DISAPPEARANCE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FROM RUSSIA’S FOREIGN POLICY MAP: AN ANALYSIS OF THE OFFICIAL TELEGRAM CHANNEL OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION REPRESENTATION IN BRUSSELS

Based on critical geopolitics, the article examines Moscow’s practical discourse to reveal how the European Union disappears from Russia’s political map. The empirical material consists of messages in the official Telegram channel of the Permanent Representation of Russia to the European Union, which were published from March 2022 through mid-November 2024. Four narratives that lead to this “disappearance” of the EU are revealed. The first one consists of animosity of the West and the EU’s complete loss of independence, its neglect of sovereignty in favour of the USA. The second narrative discusses how the EU has lost its market power as a result of ill-designed sanctions and a plethora of economic problems. The third one highlights the disappearance of the EU’s normative power as a result of the perceived EU’s promotion of war, hypocrisy and double standards. The fourth narrative is about the EU’s internal political problems, which include well-known conflicts between member states and Eurocracy, as well as relatively new conflicts between the elite and the grassroots. The official Telegram channel of Russia’s Representation in Brussels demonstrates efforts to bring together practical and popular geopolitics, which are facilitated by the EU’s sanctions. The use of some Soviet narratives (lack of Europe’s independence, dubious nature of its economic development and unfair treatment of people) strengthens Russia’s practical discourse among the Russians. Attention to the economic weaknesses and hypocrisy of the EU’s normative power potentially has negative consequences for the EU’s image inside the EU and in countries of the Global Majority. Russia’s present practical geopolitical discourse explains why there is no need to restore contacts with the EU / Europe. It also reveals potential lines of communication about/with Europe: these are contacts with the West / the USA over Europe, and a transnational dialogue with European citizens. In the longer run, the restoration of Europe/the EU in Russia’s political map is linked to Europe joining the Eurasian security system, which Moscow currently promotes.