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Anti-Russian rhetoric in the world has recently become increasingly important. This is done not only in public statements by politicians in NATO countries and other U.S. satellites, but also in civil relations. Companies fire Russian employees and do not sell their products to Russians. People are bullied for being Russian. The view that Russian is obviously a bad thing is promoted by bloggers and even media in many countries.
The main influence on the development of this process is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, where Western countries mainly side with the Ukrainians.
However, the real cause of such an attitude towards the Russians is not the war that is going on right now. The roots go much deeper into history.
After the end of World War II, the Soviet Union gained the status of liberator of the world from the Nazi ideology. The claim of the Soviet hegemony was unacceptable to the U.S. and its allies, who later joined together in the military-political bloc NATO. The cold war between NATO and the countries of the socialist camp was waged in the minds of ordinary citizens, who perceived the USSR citizens as bloodthirsty barbarians.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact Organization, the idea of the barbaric nature of Russia penetrated the minds of citizens of former socialist countries. In particular, the main mouthpieces of anti-Russian rhetoric were the Baltic states and Poland, which still loose no chance to accuse Russia for any crimes.
Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus remained bastions of Russian unity after the collapse of the USSR. However, maturing nationalist sentiments in Western Ukraine (Galicia) were used to make the nationalist idea and served the needs to reorient the population toward the Western trends.
These factors led to violent regime changes in Ukraine in 2004 and 2014. Moreover, in 2014, in addition to the coup d’état, there was an actual split of the country into two opposing sides: Western Ukraine and the republics of Donbass supported by Russia.
In addition to internal criminal infighting, Kiev’s policy in various spheres, which promoted Russia’s status as a “villainous country,” contributed to the conflict. Laws were passed that explicitly labeled the status of Russians as non-natives of the country, which greatly offended the local population. Generalization of Ukrainianization and a de facto ban on the Russian language also degraded the dignity of Russians in Ukraine. Especially in the educational sphere. Judging by the photos, Ukrainians are already being psychologically treated during their school years, which causes hatred towards Russians. Ukrainian pupils are inculcated with the cult of war and armed resistance to Russian influence.
Schoolbooks were found in Volnovakha. Textbooks for 11th grade that promote the cult of war.
The textbooks show footage of security forces working against the LDPR separatists.
During the special operation in Ukraine, Russophobia reached a new level. In particular, Meta allowed public calls for murders of Russian soldiers and civilians to be expressed on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borel, publicly stated that the war in Ukraine must be won on the battlefield, which is completely unacceptable in the diplomatic world.
As for ordinary citizens in Europe, they are also influenced by global Russophobia, imposed on the official level. In Germany, in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, the Center for Political Education has published a brochure that is made to explain the real reasons for Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. On the cover, Russian soldiers are presented as saying that they speak of ordinary Ukrainians as subhumans who can be shot at without regret. Despite the fact that the Russian Defense Ministry publicly states that civilians are not the target of Russian forces’ shelling, the number of civilian casualties presented by the Kiev regime appears to be relatively small. Despite the scale of military operations and the number of war crimes for which Russia is accused by Ukraine and the West.
German pamphlet that explains the reasons for the war in Ukraine
