On the night of March 18, Russian President Volodymyr Putin arrived in the temporarily occupied Mariupol, where he allegedly talked with local residents and followed the progress of restoration work in the city destroyed by Russia. One of the “residents” (in fact, one cannot establish for sure whether a woman lives in Mariupol now or she lived during the blockade of the city) addresses Putin, saying that she lives in “a piece of paradise”, which is now Mariupol thanks to the Russians.

In fact, it is impossible to find out whether the so-called local residents in Mariupol were not there to meet with Putin, his proxies or representatives of the Russian special services. In addition, in some Russian media, a moment was recorded where, against the background of a conversation about a “piece of paradise” and the “restoration” of Mariupol, shouts are heard: “This is all a show-off!”, which surprised the participants in the dialogue. But even if one skips this, it is clear that Russia is trying to create an illusion of success and development of the temporarily occupied territories, the source of which is Russia.

Russia is trying to substitute the concept in this case, since Mariupol is a city completely destroyed by Russian troops, turning it into hell. Moreover, the decision to destroy civilian infrastructure is well calculated and not accidental - this is a strategy Russian troops constantly resort to in their military campaigns.

Such “recovery” projects often divert attention from Russia's own infrastructural problems. In particular, in many cities you can find buildings in disrepair, in which there is no access to water supply and heating, which is very far from a “piece of paradise”. Instead of working on this, Russia is actually building poor-quality temporary infrastructure for the sake of a good picture, which serves more as a decoration. Russia resorted to such actions even during preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. When it comes to explaining to the locals why their life is definitely not a “piece of paradise” even though there is no constant shelling, the Russian authorities on the ground will blame Ukraine and the “collective West”. If Russia had not waged war against Ukraine and not destroyed its infrastructure, the money spent on the “restoration” of the temporarily occupied territories could have been spent on improving the living standards of the inhabitants of the Russian hinterland.

That is, by calling Mariupol a piece of paradise, Russian propaganda is substituting the concept. After all, it was Russia that captured a quite successful Ukrainian city and turned it into a hell in which thousands of people died. And if it had not been for Russia, Mariupol would not have had to be reconstructed.

“It’s safer in Russia”, “protect your life and your children” – such theses are promoted by Russian propaganda in the temporarily occupied territories in order to facilitate the deportation of women and children taken to Russia or to the annexed Crimea. To hide the fact of the crime, propagandists use the term “evacuation”.

By the term “evacuation” propagandists mean the removal of people from the war zone and the provision of a “safe” place to live. Like, Kherson region, Donetsk region, Luhansk region, Kharkiv region are unsuitable for life and people from there need to leave for a safer place. Usually, Russian propaganda attracts adult Ukrainians with a variety of “profitable offers”: provision of housing, registration of a special quota, etc. However, it is not known for certain whether such a category of persons really received the “privileges” declared by Russia. As for other categories of people, namely children, Russian propaganda actively promoted messages about “health camps”, “recreation centers” and stated that Ukrainian children “need to be saved”.

In fact, this is not an “evacuation”, but a deportation of the Ukrainian people. That is, Russia substitutes the concept and calls the forced deportation “salvation”. People do not come back, and even can go missing, in particular, children. For example, the investigation of one of these trips to the camp was described by the American publication NYT, which published the story of a resident of the Kharkiv region, whose child went to Russia in August to a free children's camp, supposedly safe from constant shelling. As of November 23, when the NYT story came out, the child had not returned to his mother yet. And in general it is impossible to establish what percentage of people go to Russia voluntarily and in general if  such people exist.

At least 2 million 800 thousand Ukrainians were forced to leave or were deported to Russian territory. And this is by no means the fault of the eight-year shelling of Donbas by Ukraine (already nine years), but the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine, the destruction of villages, cities and towns, the occupation of territories. A terrorist country kidnaps people, brings them into the depths of Russia, so that it would be as difficult as possible for them to return home, to their homeland. All deported people are deprived of their means of communication, their documents are taken away and they are intimidated, and children are tried to be adopted illegally.

