Destruction of Ukrainian identity as a state policy of the USSR and Russia. Analysis of repressive methods
Source: MIHR
The imposition of the Russian ideology of the “Russian World” as dominant, chauvinism, and oppression for speaking Ukrainian—all these practices are actively employed by the Russian Federation in its war against Ukraine, particularly against prisoners of war and civilians. This practice is not new; it continues the policy of the Soviet regime, the communist leadership of the USSR, and its special services toward the Ukrainian people.
From the very first years of the establishment of Soviet power in Ukrainian territories, the special agencies of the communist regime singled out specific groups of people for persecution and destruction: the Ukrainian political elite, the military, the scientific and creative intelligentsia, and wealthy peasants. That is, all those representatives of the Ukrainian people who had the potential to resist the totalitarian regime and build their own independent Ukrainian state.
Since the start of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in 2022, the systematic persecution of specific groups of the Ukrainian people has taken on repressive characteristics identical to those of the Soviet era. As was the case then, representatives of the Ukrainian government, civil society activists, and civilians—opponents of the occupation—as well as those who took up arms to defend Ukraine against Russia’s armed aggression—servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces—have fallen victim to this targeted persecution.
Russia’s persecution manifests itself, in particular, in the creation of intolerable conditions for Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians in detention facilities, where the ideology of the “Russian World” is forced upon them and they are tortured for refusing to accept it. Russia also uses the judicial system against detained Ukrainians, illegally charging them with “terrorist activities”—just as it did during the Soviet era.
The persistence of this process, which has lasted for nearly a century, demonstrates patterns common to both the Soviet Union and modern Russia of destroying the Ukrainian people’s identity and their capacity to resist policies of annexation. This report analyzes the policies and tools used to impose Russian ideology and persecute specific groups of Ukrainians from the Soviet era to the present day.
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The imposition of the Russian ideology of the “Russian World” as dominant, chauvinism, and oppression for speaking Ukrainian—all these practices are actively employed by the Russian Federation in its war against Ukraine, particularly against prisoners of war and civilians. This practice is not new; it continues the policy of the Soviet regime, the communist leadership of the USSR, and its special services toward the Ukrainian people.
From the very first years of the establishment of Soviet power in Ukrainian territories, the special agencies of the communist regime singled out specific groups of people for persecution and destruction: the Ukrainian political elite, the military, the scientific and creative intelligentsia, and wealthy peasants. That is, all those representatives of the Ukrainian people who had the potential to resist the totalitarian regime and build their own independent Ukrainian state.
Since the start of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in 2022, the systematic persecution of specific groups of the Ukrainian people has taken on repressive characteristics identical to those of the Soviet era. As was the case then, representatives of the Ukrainian government, civil society activists, and civilians—opponents of the occupation—as well as those who took up arms to defend Ukraine against Russia’s armed aggression—servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces—have fallen victim to this targeted persecution.
Russia’s persecution manifests itself, in particular, in the creation of intolerable conditions for Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians in detention facilities, where the ideology of the “Russian World” is forced upon them and they are tortured for refusing to accept it. Russia also uses the judicial system against detained Ukrainians, illegally charging them with “terrorist activities”—just as it did during the Soviet era.
The persistence of this process, which has lasted for nearly a century, demonstrates patterns common to both the Soviet Union and modern Russia of destroying the Ukrainian people’s identity and their capacity to resist policies of annexation. This report analyzes the policies and tools used to impose Russian ideology and persecute specific groups of Ukrainians from the Soviet era to the present day.
View document ➚
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