Detail of Eternal Russia (1988) by Ilya Glazunov. Photo courtesy Wikimedia/Mos.ru The discontent of Russia Lenin envisioned Soviet unity. Stalin called Russia ‘first among equals’. Yet Russian nationalism never went away by Joy Neumeyer + BIO Aeon, 5 July 2022 Joy Neumeyer is a writer and historian of Russia and Eastern Europe. A former reporter in Moscow, her writing has appeared in publication..