Moments of world destruction. A study on elements of totalitarian rule in Putin's Russia

• Applicant: Dr. Evelyn Moser
• Subject Area: Political Science
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 558683763

The Russian aggression against Ukraine since February 2022 has reignited public and academic debates about the nature of the Russian regime. Given the regime’s external brutality and increasingly repressive internal measures, the debate often employs strong terms such as fascism, dictatorship, tyranny, or totalitarianism, frequently referencing the work of Hannah Arendt. Although Arendt's concept of totalitarianism seems obvious here and promises insights, these references are often imprecise. The proposed research project addresses this gap. It aims to investigate totalitarian moments and tipping points in Russia’s political order since the beginning of Putin’s rule, focusing on how these moments have set the course, established frameworks, and shifted horizons of possibility. The project draws on Hannah Arendt’s thinking on totalitarian rule and follows her fragmentary methodology. Without presupposing that totalitarian rule is fully realized under Putin’s regime, the project seeks to reconstruct those elements that shape the current structure of the Russian regime. By observing and studying totalitarian moments and tipping points in their interplay, and by examining their potential crystallizations, the project also points to alternative possibilities, possibly indicating transitions towards democratic orders. The general goal of the project is articulated through four specific objectives, which are directly derived from four key concepts in Arendt’s theory of totalitarianism: (i) The project examines potential transitions from freedom-restricting authority and tyrannical stability to totalitarian movement, focusing on the dynamics of the legal framework governing political action, particularly the so-called laws on extremism, foreign agents, LGBTQ issues, and fake news. (ii) The historical references of Russian political rule are analyzed for potential tipping points between the politicization and ideologization of history. (iii) Building on Arendt’s reflections on terror as a core feature of totalitarianism, the project investigates signs of the legal and moral destruction of the individual, which Arendt views as precursors to dehumanization. (iv) Finally, moments of abandonment are explored through the figures of the “patriot” and the “foreign agent”. By adapting Arendt's categorical and methodological approach, the project seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of Russia’s political regime, emphasizing aspects that have so far received less attention and systematically integrating the rich body of empirical knowledge. At the same time, the project sets out to explore the potential of Arendt's theory of totalitarianism for analyzing contemporary political regimes, sharpening Arendt’s analytical categories through engagement with the specific empirical case of Russia.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants