Welcome to this week’s Democracy Brief. One month ago today, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. We’re taking a break from long-form pieces to give an update on three stories you might have missed.
1. The Global War for Ukraine
While analysts debate if countries other than Ukraine and Russia could enter the war, tens of thousands of people from more than 50 countries already fight on either side of the conflict.
FIGHTING FOR UKRAINE are about 20,000 people from at least 52 countries, according to the Ukrainian government.
They are joining the International Legion of Territorial Defense, formed just three days after Putin’s invasion, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on volunteers to “join the resistance to the Russian invaders and the protection of world security.”
Foreign legions are nothing new, but the size and diversity of this one is remarkable. Just from the United States, some 3,000 Americans have applied to fight for Ukraine. One of those Americans, the Iraq war veteran Paul Grey, joined us for our event with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, along with an Israeli veteran, Gilad Halbani.
Also in the fight are dissidents from Russia and Belarus. An undisclosed number of Chechens have been fighting against Putin in Ukraine since 2014. More recently, Belarusians opposed to the regime of Putin-backed dictator Alexander Lukashenko have taken up arms against Russia, with support of democratic leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
JOINING THE RUSSIAN INVASION is a coalition including mercenaries, Chechens who once fought off the Russian army, and enlistees from the Middle East.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, it did it with a force of more than 150,000 troops, about 12,000 of whom are Chechen. Once crushed by Putin in the Second Chechen War, this Muslim ethnic minority fields its own division under the banner of the Russian army. Allegedly, Chechen special forces were sent to assassinate President Zelensky.
Putin is also reportedly relying on an undisclosed number of mercenaries from Wagner Group, a private militia run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Putin ally. According to Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, more mercenaries would likely travel to Ukraine from Libya, where hundreds are backing the military commander Khalifa Haftar.
As the invasion stalled, Putin looked elsewhere. On March 10th, Putin announced that 16,000 Syrians had signed up to fight against Ukraine, and were accepted into the military. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia is paying Syrians $300-600 per month to enlist, and recruiting at 14 different centers throughout Syria. More recently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that they were facing “a large number of militants from other countries” including Syrians, Serbians, and Libyans.
WHAT IT MEANS: The war might be contained to Ukraine, but it’s hard not to see how it already has the makings of a global war. Not only are the principles at stake—authoritarianism versus democracy—international, but so are the fighters, with combatants from every corner of the earth.
At the same time, the differences in how the Russians and Ukrainians recruit foreigners are stark. While tens of thousands from dozens of countries were inspired to apply to defend Ukraine, the Russian army relies on mercenaries and their defeated former enemies. In the war for foreign combatants, democracies inspire while dictators pay.
2. History for Russian Children
The Agency is an investigative media outlet from Russian journalist Roman Badanin. They publish in Russian, covering “topics that are taboo for most editorial offices working in Russia.” This week they turned their attention to propaganda, specifically propaganda aimed at children. Looking at the five history textbooks the Russian Ministry of Education recommends for 10th graders, The Agency traced the creeping influence of Putinist ideology in the classroom.
Below are four quotes from the 10th grade Russian history textbooks vilifying the United States, threatening Ukraine, and justifying Putin’s wars and oppression.
1. Stalin Cleansed Russia of the “Fifth Column”
“The Spanish Civil War and Japan's invasion of China testified to the growing danger of a new world war. Under these conditions, Stalin decided on a ‘general cleansing’ of Soviet society from a potential ‘fifth column.’" (Torkunov, part 1, p. 144)
The “fifth column” is the block of society in Russia supposedly aligned against national interests. Describing the history of Stalin’s purges wouldn’t be too notable, but Putin has recently adopted the same language, describing the fifth column as “national traitors… those who earn money here with us but live there… not even in the geographical sense of the word, but according to their thoughts, their slavish consciousness.” Putin then called for the "self-cleansing of society." When anyone starts channeling Stalin about “cleansing,” it should be cause for concern.
