Authors

Andrii Smytsniuk¹;  ¹ Slavonic Studies, MMLL, University of Cambridge, UK

Discussion

Amidst Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Ukrainian government launched a communications campaign called ‘Be Brave Like Ukraine,’ consisting of a social media campaign, traditional media publications, advertising materials, and an online course. These efforts seemingly seek to define Ukrainian identity and educate both domestic and international audiences about Ukraine according to news and social media content selected by the Ukrainian government. The campaign has had mixed reviews with some suggesting that it is an anti-propaganda tool, while others label it propaganda itself.

The associated online course attempts to answer the question ‘Who are the Ukrainians,’ with definitions that lack internal cohesion. More specifically, the materials use the term ‘Ukrainian’ to imply both civic and ethnic identities interchangeably and present ambiguous definitions of the terms. This ambiguity, according to Ukrainian Canadian historian Serhy Yekelchyk, can be seen in other governmental documents. The meaning of the term ‘Ukrainian’ has changed over time to increasingly imply a civic identity, but continued ambiguity creates vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s rhetoric that it is a liberal democratic state that supports ethnic plurality. 

This paper will conduct a discourse analysis of the course materials. The analysis will examine the usage and implied meaning of the term ‘Ukrainian’ in the ‘Be Brave Like Ukraine’ campaign and other state-sponsored and -endorsed materials. This work will draw on other governmental documents and the scholarship of Ukrainian Canadian historian Serhy Yekelchyk. Finally, this paper will examine the assertion that this online course is Ukrainian propaganda.