Beyond Europe and Asia: The Rise of the Eurasian Identity
Is Russia truly part of the West, or is it something entirely different? For over a century, a powerful geopolitical movement has argued that Russia belongs to neither Europe nor Asia, but to a unique, third civilization: Eurasia.
Eurasianism emerged in the early 20th century, primarily among Russian émigrés fleeing the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution and the subsequent civil war (1917–1923). Unlike many White Russian exiles, these thinkers rejected the restoration of the Tsarist monarchy. Instead, they sought the geopolitical reconstruction of a unified Eurasian great power, viewing the Soviet Union not as an enemy, but as a potential stepping stone toward a new national identity.
The movement's roots lie in 19th-century 'vostochniki' (Orientalizers) who, following national humiliations like the Crimean War and the 1878 Berlin Treaty, advocated for eastward expansion. They viewed Western 'intellectual colonization' as a threat to Russian identity. This sentiment was echoed by figures like Fyodor Dostoevsky, who famously noted in 1881 that Russia was both Tatar and European. Early Eurasianists like Prince Nikolai Trubetzkoy even looked to the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan as the true predecessor of the Russian state.
Today, the ideology has undergone a significant resurgence. While the original movement was characterized by romanticism and a rejection of ethnic nationalism, modern iterations have become more polarized. The movement now includes the neo-fascist currents of Aleks and Dugin, the communist Eurasianism of Gennady Zyuganov, and state-sanctioned versions. This modern framework is reflected in Russia's 2023 Foreign Policy Concept, which defines the nation as a 'Eurasian and Euro-Pacific' state seeking to replace Western hegemony with a 'Greater Eurasian Partnership'.
Source: Eurasianism
