Unlike postimperial Britain, which managed to carve out a new place for itself
in the world relatively quickly, post-Soviet Russia’s loss of global status was
a painful process. Giving up its imperial claims lightened Britain’s load and
gave it an international profile that more accurately reflected the country’s real
economic and political weight in the world. By contrast, after the dissolution
of the Soviet Union, Russia went through a prolonged bout of “Sovietism” in
which it attempted to recapture its Soviet heritage.