Defeat Russia

A groundbreaking book on the historical roots of the project to “decolonize” Russia: from Pilsudski to Brzezinski, from the Intermarium to the Three Seas Initiative, Martin Bernard reveals a century of strategies aimed at reshaping Eastern Europe and containing Moscow.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, an idea has taken hold in certain Western political circles: Russia should not only be contained, but “decolonized,” or even fragmented. Martin Bernard shows that this perspective did not emerge in 2022. It is part of a long history that began in the early 20th century with two geopolitical doctrines now largely forgotten: Prometheism, which aimed to weaken Russia from within by supporting non-Russian peoples, and the Intermarium, a project for a bloc of states located between the Baltic, the Adriatic, and the Black Sea.

Through a dense and well-documented investigation, the author traces a century of Western strategies, from Pilsudski to Brzezinski, from Mackinder to the Three Seas Initiative. He shows how the same logics are being reworked under new names: liberation of peoples, containment, promotion of democracy, energy security, and NATO expansion. According to him, the Intermarium is no longer just an idea: today it is a political, military, and energy architecture.

The book stands out for its long-term historical approach and its use of rare sources: CIA archives, Counter Intelligence Corps documents, Swiss diplomatic correspondence from the 1920s and 1930s, American strategic texts, think tank reports, and networks of Eastern European exiles. It sheds light on the continuities between nationalist movements, Western intelligence services, anti-communist diasporas, American strategy, and the current reconfiguration of Eastern Europe. 

One of the book’s strengths is that it does not reduce the subject to a simplistic clash between pro-Russian and pro-Western forces. The author clarifies that his aim is neither to exonerate Moscow nor to deny the legitimate aspirations of the peoples of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Rather, his aim is to show how these aspirations have been exploited, both by radical nationalist elements and by Western powers seeking to weaken Russia, control energy corridors, and expand the Atlantic sphere of influence.

Martin Bernard is a journalist, writer, and founder of the media outlet Antithèse. A Franco-Swiss national based in Lausanne, he has contributed to several publications, including Ouest-France, Le Journal du dimanche, La Croix, La Liberté, and 24 heures. His work focuses on the history, geopolitics, philosophy, and spirituality of the West. He is the author of *Plaidoyer pour un renouveau européen* (A Plea for European Renewal), published by BSN Press in 2024.