Putin Is Latter-Day Version Of Ivan, the Terrible, U.S. Prof Argues

Dr. Dina Khapaeva, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and an expert on Russian studies and neomedievalism, has argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been shopping around for a hero that would justify his attempt to eviscerate Ukraine and invade other lands in the belief that he is destined to establish his Eurasian empire. To be honest, Putin is closest to Ivan, the Terrible.

Photo Insert: Ivan, the Terrible

In an essay written for Project Syndicate this month, Khapaeva noted that Putin is alternating his choices among Alexander Nevsky, Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Prince Vladimir, who established Kyivan Rus that was dominated by Vikings and converted his land in 988 to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Putin’s gallery of heroes is confusing, since his choice, Nevsky, actually was a vassal of the Mongols and ruled on their behalf. He also presided over the oppression of Russians during the 13th century even as he scored some victories over the Swedes and German knights.

Ivan the Terrible also used Nevsky as his paragon, the statesman and warrior who would defend the fatherland, and Nevsky was canonized in 1547 to legitimize Ivan’s disastrous rule, which included torturing his own daughter and murdering his son-in-law.

Two centuries later, Peter the Great celebrated his own victory over Sweden in the Northern War (1700-21) by transferring Nevsky’s ashes to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in his new capital, Saint Petersburg, Khapaeva wrote.

Peter the Great is best known for battling the Swedes and the Finns as well as heavy drinking. In 2004, Putin did away with the Soviet tradition of commemorating the October Revolution on November 7.

Instead, Russians would mark a new state holiday, National Unity Day, on November 4, in memory of Russia’s “liberation from the Polish occupation of 1612,” which ended the catastrophic period known as the Time of Troubles.

This period – an outcome of Ivan’s own policies (an irony that is perhaps lost on Putin) – included Russia’s defeat in the Livonian War (1558-1583), widespread social unrest, and a large-scale famine.

While hinting that Putin’s accession to power terminated the 1990s “Time of Troubles,” the new holiday also suggested continuity between Russian czarism and Putin’s rule.

“In pressing the politics of neomedieval history, Putin’s purpose is to deny the viability of democracy and to justify social inequalities, autocracy, terror, and an aggressive imperial foreign policy. His ultimate objectives are thus hardly unique. Medieval fantasies are typical of right-wing movements around the world. In the United States, neomedieval symbols have featured prominently among far-right marchers and rioters from Charlottesville to the US Capitol. Those hoping to overturn the 2020 election have even adopted the Kraken, a gigantic sea creature in ancient Scandinavian folklore. The QAnon conspiracy theory with its claims that former President Donald Trump is fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal, is distinctly neomedieval,” Khapaeva concluded.

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