The paper examines the role of ‘spiritual-moral values’ (SMV) in Russian politics. It argues that SMV have been employed by the Russian political elite to construct an (illusory) sense of ontological security, presented as attainable through the promotion of sovereignty and national unity. Through the analysis of policy documents and President Putin’s speeches for the period 2012-2023, the article outlines three interlocking narratives: a) Russian cultural norms are under attack; b) attacks can be resisted through ‘cultural sovereignty’, with SMV playing a crucial role; and c) the Russian population is united through the same SMV. These narratives (‘fantasies’ in the Lacanian sense) create promises destined to remain unfulfilled: cultural sovereignty is based on the unrealistic belief that culture can remain unaltered, while existing policies fragment society, causing the ontological insecurity of ethnic and sexual minorities, but also the Russian population more widely.
