Historical sources of Russian imperial legitimation claims.
Russia's war on Ukraine has given rise to a broad debate about Russian imperialism and colonialism. Yet despite Russia's significant imperial history, the field of International Relations has few detailed accounts of its distinguishing historical features. This article builds on existing work to unp...
| Published in: | International Affairs Vol. 102; no. 2; pp. 561 - 579 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Mar2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=192225178&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 192225178 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00205850 INA jtl: International Affairs issn: 00205850 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 102 iid: 2 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 192225178 10.1093/ia/iiaf270 ppf: 561 ppct: 18 formats: tig: atl: Historical sources of Russian imperial legitimation claims. aug: au: Mackay, Joseph affil: Australian National University, Department of International Relations, ACT 2601, Australia su: Russia Imperialism Historical source material Sovereignty International relations Russian history Colonial administration Annexation (International law) sug: subj: Imperialism Historical source material Sovereignty International relations Russia International Affairs Foreign affairs Russian history Colonial administration Annexation (International law) keyword: copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs copyrightYear:2026 history imperialism inLanguage:en publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf270 copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs copyrightYear:2026 history imperialism inLanguage:en publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf270 ab: Russia's war on Ukraine has given rise to a broad debate about Russian imperialism and colonialism. Yet despite Russia's significant imperial history, the field of International Relations has few detailed accounts of its distinguishing historical features. This article builds on existing work to unpack the varied attempts successive imperial projects made to legitimate Russia's rule over other populations and territories. Reconstructing Russia's imperial history, I show its claims to imperial legitimacy, past and present, varied widely. These claims were borrowed or otherwise acquired from an equally wide range of sources. They have tended to accumulate or sediment in Russian discursive practice. To illustrate this, I focus on the period that marked the height of Russian colonialism, the nineteenth century, showing a profusion of practices, styles and ways of speaking. I then argue Russia's wide-ranging claims to imperial legitimacy resurface in contemporary attempts to justify its expansionism. Recognizing the range of attempted imperial justifications helps analysts to better calibrate or specify critiques of Russian imperial ideas today. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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