The history of Ukraine in Putin's 2021 article: personal delusions or established narratives?
Keywords:
information warfare; information war; history of Ukraine; propaganda; mediaAbstract
This study is centered on the analysis of Vladimir Putin’s article “On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians”, seeing which of its contents are characteristic of a wider Muscovite policy on memory politics, and which depict the dictator’s personal ramblings. Comparing the Kremlin chief’s messages with those used in an op-ed article, posted on a Russian language version of RT, we note how the dictator espouses propaganda on Ukrainian history already consistent with a “popular history depiction” that has already existed in Muscovite public consciousness. More notable, however, are the Kremlin’s attempts to reach foreign audiences, such as the included critique of western banks and capitalism, intended for left-wing and right-wing radicals, or the Ukrainian translation, somehow meant to convince the Ukrainians that their country should not exist.
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