Euphemisms and Self-Censorship: How Russians Talk About Ukraine

Euphemisms to talk about the dead, military jargon, patriotic poems and self-censorship: two and a half years of fighting in Ukraine have had an impact on Russian language and literature.

On February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced a "Special Military Operation" -- referred to by its Russian acronym as "SVO".

The abbreviation has become ubiquitous in Russia -- repeated by political and military officials, used on social networks, in books and on illuminated billboards on the side of the road of the Russian capital.

The use of the word "war" was initially completely banned and punishable with a prison sentence.

It has re-appeared in official language, even from Putin, but only to describe what he says is a war instigated by Ukraine and the West against Russia.

Nina Popova, a pro-government author who is also the deputy head of the Russian Writers' Union, uses the word without batting an eyelid.

Her organisation, a propaganda tool during the Soviet era, oversaw the publication in June of an anthology of poems entitled "For Our Friends" celebrating the courage of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

Popova recited some of the poems at a recent book fair on Red Square.

She said the appearance of patriotic poems and songs shows that the conflict in Ukraine "is starting to take on a sacred dimension".

That status has long been occupied by the "Great Patriotic War" -- the Russian name for World War II which Putin places at the heart of his rhetoric on Russian greatness and regularly compares to the "SVO".

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- 'Join our people!' -

An example of the omnipresence of the "SVO" acronym is its use in the form of word play in the slogan "Join our people!" plastered across the country to encourage Russians to join the army.

The slogan, which evokes the spirit of "brotherhood", really "captures the mood of the moment" which is about "coming together", Popova said.

When a war drags on it becomes about "avenging fallen comrades", said a linguist who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity because of fears of repression.

"We no longer understand why we are fighting, what we want to obtain. But we understand that our guys are here and the other guys are there," she said.

The change is significant from 2022 when official rhetoric promised a quick victory against Ukraine.

Another change is that the government no longer denies losses in an effort to "soften the shock for public opinion", the linguist said.

Several euphemisms are used in Russian to refer to losses, including "200s" to refer to military deaths or "300s" for injuries.

These expressions feature in an informal "dictionary of the SVO" shown off by Popova.

It has a lot of the jargon used by the army such as "bird" or "Batman" for drones but also new words to refer to mobilised soldiers such as "mobiki" or even "chmobiki" -- the latter with the addition of another word meaning "scum".

- Self-censorship -

Critics of the "SVO" resort to self-censorship and silence.

While in 2022 "you could hear people expressing doubt on public transport or with their neighbours," the linguist said "they now stay silent".

People only open up with their loved ones at a time when there are almost daily arrests of people for any real or supposed criticism of the conflict.

The Soviet-era practice of informing on others is also making a comeback.

One well-off Muscovite told AFP on condition of anonymity that she was concerned about speaking freely even in her own home.

She is afraid Alisa, the virtual assistant of Russian internet giant Yandex, will share her data with the authorities.

Alexei Levinson, a sociologist from the independent Levada Centre, regularly holds focus groups to sound out public opinion.

He said critical voices have become muted, particularly since the mobilisation of civilians has remained limited and new army recruits tend to be volunteers who are relatively well paid.

Some initial critics of the conflict now have a "simple logic", he said: "Now that we have started the war, we have to bring it to an end".