Abstract: The idea that Russia is a unique civilization with a “1000 year history” has been foundational to the Kremlin’s policies over the last 12 or so years. This study surveys the discursive history of Russian exceptionalism, from the 19th century Orthodox narrative through the anti-capitalist frame of the Soviet era. It shows that the version of it revived by the Kremlin since 2012 combines elements of both predecessors. The core argument is that the repeated invocation of an exceptionalism narrative – in the 19th, 20th and now 21st century – testifies to the failure of other ideologies and institutions to develop strong foundations in the country, and Russia’s inability (or unwillingness) to join the European path to power and prosperity. This

tends to contribute to a national inferiority complex that expresses itself in resentment at the West for failing to recognize Russia as an equal and one of its own.  The recently developed concept of collective narcissism captures well the psychological drivers of the national exceptionalism narrative.