goodbye to russia

During the 1980s, the possibility arose of transforming Russian-European relations marked by the political-ideological tensions of the Cold War and initiating a period of cooperation. However, the disintegration of the Soviet Union hindered this possibility and opened the way for a process of expansion of the European integration model that contributed to the marginalization of Russia. To try to understand Russian-European relations, experts have approached this phenomenon from different aspects ranging from the ontological to the economic and geopolitical.

The possibility of configuring a cooperation project where such varied geographical and cultural spaces converge was a topic that covered the literature on Russian-European relations for some years. However, the 2008 global economic crisis and the Ukrainian conflict have not only exacerbated narratives about the confrontation between Russians and Europeans, they have also made it clear that Russia will stay out of the Atlantic system in its economic and security aspects. At the same time, Russia and Europe have entered into a great geopolitical game where nationalist perspectives help in the construction of a narrative framework that tries to justify warmongering actions.

Russo-European relations have been accompanied by at least two different political perspectives. In one, it is committed to diversity, cooperation and the reconfiguration of European and world power relations, with a view to the configuration of a multipolar order. The other is committed to unity and the monopoly of ideas, promotes economic growth and direct political participation within the Atlantic regulatory framework. As we can see, neither of the two perspectives breaks the correlative notions regarding the Russian being and the European being that depend on each other.

In the current context, Europe does not seek to include Russia as part of the region, on the contrary, it seeks to foment rivalry by fueling the conflict in Ukraine. For its part, the explanatory framework for understanding Russia’s behavior and its international position is the identity of a Great Power, which has been the basis of a system of political thought that clashes with the current material conditions of that country, the dependence on hydrocarbon exports. These conditions define the meaning of the Russian economy, contemporary identities and social relations in that country. However, in the current international context, Russia does not seek to isolate itself, it does not seek autarky.

Since the conflict in eastern Ukraine worsened after the start of the so-called special military operation, Europe in the media spotlight projects itself united against the common enemy. The European offensive against Russia can be seen on all fronts, which includes, of course, the statements of its leaders. In an interview given to the German newspaper Die Zeit, Angela Merkel assured that the Minsk agreements served to give Ukraine time and that this country took advantage of this situation to strengthen itself. The Russian response to this statement was immediate and it was the Russian president himself who responded by saying that the statements by the former German chancellor only confirmed that the decision to launch the special military operation was correct. It does not matter if in the same interview Merkel also affirms that her decisions sought to avoid a larger conflict, since the blood of Ukrainians and Russians, the others from Europe, has continued to spill in the Donbas for years.