Russian Propaganda Changes Tactics: How Hidden Narratives Work

Russian propaganda is changing its emphasis, focusing on political aspects, trying to undermine Ukrainians’ faith in their ability to succeed in the war and to cast doubt on Western support. Experts of the Kyiv Research Institute of Forensics warn of the threat of manipulation of public opinion through hidden narratives aimed at undermining the morale of society and the army, writes UNN.

Currently, a situation is emerging when, especially against the background of the general political situation in the world, supporters of Moscow’s narratives are once again entering the information arena. According to KNDISE specialists, the activation of pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians and propagandists took place when active discussion of future Ukrainian-Russian peace talks began in the Ukrainian media space.

“It was during this period that they actively began to spread information aimed at discrediting the current government and establishing in the mass consciousness the opinion that the personal interests of the political leadership of the state and the reluctance to lose power prevent it from fulfilling its duties, in particular, prevent the reaching of agreements between representatives of the parties armed conflict, and make negotiations between them impossible, and therefore the achievement of peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation”, – said in Institute.

In this context, according to them, narratives are promoted, which are quite actively cultivated by Russian propaganda, that the Ukrainian political leadership deliberately does not agree to negotiations with the leadership of the Russian Federation due to fear of losing power, Ukraine’s Western partners do not approve of the actions of the Ukrainian government and are ready to change it with the aim of forcing Ukrainians to make concessions in favor of the Russian Federation, and Ukraine and its leadership no longer have the support of Western countries that they were promised at the beginning a full-scale invasion, etc.

The case of Berezhnaya, as an example of the justification of Russian aggression

Previously, according to KNDISE experts, Russian narratives mostly justified a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. A vivid example in this context can be the case of Olena Berezhnaya, the mother of ex-Deputy of the “Party of Regions” Irina Berezhnaya.

According to the information of the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office, the court found the woman guilty of treason, namely of providing assistance to a foreign state, a foreign organization and their representatives in carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine. The woman was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

It is noted that the prosecutors proved in court that the accused, who is a citizen of Ukraine and the head of a Ukrainian human rights non-governmental organization, provided assistance to the aggressor country in carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. In particular, after receiving a task from the Russian curators, in February 2022 Olena Berezhna, as the head of a Ukrainian human rights organization, prepared a letter addressed to the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Vasyl Nebenzi, in which, with the use of manipulative technologies, she told about the events allegedly taking place in Kyiv and in Ukraine, thus justifying the military aggression of the Russians.

Olena Berezhna wrote that “the people of Ukraine support the so-called “special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine”, that looting, murders, robberies have started in Ukraine, and that politicians are officially calling for “killing Russians”, Russian curators advised the woman in correspondence “stay at home until complete cleaning.”

Later, on February 28, 2022, during the eleventh extraordinary special session of the UN General Assembly, Nebenzya referred to this letter in his official speech as proof of Ukraine’s illegal actions.

“According to the conclusion of experts based on the results of a complex forensic psychological and linguistic examination, the text written by the accused for Nebenzi’s speech at the eleventh extraordinary special session of the UN General Assembly is aimed at inciting national, inter-ethnic, social enmity and hatred, undermining the morale of the population and the army of Ukraine , introducing discord and socio-political destabilization in the state”, – noted prosecutor’s office in response to a request UNN.

Changing Russian narratives

KNDISE experts note that now Russian narratives are more focused on political aspects. “Instead of justifying aggression, the idea is now being promoted that there is no point in fighting, that Ukraine is gradually weakening and will eventually be forced to negotiate, even on unfavorable terms. This undermines the public’s faith in the possibility of achieving success, which is undoubtedly beneficial to Russia. In addition, the situation moves into the military plane, as such narratives undermine confidence in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reduce the confidence of the military in its own forces and the ability to resist the enemy. They also shake the morale among military personnel, which is also an important area of ​​work for linguists,” KNDISE said.

Russian propaganda purposefully uses the most painful topics for Ukrainian society, trying to play on them as much as possible. At the same time, it is worth considering that the third year of the war increases the vulnerability of society to manipulation, since we feel the impact of war events on the emotional, psychological and physical levels. Weakening, destabilization, despair, provoking conflicts within the country are all aspects that the Russian Federation uses to achieve its own propaganda goals.

The role of KNDISE research in the fight against Russian propaganda

“Linguistic and complex linguistic and psychological studies are extremely difficult, because information threatening the security of the state does not always lie on the surface. Most often, it is presented veiled, with the use of powerful manipulative technologies and propagandistic linguistic and psychological techniques, and the main purpose of this information is to manipulate public opinion and forming the attitudes and beliefs needed by the manipulator.Linguistic studies require in-depth analysis because the hidden meanings are often buried so deeply in the with the implication that even experienced experts, after a thorough study of the language material, are often surprised by the scale and sophistication of the applied methods and techniques,” KNDISE noted.

According to the experts of the Institute, this demonstrates how dangerous information can be, how serious a threat it poses due to its manipulative nature. In the modern information space, people tend to better perceive obvious messages without delving into the content and hidden meanings used by manipulators. That is why special knowledge of forensic experts is necessary to expose such influences tives