The Doctrine of “The Russian World” as a Political Ideology of Russian Aggression Against Ukraine

Abstract

The article analyzes the conceptual foundations of the geopolitical doctrine of the "Russian world", which has become a political ideology and the basis of Russia's hybrid aggression against Ukraine. The imperial essence of Putin's Russia as the successor to the Russian and Soviet empires has been revealed. The concept of "Russian peace" is understood as an important element of Russia's revenge policy towards Ukraine and Ukrainians. It is proved that the Kremlin leadership and their supporters in Ukraine actively use this doctrine to deny the modern ethnocultural reality, namely, do not recognize Ukrainians as a separate, original people, but only a sub-ethnic group of the great Russians. The basic elements of the "Russian world" are described, first of all, the Russian Orthodox Church, the information component, the Russian language, culture, education, science, and so on. The criminal role of the "Russian world" in the preparation and course of the undeclared Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war has been clarified. Those regions of Ukraine where the "Russian world" became most widespread and popular among the anti-Ukrainian local population later became either easy prey for the aggressor (like Crimea) or an arena of bloody confrontation (like Donetsk and Luhansk regions). Conversely, where pro-Ukrainian forces were in the majority, they were able to stop the offensive of the "Russian world" – and the so-called "Russian spring". It is proved that the leaders of Russia and their henchmen purposefully deny and ignore the modern ethnocultural reality and actively implement in the spiritual, informational, linguistic, cultural, educational and scientific space of Ukraine ideas and principles of the "Russian world", which ultimately weakens the Ukrainian state. nation and Ukrainian national identity. The ways of overcoming and final liquidation of ideas, ideological bases, ideology, and basic elements of the "Russian world" by the Ukrainian state are offered. First of all, it is the elimination of the so-called lines of demarcation in Ukrainian society, the acquisition of strategic importance of state significance by Ukrainian studies, including the Ukrainian "soft power" of conciliar, diplomatic and political nature and the building of the Ukrainian Independent Conciliar State on Ukrainian-centric principles. modern renewed nationalism and Ukrainian studies as an educational humanities discipline, integrative science and patriotic worldview).