Identity Transformation Through Dialogue
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Roman Zuev Identity Transformation through Dialogue A Case Study of Student Video Messages Exchange in Russia-Ukraine Conflict University of Tampere Master’s Degree Programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research Master’s thesis May 2018 Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2 1. Identity ................................................................................................................................ 6 1.1. Introduction into Identity studies ............................................................................... 6 1.1.1. Identity and identification ................................................................................... 6 1.1.2. Identity-based conflicts ........................................................................................ 9 1.2. Identity in Ukraine ..................................................................................................... 11 1.2.1. Two Identities .................................................................................................... 11 1.2.2. Recent developments ........................................................................................ 14 1.2.3. Russian information war .................................................................................... 22 1.2.4. Results ................................................................................................................ 27 2. Conflict Transformation and Dialogue ............................................................................. 33 2.1. Conflict Transformation ............................................................................................ 33 2.1.1. Conflict transformation discourse ..................................................................... 33 2.1.2. Transforming identity ........................................................................................ 38 2.2. Dialogue in Conflict Transformation ......................................................................... 41 3. Video dialogue between Ukrainian and Russian students ............................................... 47 3.1. Western Ukrainian videos ......................................................................................... 52 3.1.1. Symbols and myths ............................................................................................ 52 3.1.2. Language and terminology ................................................................................ 57 3.1.3. Russia and Ukraine ............................................................................................. 58 3.1.4. Proposals ............................................................................................................ 60 3.1.5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 61 3.2. Eastern Ukrainian videos ........................................................................................... 64 3.2.1. Symbols and myths ............................................................................................ 64 3.2.2. Language and terms ........................................................................................... 66 3.2.3. Russia and Ukraine ............................................................................................. 68 3.2.4. Proposals ............................................................................................................ 69 3.2.5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 71 3.3. Russian videos ........................................................................................................... 72 3.3.1. Kaliningrad video ............................................................................................... 72 3.3.2. Newsfront and Moscow video ........................................................................... 75 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 78 References ............................................................................................................................... 81 Sources ................................................................................................................................. 81 Literature .............................................................................................................................. 83 Annex 1. Table of Videos ......................................................................................................... 86 1 Introduction After gaining the independence in 1991, along with the legacy of historic, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences among regions, Ukraine inherited unfinished process of nation and identity building. Throughout the history, the inhabitants of the Eastern regions had more experience of living under the Russian flag, of speaking Russian as the only means of communication and sharing Russian culture and historical narrative. Unlike the Western regions, the East had no tradition of Ukrainian nationalist movement, did not praised the Ukrainian language as the core of Ukrainian identity, and had never experienced the influence of any other foreign cultures apart from Russian. While the Western Ukrainians exalted the heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which got support from Nazi Germany in their struggle for independence and against the communist regime, the Eastern Ukrainians shared with Russia the narrative of the united army of Soviet citizens protecting their Motherland. The status quo between the two identities destabilized in 2014. A peaceful protest against the unfavorable regime ended up with mass riots followed with the ouster of the president. Russia took the opportunity to involve into the internal affairs of the unstable state and regained Crimea, the territory they believed to be lost due to a historical mistake. Moreover, the Eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk were supported in their struggle for independence, which has led to the escalation of the military conflict in weakened Ukraine. The new Ukrainian government, which gained a vast support of the population, has chosen a new nationalization course. Although this course is believed to have united the citizens against the common enemy, the discrepancy between the two identities has grown. While the most part of the population developed their identity on the basis of the Western national symbols, culture and the Ukrainian language in the core, the other part has suffered greater alienation from the mainstream discourse. The Russian language, culture, and identity have become closely bound with authoritarianism, the Soviet past, and the aggressor country. At the same time, Russia has started to promote their view of the impoverished Eastern- Ukrainian identity. The new discourse of the Russian world developed in Kremlin brought up the new interpretation to the identity agenda. It was claimed that the citizens of now independent states of Russian and Ukraine shared common traditions, mentality, history and 2 culture. Inside Russia and in the areas of Eastern Ukraine where Russian television became dominant, the Kremlin’s political technologists have managed to construct an alternative reality, where the new Ukrainian government is depicted as nationalist and the ethnic Russians in Ukraine are oppressed and endangered. As result, we have the same two identities in Ukraine, but instead of peaceful coexistence, they became the representations of two antagonistic societies at war. Same historical events and personalities are presented in conflicting ways, leading to construction of inconsistency and escalation of hate. Russia continues to challenge the vague boundary between Russian and Ukrainian identities, undermining the basic right of the Ukrainian nation and state to existence, while the new official discourse of the Ukrainian government is aimed at alienating the Ukrainian identity from Russia in order to distinguish its uniqueness and independence. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine serves as a vivid example of how the state acts as one of the most influential agents of external identification. At this point it is crucial to note that even the state does not monopolize the production identity. Such inevitable parts of identity as national symbols, historical narratives and language are the objects of mental representations, and thus they can be contested and deconstructed. If the struggle over identity has become a natural part of a conflict, the violence can be stopped in the realm of narratives and interpretations. There are different points of view even to how this conflict can be defined. The official Ukrainian position claims that it is either undeclared war with Russia, or the war against separatists and terrorists in the Eastern regions. The alternative approach defines the conflict as a civil war. Given the proofs of direct Russian military involvement, and, at the same time, the fact that the conflict is taking place on Ukrainian territory with Ukrainian citizens (or former Ukrainian citizens belonging to the new unrecognized republics – it is the matter of political preferences, and I am not taking either side in this research), I hereafter will address this conflict as Ukraine-Russia conflict. However, by this definition I do