Russia: The Curse of Empire
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: March 3, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00
“In the past Russia caused a great deal of suffering to many nations and ultimately to the entire world by, among other things, not knowing precisely where it began and where it ended.” Václav Havel, To the Castle and Back, 2006
What are the historical and ideological roots of the political decision-making of contemporary Russia? What was the decisive impulse in its aggression toward Ukraine? Was it an eruption of Russian nationalism and an attempt at unification and defence of the “Russian world” from outside influences? Or was it a symptom of a return of the expansive ideology of empire?
In his book Russia: The Curse of Empire, the Polish philosopher and sociologist Paweł Rojek explores in detail the traditional dilemmas of Russian thinking, in particular the religious and secular forms of the myth of the Third Rome. These historical dilemmas also have a surprisingly strong influence on Russia’s perception of itself and its role…
Rojek will discuss these issues with Ivan Preobrazhenskij.
Hosted by Ondřej Soukup from Hospodářské noviny.
Organised by the Václav Havel Library in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Prague.