Never-Ending War – Russia’s Strategic Culture and Aggression towards Ukraine
Never-Ending War – Russia’s Strategic Culture and Aggression towards Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: The paper explores Russia’s strategic culture and its impact on aggression towards Ukraine. It highlights the interplay of historical, geographical, and cultural factors shaping Russia’s strategic decisions, particularly its perception of security threats and reliance on expansionism as a means of ensuring national security. The study emphasises the role of cultural identity, historical narratives, and myths in framing Russia’s actions and legitimising its policies. The concept of strategic culture, defined as a culturally influenced perception of security and threat, is used to analyse the roots of Russia’s actions, including its imperialist tendencies and autocratic governance. The conflict with Ukraine is examined through this lens, demonstrating how strategic culture influences Russia’s behaviour and its narrative framing of Ukraine as part of its historical sphere. The paper concludes that Russia’s strategic culture is key to understanding its persistent aggression and reluctance to acknowledge Ukraine’s sovereignty.

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