JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Ideology of Putinism: Is It Sustainable?” – CSIS
“… Borrowing heavily from czarist and Soviet themes, as well as other intellectual sources like the twentieth-century radical right, Putinism elevates an idea of imperial-nationalist statism amplified by Russian greatness, exceptionalism, and historical struggle against the West. Statism, a key pillar of Putin’s ideology, includes deference to a strong, stable state, allowing Russians to be Russians; such statism is based on exceptionalism and traditional values. Another pillar is anti-Westernism … [including] a messianic notion of Russia as a great power and civilization state …. [T]his ideology is not spelled out in philosophical texts but most often absorbed through signs, symbols, and popular culture …. Will this ideology help keep Putin in power? This report suggests that it could. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and … radical break with the West have prompted the regime to mount even more … ideology-building …. It is hard to see where challenges to the Putinist ideology could emerge in Russia. …. The flexibility of Putin’s ideology machine and the simplicity of [its] narratives … suggest … Putinism is not going anywhere soon and may become further entrenched ….”