Political Legitimacy and Traditional Values in Putin's Russia

by Helge Blakkisrud (Editor), Pål Kolstø (Editor)

Overview

Since Vladimir Putin’s return to the Russian presidency in 2012, protection and promotion of so-called ‘traditional values’ has played a prominent role in the Kremlin’s propaganda campaigns. From the large-scale demonstrations in 2011–2012 to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, conservative social values have been mobilised to justify the Kremlin’s policy choices. In the case of the invasion, for example, Putin argued that the allegedly ‘decadent’ western world was using Ukraine as a springboard to export its ‘pseudo-values’ into Russia. Drawing on a series of case studies spanning elite-level political rhetoric, the work of various ideological ‘values entrepreneurs’ such as the Russian Orthodox Church, and, not least, of grassroots sentiments, Political Legitimacy and Traditional Values in Putin's Russia explores authoritarian regime legitimation in today’s Russia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399539005
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	01/31/2025
Pages:	283
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Helge Blakkisrud is Associate Professor of Russian Area Studies at the University of Oslo

Pål Kolstø is Professor Emeritus of Russian and Post-Soviet Studies at the University of Oslo

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: Values-based Legitimation in Putin’s Russia
Helge Blakkisrud and Pål Kolstø

1. Russian Popular Values under President Putin: A ‘Conservative Turn’ – or Anomie?
Guri Tyldum and Pål Kolstø

2. Traditional Values and Civic Activism in Russia
Anna A. Dekalchuk, Ivan S. Grigoriev and Regina Smyth

3. Values Entrepreneurship and Ideological Reaction: The Case of Konstantin Malofeev
Marlene Laruelle

4. ‘To Lay Down His Life for His Friends’: The Russian Orthodox Church in Search of a War Theory
Mikhail Suslov

5. The Moscow Patriarchate and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Towards a Critical Explanation
Bojidar Kolov

6. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Legitimacy of Putin’s regime: A Biopolitical Perspective
Andrey Makarychev

7. The Path to ‘Healthy Conservativism’: Tracing Drivers and Legitimation in the Development of Putin’s new ‘ideology’
Tora Berge Naterstad and Helge Blakkisrud

8. Which Past is Usable for Putin’s Regime?: Analysis of Commemorative Speeches of the Russian Presidents (2000–22)
Olga Malinova

9. Has Social Conservative Rhetoric Boosted Putin’s Popularity? More Backfire than Benefit
Henry E. Hale

Appendix: Questionnaire, National sample, LegitRuss