The Empire of Meaning

Essays on Russia's State Ideology and Civilizational Politics
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-03594-7
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: BASEES/Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies

This book examines the ideological foundations of post-2022 Russia, arguing that the Putin regime is not merely defined by personalist rule, authoritarian tactics, or foreign policy decisions. Instead, it is underpinned by a carefully constructed framework of ideas, symbols, and narratives that together form an “empire of meaning.”

Through in-depth analysis of official discourse, intellectual debates, and institutional practices, this book reveals how Russian elites and state actors mobilize concepts like sovereignty, tradition, and civilizational identity. It demonstrates that the Kremlin’s use of ideology is not just rhetorical but a core element of governance, shaping state-society relations and the country’s global strategy. By situating Russia’s ideological shift within broader debates on illiberalism and identity politics, the book provides a systematic account of how ideas sustain contemporary politics.

The Empire of Meaning is essential for scholars, students, and professionals in political science, international relations, and Russian studies. It is also a valuable resource for those interested in understanding the role of ideology in modern authoritarian regimes and global politics.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Laruelle, Marlene

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction  Part 1: Ideological Foundations of the Russian State  1. The Empire of Meaning 2. Decontesting the Past: The Narrative of Russian Statehood and the Ideology of Putin’s Regime 3. A Never-Ending Rupture: The Contested Memory of Perestroika in Russia  Part 2: Affect, Moral Sovereignty and Epistemic Closure  4. Slovo Patsana and the Aesthetics of the Russian Antiworld  5. The Phantasmatic Dimension of Culture Wars: The Case of Social Conservatism 6. Expo ‘Russia’: Narrating Past, Present and Future of Russia’s One Big Happy Family 7. Wave Genetics, DNA Genealogy, Telegony: Narratives of Pseudoscience in Contemporary Russia  Part 3: War as Ideological Catalyst  8. What role did ideology play in triggering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? 9. Russian Propaganda Tactics in Wartime Ukraine 10. Russian Voenkory as ‘Affective Entrepreneurs’ and the Mediatization of ‘Moral Sovereignty’ 11. Politicized Law Enforcement and Its Ideological Orientation  Part 4: Diffusion and Projection  12. Faith in Foreign Policy: The Geopolitics of Russian Orthodoxy in the Global South  13. The Concept of Neocolonialism in the Russian Regime’s Ideology 14. Russia’s “Anticolonialism” and the Design of an Illiberal International Disorder

Über Autor(innen)

Marlene Laruelle, PhD, is a Professor at Luiss University, Rome, Italy. She also serves as Director of the Illiberalism Studies Program, a transatlantic initiative based in Washington DC and in Paris. Before joining Luiss, Marlene Laruelle was Research Professor at The George Washington University (GW) for 15 years and the Director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) there. Trained in political theory, her research explores contemporary ideologies in Russia, Europe and the United States, as well as the transnational nature of illiberalism.