The atrocities of the Russians in Bucha and Hostomel in the Kyiv region, in Izium in the Kharkiv region, the destruction of the Mariupol maternity hospital and the drama theater, the murder of Ukrainians at the railway station in Kramatorsk - all these and other crimes against civilian Ukrainians are called “staged” by Russian propaganda.

By using this term, propagandists want to cover up their terrorist activities and absolve themselves of responsibility. Like, Russia does not commit any war crimes, they just want to discredit it. Allegedly, in order to expose Russia as an aggressor, Ukraine lies. Moreover, Russian propaganda is trying in every possible way to justify the murder of Ukrainians, speaking of the so-called staging of events: all the bodies of the dead, located in the territories liberated from the invaders, are called “fake with the participation of professional actors”. For example, after the liberation of Bucha, Russian propaganda promoted all sorts of theses, including: “Ukraine is committing a provocation” or “not a single civilian was hurt”, etc. Other liberated territories are named as “Bucha 2.0” (Kharkiv region), “Bucha 3.0” (Kherson region). Thus, propagandists once again emphasize the alleged non-involvement of Russia and its occupying troops in all war crimes on the territory of Ukraine. As for terrorist attacks, Russian propaganda also finds an excuse, looking for a so-called “military target” in everything. Allegedly, in civilian infrastructure facilities, in hospitals, in schools and in maternity hospitals, there is a “Nazi headquarters” or “decision-making centers”.

However, the term “staging” really hides something else: the genocide of the Ukrainian people. The genocide is committed daily by the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine destroying Ukrainian cities and villages, killing thousands of Ukrainians, children in particular.

The war against Ukraine began in 2014, when Russia became directly involved in the creation of separatist formations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. At that time, Russian propaganda, at the direction of the Kremlin, tried to present this as exclusively the people's will. This should have increased the informational noise around the “referenda on self-determination”, which are recognized as illegal, that is, their results are not recognized by other states of the world. Therefore, the new quasi-formations were named “Donetsk People's Republic” and “Luhansk People's Republic”. Such terminology is used by communist states to show in the name the importance of the people for power, although in reality these countries are far from “people's”, for example, the People's Republic of China or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Thus, Russia wants to shift the responsibility for its actions to Ukraine and justify them. They say that the people of Donbas suffered as part of Ukraine and wanted rapprochement with Russia, so Russia heard them and liberated them. The propagandists want to create a false impression of a split within the state and artificially deepen it.

This is a new text for the “Newspeak” section, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes that Russian propaganda uses to distort reality.

Together with the “special military operation” or even the “Ukrainian crisis”, Russian propaganda deliberately hides its actions and avoids responsibility. In order not to constantly resort to official statements that have become part of state rhetoric, propagandists use a more informal definition of war - “conflict”.

This term appeared back in 2014, when Russia began to call the war in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea and the seizure of Donbas and Luhansk region a “conflict”. Despite numerous evidence of Russia's involvement in the war, Russia has not officially acknowledged the fact of its invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, it allegedly called it a “conflict” or the conduct of “military operations” or a “civil war”.

Now and then, these terms are intended to cover up the bloody war that Putin and the Russian army are waging, having received the support of the Russian people with appropriate statements or silence. The term “conflict” is associated with some kind of diplomatic process, with a situation that can be resolved through negotiations, agreements, etc. The annexation of territories and subsequently a large-scale attack on the territory of Ukraine, the killing of Ukrainian civilians, the destruction of Ukrainian villages, cities and towns, the seizure of territories is not a manifestation of diplomacy, but an example of waging a barbaric war, the destruction of the Ukrainian people. Such actions are in no way subject to negotiations and agreements and further achievements of “peace”. In the “special military operation”, “Ukrainian crisis” and “conflict”, there is a clear definition that Russian propaganda is trying to avoid by all means – war.

