The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was not solely driven by Putin's ambition but also rooted in the Eurasianist ideology of Russian intellectuals, which advocates for the construction of a vast empire centered on Russia.
America's NATO eastward expansion policy threatened Russia's security, and Russia perceived it as a serious threat to its national security, leading to the invasion of Ukraine.
The West's policy, which overlooked the thinking of Russian strategists, triggered the war in Ukraine, demonstrating how significant differences in national strategies and ideologies can lead to major conflicts.
The start of a war always involves a complex process. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was no exception. This war was not simply due to Putin's personal ambitions. Rather, it can be seen as rooted in Eurasianist ideology, which had been accumulating among Russian intellectuals for decades.
Eurasianism is an ideology that advocates for the establishment of a vast empire centered on Russia. Aleksandr Dugin, a prominent figure in this ideology, presented a vision of a Eurasian Empire encompassing a vast territory stretching from Ireland to Vladivostok in the Far East in his 1997 book, 'Foundations of Geopolitics.' He also argued for fostering ethnic and racial conflicts and supporting separatist movements to weaken the influence of the United States.
Dugin's ideology gradually gained influence among Russian government and military elites. Putin held Dugin in high regard and, during the 2014 annexation of Crimea, used the term 'Novorossiya' (New Russia), demonstrating Dugin's influence. Dugin himself took a hardline stance on Ukraine. After the 2014 Odessa incident, he did not hesitate to make extreme statements, such as "Ukraine must disappear from the face of the Earth and be rebuilt or taken away."
Thus, the Russian leadership's attempt to incorporate Ukraine into its sphere of influence was underpinned by the ideological backdrop of Eurasianism. The problem is that the United States overlooked this shift in Russia's stance.
In a March 2022 YouTube video, international relations scholar John Mearsheimer pointed out that "the root cause of the war in Ukraine is the NATO eastward expansion policy of the United States and the West." He argued that while the US had virtually brought Ukraine into NATO, Russia perceived this as a serious threat to its national security.
Indeed, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated in January 2022 that "the threat to Russia has reached its peak due to NATO's eastward expansion and a series of military provocations related to Ukraine." Thus, the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine included the ideology of Eurasianism and anxieties about NATO's eastward expansion.
Ultimately, the West failed to grasp the thinking of Russian strategists and pursued policies that, from their perspective, severely threatened their national security. This became the trigger for the war in Ukraine. This incident served as a reminder of the extent to which differences in national strategies and ideologies can lead to major conflicts.