Legal and historical arguments in Russian propaganda campaigns against Ukraine, 2013–2022

Abstract

Background: The subject of the analysis are the legal and historical arguments used in the propaganda campaigns against Ukraine.

Research purpose: The aim of the study was to determine how history is used in the information war with Ukraine, on which events the Russian historical narrative focuses, and what demands and aspirations it justifies.

Methods: The research was based on the analysis of the literature and the Russian president’s speeches and statements as well as the propaganda content of Russian media.

Conclusions: The analysis showed that legal history is an essential tool in the information war against Ukraine. The Russian narrative focuses on those events that can be interpreted in such a way as to emphasize the eternal unity of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian nations, while negating Ukraine’s full independence. The territory seized in 2014 is considered historically Russian, and Russia’s imperial past serves as a justification for the creation of a zone of influence that covers the post-Soviet area. In turn, the resurgent fascism in Ukraine, the proof of which is the cult of Stepan Bandera justified the aggression in 2014 and in February 2022.