• 1 University of Oslo [UiO]
• 2 Centre de recherches Europes-Eurasie

This article examines the idea of the civic nation, known as rossiiskii project, and its intellectual roots in post-Soviet Russia. After exploring the intertwined careers of its leading theorists and promoters, the article analyzes the ways in which social science expertise has been deliberately placed at the service of a political cause, i.e., Russian nation-building. Finally, the article shows the lack of consensus around this project, as well as the reluctance of the Putin regime to impose it.