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Militarization of society and culture have been a key characteristic of the Soviet era. Deeply rooted in the Civil war period, militarism got reinforced and consolidated with the Great Patriotic War, which largely succeeded in legitimising military values and creating consensus on their importance both in society and in State institutions. Perestroika and the fall of the Soviet Union are a testimony to the consensus’ crisis, with the Afghan war as a main element of the de-legitimacy of militarism. Thus, the 1990s are analysed as an attempt for society and statehood to bypass militarism ; but institutional change does not mean the end of it. Post-Soviet period is characterized by a double and contradictory evolution : on one hand, an increasing rejection of the military ; on the other hand, a widespread use of (military) violence, on a daily basis as well as on a large scale, with the war in Chechnya.