PRINCE DMITRY DONSKOI
DON’T BELIEVE YOUR OWN MYTHS
With its social media ‘troll farms’ pumping out dubious and disruptive content and its tightening grip on journalism at home, Putin’s Russia has embraced the weaponisation of disinformation in the internet age. There has also been a concerted effort to create narratives that justify Putin’s actions and present Russia in the best light. Of course, every state does this to greater or lesser degrees, but the real problem with this is when you start to believe your own myths. Putin’s February 2022 invasion seemed to rest on assumptions about Ukraine being near enough a failed state and that the Ukrainians were likely to welcome the Russians – assumptions that were rooted not in reality but in the Kremlin’s own propaganda. Putin could have taken the example of Dmitry Donskoi to heart. A 14thcentury prince of Moscow during the time in which Russia was ruled by the Mongols, he had been perfectly happy to be one of their local agents until political squabbles in Sarai, capital of the Golden Horde, forced him into rebellion. He assembled the forces of Moscow’s allies and clients and, thanks to hard fighting and some cunning subterfuge, was able to beat a larger force under Mongol leader Mamai at Kulikovo in 1380.
Dmitry was a politician through-andthrough and had made sure that he had both friendly merchants and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church to hand to spread the tale of victory and to present it as a convincing blow for Russian freedom. This became a foundational tale of Russia’s emergence as a nation, under Moscow.
Dmitry, though, was smart enough not to fall for his own line. When Mamai’s rival and successor Tokhtamysh returned with a new army the following year, Dmitry made few efforts to resist. Moscow was sacked and burned, Dmitry hurriedly reaffirmed his submission to the Golden Horde, and it would be another century before the Russians threw off the so-called ‘Mongol Yoke’ – but thanks to Dmitry’s cold-eyed realism, Moscow remained the heart of the new state.