Russian identity has long been confined by autocracy and imperial ambition, a condition that continues under Putin, whose twenty-five-year rule and the war in Ukraine reflect this legacy. The essay emphasises that official Russian discourse, past and present, frames the role of the ruler, militarism, and imperial power as central to national identity. Even after the fall of the tsars, autocratic governance persisted, and the empire repeatedly reemerged in new forms. The author contends that a truly pluralistic and open Russia can only arise once Russians reject both despotism and imperial domination. The book includes an anthology of European texts from the 16th to the 21st century, examining Russia’s imperial despotism, whose insights remain strikingly relevant today.