Sacred Imperialism: ‘Traditional Values’ and the Continuity of Russian Colonial Policy

This article examines how the concept of ‘traditional values’ functions as the main instrument of Russian neocolonial policy, transforming from domestic conservative rhetoric into a national ideology legitimising territorial conquest, human rights violations, and imperial expansion. Through critical discourse analysis of Presidential Decree № 809 (Russia, 2022) and related legislative acts, supplemented by examination of cultural artifacts and propaganda materials, the research reveals how Russia employs ‘traditional values’ as multifunctional weaponry to dehumanise opponents, destroy the international human rights system, and restore hegemonic control over states within its self-proclaimed sphere of privileged interests.

The analysis demonstrates that Russia’s ‘traditional values’ discourse replicates classical colonial patterns – dehumanisation of subject populations, cultural appropriation, historical erasure, and construction of civilisational hierarchies. The study employs postcolonial theory to expose fundamental contradictions between Russia’s constitutional provisions and actual policy implementation, revealing systematic subordination of universal human rights to particularistic statist imperatives. Case studies of Soviet cinema (Officers, 1971) and appropriated Cossack folk traditions illustrate how colonial violence is romanticised and normalised through symbolic manipulation.

The research identifies the Russian Orthodox Church as a critical instrument of ‘soft power’ and ideological control, documenting its transformation into a norm-making entrepreneur promoting theocratic tendencies despite constitutional secularism. The ‘Russkiy Mir’ (Russian World) concept emerges as the spatial dimension of this colonial strategy, evolving from cultural-linguistic discourse into military-political justification for aggression against Ukraine and other neighbouring states.

A distinctive contribution involves analysing Russia as a unique ‘carceral state’ where criminal and prison subculture has penetrated national culture over five centuries, creating an unprecedented symbiosis between imperial expansion and penal colonisation. This framework explains how ‘traditional values’ represent not temporary ideological construction but deeply rooted cultural-historical phenomenon capable of self-reproduction regardless of specific political regimes.

The paper concludes that countering Russian neocolonialism requires deconstructing this ideology, supporting post-Soviet democracies’ independence, and recognising Russian society as active bearer rather than passive victim of imperial values.