![]() ![]() The ‘Russian soul’ is usually evoked alongside a conservative, anti-rational and anti-Western agenda based on religious values. Writers such as Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and others advanced the idea of an ephemeral depth to the Russian national character. On the face of it, the ‘Russian soul’ is just another national myth, born during the 19 th century, at a time when many European nations affirmed ethno-national identities (cf. SUGGESTED READING Nietzsche, Putin and the spirit of Russia By John Milbank Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, references to the Russian national character have acquired a sinister connotation, and whether or not to cancel Russian culture remains a topical and poisonous debate. ![]() Many years ago, my own Russian teacher cheerfully recommended that we ‘grow a Russian soul’ if we hoped to ever speak Russian well. The ‘enigmatic Russian soul’ is mentioned in approximately every third university application for a Russian course. But even though we can’t separate Russian politics from Russian culture, whether we can trace a direct line from the myth of the Russian soul to the war in Ukraine is highly questionable, argues Josephine von Zitzewitz. Despite this literary pedigree, these days it’s animated in the speeches of Vladimir Putin, stoking Russia’s national exceptionalism and anti-Western sentiment. The notion of the Russian soul - this ineffable essence that defines the Russian people - has its origin in figures like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Turgenev.
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