HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE RUSSIAN HYBRID WAR AGAINST UKRAINE: THE VIEW OF RUSSIAN RESEARCHERS

Abstract

This article deals with works devoted to events on the Independence, during the Revolution of Dominion, the annexation of the Crimea and Russian aggression in general. The study raises the question of the impartiality and reliability of the facts presented by the researchers of the works which is covered by this article. The author is proposed to divide researches into three categories on a chronological basis. The subject of the study is extremely relevant as wars of a new format generate the formation of a new hybrid world order. The aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine became the starting point for shaping such a future world order. Investigating the work of Russian researchers, one can conclude that in Russia, aggression in Ukraine is called a civil war. The main challenge is to shift responsibility for the war to the Ukrainian leadership. Their position in the conflict is due to the alleged protection of the Russian-speaking population on the territory of Ukraine. The Russian Federation is trying to intensify the formation and support of the image of itself as a peacemaking country on the international scene. After all, creating a belt of external enemies unites people and distracting from the urgent domestic problems in the country. Analyzing Russian labor it becomes clear that the problems of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are being paid little attention. Authors studying events highlight only certain beneficial aspects of the conflict and are often openly propagandistic. Also, an attempt is made to make a generalized analysis of the work of Russian authors on hybrid wars and to assess the degree of its objectivity. Generally analyzed works published in the period 2014-2017 and had a fairly large circulation and distribution. All of them, with rare exceptions, do not objectively highlight the chronicles of events and act in favor of pro-Russian propaganda. Most of the authors previously covered other conflicts related to the Russian Federation, such as the war with Georgia or the conflict in Chechnya, or they are fugitives from the east of Ukraine and are carriers of exclusively pro-Russian political thought. An interesting fact is that they are easily accessible and accessed online and even sold in some Ukrainian online stores.