Putin expected Ukraine to roll over in days when he launched the
full-scale war in February 2022. But this was a tragic misreading of the
Ukraine people, because they were prepared to fight for their
independence and liberty. The ‘Russian World’ concept did not have the
attractions that Putin and his acolytes seemed to believe. Instead of a
small victorious war, Russia has become entangled in a quagmire that has
now claimed more Russian lives than 10 years of war in Afghanistan. As
it looks ever more likely that Ukraine will emerge victorious, albeit
paying a terrible price for that, Russia’s future is far less certain.
In this episode we explore what language can tell us about the strategic
miscalculations of the Russians, the declining impact of propaganda,
and the resilience of Ukrainians.
Ksenia Turkova is a journalist and a linguist with a Ph.D. in philology
(language and literature). She has both Russian and Ukrainian
backgrounds and has worked in both countries for private as well as
independent media. Her specialist area of research is studying media
texts and propaganda. Ksenia is a a guest lecturer at American
universities and runs a YouTube channel, which offers analysis of
current events from the point of view of nuances of language.