Authors

Discussion

Carl Schmitt's concept of the Grossraum, a grand geopolitical space dominated by a major power, has played an important role in the evolution of post-Soviet Russian geopolitical thought. Schmitt's Grossraum concept was above all a spatial response to the rise of international liberalism, an attempt to carve out both ideological and geopolitical space against the liberal enemy. Russian elites have pursued a similar spatial policy through the articulation of successive spatial projects, such as the Russian World or Eurasia, each defined both in geopolitical and ideological terms.  This paper explores the relevance of Schmitt's geopolitics in contemporary Russia and assesses how his ideas are being reinterpreted in the context of Russia's war in Ukraine. The paper contributes to the growing literature on Russia's spatial and geopolitical imaginaries - whether the Russian World, Eurasia or other spatial projects. The Russian war against Ukraine offers an opportunity to reassess the relevance of these geopolitical imaginaries in contemporary Russia. For some, Russia's attempt to expand its territory is the culmination of Grossraum thinking in Russia. For others, it is the final collapse.