Episode
The REAL Reason Peace in Ukraine is Impossible | Pavel Shchelin
- Podcast
- Neutrality Studies
- Published
- Aug 12, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4033
- Processing state
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Summary
The war in Ukraine is not about Ukraine. It's about meaning. Yes, it's a proxy war, and yes, power is at the core of the military confrontation. Even thinking of it as a war of civilizations is not wrong, but it misses what the civilizations actually disagree on. Only the symbolic foundations of the war reveal what Moscow on the one hand and the Globalists on the other are actually fighting about.Russian political philosopher and Orthodox thinker Pavel Shchelin joins Pascal to discuss how worldviews, symbols, and desires shape political decisions. They examine sanctions, competing ideas of peace and security, Russia-West relations, NATO, and why shared political language can hide deep disagreement over Ukraine.Links:Pavel Shchelin YouTube:English Channel: / @namingtheselfevident Personal Channel: / @pavelshchelin Interview Channel: / @schelin_official Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Merch: https://neutralitystudies.com/shop Donation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donate Timestamps: 00:00:00 Pavel Shchelin on political theology 00:04:26 Worldviews, rationality, and reality 00:12:00 Sanctions and symbolic politics 00:23:00 Russia-West stories and political language 00:34:28 Peace proposals and ending wars 00:52:39 Enlightenment, globalism, and empire 00:57:36 Russia's security goals and Ukraine