Russia's Aggression in Ukraine an Imperialist War that Few Russians are Ashamed Of or Will Anytime Soon, Golubyov Says

 Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 18 – The share of Russians expressing shame about their country’s invasion of Ukraine has never exceeded eight percent, a clear sign, Aleksey Golubyov says, that this action is an imperialist war and that that is accepted by most Russians and promoted by the Russian state even though both go to great lengths to deny that fact.

            The Russian historian who now teaches at the University of Houston says that he has not been able to find a single instance when the population of an imperial power has felt shame about such actions at the time when they took place and only two – in Australia and Canada -- even such acts of imperialist end (sibreal.org/a/pochemu-bolshinstvu-rossiyan-ne-stydno-za-voynu-v-ukraine-/33123886.html).

            The Kremlin fully understands just how powerful emotions like shame can be and has done what it can to prevent their emergence, Golubyov says, including seeking to control the narrative by controlling both the media and the political space and not declaring war in Ukraine lest doing so lead those who take part to use their arms against the Putin regime.

            Up to now, Putin has been successful but not just because of his own efforts. On the one hand, by turning away from Russia, the West has made his job easier because one can only feel shame relative to someone else and the West is no longer this “other” – and China is certainly not going to replace it as far as Russian culture is concerned.

            And on the other, the Russian opposition is infected with the same “great power chauvinism” as is the population. Both look down on the former imperial possessions, believe that things were better when Russians were in charge, a form of structural racism that is unlikely to disappear until long in the future.

            Golubyov observes that “when the Bolsheviks established themselves in power, they made an effort during the first 10 to 15 years to reexamine imperial history. Then, for the first time, the ruling party recognized that the entire history of the country up to 1917 was a history of colonialism and mass crimes toward the indigenous peoples.”

            But that did not produce shame as a sense of guilt because “when we speak about past crimes, this is guilt not shame. Shame besides everything else presupposes direct contact with what we are ashamed of.” Consequently, even when the war ends and Putin leaves power, it will be a long time before Russians are likely to feel shame about what they are doing in Ukraine.