Delinquency of the Russian military during the Russian-Ukrainian war as an archetypal manifestation of Russian society

Abstract

The paper considers the problem of Russian war crimes in Ukraine in the context of the archetypal approach, in particular, the peculiarities of the influence of Russian society on the delinquent character of the Russian occupation forces. During the research, it was established that the manifestations of delinquency in the Russian military are criminal in nature, they are an integral part of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and are directed mainly against the civilian population. The origin of modern Russian ideology and its dangers for modernity are determined. Based on historical examples, a comparison of the consequences of the delinquency of fascist and racist ideologies and the manifestation of the latter during hostilities was made. The psychological portrait of the Russian army is considered in the context of a representative sample of Russian society. An archetypal analysis of the latter’s genesis is carried out, and the archetype of the Horde is identified, which has had a decisive influence on the development of modern Russian society. The author traced the impact of the Horde archetype on the modern Russian state system, state-building processes and society in general. The channels of influence of the Horde archetype on the formation of the Russian army and its relations with the crimes committed by the Russian military on the territory of Ukraine were studied. The phenomenon of the influential leader and its correspondence to the archetype of the Horde are analysed. The paper determined how the Horde archetype affects the perception of other nations and nationalities by Russians, how “Russian collectivism” relates to responsibility, and what is the basis for the Russians’ justification of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. In conclusion, the cardinal changes that have taken place in the perception of the war and the enemy in Ukrainian society are noted, and the leading role of the analysis of basic Russian archetypes for effective resistance to Russian military and semantic aggression is determined. Further directions of archetypal research in the context of the “Russian issue” are outlined.