Language and culture as weapons: russia launches wave of propaganda in temporarily occupied territories

Russia has launched another large-scale propaganda wave in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, using the russian language day on June 6 and the approaching russia day on June 12 as an excuse, the Center for Countering Disinformation reports.

These days are celebrated in the occupied territories on a much larger scale than in russia itself. The occupation media, pseudo-officials and involved russian figures are simultaneously stamping out statements about the “eternal connection” of the temporarily occupied territories with russia and the “protection of the cultural code”, and some top russian propagandists have taken the initiative to organize an annual “poetry festival” on June 6 in occupied Mariupol.

The key task of this campaign is to justify the armed aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of Ukrainian territories with myths about the “protection of the russian language”. In this way, the occupiers are also trying to artificially integrate the population of the temporarily occupied territories into the russian cultural space.

Such aggressive propaganda clearly proves that the Kremlin perceives the russian language and culture as a weapon and a geopolitical tool for seizing territories.