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How do Russians feel about the war in Ukraine? Last week, political philosopher and Russia expert Evert van der Zweerde was in Moscow and St Petersburg. He talks about his experiences. How is the contact between Trump and Putin and the role of the European Union viewed? What is the role of the Russian media?
Thursday 27 March 2025 | 12.30 - 13.15 hrs | Lecture Hall Complex, uu77 | Radboud Reflects and VOX | See announcement
There will be no podcast.
By Liesbeth Jansen
Despite the lecture-free week and the nice weather, the lecture hall was well filled - no wonder, as a programme with political philosopher and Russia expert Evert van der Zweerde always promises an interesting conversation.
After welcoming the audience, philosopher and moderator Cees Leijenhorst introduced one of the world’s leading experts on Russian philosophy: Evert van der Zweerde. Having been to Russia over 40 times, he returned on Sunday from a trip to Russia after not having been there for more than 2 years. Van der Zweerde: “I decided to go now because I’m currently the president of the Netherlands Institute in Saint Petersburg [NIP]. I wanted to support them and discuss what the institute can do. Apart from that, I was desperately in need of a lot of recent literature.”
Asked for an example of what it is like to be a Western foreigner in Russia today, Van der Zweerde answered with the following anecdote: “I was in the high speed train between Sain Petersburg and Moscow, got out in Tver and tried to operate the lockers but couldn’t, because western bank and credit cards have been blocked. But I was directed to the station director who enabled me to pay in cash and she opened the locker for me. She was very helpful and proud that somebody wanted to see their city. It really is not more difficult to enter Russia than it was before, provided you have a valid visa, of course. No questions were asked at the passport control.”
Leijenhorst then asked about the general feeling: do people want to talk about the war in Ukraine? Van der Zweerde compared the current situation to when he was there 2,5 years ago: “At that time, everybody wanted to talk to me about it. People wanted to know my position and if I understood their position. This time, if I wanted to talk about the conflict – which can now also in Russia be officially called a war- the Russian narrative is that of a conflict between the West and Russia. The whole thing is framed in terms of defense. And people that I metrepeated this literally. They are not very eager to question it. They tend to avoid the topic and say they hope the conflict will come to an end soon, something that it is hard to disagree with. They say: “You believe your press, we believe our press which is less one-sided.” There is a strong narrative of Russia liberating Ukraine, with direct parallels to WWII. You will find this line of thought even in for example the Literaturnaia Gazeta, the main weekly on literature and the arts.
How do people relate to Russian media?, Leijenhorst wanted to know. Van der Zweerde explained that, according to reports, only about 10-15% of the people have access to other media than the domestic ones. The majority of people also prefer not to be confused. They either don’t talk about it or agree with what is said. “People often wonder why there is no uprising against the government. Well, in part this is part of Russian tradition, but also the effect of the harsh oppression of protest and opposition.”
Drones are now attacking Russia too, how did that influence your stay? Van der Zweerde didn’t experience any direct signs of the war, there were no alarms or anything. The effects seem marginal, people are enjoying life. But prices have risen, so life must have become a lot more expensive. Also, you see bill boards inviting people to join the army everywhere. If you do so, you receive the equivalent of some 25.000 euros, which is a lot, especially for people in rural areas.
It seems the Kremlin is quite happy with Trump as president? Van der Zweerde confirmed this: “They have good reasons, too: he has put Russia at the table as a legitimate party in the negotiations, instead of being an outcast, the devil. Also, both Trump and Putin don’t make any distinction between politics and economics. Trump doesn’t care if he is buying from Ukraine or Russia, he just wants to have the rare earth metals. Immediately after the 2022 invasion, Elon Musk predicted that Russia would get the parts of Ukraine that it wants to have. From time to time the world is redivided by the big powers, the narrative runs, and this is what will happen now.”
In the media, Van der Zweerde continued, Trump is being portrayed as the serious counterpart to Putin. They barely mention that two other parties are not at the table: Ukraine and the EU. Zelensky is portrayed at someone without legitimacy, he is not taken seriously. The EU is hesitant,doesn’t know what to do, doesn't have a story. At the level of ideology, the picture is that of the big guys settling conflicts and the others don’t really matter.
What does Putin want in the negotiations?, Leijenhorst asked. From the beginning, Van der Zweerde explains, the foreign policy of the Kremlin fits a long tradition: to avoid encirclement and to free access to the world’s sees. They are not happy with Turkey’s NATO membership and they don’t want Ukraine and other neighboring countries to join. It is a Russian tradition to want to have buffer zones around you. Their aim at this point is a) to expand Russia’s sphere of influence, and b) re-integrate as much of the former Soviet space as possible.
Van der Zweerde’s hunch is that the Russian government is more interested in a frozen conflict than in a real solution. They have been in armed conflict almost since 1990 – although we in the West usually don’t realize this. There will be some kind of ceasefire, and then the focus of the Kremlin might turn East. Probably not the West, because the heavy rhetoric that is coming from NATO right now has warned the Russian government. They won’t seek an outright war with Nato-countries. At the same time, to have an external enemy is the best way to manage your domestic politics and oppress opposition – this of course applies to any country.
How do Russians feel about the war in Ukraine? Last week, political philosopher and Russia expert Evert van der Zweerde was in Moscow and St Petersburg. He talks about his experiences. How is the contact between Trump and Putin and the role of the European Union viewed? What is the role of the Russian media? Come listen to philosopher Evert van der Zweerde and ask your own questions too.
On the one hand, life in Russia goes on as usual, says Van Evert van der Zweerde. At the same time, the war is big in the news and there is a lot of propaganda. It keeps people busy, everyone hoping for an agreement. Yet the perspective of most Russians is quite different from that of people in the West: people are critical of the war, but also feel that Russia is under threat and needs a buffer zone. Putin has seen that right and is providing security, is the general opinion. And that threat? In their eyes, that comes from the European Union of course.
Russia is pushing for international recognition of its new borders. The connections between Russia and the US seem better than ever, as Trump and Putin speak the same language: for both, politics equals economics. According to Van der Zweerde, the EU's failure to get into the conversation is partly due to the fact that they speak a different language, much more nuanced. How should the EU gain a place at the negotiating table?
How will this continue? How can we stay in dialogue with Russia, and should we want to at all? Come and listen to the interview with Evert van der Zweerde and ask your own questions.
Evert van der Zweerde is a political philosopher at uu77. He researches democracy, focusing on ideology, Marxism and civil society (civil society). He is also a Russia expert and has published on Russian philosophy both in Russia and abroad.
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