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The Kremlin legitimizes the invasion of Ukraine (2022) by pointing, inter alia, to the artificiality of Ukrainian nationhood and statehood. Denying the subjectivity and sovereignty of a neighboring country is a manifestation of the imperial practices of a center seeking to regain control over its lost periphery. However, this interpretation of the ongoing war in Ukraine is not widely accepted in the so-called Global South. Many of these countries, after 2022, have shown empathy toward or even support for Russia’s actions, viewing them primarily as directed against the West (Brosig and Verma 2024). The shared resentment toward the latter has provided a common platform for two unlikely allies: states that have suffered from colonization and a European great power with its own colonial sphere. The critique of the current world order as deeply unfair plays an important role in facilitating this rapprochement.
This paper presents an analysis of the justice narrative, understood as references to justice in Russian foreign policy’s official discourse, with the aim of highlighting how it aligns with the justice claims raised by the Global South (Zarakol and Reus-Smit 2023). A careful study of public statements, documents, and articles authored by state officials responsible for conceptualizing and conducting the foreign policy of the Russian Federation (2020–2024) challenges the seemingly coherent stance of Russia and the Global South on justice in international affairs. It reveals that Moscow’s vision of a just global order is not at all in favor of the latter.