Description
Russia's war against Ukraine has been a crucial and generational turning point for young and marginalized peoples in both the invading and invaded countries. The panel explores the complex interplay between militarization, identity, and violence in Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine. Through a dialogue between studies drawing on critical and discursive approaches, the panel delves into the diverse motivations, methods, and impacts of Russia’s military policies on marginalized communities, Ukrainian cultural identity, and the socialization of Russian youth into militaristic ideologies. The papers explore: how myth and history in the Russian classroom can lead to mass violence in warfare; how Russia’s marginalized soldiers, including ethnic and sexual minorities, engage with discourses where killing is reimagined as a means of belonging; the evolution of Russia’s policies of destabilizing and eradicating Ukrainian identity, highlighting tactics of cultural destruction and psychological manipulation; and Russia’s “military-educational complex,” which conditions youth for future militarization. Together, the papers provide insights into how Russian state policies weave militarism, imperialism, and cultural subjugation into the fabric of the country's wartime sociocultural politics - and offer perspectives on the future and threat of militarism in both Russia and occupied Ukraine.
