FROM HEARTLAND TO RIMLAND: FOUNDATIONS OF CLASSICAL GEOPOLITICS APPLIED TO THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT

Abstract

This study addresses the Russia-Ukraine conflict, analyzing it from the perspective of classical geopolitics, with emphasis on the articulation of the concepts of Heartland (Mackinder) and Rimland (Spykman). The central objective is to demonstrate that, although geography imposes structural constraints on state decisions, the resulting effects are intrinsically mediated by contemporary variables, such as strategic alliances, military logistics, and political economy, seeking to explain the persistence and intensity of this dispute. The research adopts a theoretical-conceptual reconstruction approach, employing the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a case study. The data collection procedures consisted of documentary and bibliographic analysis of the critical events initiated in 2014 and the escalation of 2022. The analysis proceeded through theoretical framing, applying the propositions of Mackinder and Spykman to interpret the strategies and containment dynamics exercised by Russia and NATO/EU. The results show that Ukraine holds a geopolitical hinge position (North European Plain and Black Sea/Crimea), conditioning the strategic depth of Eurasia and the control of naval projection. This logic is manifested in the Russian strategy of defending the interior and disputing the coastal edges and in the containment by NATO/EU, which aims to prevent the formation of a hegemony in the Rimland. It is concluded that the integration of the postulates of classical geopolitics with the analysis of contemporary variables provides indispensable keys to understanding Eurasia as the epicenter of major global disputes in the 21st century, overcoming the risk of geographical determinism.