This is the twelfth text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes used by Russian propaganda to distort reality.

Russian propagandists continue to elude responsibility by using different phrases to define the war that Russia unleashed in Ukraine. Very often, the use of the official wording “special military operation” can get the audience tired. Therefore, a more informal construction is the “Ukrainian crisis”.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for the ninth year. The situation of war is a moment of crisis for the whole country, a test of strength. This crisis, however, has a well-defined name: a war. Russia has launched aggressive military actions against Ukraine. This, as well as the crimes of the Russian armed forces against civilians, at least fall under the definition of “crime of aggression” under international law. Accordingly, in the future there is every reason to hold Russia accountable not for the crisis, but for the start of a targeted war.

Using this phrase, Russia is trying to show that the war against Ukraine is a temporary phenomenon. The term “Ukrainian crisis” is also being used to play along with the “blitzkrieg” message that the Russian government promised its citizens in the event of an attack on Ukraine. In addition, in this way, propagandists are trying to reduce the degree of the tragedy of the situation. Like, there is nothing serious, just a small “crisis” that can be easily resolved by negotiations and big concessions towards Russia. Additionally, Russian propaganda with the help of this phrase is again trying to shift the responsibility for the crimes of the aggressor onto the victim of aggression.

This is a new text for the “Newspeak” section, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we tell and explain new lexemes that Russian propaganda uses to distort reality.

Russian propaganda builds an imaginary curtain between the whole world and Russia, saying that there are enemies on the other side. That is why propagandists use the term “collective West” to hint at the alleged hostility of other countries towards Russia, especially the West.

Primarily in Putin’s public rhetoric, the “collective West” first appeared in the 2021 address to the Federal Assembly. Since then, Russian propaganda has used the term “collective West” to refer to all the alleged dangers that the West can bring to Russia. It is noteworthy that under the “collective West” Russian propaganda means both the leaders of European countries and Europeans who are carriers of “hostile Western values”.

However, using this term, propagandists most often appeal to European officials or to large organizations, such as NATO. Thus, Russian propaganda wants to show as if all countries are united against Russia and yearn for its destruction. However, in fact, it is Russia that instills in Russians hatred and hostility to other countries, intolerance towards peoples, and legitimizes xenophobia. At the same time, it calls itself a “safe haven” - a country that is able to protect its people from “all troubles and hardships”.

This is the eleventh text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes used by propaganda to distort reality.

Historically, in the Slavic languages, it has developed so that they write “on Ukraine” instead of “in Ukraine”, when talking about the location. For example, such a version is considered grammatically correct in Polish and Slovak. And if the Council of the Polish language, after the start of a full-scale war, considers the option “w Ukrainie” to be correct, in Slovak, “na Ukrajinіe” remains the correct variant, since such a phrase is used in relation to one's own country (na Slovensku). However, in Russia they distorted the primary function of the pretext and began to use it for humiliating purposes. This was especially intensified during the full-scale invasion: Russian media now mainly writes “on Ukraine”.

At the same time, a number of Russian dictionaries still present the version “in Ukraine” as the only grammatically correct one. This only emphasizes that the frequent use of the construction “on Ukraine” is exclusively a choice of propaganda.

Thus, Russia mocks Ukraine and its people, pointing out their “inferiority”. With the help of this phrase, propagandists play along with the imperial ambitions of the Russians, since the preposition “on” in relation to the territory is used only if it is part of the state, or an island. In fact, in this way, they want to show that Ukraine is part of Russia and does not have the right to independent existence.

This is the tenth text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it,  we will tell and explain new lexemes used by Russian propaganda to distort reality.

In the context of a full-scale war, the Russian leadership stated that they were claiming Ukrainian lands, because they had always belonged to Russia. That is why, according to them, they (Russia) came to Ukraine to take back what is theirs, that is, to “liberate” and return to itself, to reunite with the Russian lands. Allegedly, Crimea, Donetsk region, Luhansk region or even Kharkiv and Kherson regions have always been Russians, and Russians live there.

