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<p>In contrast to several post-Soviet states that built national liberalizing movements to distance themselves from the Soviet empire, the Russian democratic movement has repeatedly failed to do so. This article approaches the problem as a study in intellectual history, tracing post-1991 efforts to articulate a liberal national vision through the cases of Boris Yeltsin and Alexei Navalny. Despite differences in commitment and political leeway, both leaders proved unable to forge a durable pro-democracy coalition linking Russian liberals and nationalists. Their efforts were consistently obstructed by deep societal divisions over the Soviet past, the predominance of imperial over civic forms of nationalism, and the complicating presence of a large Russian-speaking diaspora across the former USSR. The analysis demonstrates how these obstacles influenced the development of Yeltsin’s and Navalny’s rhetoric, rendering their agenda increasingly ambiguous. By comparing the two cases, the article highlights the structural barriers that have undermined liberal nation-building in Russia for more than three decades.</p>

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Russia’s unresolved identity problem from Yeltsin to Navalny

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月9日

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  • Maria Snegovaya,
  • Tina Dolbaia

摘要

In contrast to several post-Soviet states that built national liberalizing movements to distance themselves from the Soviet empire, the Russian democratic movement has repeatedly failed to do so. This article approaches the problem as a study in intellectual history, tracing post-1991 efforts to articulate a liberal national vision through the cases of Boris Yeltsin and Alexei Navalny. Despite differences in commitment and political leeway, both leaders proved unable to forge a durable pro-democracy coalition linking Russian liberals and nationalists. Their efforts were consistently obstructed by deep societal divisions over the Soviet past, the predominance of imperial over civic forms of nationalism, and the complicating presence of a large Russian-speaking diaspora across the former USSR. The analysis demonstrates how these obstacles influenced the development of Yeltsin’s and Navalny’s rhetoric, rendering their agenda increasingly ambiguous. By comparing the two cases, the article highlights the structural barriers that have undermined liberal nation-building in Russia for more than three decades.