The Closing of the Russian Mind

How Putin's Ideology Took the Nation Hostage

Andrei Kolesnikov (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

256 Seiten

2026
Polity Press (Verlag)
978-1-5095-6815-4 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Januar 2026)
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Not so long ago, Russia under Putin appeared to be a corrupt state run by an elite mainly interested in their own privileges and wealth: authoritarian but not fundamentally expansionist.

Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine made it clear that Putin is driven by far more than simply greed. Putin's Russia is, Andrei Kolesnikov argues, in the grip of intense ideological radicalisation, seeking to mobilise its population in support of a form of chauvinistic neo-imperialism using increasingly totalitarian methods. This march towards 'hybrid totalitarianism' is underpinned by a messianic view of Russia as a superior, 'spiritual' form of civilization-state underpinned by its Orthodox faith and hatred of Western 'decadence'. Based upon a falsified version of history and a profound hostility to modernisation, this ideology is making Russia an international pariah and condemning Russian citizens to endless war and economic stagnation. The only hope for redemption is a profound moral regeneration which redefines the nation's place in the world and embraces the spirit of democracy.

This incisive analysis of the ideological dynamics of late Putinism, written by a leading Russian scholar and journalist, is an indispensable guide to understanding Russia's recent descent into war-mongering barbarism.

Andrei Kolesnikov is an award-winning Russian journalist, author, and political analyst, writing from within Russia. He was previously a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Preface: 'Kyiv was bombed...'

Chapter One: Hybrid Totalitarianism: Interdependence of Regime and Ideology
Chapter Two: Roots, Crown and Flags: The Evolution of the Russian Idea
Chapter Three: The 'Special Path' of the 'State-Civilization'
Chapter Four: History as a Weapon
Chapter Five: Ideology as a Tool of Suppression
Chapter Six. Making Unfreedom Sacred
Chapter Seven: A Country Without a Future: Is Russia’s Modernization Possible?

Acknowledgements
Index
Contents

Erscheint lt. Verlag	30.1.2026
Verlagsort	Oxford
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Europäische / Internationale Politik
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Systeme
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie
ISBN-10	1-5095-6815-8 / 1509568158
ISBN-13	978-1-5095-6815-4 / 9781509568154
Zustand	Neuware