When we contemplate the possibility and prospects of Russia’s integration into the EU, we are fully aware that they will be viewed with skepticism not only in Europe, but also in Russia. In our country — and the current Kremlin inhabitants are not solely responsible for it — there are opinions both about Europe’s “weakness” and its permanent decline and the European regulations and norms’ capability to undermine economic and social achievements of the Union’s new member states. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Russia has been and remains inherently Euroskeptic over the past decades (although migration and investment flows from Russia have been a clear indication to the contrary). A closer look, however, reveals a completely different dynamic.
Over the past 150 years, Russia has gone through a lot of challenges, but perhaps its most successful phase was the period from the Great Reforms of Alexander II to the WW1. It was a time of the most rapid and sustainable economic development, accumulation of human capital, active transformation of Russian society with the rule of law in mind — the time when no one doubted either the country’s European past or European prospects. However, the pan-European catastrophe of 1914 changed Russian history to a greater extent than probably history of any other European state. Russia excluded itself from the continent’s common history for more than a century, determined to follow its own particular path and choose its own favorable directions at every fork in the road of history.
Today it is time we openly admitted to ourselves: we have not succeeded along the way. The attempt to rebuild Russian society in accordance with the speculative Communist ideas has resulted in the loss of tens of millions of lives and waste of incalculable resources.
By trying to forcibly establish the same ideals in a number of European countries, the Soviet Union only temporarily delayed their development, and they soon returned to their European origins. Disillusionment with the Soviet system resulted in the experience of democratic reforms carried out in a way that discredited the ideas of democracy and freedom. The reaction to this difficult period of history was an attempt at historical revisionism and new imperial construction, undertaken at the most inappropriate time and using the most unacceptable methods, and it is already clear that it will not achieve the results desired in the Kremlin.
Russia of the last century is a failed society; a country surrendering its position in the global community and consistently destroying its resources to achieve unattainable goals. And we have no doubt that even more difficult times lie ahead: overcoming the guilt complex after the end of the war with Ukraine; struggling with the inevitable systemic economic crisis caused by depleted resources; separatist sentiments as a response to the imperial principles imposed by the government. Russia’s reintegration into Europe seems to us the most rational choice not only for Europeans, but also for Russians, who should not be afraid of this prospect, the most natural for all former European metropolises.
In its history, Russia has repeatedly become a European-esque society in terms of organization, values and worldview; a society whose elites turned out to be predominantly European. Such a state could be seen in the late 18th and early 20th centuries, and even on the eve of perestroika. However, each time this rapprochement was disrupted by a counter-trend: whether by Nicholas I’s reaction, communist madness, or Putin’s authoritarian restoration. Unfortunately, it should probably be admitted that Russia has exhausted its internal potential for reforms. At every turn of its history, the country has expelled more and more adherents of the European development model, and we should not hope that a new attempt at reform, even if it is made, would be successful. Therefore, we believe that in the middle of the 21st century, the best Russia can hope to achieve would be to join the community of more successful European countries in order to ensure an era of peaceful and sustainable development — both for itself and its European partners. A post-imperial, democratic and prosperous Europe from the Atlantic to the Pacific would not only be home to hundreds of millions of accomplished and happy people, but also the best monument to those who have fallen victim to the crimes and mistakes made by Europeans on the way to this goal…