Authors

Katerina Sviderska¹;  ¹ Université de Montréal , Canada

Discussion

More than 232 000 alleged war crimes have been recorded in Ukraine since 24 February 2022, the start of the full-scale invasion. The rapes, torture, destruction of civilian infrastructure, deportation of children and burning of books all point to a Russian determination to destroy anything that might be associated with the existence of a distinct Ukrainian identity. This violence on the ground is above all framed by a strong ideological discourse, both in the media and in official circles, openly calling for the annihilation of the Ukrainian nation. These are acts that can be described as genocidal, and they raise questions about their discursive legitimisation. The paper, based on a Master's dissertation, will therefore examine the way in which Russian genocide in Ukraine is framed. 

How does Russia legitimize its genocide in Ukraine ? How the process of "othering" translates in Russian anti-Ukrainian ideology ? Taking as its starting point writings on the construction of identity, the paper will also draw on the literature on genocide.  It is assumed that Russia has genocidal aims in Ukraine, and this is reflected in a process of anti-Ukrainian national identification. 

In order to demonstrate how Russia legitimises its genocidal actions against Ukrainians, we will adopt essentially qualitative methods. Based on these myths, we will begin by analysing the official speeches of Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, in 2021-2022, with the aim of identifying the forms of language used to legitimise violence, based on a certain historical revisionism. We will then look into history textbooks for schoolchildren to see how the teaching of Ukrainian history is evolving. Although there is no single textbook in the Russian curriculum, there is a pre-established list of endorsed resources. This will enable us to see which historical myths and symbols are integrated by Russians from an early age. 

By providing a theoretical framework linking studies of nation-building with those dealing more specifically with genocide, we are analysing a discourse of identity directed at children, and enabling genocide. This is a substantial theoretical contribution, insofar as this type of work is often carried out in a vacuum, in one or other of the literatures. We propose that the genocidal discourse emanates from a long-term identity construction, over and above an ideology mobilised at a given moment. From a methodological point of view, comparing history textbooks aimed at schoolchildren with official discourse directed at a variety of audiences allows us to see the differences and similarities in the State's desire to frame its actions, throughout the life of an individual in Russia. In addition, given the recent nature of some of the sources studied, the paper will make a wider contribution to the study of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.