{"id":183885,"date":"2022-06-01T14:51:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T11:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=183885"},"modified":"2022-06-01T14:51:07","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T11:51:07","slug":"how-russia-tries-to-appropriate-ukrainian-traumas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/how-russia-tries-to-appropriate-ukrainian-traumas","title":{"rendered":"How Russia Tries to Appropriate Ukrainian Traumas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the 8 years of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, the aggressor has never stepped outside the colonial paradigm, destroying Ukraine\u2019s cultural heritage and appropriating its cultural heritage. After the large-scale invasion of February 24, Russians went even further and started \u201cdemonopolizing\u201d Ukrainian traumas<\/strong> and, therefore, appropriating them to get their share of compassion<\/strong>. Unlike the pro-government Russian citizens advocating for Putin\u2019s regime and its policy on Ukraine, the \u201cliberal\u201d ones have chosen a different route – portraying themselves as victims since Ukraine has gotten the support of the whole world and Russia has gotten nothing but neglect and condemnation. This once again demonstrates Russia\u2019s longing for monopoly – in this case, a monopoly for sympathy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight for compassion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An example of a Russian anti-war activist and volunteer, who made a tattoo<\/a> with a drawing of an 11-year old Ukrainian boy raped by Russian occupiers to allegedly fix the pain of the war<\/strong> forever, shows that no matter how much liberal Russians disagree with the war, they perceive Ukrainian trauma as an accessory.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convincing the West that \u201cnot all Russians are responsible for Putin\u2019s war\u201d, they emphasize their \u201cbystanders\u2019 trauma\u201d and identify themselves through this traumatic experience. Such thesis is very helpful when it comes to shifting the responsibility for the genocide of Ukrainians to Putin and the Russian army only – and this is why Russian oppositional journalist Bozhena Rynska, when calling<\/a> Russians \u201cthe new Germans\u201d, does not forget to remind that \u201ccollective guilt does not exist<\/strong>, and those Russians who were going to opposition rallies and who were being persecuted for their civil position, are not to blame\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the same oppositional Russians still look at Ukraine through the lens of \u201cgentle\u201d imperialism. Mourning the difficult destiny of Russians, Rynska worries about the future of great Russian culture, the best representatives of which Ukraine will \u201clure\u201d after the victory, so Russia will lose its best oppositional journalists, opera singers, and ballet dancers. But isn\u2019t it a vision of \u201cbetter Russia\u201d<\/strong>, Russia.2.0, not Ukraine? Appropriation of the colonial heritage does not seem to be the most successful decolonization strategy – and Ukrainians know that like no one else.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liberal Russia is still imperial Russia<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At this stage of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Russian public figures, who position themselves as oppositional, are playing the victims<\/strong>, convincing the global community (and even Ukrainians) that they are experiencing the same trauma, living in a state with a dictatorial regime, unable to influence political decisions. However, unlike Ukrainians being in the epicenter of a national tragedy, they perceive it as a theatrical performance, seeking catharsis. While Ukrainians themselves repudiate the image of \u201chelpless victims\u201d<\/strong>, doing their utmost for the victory, Russians decide to try on this role – and they are still having militaristic and violent tendencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, Maxim Katz<\/strong>, a popular Russian blogger, political, and public figure, despite his condemnation of the war, still considers<\/strong><\/a> Ukraine part of the \u201cRussian world\u201d<\/strong> and refuses to understand why Ukrainians want to distance themselves from Russian cultural space. He describes the Russian and Ukrainian military as \u201cthe same people\u201d put in different conditions and therefore, tries to get Ukraine back into the imperial paradigm, where people speak the same language and have the same values – and so does Russian oppositional Yuriy Dud <\/strong>and Alexei Navalny<\/strong>, criticizing<\/a> Ukraine\u2019s Revolution of Dignity and refusing<\/a> to recognize Crimea as Ukrainian sovereign territory, Russian writer and journalist Yulia Latynina<\/strong>, supporting<\/a> the idea of Ukraine being an \u201cartificial state\u201d<\/strong> and describing the Ukrainian language as \u201cnot as highly developed as Russian\u201d, and Russian political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann<\/strong>, endorsing<\/a> Russian \u201cintegration policy\u201d (read: occupation policy) and calling Ukraine an \u201cunviable state\u201d<\/strong>, whatever that means – but is it an excuse to occupy another country?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trauma and the redemption <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the whole world unites around Ukrainians, Russians mostly remain abandoned pariahs, so unwilling to associate themselves with a bloody dictatorship, they are looking for a new identity<\/strong>, trying to appropriate Ukraine\u2019s trauma as a cultural phenomenon and turn it into the collective trauma of the Russian people as well, and convince the world that they also \u201cpay the price\u201d. However, the trauma of the audience and the trauma of the victim are different traumas by their very nature. Playing the appealing role of rebels<\/strong>, Russian liberals continue the same imperialist discourse in a more pleasant wrapper – after all, their discourse always leads to undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timothy Snyder, a professor of history at Yale University, clearly perceived only a total victory of Ukraine may deconstruct<\/a> Russian imperialism and encourage Russian citizens to<\/strong> base their national idea on their future, not on their past<\/strong>, whatever \u201cgreat\u201d and \u201cheroic\u201d it may have been. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any \u201ccompromise\u201d in an attempt to \u201csave Putin\u2019s face\u201d in this war, will finally lead to another round of Russian imperialism, which will mean another war in pursuit of glory and \u201cfor the common good\u201d. In this case, a renewed Russian state, free of sanctions, would like to invade Ukraine sooner or later. All in all, Russia\u2019s defeat would be not only a symbolic triumph of a former colony over a former metropole but also the defeat of Russia\u2019s imperial war and its\u2019 \u201cgathering of land\u201d politics – and therefore, a win of the whole democratic world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the 8 years of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, the aggressor has never stepped outside the colonial paradigm, destroying Ukraine\u2019s cultural heritage and appropriating its cultural heritage. After the large-scale invasion of February 24, Russians went even further and started \u201cdemonopolizing\u201d Ukrainian traumas and, therefore, appropriating them to get their share of compassion. Unlike the pro-government […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":183895,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[700,611,748],"tags":[32716,1380,32956],"section":[726],"form":[31943],"yoast_head":"\nHow Russia Tries to Appropriate Ukrainian Traumas | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the 8 years of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, the aggressor has never stepped outside the colonial paradigm, destroying Ukraine\u2019s cultural heritage and | Uacrisis.org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/how-russia-tries-to-appropriate-ukrainian-traumas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Russia Tries 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