Thanks to the term “reunion”, Russia becomes a righteous state, which allegedly only returns historical justice. Nevertheless, the Russians substitute the concept, thus calling the “reunion” the annexation of the territories of another, sovereign state. In fact, Russia is holding illegitimate referendums, seizing land, destroying cities.

By manipulating the emotions of the Russians, propaganda claims that finally “the territories are returning to their native harbor”, and “brothers and sisters” of the Russians will be saved from the Ukrainian yoke. Thus, they want to distort reality and hide their real predatory, barbaric and bloody actions. Since the term is associated only with the return of one's own territories or even something joyful, finally everyone will live together “in peace and harmony”.

This is the ninth text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes that Russian propaganda uses to distort reality.

Since the beginning of the large-scale war, Russia has clearly been trying to overthrow the Ukrainian authorities and establish its own. In particular, Russia illegally appoints its own people to senior positions in the temporarily occupied territories. Ukraine is gradually driving the occupiers out of its lands, but Russia considers its appointed government to be legitimate, and it calls the Ukrainian, legally elected in fact, “Kyiv regime”, which supposedly “illegally” leads Ukraine.

That is, Russian propaganda replaces the word “government” with “regime” in order to confirm the so-called illegitimacy of the Ukrainian authorities, which, according to Russia, does not act on behalf of the people. Also, calling the Ukrainian authorities led by Volodymyr Zelenskyi the “Kyiv regime”, propaganda blurs the concept of the Ukrainian state, which allegedly no longer exists. At the same time, it focuses its attention on certain boundaries of the so-called government, where it operates. The Kyiv regime means that it operates only within Kyiv and does not extend to other territories. Allegedly, Ukrainians are hostages of this regime and cannot overthrow it on their own without the help of Russia.

With the help of this word, as well as the same special military operation, pops and others, Russia seeks to blur the borders and change the reality in which it saves Ukrainians from an illegal regime that captivates Ukraine, and not vice versa - it itself seeks to enslave Ukrainians, destroy Ukrainian cities and villages.

This is the seventh text for the new section Newspeak, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes that propaganda uses to distort reality.

First of all, “foreign agents” are media and persons who are in a special register of “foreign agents”, which is formed by the Russian government. According to Russian law, it should be added only for the receipt and use of funds from abroad. However, the occupiers often add to this list people or media who do not have confirmed foreign income, but directly or covertly criticize Russia's actions. In particular, the list included media that refused the wording “special military operation” in their materials.

Experience shows that propagandists can use this definition without reference to this list or Russian citizens. The term is repeatedly used as an informal or satirical name for foreign sources or Western media people who openly oppose Russian aggression.

In this way, Russia mocks democratic values and accuses all those who criticize it of bias. They say that the sources of information are confirmed, but “foreign agents” lie and are simply jealous. Propagandists often transfer responsibility for their actions to Ukraine or the West, calling the information of “foreign agents” fake. This definition is another example of how the Russian media space is limited and controlled.

This is the sixth text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes that Russian propaganda uses to distort reality.

War is the seizure of territories. However, according to Russian propagandists, it is the Russian military who, having crossed the border of a foreign country, having annexed part of the territory, do not seize it, but, on the contrary, liberate it. In particular, this is one of the main tasks of the so-called “special military operation”. In order to explain Russia's invasion into Ukraine, Russian propaganda distorts reality and uses the phrase “liberation of territories”.

“Liberation” - the term by which Russia appears as a liberator that does not destroy and brings death, but on the contrary, liberates its territories from the Ukrainian yoke.

Russian propaganda uses the term “liberation” to hint that the Russian army is only restoring justice: returning to Russia what already belonged to it, and somehow ended up outside its borders in some random way. Like, the same Crimea, Donetsk region, Luhansk region or even Kharkiv and Kherson regions have always been Russian, and Russians live there. However, the resistance that the Ukrainians are and have been providing in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia, just demonstrates the opposite. It is beneficial for Russians to substitute the concept, white to be called black, and occupation to be called  liberation. Thus, Russia's actions allegedly lose their negative connotation and acquire a different, already positive content. At the same time, the occupation of territories and their subsequent annexation is illegal, so propagandists do not use such words so as not to show the true face of the Russian leadership and their military subordinates.

