Again, no one is saying this but you (and also Putin, who's very open about the ways that this war is ideologically motivated by a specific view of the Russian people's spiritual, unalterable identity and their connection to a specific land).

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This is especially true when there are people out there self-consciously trying to create those continuities, intentionally, (including to the bad bits of history that you think are unfair to attribute to them) as part of a legitimizing project for their revanchist imperialism!

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Yes, he's wrong about this, for the same reason that all these blood-and-soil narratives are wrong. It doesn't change the facts that a) it matters that he (and others in his government) still very much believe this or b) there may be certain real continuities between Russian conduct across history.

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feels like the opposite of “ahistorical” to observe how contemporary events might reflect patterns, institutions, and incentives that are continuous over time.

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if you've heard this argument before applied to multiple different invasions Russia did, then maybe it's time to admit the argument isn't simply Russophobic but does, in fact, correctly notice a pattern of Russia's behavior as a state.

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