The Russian-Ukrainian War Thread

[personaldesas]

Of course it is a war. It is like the British term "troubles" for the civil war in Northern Ireland. The gouvernment thinks it sounds better, less aggressive and that they are not bound the the rules of war. Like: "No, we don´t fight a war. It is not that bad."

Yeah, that goes without saying, but that wasn’t really the question.

The Russian government views this is as a de jure “Special Military Operation” and has tightened censorship so that media are expected to use that term. So it’s not just a euphemism in the casual sense, the state is trying to enforce that euphemism.

And if you want to enforce that distinction, you usually need some kind of narrative that justifies it.

So what I’m really asking is: what is the official narrative behind calling it an SMO rather than a war, and why does that narrative frame calling it a war as wrong or unacceptable?

Purely anecdotal, and concerned more with individuals rather than an official state narrative, but I see "special military operation" employed by pro-Russian commenters on social media in order to emphasise the primacy of the war in the Donbass. In those commenters' framing, the preexisting conflict between the Ukrainian government and DPR/LPR is the real "war", and the 2022 operation/invasion is just an intervention in that war. I also see "СВО" (SMO) functioning as an organisational shorthand for web-navigation (i.e., its use as a tag or other descriptor to indicate material that aligns with a pro-Russian perspective on the conflict). So, the reasons I've seen seem to be for political framing and/or convenience.

Interesting! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Feanor]

Right now the legal theory probably matters less than having a coherent narrative that the Russian public can rally behind to sustain the war effort.

Whether the argument is historical claims, self-determination, or protecting Russian speakers, the key point is that the government needs a storyline that makes the war appear justified domestically. The specific legal framing can shift depending on what fits that narrative best.

It hasn't shifted since '14 suggesting that this is the justification Russia wants. They started with the narrative of referendum's back then and have stuck to it, even though it went from plausible to incredible over time.

Question for anyone familiar with Russian social media and domestic discourse: is there still an actual, official narrative explaining why the conflict is a “special military operation” rather than a war? Or has the term mostly become a kind of linguistic signal, a way of indicating alignment with the official government position?

I'm sure somewhere there is some sort of official narrative, but to be honest I haven't paid much attention to it. In practice many pro-Russian military bloggers will cheerfully refer to it as a war, not as a sign of opposition, but just as common sense. Sometimes the same person will use SMO and war interchangeably.