According to her, Russian conservatives have driven a radical conspiracy theory since the 1800s about how the west is trying to eliminate the east and that Russia has a distinctive character with a higher standing, spiritually and morally. That narrative forms the backbone of the whole of Russian nationalistic thinking, of which the Kremlin has embraced large parts, including a conservative view of family policy and sexuality.
“So, to ask if nationalism is significant in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is like asking if Father Christmas hands out Christmas presents.”
Tova Höjdestrand describes Putin as being pragmatic and quite liberal until about ten years ago. There was an extensive revamp of society including a reform of social services according to the western model. His return as president in 2012 was perceived as unconstitutional by many Russians and, according to Tova Höjdestrand, was also preceded by extensive electoral fraud, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating on the streets, particularly in Moscow.
“At that point, the Kremlin became extremely scared and started to tighten things up and use extremist legislation to beat down the opposition. For example, they began to use laws that label organisations as foreign agents or extremists if they say certain things. This has got worse and worse and escalated from 2012 onwards”, she explains.
When Russia took Crimea in 2014, it was a popular move among Russians who have always considered Crimea as Russian. For Putin, the conquest was a propaganda victory but, according to Tova Höjdestrand, it also became more important to silence critical voices. Since then, repression has become worse and worse and freedom of opinion has been dramatically reduced.
“The idea of the western world’s conspiracy against Russia is the basis of Putin’s philosophy and something he uses to justify the invasion of Ukraine when the country chooses to have closer ties with the west. For Russian nationalism, the western world’s decadent consumer culture is a way to take over the world and transfer our values and culture to Russia, says Tova Höjdestrand and continues:
“However, no-one can really explain why the invasion took place now. Some people suggest that Putin has been isolated for a long time and lost contact with reality. Others believe that there is a plan. In either case, it was not unexpected that he wanted to flex his muscles, but no-one expected this massed attack on the whole of Ukraine.