These days, it's common to hear that the imperialist excesses of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin hark back to the 19th century. But, imperial issues aside, there are other, perhaps deeper, similarities with that century. The first half of the 21st century, like the first half of the 19th, is an era of romanticism and fear, of technological advances and social crises, of distrust in parliamentary systems and unbridled capitalism.

It sounds a bit strange to speak of the "Catalan soul," or the "Spanish soul," or the "Swedish soul." And yet, it's taken for granted that a "Russian soul" exists, that "dark place" spoken of by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Gogol, and almost all the other writers of the golden age of Russian literature. Vladimir Putin also frequently appeals to the "Russian soul," in opposition to the supposed soullessness of Western Europe.