ABSTRACT
The very title of this essay contains an ambiguity and something of a puzzle which bring us to the heart of the subject-matter of this course. While ‘Europe’ can be set in the context of the ‘wider world’ and Europe can generally be distinguished from its global environment, it has been a matter of lengthy historical debate as to whether Russia is part of Europe or a country beyond it. That this debate continues can be seen in recent history. The persistent dictatorship and increasing inefficiencies of Soviet rule led to growing resentment and restiveness among the east European peoples in the 1980s, expressed in one form by the Czech writer Milan Kundera in terms of a reassertion of the European character of central Europe as distinct from an alien Russian culture (Kundera, 1984). Shortly after this, however, Mikhail Gorbachev claimed a place for Russia within Europe, using the idea of a ‘common European house’ and attempting to promote the reform of the decrepit Soviet system by tying its fate to that of the more dynamic West. That particular project has now become part of history with the demise of the Soviet Union, but the question of Russia’s relationship with the West remains on the agenda as attempts are made to integrate its economy with the processes of global capitalism and steps taken to implement principles of liberal democracy.
