(In)secure Russianness: Identity narratives of Russian ethnonationalist intellectuals prior to and during the war in Ukraine (2010-2024)
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.5077/journals/connexe.2025.e2414Mots-clés :
ethnonationalisme, identité nationale, sécurité ontologique, guerre, RussieRésumé
Cet article analyse les récits identitaires développés par des intellectuels ethnonationalistes russes à la veille et pendant la guerre en Ukraine, qui a de facto commencé en 2014 avant d’être relancée par le Kremlin en 2022. S’appuyant sur des travaux en études du nationalisme et en études critiques de sécurité, l’article déplace l’attention des approches centrées sur l’État vers l’examen d’un groupe marginalisé d’acteurs non étatiques poursuivant l’objectif d’une « Russie pour les Russes ethniques » [Россия для русских]. Ces acteurs sont considérés comme des entrepreneurs idéologiques, dont les écrits ont contribué à transformer les significations et les frontières de la « russité » [русскость] en un champ de lutte symbolique. Les récits identitaires des ethnonationalistes, marqués par un profond sentiment de victimisation, n’ont pas permis d’établir une identité nationale stable en amont du conflit russo-ukrainienne. Si la guerre a profondément affecté ces récits, ses effets ont été variables. Contrairement à la crise ukrainienne de 2014 et à la guerre du Donbass, qui ont renforcé le sentiment d’incertitude identitaire, l’invasion à grande échelle de l’Ukraine est devenue une source de sécurité ontologique dans l’imaginaire ethnonationaliste. Depuis 2022, les ethnonationalistes en quête d’une nation homogène se sont largement ralliés au régime de Poutine. Cependant, les doutes quant à l’issue de la guerre en Ukraine et les tensions ethniques persistantes à l’intérieur de la Russie pourraient raviver le sentiment d’insécurité identitaire chez les ethnonationalistes russes en les poussant à rompre une nouvelle fois avec la ligne du Kremlin.
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