The Russian World and Neo-Eurasianism: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Abstract

Borders, sovereignty and power in the post-Soviet space occupy the center of the Russian geopolitical discourse, which has been striving for the whole quarter century from the collapse of the USSR for its political reconceptualization and reterritorialization. Two key civilizationist concepts, the Russian World and neo-Eurasianism, play prominent roles in the Russian formal, imagined and practical geopolitics. The two concepts have different geneses and accents but also many identical characteristics. The article focusses on the contrast of the two concepts, and documents their differences and similarities from the conceptual-structural, cognitive, geographical and ideological point of view as well as from the perspective of their practical expression in Russian domestic and foreign policy. The comparison concludes with the finding that both concepts represent complementary instruments of Russian internal consolidation and the building of the Russian sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space through the mobilization of various communities and ideological patterns.