The Post-Colonial Dimension of Russian Aggression Against Ukraine

The article analyses the shortcomings of the dominant theories of international relations, in particular realism and liberalism, in exploring the causes of Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as their inability to explain the motivations for the desperate resistance of Ukrainians. It is argued that considering Russia as a neocolonial power, as well as the policies of its neighbouring states in the context of their postcolonial responses, can fill existing knowledge gaps, in particular by offering an explanation of how identity representation stimulates transformation and the desire for emancipatory measures in postcolonial countries. The potential of the postcolonial approach in the study of international relations, in particular for the analysis of conflict relations, is revealed. The postcolonial perspective fills in the gaps inherent in other theoretical approaches by examining the tendency of colonisers to use power to maintain hegemony and revealing how the Russian hybrid perception of Ukrainians as the same people, but subordinate, has shaped the Ukrainian culture of resistance to oppression and enslavement, which explains Ukraine's resilient and decisive response to full-scale aggression. It is substantiated that although the status of Ukrainians in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union differed from the experience of Western overseas colonies, the presence of common features, such as predatory exploitation of human and natural resources, enslavement and forced relocation, cultural oppression and marginalisation of indigenous peoples, justifies the use of a postcolonial approach. In this context, Ukraine appears as an illustrative example of a motivated nation seeking to free itself from colonial rule and assert its sovereignty.