In the western media and capitals, voices can be heard that what journalists report from Ukraine under the relentless Russian onslaught should not be identified with Russian language and culture. Why not? This callous attitude rightly offends Ukrainians, because it is none other than Russian soldiers and officers, educated and bred on “great Russian literature”, who keep committing heinous crimes in Ukraine.

Following Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine in early 2022, the novel term rashism (рашизм) rapidly coalesced for referring to and negatively assessing the mixed-bag fascist-inflected ideology of neo-imperialism that the Kremlin deploys for justifying and promoting its actions. Yet, in the West too little attention is paid to the Russian language’s role in this ideology.

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is inextricably linked to Putin’s belief that the Ukrainian nation and language do not exist. In response, western institutions should do all they can to promote this language when engaging with Russian citizens. Such a policy may encourage Russians to reflect on their government’s actions.

The expression “Great Russian literature” remains a ubiquitous phrase in discussions surrounding Russia’s literary output. In spite of this, history shows that this phrase possesses a key political aspect that is essential to understanding the Kremlin’s hybrid war today.

A proposed ban on Russians entering the EU is now being discussed across the continent. While Moscow wages a bloody war in Ukraine, Russian citizens continue to take advantage of the opportunity to visit the bloc. The EU must now speak with one voice by enforcing the ban in support of a besieged Ukraine.

The Russian military’s invasion of Mariupol was constantly reported on during the Ukrainian army’s brave stand at Azovstal. Despite this, little is known about the experiences of civilians during the wider siege. A historical comparison with the Warsaw Ghetto may help reveal the true level of human suffering that befell this Ukrainian city.

The fight for Ukraine’s survival is happening in more ways than just on the front. The rich heritage of the country’s language and culture is now under attack from a genocidal Kremlin administration determined to consign it to history. Moscow’s war goal of “denazification” is none other than Russification.

Russia’s invasion of its neighbour has focused the world’s attention on the struggles of Ukraine and its people. Despite this, a similarly brutal conflict in the Ethiopian region of Tigray has failed to attract almost any attention at all.

The Kremlin has stated time and time again that its war in Ukraine will ensure the safety of the country’s Russian speakers. Far from achieving this goal, Moscow’s military threats will only diminish Russian’s status as a global language.

Russia’s political system, officially known as “sovereign democracy” (suverennaia demokratiia), is nothing but a dictatorship along the lines of Lenin and Stalin’s democratic centralism. After all, the main goal is to re-establish a new Russian empire with Putin on the throne. Imperialism is this “new-old” ideology’s proper name.

During the past decade, the term “fascism” has become ubiquitous in Russia’s public discourse. The more that freedom of expression and freedom of the press have been curbed, the more the word “Nazism” has appeared in the country. The preferred form of both terms is that of a slur, namely “fascists” (fashisty) and “Nazis” (natsisty). In the West, this phenomenon has been largely disregarded as a peculiarity of the political language in present-day Russia. Arguably, it appeared to be nothing more than a rhetorical flourish. On February 24th, however, in a totally unprovoked move, the Russian president ordered his armies to invade peaceful Ukraine officially to “denazify” the country. A day later, he gave a bizarre speech in which he denigrated the Ukrainian government as a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”.

The democratic and free world cannot stand idly by when one of their own is facing a war of destruction waged by a neo-imperialist authoritarian force under false pretences.

Russia’s resurgence on the global stage has been motivated by desires to influence all the post-Soviet space. This is clear with regards to various political and military moves, such as those concerning Ukraine. Yet, actions of this type have not been replicated along any part of Russia’s Asian border.

Today, it may seem like the idea of a communist state is nothing but a relic of the 20th century. Despite this, many countries are still officially communist, mixing rhetoric with market economics in a way that often proves attractive to other states.