5 January, 18:49
The history of Moscow is an endless spectacle of contradictions, myths, and remarkable coincidences that Kremlin storytellers stubbornly attempt to weave into a “sacred whole.” One such "grand" idea is the concept of the “Third Rome,” which Moscow adopted like forcing an owl onto a globe.
This concept is paradoxical because it was not born out of profound spiritual quests by Russian princes or tsars, but was a generous gift from the highly pragmatic Doges of Venice.
Venice: The Supplier of Myths and Inspiration
Venice, the medieval trading and diplomatic giant, had its own interests in the Black Sea region. Weakening the Ottoman Empire, which controlled the straits, and recruiting Moscow as an ally seemed like a strategically sound move.
Almost immediately after the fall of Constantinople, the Venetians planted the idea of the “Third Rome” into the mind of a Moscow prince, marrying him to the daughter of the Despot of Morea. They convinced him that this union made him the rightful heir to the Byzantine throne, the center of the Orthodox world. As such, he was now entitled to wage war against the Ottomans to reclaim the territories of the Byzantine Empire—territories Moscow was now supposedly entitled to claim!
This idea became the foundation of Moscow's imperial myth of a “sacred mission.”
When the Venetians “gifted” this concept, they had no idea what beast they were awakening. They hoped that Moscow, intoxicated by dreams of greatness, would do everything to weaken the Ottomans and perish in the attempt, all while clearing Venice's trading routes.
But…
Constantinople: A "Sacred" Goal or Just Cheap Transit?
Moscow’s ambitions were not limited to spiritual pursuits. The idea of capturing Constantinople and erecting a cross over Hagia Sophia had entirely practical commercial motivations.
Economics and Logistics
The Black Sea is a critical trade artery, and control over the straits would transform it into an internal lake for the Russian Empire. This would reduce the cost of transporting goods to Europe and simplify the export of everything looted from Moscow’s colonies.
Unloading the Loot
The Russian economy has always thrived on the criminal exploitation of its colonies and the sale of their resources to the West. However, Western markets were distant, and land routes were expensive. Control over the straits would have been the perfect way to reduce logistics costs and increase the looters' profits.
World War I: The Dream of Constantinople and the Empire’s Collapse
There’s a hypothesis that Russia, through its puppets, instigated World War I precisely to capture Constantinople. However, this plan proved catastrophic for the empire itself.
“St. Petersburg, to its own detriment, pushed the Turks into Berlin’s embrace. For Russia, this insanity—driven by centuries-old complexes—ended worse not only than for the Ottoman Empire but arguably worse than for the entire world.”
Ironically, the dream of Constantinople not only failed to materialize but also became a catalyst for the 1917 Revolution, which destroyed the empire itself.
Russophrenia: Cynical Pragmatism Masked as “Sacredness”
Russia’s imperial schizophrenia is a cocktail of myths and fantasies masking purely material interests. The dream of Constantinople and the “Third Rome,” introduced by Venice, became a convenient cover for economic and geopolitical ambitions. Seizing the straits was supposed to solve mundane issues like reducing logistics costs and simplifying the trade of looted goods.
However, the reality is that each such adventure ended in failure. And as Russia’s elite continues to live in the grip of its own myths, the peoples of Moscow’s colonies remain perpetual hostages of imperial Russophrenia.