2. The US Conspires to Destroy Russia
“The United States and the EU countries began to view Russia as an obedient junior partner (and in economic terms, as a place for capital investment, a sales market and a raw material appendage) and tried to take its place in the post-Soviet space. The temporary weakening of Russia caused a reorientation towards the West of a number of Eastern European states and the former republics of the Soviet Union, which was accompanied by the growth of nationalist and anti-Russian sentiments in them.” (Medinsky, p. 402)
According to the Putinists, the United States and EU countries exploited Russia, stole its sphere of influence, and promoted anti-Russian sentiments. The same authors wrote that the United States “under the slogan of imposing ‘democracy,’ solves international problems by force.” This post-Soviet grievance—that the West took advantage of a weakened great power to oppress it—lies at the foundation of Putin’s aggression.
3. Crimea is Russian
“In 1954 Crimea was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. The broadcast was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. At the same time, the opinion of local residents was not asked. In those years, it was believed that it was not so important which republic of the USSR included this or that territory. But the consequences of these decisions turned out to be long-term, since during the collapse of the USSR in the 90s administrative borders have become state.” (Medinsky, p. 278)
The transfer of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 used to avoid mention, but now features prominently in every new textbook. Describing the transfer as a historical accident, children are led to believe that Crimea was unjustly ruled by Ukraine while “the opinion of local residents was not asked.” This particular narrative seems to have stuck—when Putin invaded Crimea in 2014, his approval rating soared to 82%.
4. Kyiv Targets Ethnic Russians
“In fact, a civil war began in this country, as the authorities decided to suppress the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic by force of arms. Thousands of civilians were killed, including children.”
(Tishkov, part 2, p. 189)“The Kiev authorities sabotage their obligations, inflate anti-Russian hysteria, calling Russia an aggressor, and with the help of the blockade of the republics of the DPR and LPR, provocations prevent the peaceful resolution of the bloody conflict.” (Karpov, p. 196)
“The Ukrainian authorities, ignoring the interests of millions of their own citizens, intensively ousted the Russian language from the media, film distribution, and the education system.” (Torkunov, part 3, p. 94)
Russian textbooks describe Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity as the “coup d'etat in February 2014” in which “militant nationalist forces oriented towards integration with the European Union and joining NATO.” As Russian 10th graders learn, the Ukrainian government is illegitimate, murderous, and deliberately discriminatory against Russians like them.
WHAT IT MEANS: Putin’s propaganda machine doesn’t just rely on cable news, it’s an entire system of indoctrination starting in childhood. Garry Kasparov wrote, “It was over 10 years ago when we estimated it would take around 6 weeks of unregulated media in Russia to get rid of Putin. It would take longer now, real deprogramming. Showing people the truth isn't enough if they simply won't believe their own eyes.”
But the enormity of the task only makes it more essential. Despite Putin’s efforts to control the media landscape, Russian-language dissident journalists continue to challenge Putin’s iron curtain. The free press is still the greatest tool for democratization, and RDI is currently working with a number of Russian-language media organizations to challenge propaganda’s grip on the Russian people. The war for Ukraine will be won on the battlefield, but the struggle for democracy in Russia will be won in the hearts and minds of the Russian people.
3. Zelensky Speaks in English from Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the world in English from the streets of Kyiv on Wednesday night, calling for global protests in support of Ukraine.
ZELENSKY: “The war of Russia is not only the war against Ukraine. It’s meaning is much wider. Russia started the war against freedom as it is. This is only the beginning for Russia on the Ukrainian land. Russia is trying to defeat the freedom of all people in Europe, of all the people in the world. It tries to show that only crude and cruel force matters. It tries to show that people do not matter, as well as everything else that make us people. That's the reason we all must stop Russia. The world must stop the war. I thank everyone who acts in support of Ukraine, in support of freedom, but the war continues. The acts of terror against peaceful people go on one month already. That long. It breaks my heart, hearts of all Ukrainians, and every free person on the planet. That's why I ask you to stand against the war, starting from March 24, exactly one month after the Russian invasion. From this day and after then, show your standing. Come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities. Come in the name of peace. Come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life. Come to your squares, your streets, make yourselves visible and heard. Say that people matter. Freedom matters. Peace matters. Ukraine matters. From March 24, in downtowns of your cities, all as one together who want to stop the war.”
A lot of people in my town tie bunches of sunflowers w/blue ribbons to posts and poles in their yards. I know it doesn’t do a thing to stop the war but it is a reminder that not everyone is having a lovely day. We are truly so lucky.