The consciousness of most of the present-day Russian population was formed under the Soviet rule. They grew up during the Soviet period and inherited a Soviet lifestyle and worldview. The younger generation was raised by this generation. One of the arguments of this study is that in order to understand the identity of Russians and how they define themselves today, the Russian identity and their relations to the state during the Soviet period should be analyzed.

The influence of the Soviet era on today’s Russian identity and Russian nationalism still exists. The roots of the different currents of today’s Russian nationalism go back to the Soviet period. Most of the Russian nationalists today have a feeling of nostalgia toward the Soviet period. The Soviet era also seems to have an effect on Russian politics. Today, in the Russian Federation, the Soviet past is being partially and selectively rehabilitated.

This article mainly argues that the Russian national identity and the modern Russian nationalism were formed in the Soviet period, including many nationalistic motifs from the Tsarist period. This study covers the Soviet period beginning from the Lenin to the late Brezhnev years. The first part will discuss the transformation of the state’s view from the descriptive “Great Russian (velikorusskii narod) chauvinism” to the acclaimed “velikii russkii narod,” the emergence of the National Bolshevik ideology and the concept of “Soviet patriotism.” The study also explores how Russian nationalism was controlled, used, and incorporated into the official ideology of the state. In the following section, developments in Russian nationalism in the Brezhnev period will be analyzed. From this period, the rise of the dissident form of Russian nationalism, the thoughts of dissident nationalists, and the tolerance and support that the Soviet state showed to the National Bolsheviks will be discussed.

The main rival of Marxism, the ideology of the new Soviet regime, was nationalism. In the beginning of the Soviet period, all the expressions of Russian nationalism were called “Great Russian Chauvinism” and were strongly suppressed. These pressures continued into the mid-1930s. Under the threat of the upcoming World War, the Soviet regime under Stalin’s leadership aimed to mobilize Russian nationalist sentiments. Therefore, Russian nationalism was integrated into the state ideology. However, Russian nationalism was not allowed to be expressed as a separate ideology independent of the state ideology. Marxism–Leninism remained one of the important sources of legitimization of the Soviet regime. Being aware of the dominance of Russians within the state and in the country, and of the possible harmful effects of Russian nationalist sentiments aiming to separate the Russian nation from the Soviet state, the Soviet regime always tried to control Russian nationalism and to preserve the Russian/Soviet Union identification in the minds of the Russians. In addition, some Soviet leaders regarded partial identification with Russian nationalism as beneficial because this would increase the legitimacy of the regime in the eyes of the Russians. Eventually, a degree of identification between the Russians and the Soviet state was achieved.

The Russian nationalism under the Soviet rule until the 1960s developed in a strictly controlled line dictated by the Soviet state. In the early years of the Soviet regime, until the first half of the 1930s, all forms of Russian nationalism were punished by the regime. However, in this period, a new kind of Russian nationalism, which blended Russian nationalist themes with Marxist–Leninist themes, emerged. These groups were close to or within the political establishment.

After 1934, Russian nationalism was used by the regime for its own goals and to create identification with the Soviet state in the minds of the Russians. However, the regime never lost control over Russian nationalism. Russian nationalism was incorporated in the official ideology of the state and was not allowed to go outside the boundaries defined by the state. Until the 1960s, Russian nationalism was state-based. Toward the end of the Khrushchev era, different expressions of Russian nationalism, which were defined outside the discourse of the state, emerged.

During the Brezhnev period, Russian nationalism became an ideology from below. For the first time in this period, a strong tendency among Russian nationalists saw the Russian nation as a separate ethnic group from the Soviet state; they began expressing their thoughts on the harmful effects of the Soviet administration on the Russians. Furthermore, National Bolshevism became a strong Russian nationalist tendency. During the Brezhnev period, the National Bolsheviks were not only tolerated but also supported. The revival of Russian nationalism began as well as gained momentum in the Brezhnev era. During the Brezhnev period, Russian nationalism found its own form and the main concerns of Russian nationalist thought, its worldview, and the proposals became clear.

During the Brezhnev period, two main Russian nationalist approaches emerged. One was the group that worried about what they perceived as the moral and demographic crisis of the Russians. They were concerned that the Russians were losing their values, culture, and tradition. As a solution, they offered the revival of the Russian Orthodox values, pre-revolutionary Russian culture, and peasant traditions. They were against modernization and had concerns about the devastating effects of the Soviet administration on the Russians. Representatives of this group were dissident nationalists and rural prose writers. Although the rural prose writers were much more successful in finding a modus vivendi with the regime, both groups shared the above-mentioned thoughts.

The most important development in terms of Russian nationalism during the Brezhnev era was the emergence of dissident Russian nationalism, which influenced all groups of Russian nationalists. Dissident Russian nationalists have defined the Russian nation as a separate ethnic group from the state. They rejected the official ideology of the state. They considered the state a non-Russian and anti-Russian element. They believed that the Soviet state had harmful effects on the Russian nation.

Another nationalist group comprised the National Bolsheviks. Their primary concern was that the Russian military and political power should be increased both with regard to other countries and other nations within the Soviet Union. They regarded the Soviet state as the representative and protector of the Russians.

From the Brezhnev period to the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian nationalism developed on almost the same line. Russian national identity and Russian nationalism found their modern forms during the Soviet period. Considering how much the Soviet and Russian identities have been identical in the past, and while the Soviet past is being partially and selectively rehabilitated in the Russian Federation today, the Soviet period provides important clues to understand the relations between the nation and the state in the new era.