Russians show disdain for other states because of the perversion of their names. In particular, this also applies to such offensive names as Khokhols (Ukrainians), Bulbashes (Belarusian) , Psheks (Poles), etc. An example of this is the situation with the use of the name Moldavia.

Russian propagandists and social media users often use the word Moldova as the name of the state. It has been going on since Soviet times, since that is what the Moldovan lands within the USSR were then called. However, when the state became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moldova became its official name. Despite this, the Russian media and ordinary Russians continued to call Moldova “Moldavia”. Later, this turned from a habit into a political action, which reached its peak during the Russian invasion of Transnistria.

By using this name, Russia wants to show the “inferiority” of Moldova and its lack of subjectivity. Thus, it enhances its imperial ambitions and “targets” potential victims with the help of the language. They say that Moldova without Russia is not capable of anything and is not even a state, because we only know about “Moldavia”. However, the Republic of Moldova is the official name of an internationally recognized state, and by ignoring this, Russia shows that it does not care about internationally recognized rules.