Deconstructing the ‘Russian World’ Ideology: Ukrainian Public Figures’ Discourse in Times of War
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Date
2025
Authors
Pidkuimukha, Liudmyla
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Abstract
Background. The "Russian world" (russkij mir) concept has become a central ideological instrument in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Promoted as a civilisational model grounded in shared language, culture, and values, it has been widely studied from geopolitical and historical perspectives. However, its discursive deconstruction by Ukrainian public figures remains underexplored. Contribution to the research field. The present study raises the possibility that Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) can uncover how wartime political communication functions as ideological resistance. These findings help us to understand how public actors reframe a hostile ideological construct through language, and how such discourse contributes to shaping national and international narratives of war, identity, and sovereignty. Purpose. The article aims to identify and analyse strategies and lexical tools used by Ukrainian political and religious leaders to counter the "Russian world" ideology in public communication during the full-scale invasion. Methods. The study applies van Dijk’s socio-cognitive model of Critical Discourse Analysis to a corpus of statements, social media posts, interviews, and speeches produced by key Ukrainian figures between March 2022 and April 2023. Semantic strategies such as categorisation, polarisation, and lexicalisation are used as the primary analytical tools. cide. Linguistic choices, such as epithets, sensory framing, irony, and orthographic resistance (e.g., writing русский мір, русскій мір instead of російський світ), are used to delegitimise the enemy. The dual meaning of mir (peace/ world) is leveraged to highlight the ideological contradictions inherent in Russian narratives. Discussion. The findings demonstrate how language becomes a tool of symbolic resistance in wartime. Ukrainian discourse not only exposes the violent core of russkij mir but also contributes to shaping a shared moral and civilisational identity. This analysis opens new perspectives for interdisciplinary research into information warfare, political discourse, and national identity formation. Results. The analysis reveals how the "Russian world" doctrine is consistently portrayed as an ideology of violence, occupation, destruction, and genocide. Linguistic choices, such as epithets, sensory framing, irony, and orthographic resistance (e.g., writing русский мір, русскій мір instead of російський світ), are used to delegitimise the enemy. The dual meaning of mir (peace/ world) is leveraged to highlight the ideological contradictions inherent in Russian narratives. Discussion. The findings demonstrate how language becomes a tool of symbolic resistance in wartime. Ukrainian discourse not only exposes the violent core of russkij mir but also contributes to shaping a shared moral and civilisational identity. This analysis opens new perspectives for interdisciplinary research into information warfare, political discourse, and national identity formation.
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Keywords
Russian world, critical discourse analysis, Ukraine, wartime communication, ideology, political narrative, article
Citation
Pidkuimukha L. Deconstructing the ‘Russian World’ Ideology: Ukrainian Public Figures’ Discourse in Times of War / Liudmyla Pidkuimukha // Мова: класичне - модерне - постмодерне. - 2025. - Вип. 11 (спеціальний випуск). - С. 186-207. - https://doi.org/10.18523/lcmp2522-9281.2025.11.186-207