Richard Arnold: Surveys show Russian nationalism is on the rise. This explains a lot about the country’s foreign and domestic politics.
A girl poses for a picture close to a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin displayed among portraits of Russian athletes, winners of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the \"Country of the victory.
Is nationalism what really drives Russian politics? Many politicians and political scientists (including, for example, Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Zbigniew Brzezinski) argue that the 2014 annexation of Crimea showed President Vladimir Putin's desire to construct the "Soviet Union 2.0" - and direct global affairs once more. Nationalism has been used to explain everything from Russia's intervention in Syria, Russia's unusually large number of hate crimes and the regime's rush to host sporting mega-events such as the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 World Cup.
