The Russian war or the price of Empire

In the West, Russia is associated with extreme forms of struggle, both offensive and defensive. It was through war that the Russia of the Tsars entered the concert of European nations. The USSR set itself up as a champion of peace and friendship between peoples, but it was through war that it became a superpower, before collapsing. In today's Russian identity discourse, Orthodoxy and war, in their sacrificial dimension, occupy more and more space. Since 2000, Vladimir Putin's regime has pursued a policy of aggressive withdrawal that has led to increasingly ambitious "military operations", culminating in the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It is mobilising history, as well as the country's material and human resources, but, paradoxically, is still refusing to declare war.