This is the fifth text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes that Russian propaganda uses to distort reality.

All explosions on its territory, Russia calls “pops”. This began before the full-scale aggression against Ukraine was launched, and is now firmly rooted in the lexicon of Russian propaganda. Russian media use this word to define absolutely all explosions, regardless of their nature and source.

According to a study conducted by the Russian publication “Meduza”, at the end of 2017, in the media, news with the word “pop” could be counted in the tens, and already in 2019, in the thousands.

Russia began to change words in order to avoid panic among the people. They say that the news about the “pops” will not frighten the society as much as the information about the “explosions”. At present, Russia's goal has not changed. This concept should still reassure society and inspire the opinion that nothing serious is happening. A “pop”, according to propaganda, on a subconscious level causes less anxiety and negative associations.

With the help of a newspeak, people in every possible way complicate the process of understanding the course of events and their meaning. In addition, the absence of war also implies the absence of explosions, therefore, after the start of the “special operation” on the territory of Russia, from time to time there are precisely “pops”, which have long been familiar to the inhabitants of Russia, and in Ukraine are better known as “cotton”, that is translation of the same Russian word but with different stress. 

This is the third text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media is launching as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes used by Russian propaganda to distort reality.

We recall that the newspeak is an artificial language from George Orwell's dystopian novel “1984”. In the novel, Newspeak names words that lose their original meaning and have a completely opposite connotation. For example: war - peace. According to the plot of the novel, such a technique was used by the totalitarian party. It was it that gained popularity among representatives of real totalitarian regimes. In particular, Nazi and Russian.

One of the tasks of the “special military operation”, that is, Russia's large-scale war on the territory of Ukraine, was the so-called “denazification of the Ukrainian people”. That is what President Putin said when he addressed the nation hours before the full-scale invasion. In order to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian propaganda uses the term “denazification”.

“Denazification” is a term used by Russian propaganda to refer to the goals of a large-scale invasion. In other words, the eradication of supposedly Nazis from the territory of Ukraine in order to achieve global peace.

Russian propaganda actively compares Ukrainians precisely with the Nazis in order to evoke corresponding associations among Russians with the Second World War (the so-called Great Patriotic War), in which the people of the USSR liberated the world from the Nazis. However, the propagandists appropriated all the achievements to the Russian people, but omitted the fact that other Ukrainians also participated in the Second World War.

Consequently, a halo of particularity, significance and importance of Russians in historical discourse is being built. Allegedly, the Russian people had a special task to save humanity from the Nazi invasion. And now, it seems, they should do the same: to save the world from the invasion of other Nazis - Ukrainian ones. Speaking of the so-called denazification, the propagandists are playing with the emotions of the Russians, who once again get a chance to save humanity. At the same time, Ukrainians appear as evil Nazis who need to be destroyed.

Thus, Russia is trying to justify its invasion and, masquerading as “denazification”, commits genocide of Ukrainians, rapes and kills civilians. The real goal of Russia is the extermination of the Ukrainian people.

This is the third text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project, in which it will tell and explain new lexemes used by Russian propaganda to distort reality.

We recall that the newspeak is an artificial language from George Orwell's dystopian novel “1984”. In the novel, Newspeak names words that lose their original meaning and have a completely opposite connotation. For example: war - peace. According to the plot of the novel, such a technique was used by the totalitarian party. It was it that gained popularity among representatives of real totalitarian regimes. In particular, Nazi and Russian.

After the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, Western states supporting the Ukrainians stopped or limited trade with the aggressor; well-known brands left the Russian market; a significant number of European countries closed their airspace and imposed retaliatory sanctions on the criminal actions of the Russian army. To explain why the world reacts this way to the “special military operation”, Russia uses the word “russophobia”.

