Russian nationalism shifting. The selective use of populism and nationalism for a new pan-Russian identity after the Annexation of Crimea

Abstract

This article focuses on the on-going war in a borderland between the European Union and Russia, the conflict in Eastern Ukraine (Donbass) that started with the events on the Euromaidan and the swift annexation of Crimea by Russia. Our analysis of key speeches by Vladimir Putin regarding the annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbass demonstrates that in this case, populism extends beyond the dichotomy of the people against the establishment, since it relies on complex notions of enmity and alliance. We argue that, in the context of Crimea's annexation and the war in Donbass, the Russian political leadership deployed a discourse of Russian identity, which is based on an overstretched definition of the Russian nation, a new discursive division of the political space, and the introduction of new and the reaffirmation of old symbols of unity. We also conclude that populism and nationalism were used interchangeably according to the audience: Russian leadership has used discursive strategies associated with populism to articulate this new vision of identity in relation to Crimean residents, and nationalist ones when addressing the domestic audiences. ×