Ukraine commits genocide on Russians: the term "genocide" in Russian propaganda.
According to Russia, the main reason for starting the war with Ukraine on February 24, 2022 was the genocide of the Russian-speaking population by the Nazi government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In this paper I investigate the Russian claims about genocide. These claims are shown to be part of the rheto...
| Published in: | Russian Linguistics Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 313 - 348 |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
Nov2022
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=160682096&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 160682096 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 03043487 3W1 jtl: Russian Linguistics issn: 03043487 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Nov2022 vid: 46 iid: 3 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 160682096 10.1007/s11185-022-09258-5 ppf: 313 ppct: 35 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.2MB tig: atl: Ukraine commits genocide on Russians: the term "genocide" in Russian propaganda. aug: au: Fortuin, Egbert affil: Leiden University, Reuvensplaats 3-4, 2311 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands su: Propaganda Euromaidan Revolution, Ukraine, 2014 World War II Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022- Genocide Russian language Right-wing extremism Ukraine Russia Donets Basin (Ukraine & Russia) sug: subj: Ukraine Russia Donets Basin (Ukraine & Russia) Propaganda Euromaidan Revolution, Ukraine, 2014 World War II Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022- Genocide Russian language Right-wing extremism ab: According to Russia, the main reason for starting the war with Ukraine on February 24, 2022 was the genocide of the Russian-speaking population by the Nazi government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In this paper I investigate the Russian claims about genocide. These claims are shown to be part of the rhetorical frame Russophobic Nazi Ukraine government commits genocide on Russians, an aspect of Russian propaganda which builds on the Second World War. I demonstrated that this frame is itself an aspect of a more abstract frame, where any perceived enemy of Russia, is portrayed as a fascist or Nazi force that aims to destroy Russia and Russian culture. I investigate how this frame emerged and developed over time in five stages, starting in post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine, and in Russia after the Orange and Maidan revolutions in Ukraine. Russia tries to provide argumentation for the validity of the frame by referring to a number of objectively established facts relating to the situation in the Donbas, Ukraine's language laws, and the presence of right-extremists in Ukraine. In doing so, some ideas are made more salient than others (the language laws that diminish the official status of Russian in Ukraine and the hostilities in the Donbas region), while other ideas are suppressed altogether (e.g. the juridical meaning of genocide, the actual status of right-wing extremism in Ukraine, the role of Russia in the hostilities in the Donbas, and the actual status of the language laws in Ukraine). In all of these cases, the arguments used by Russia are not valid, being based on exaggerations, hyperbolic use of terminology, and lies. The main goal of this frame is to acquire and retain support for Russia's policy toward Ukraine, as well as to deflect any potential criticism on Russia itself. Ultimately, the Russian propaganda is part of the concept Russkij Mir 'Russian World', where Russian language and culture are a means to restore President Vladimir Putin's Russian sphere of influence from Soviet times or earlier. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Russian Linguistics is a copyright of Springer, 2022. All Rights Reserved. item: Russian Linguistics holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2022 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|