“Russophobia” is the term for all actions aimed at deterring Russian aggression against Ukraine. According to the messages of the Kremlin media, this is a completely groundless phenomenon, which means hatred for everything Russian: from products to culture.

According to the definition of Russian wikipedia, there is a kind of “russophobia” on a cultural and ideological basis, which arose because of the West's idea of its own superiority in cultural and economic terms, and Ukraine fell under the destructive influence of the West. The main idea promoted by the Russian media - ”russophobia”, that is, all measures to stop Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, has no reason.

In fact, the so-called “Russophobia” is nothing more than a response to the actions of the Russian army, leadership and people. The Russians bear collective responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported either by their respective statements or silence. World condemnation and sanctions against the aggressor are the consequences of Russia's criminal actions, and not vice versa, as Moscow is trying to convince everyone.

Russia presents “russophobia” as a separate type of Nazism, which originated in Ukraine and is massively spreading around the world. Anyone who criticizes Russia is a russophobe, and, accordingly, a Nazi. At first, the disinformation message about “russophobia” was aimed more at the Ukrainian audience, but after the international community supported Ukraine in the war, it spread to European countries as well. It even went as far as accusing Israel of Nazism.

Russia substitutes the meanings of concepts. The Kremlin media put the meaning of another term into the word “russophobia”, namely xenophobia – a sharp rejection of a foreign culture, language and way of life, which can manifest itself in the political life of the state through discrimination based on national and cultural grounds. The meaning of this word in a much narrower sense, according to Russian propaganda, is hidden behind the term “russophobia”. With so-called russophobia, Russia also justifies the attack on Ukraine.

This is the second text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media is launching as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes that Russian propaganda uses to distort reality.

We recall that the newspeak is an artificial language from George Orwell's dystopian novel “1984”. In the novel, Newspeak names words that lose their original meaning and have a completely opposite connotation. For example: war - peace. According to the plot of the novel, such a technique was used by the totalitarian party. It was it who gained popularity among representatives of real totalitarian regimes. In particular, Nazi and Russian.

On February 23, a few hours before a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and during Putin's official address, the Russian president declared that a clash between Russia and “nationalist forces” in Ukraine was inevitable. After that, the so-called special military operation was officially announced.

The special military operation is one of the most eloquent examples of how Russia uses newspeak to hide and distort reality, and at the same time absolve itself of responsibility under international law.

Special military operation (in Russian - SVO) is a term that has entered the dictionary of the Russian new language and is used to refer to Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. In other words, the war that the aggressor country started. With the help of a combination of these words, the true meaning of the concept of “war” is blurred among people, because this is just an “operation” that is not associated with something bloody. And it seems to be done well. Propagandists have repeatedly noted that this “operation”, for example, is designed to save the Russian-speaking people, enslaved under the yoke of Ukraine. That is, the occupiers appear as some kind of liberators who allegedly carry out an “operation” for the sake of salvation.

However, there is a war going on in Ukraine, and this is clear without any announcements. However, international law is not focused on words and statements, but on specific actions. Therefore, what is happening from the point of view of international law is an obvious war. The terrorist country, masquerading as the concept of “SVO”, actually carried out a large-scale offensive on the territory of the whole of Ukraine and has been committing war crimes since the invasion. However, calling what is happening only an operation, Russia is blurring reality in order to hide its true goals in Ukraine.

This text is the first in the “Newspeak” section, which Detector Media is launching as part of the Disinformation Chronicles project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes used by Russian propaganda to distort reality.

We recall that the newspeak is an artificial language from George Orwell's dystopian novel “1984”. In the novel, Newspeak means words that lose their original meaning and have a completely opposite meaning. For example: war - peace. According to the plot of the novel, such a technique was used by the totalitarian party. It is this technique that has gained popularity among representatives of real totalitarian regimes. In particular, Nazi and Russian.