The paper examines how Vladimir Putin, the Russian national leader, securitized the idea of Russia’s immutable territorial integrity, postulating that any loss of Russian territory represented an existential threat to the country’s survival. From 2000 to 2020, this securitization, which englobed threats of international terrorism, separatism, and increasingly expanded to include the loss of Russia’s influence in Ukraine, validated the adoption of exceptional measures that broke the established norms in Russian society, including (1) domestic authoritarian reforms, and (2) military campaigns in Chechnya, Ukraine, and Syria.
The paper's analysis applies the Copenhagen’s School Securitization Theory to 103 televised statements by Putin and, for the period 2008-2020, by Dmitry Medvedev. It suggests that the securitization model used in Russia may be a blueprint for other semi-democratic regimes.