Imperial Despotism of Russia: Historical Perspectives

When: Friday, December 5, 2025, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Where: GC101, Graduate Centre, Queen Mary University of London

A CEREES Lecture with Sabine Dullin

Russian identity has long been confined by autocracy and imperial ambition, a condition that continues under Putin, whose twenty-five-year rule and the war in Ukraine reflect this legacy. In this lecture Sabine Dullin emphasises that official Russian discourse, past and present, frames the role of the ruler, militarism, and imperial power as central to national identity. Even after the fall of the tsars, autocratic governance persisted, and the empire repeatedly re-emerged in new forms. Dullin argues that a truly pluralistic and open Russia can only arise once Russians reject both despotism and imperial domination.

Réflexions sur le despotisme impérial de la Russie (Payot, 2025).

“A despot and an imperial vision: this is the prison in which Russian identity has been locked up for centuries. And Vladimir Putin, in power for twenty-five years and the architect of the war in Ukraine, will not deny it! There is no doubt that a pluralistic and open regime cannot emerge sustainably in Russia as long as Russians do not also turn their backs on this imperial identity, which cloaks itself in a false anti-imperialism and a false existential defense.

This is the bold thesis of this essay, which continues with a selection of texts—some little-known—by Europeans who, from the 16th to the 21st century, have questioned Russia’s imperial despotism. Their relevance is troubling. For let us make no mistake: fascinated and critical, these texts also hold up a mirror to Europe, reflecting back to it what it was: colonial, imperialist, and fascist—and what it could well become: antidemocratic.”

Organiser 

The lecture is organised by HSS Research Centre, Centre for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CEREES), and supported by IHSS.