Russian State TV Laments Loss of USSR—'A Soviet Miracle'

A discussion on Russian state television saw arguments praising the achievements of the Soviet Union and the value of dying in the war in Ukraine, with panelists trying to put Vladimir Putin's invasion into a historical context.

During a segment on the Russia 1 show Evening with Vladimir Solovyov, history professor Elena Ponomareva told anchor Solovyov it was significant the war had started in the centenary of the 1922 creation of the USSR, which she described as "a fair peoples' nation."

Although the Soviet Union collapsed three decades ago, she took solace in the fact that "it does exist and always will as long as we are thinking about it," before Solovyov interrupted to say, "the USSR is my motherland."

Ponomareva, from the Moscow-based Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), said that Russia was trying to evaluate "our mistakes and problems at the core of this project" as well as "trying to overcome them through blood, pain and tears."

"The West still can't forgive us for having this project," she said, "they can't make peace with that because of all our achievements and breakthroughs were truly a Soviet miracle."

Another panelist, political scientist, Sergey Mikhevev, lamented how many students have a poor understanding of the map of the USSR and how Russian territories had changed over the last 100 years.

He suggested that maps of Russia should show the borders of the Soviet Union, the Russian empire that preceded it, as well as the countries that are under Moscow's sphere of influence.

"Then it will be clear from childhood why we may have an influence in these lands," he said.

This chart, provided by Statista, shows Russian respondents' answers to the question: "Do you regret the collapse of the USSR?"

Also in the discussion, Andrey Bezrukov, a State Duma MP, described how since the fall of the Soviet Union "we've lived without looking to the future" and that "now we have a dream, now we know what we are living for and it will outlast us."

The background to the discussion was the war in Ukraine, which has been framed by Russian state television as a fight between Moscow and the encroaching influence of the West.

Ponomareva wished a happy New Year for those Russian troops on the front line, including her ex-students and that she only wanted them to "please return alive" with their shield.

However, the anchor of Evening With Vladimir Solovyov disagreed with the value of emerging from the war alive, saying, "life is grossly overrated. Regarding death, why fear something that is inevitable," he said, "we'll end up in heaven.

"Death is the end of one path and the start of another, not to be geared or allowed to influence your decisions."

The segment was tweeted by journalist and Russia watcher Julia Davis, who wrote how the Kremlin propagandists, "aim to convince the viewers that 'the Soviet miracle' & the expansionist glory of the Motherland are more important than life."