The Kremlin’s “Russification” campaign in Ukraine is also having ramifications in Russia, amplifying and strengthening ultra-nationalist voices and ideologies, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes in its latest report on Vladimir Putin’s war.

ISW reminds that Russia has launched a targeted campaign of “Russification” in Ukraine to “destroy Ukrainian identity through a multitude of military, social, economic, bureaucratic and administrative efforts.”

The ideologies underlying this campaign also form the basis of pro-war rhetoric in the Russian media space, which is often identical to the strong militarism and xenophobia promoted by Russian nationalism, not only against Ukrainians, but also against Russia’s own national minorities.

American military analysts note that the acceptance of this ideology of “Russification” within Russia is manifested in several comments by prominent Russian officials as well as popular military bloggers regarding ethnic minorities within the country.

In this regard, ISW cites as an example the reaction of several military bloggers and commentators in the Russian public space to the news of the murder of a 17-year-old Russian student by a group of Tajik migrants from the Chelyabinsk region. The tragedy is used to criticize Central Asian immigrants and ethnic communities in Russia on the grounds that they have not integrated into Russian society.

Migrants and ethnic people in Russia are the new target of Russian nationalists

The head of the Investigative Committee in Moscow, Oleksandr Bastrykin, accused migrants of destabilizing Russia through the import of terrorism and extremist ideologies, emphasizing the role of migration policy in ensuring public order.

The former commander of pro-Russian separatists in Donbas, Ihor Girkin, intensified criticism of the decision of the authorities of Tuva, the homeland of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, which decided to return the name of 104 admin. subdivisions are territorial.

Another Russian military blogger called the decision an unnecessary wartime “inflating the note.”

A video circulating on Russian social media this week showed a group of Russian men giving a Nazi salute as they walked past the regional administration building in Ufa, the capital of Bashkiria, and chanting “Russia for Russians.”

ISW notes that these examples of xenophobia and racism directed against ethnic minorities in Russia represent the essence of “Russification”.

The war in Ukraine increased extremism inside Russia

“The war in Ukraine gave courage to the most malicious voices in the information space to consolidate their ideology and project it on the Ukrainian people and non-Slavic minorities in Russia. This dynamic is likely to intensify as the war continues and outlives Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marking Russian public space for years to come,” the ISW report notes.

American military analysts also note the irony that these internal consequences of the “Russification” campaign are taking place in the context of a large part of Moscow’s military effort, which is carried by ethnic minorities from poor and marginalized communities, which recorded some of the highest losses in Ukraine and were targeted last year asymmetric mobilization.

ISW also recalls that Bastrykin previously called on the military authorities to recruit migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus who have obtained Russian citizenship, saying that they are “constitutionally obliged to protect the country that received them.”

In addition, ISW analysts note that Russian nationalists continue to glorify the atrocities of the country’s armed forces in Ukraine, including a new video recording of the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier, which shocked the world public.

“The continued use of such violent tactics and the support they enjoy in Russia’s information space undermines the professionalism and discipline of the Russian military,” ISW concludes.

Follow the latest events of the 414th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.