The Winner, Alas
A Brief Psychological Profile of Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia is suffering from post-imperial trauma. Large parts of society see themselves and the state as victims of hostile intrigues. They are trying to counteract this sense of national humiliation by means of aggressive, heroic self-assertion. The annexation of the Crimea has triggered a fictional rebirth. But in the post-heroic age, such an infantile project to overcome a sense of inferiority is doomed to failure.
(Osteuropa 1-2/2015, pp. 74–82)