Russification is usually associated with the promotion and adoption of Russian attributes by non-Russian people.
Russianization usually refers to the active imposition of Russian language, culture and customs on non-Russian people or territories, involving the assimilation of non-Russians into Russian society.
We commonly describe the latter as Russification when, according to scholars, Russianization would be more applicable. It connotates political domination and control. Russification is the process of advancing cultural exchange and integration, while Russianization involves the forced assimilation and suppression of diversity.
(While scholars associate Russification with the Kremlin using moderate/soft power in wielding its influence, for this writer it covers all means of non-military Russian domination over others.)
If one were to add ‘Sovietization’ into the mix with the other two, then under Tsarist, Soviet and current Russian rule they all intend to ensure state control over a diverse population. Tsarist regimes, however, rarely attempted to actually assimilate the different ethno-cultures within the Russian Empire and destroy their national identity.
Russia has greatly eased the formalities for any resident of the occupied Donbas area to become Russian citizens.
But the post-1917 Sovietization was driven by the goal of a total transformation of society. Sovietization never openly subscribed to cultural assimilation, Russians were seen by all as the ‘most equal among equals’ and the Russian language as the ‘all-union’ language. As an example, during Leonid Brežnev’s shift as the Communist Party’s First Secretary, Ph.D. dissertations had to be submitted in the Russian language. In Estonia, this would include topics covering Estonian poetry, folklore, etc.
Since the Ukraine invasion, Russification has once again attracted world attention. The deployment of Russification against Ukrainians can be traced back a few centuries. For instance, in 1863, it was decreed that writing of any sort must be in Russian. According to Russian authorities, there never was or will be a ‘quasi-Russian’ language, such as Ukrainian.
After the Communist Revolution of 1917, Ukrainian as an official language was recognized for a brief period. But Stalin quickly annulled this privilege and Russian was declared as the ‘primary’ language.
Russia has greatly eased the formalities for any resident of the occupied Donbas area to become Russian citizens. On April 2023, new Russian legislation rendered anyone who didn’t possess a Russian passport by July 2024 to be an alien or stateless person, and therefore subject to deportation.
Established within the Donbas area are detention centres and transit facilities for those who have been detained or designated for deportation. Augmenting this are ‘filtration centres’ where an individual’s biometrics are recorded, mobile phones inspected and political opinions ascertained. At these locations, children are often separated from parents.
The schools in the Donbas have been supplied with teachers from Russia. Ukraine as an entity in history courses has been eliminated.
We’re reminded that the International Criminal Court has already issued an arrest warrant for the detention of Vladimir Putin and Aleksejevna Lvova-Blelova, charging them with the forced deportation of children to a foreign country and removal from parents.
Different estimates put the total of children deported between 14,000 and 20,000. These are impossible to confirm. It’s evident that the goal is to provide a setting in which the children become Russian – Russian speaking, pro-Russian and loyal to the regime. Any memories of things Ukrainian are to be extinguished.
The schools in the Donbas have been supplied with teachers from Russia. Ukraine as an entity in history courses has been eliminated. Military training has been added as a topic alongside a promotion campaign to join the Russian military.
Already, some 80,000 male residents of the Russian-occupied area are fighting in Russian uniform – a direct violation of international law.
Similar to what occurred in Narva and elsewhere in Estonia, local people have been forced from their homes, or their homes have been destroyed, making people homeless with some being moved to Russia. These people have been replaced by Russian-speaking, Kremlin loyalists.
As an example, Russian-occupied Mariupol, a city that has suffered heavy destruction, will get 12 new apartment complexes meant to house arrivals from Russia and military families. This flagrant relocation of the civilian population, part of an organized offensive against that population, is a crime against humanity and punishable by the International Criminal Court. Right now, it’s part of the Kremlin’s Russification and ethnic cleansing campaign – executed with impunity.
(to be continued)
