it also has the advantage of leaving
the Kremlin with maximum room for manoeuvre.
Notes
- The russkii mir refers to a supranational community bonded by
Russian culture, the Russian language and the Orthodox faith, a