Publication

This paper examines Russia’s domestic and foreign policy to determine what it demonstrates about the use of the conservative ideology that the authors state has predominated in official discourse in the country since 2011. In general, the authors contend that although this ideology is stated to be the Kremlin’s interpretation of Russian political traditions, their review of Russian policy demonstrates that the Kremlin's resort to conservatism is in fact purely instrumental. They believe that Moscow's main aims are to 1) enhance the legitimacy of the existing model of power; 2) manipulate public opinion at home and abroad; and 3) provide the authorities with arguments to implement repressive internal policies and an anti-Western foreign policy.