Continued Conflict in Ukraine
As of late April, Ukraine has now been subject to this most recent military occupation by Russia for about two months. Under President Vladimir Putin, the Russian state continues to invade and occupy areas in the Eastern and Southeastern regions of Ukraine, specifically along the shared border with Russia. In this pursuit, they have utilized tactics often seen used by authoritarian populists: occupying the state by centralizing power through delegation and through parasitizing a region’s existing infrastructure, and then sowing corruption by engaging in informational warfare through means like bribery or the spread of misinformation and propaganda (Müller, Chapter 2). Amidst this conquest by Russia, thousands of civilians and soldiers have lost their lives during violent conflicts in major Ukrainian cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, and most recently, Mariupol. As atrocities accumulate, the imperial techniques used by Russia can be more easily observed, understood, and hopefully combatted.
Despite crucial demonstrations of resilience amidst violence in Kyiv throughout the month of May, Ukraine still feels the Russian state festering in its Eastern and Southeastern regions. Just recently Russia claimed victory and possession of the major port city Mariupol, which represents an enormous conquest for Russia because it consolidates their authority in Ukraine (BBC). One of the reasons this conquest is so consequential in this war is because it allows the Russian military to create a land bridge between the Crimean Peninsula, which they have illegally occupied since 2014, and their new endeavor in the Donbas region. This geographical link will allow Russia to exploit the infrastructure between Mariupol and Crimea to bolster their effort, essentially becoming a parasite in Ukraine. In addition to this, it is reported that President Vladimir Putin has delegated military oversight of Russian-occupied areas to Aleksandr Dvornikov. Previously, this Russian general oversaw military operations in Syria in 2015 and more recently in southern Ukraine, but now as an effort to further consolidate influence and centralize power he has been given authority over troops in both the South and Southeastern parts of Ukraine (Bloomberg). Of course any and all information originating from either Russia or Ukraine, and perhaps any other nation with geopolitical interests attached to this war, must be accepted with a grain of salt so-to-speak.
Misinformation, disinformation, military and political posturing, and of course propaganda all play an essential role in the objective of the Russian state. One recent event that demonstrates the use of tactics like these was the fallout following the fate of the Russian warship Moskva, or the Moscow, named for Russia’s capital city. On April 14th, the warship undeniably sank, but the precipitating factors are being debated as conflicting stories have emerged on either side of the war. Ukraine claims credit for the ship’s destruction after they allegedly attacked it with missiles, Russia however insists the ship sank after a fire was set aboard but will not disclose the cause of the fire (AP). For Russia, acknowledging any semblance of defeat in this war would damage their prowess– something valued immensely by authoritarian and imperial regimes– especially considering the stature and the symbolism once associated with this particular ship, the Moskva. Beyond speculation, running interference, and misinformation, Russia has also utilized other techniques like ultimatums or threats as well as propaganda in this war. With the northern European nations of Finland and Sweden seemingly lobbying for introduction to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Russia has responded with shadowy threats of nuclear warfare. Because Finland shares essentially the entirety of its eastern border with Russia, and because Sweden lies parallel to Finland to the west, Russian officials have grown very concerned about their prospect of conquest in the face of a growing NATO. This in part contributes to the notion within Russia itself that the expansion of NATO is actually a global military mobilization against them specifically. They have since responded by threatening nuclear activity in a more or less cryptic fashion. The former executive and current security advisor of the Russian state, Dmitry Medvedev, has announced that the moves made by Finland and Sweden will force Russia’s hand into once again reaching northward, at which point he claims “it will no longer be possible” to imagine a nuclear-free Baltic region (CNBC).
These are just a few examples of how the Russian executive and the Russian military have put to use some of the more common techniques used by authoritarian demagogues when they seek to expand their authority. With tensions rising on a day-to-day basis, understanding the tactics employed by the Russian state becomes more and more important. Without a proper understanding of how Russia’s military and informational agencies operate, defending democracy will become increasingly difficult for the nations in Eastern Europe.
Works Cited
- (Müller) https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/binghamton/reader.action?docID=4674419
- (Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-10/general-who-ran-syria-operation-to-lead-russia-troops-in-ukraine?sref=vxSzVDP0
- (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/14/russia-threatens-new-nuclear-deployments-if-sweden-finland-join-nato.html
- (AP) https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-kyiv-black-sea-estonia-8ccaa918f813a844321187ed116ff091?user_email=3c9f5e3e14e3d0fdc0868c65e39884e41d6e91f4e8a0cd63164228711e0470c4
- (BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61157670?pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:e991afbe-2897-473e-9f22-f72a1173b076&pinned_post_asset_id=62613151b1e16c43aefe6d3f&pinned_post_type=share
Russia, and particularly Putin have shown a lot of signs of authoritarianism. Unfortunately, this is all Russia has known so it is hard to imagine the country without it. In regards to the invasion, I think your point on the misinformation warfare is key. A vast majority of Russians still believe this invasion is justified and I think that shows how effective Russia’s misinformation and propaganda campaign has been. It was clear to see with their denial that their flagship, the Moskva, was sunk by the Ukrainians.
Hi Jack!
I really appreciated your post- especially because it feels like Ukraine has fallen out of the news cycle as of late when in reality there is still a lot going on. Your points on propaganda are very interesting to me in particular, because propaganda is inherently anti-democratic, but Russia’s use of it tends to be relatively absurd. A lot of what comes out of that government often sounds completely unbelievable to me, but when you realize that a lot of their citizens do believe what they say it gets a little harder to wrap your head around. The threat of nuclear warfare is especially anti democratic to me and obviously very dangerous to the global community, as-like you said- countries are being threated for simply joining an organization like NATO
Hey Jack,
Firstly, thank you for bringing further light to this issue. It almost seems as a collective we have gotten almost used to this news? It no longer is new to see something in the headlines in regards to this as it has been happening for a while now.
Furthermore, as mentioned somewhere above in regards to Ukraine there are huge amounts of propoganda and fake news. This can be due to multiple reasons however it becomes very difficult to filter out the real from fake. As a result, many individuals may even chose to ignore the issues as a whole which has its own costs as well.
It does not seem shocking as you mentioned for Russia to devolve in using disinformation tactics. In fact, their very foundations are based on the principles of controlling knowledge and information. It seems no shock that these principles would be the cornerstones used in battle to this very date.
As there is no solution in sight it becomes very important to understand the necessity of true information and how this helps Ukraine. This entire endeavor is in Russia’s eyes a humiliation. Each day this invasion remains unsuccessful is another day which they become a laughing stock to the general public. Thus, this issue has become larger than them and now is representative of their nation as whole.
To conclude, it makes sense all the false information revolving around this matter. Nevertheless, as time continues it becomes more prevalent as a community to filter information and continually stay updated.