Russian imperial consciousness is a spectrum of different positions that gradually transition into one another. At the opposite poles of this spectrum are, on the one hand, necro-imperialism and, on the other, imperial pacifism. Both positions took shape as early as the Soviet period but acquired entirely new forms in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Why do Russians believe in absurd things? What seems unlikely in the world-picture of a Westerner appears inevitable in the world-picture of Russians. The mistake made by Western analysts is that they look for a rational motivation behind the behavior of the Russian authorities. Russians, however, assess the significance of events differently and assign different probabilities to them, and this directly affects their imperial consciousness.
Ukraine now faces the challenge of reversing the course of the war during the transition to a new technological era, one that demands of the Commander-in-Chief not only experience and professionalism but also talent. Will Mykhailo Drapatyi be able to meet this challenge?
During talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, July 25, in Omsk, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed freezing the war in Ukraine. However, Estonian publicist Andrei Kuzichkin believes that, in reality, Kazakhstan’s president was conveying a message to Putin from Xi Jinping. The question remains whether Putin is capable of interpreting it correctly – and there are serious doubts about that.
On July 8, 2026, another article by Valerii Zaluzhnyi was published. The central thesis of the article is that advances in military technology require a fundamental reassessment of conventional ideas about war, including the very concept of military victory. Are Western leaders, who bear responsibility for the fate of their nations, prepared to draw the necessary conclusions and rethink their strategic vision of war?
At the core of political conflicts between Poland and Ukraine lies a divergent understanding of history. However, these contradictions can be overcome if historical disputes are not politicized but are instead approached through a shared understanding of the state as an instrument of the legal system designed to ensure normal social life. Political contradictions with Russia, however, are fundamentally irreconcilable. Even if enlightened liberals were to come to power in Russia, they would not be able to change the historical fact that Russia developed as a militarized state whose essence is not law but a mechanism of violence.
Alexander Lukashenko, who ruled Belarus for nearly 32 years through extremist state terror is now trapped by inescapable forces. Between his economic and military dependence on Moscow and the existential threats from his own population, he finds his survival at the mercy of factors beyond his clutch.
