How Russians talk about Ukraine

Popova, a poetess and the deputy head of the Russian Writers’ Union, presenting an anthology of patriotic poems entitled ‘For Our Friends’ to celebrate the courage of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine during the 10th edition of the Red Square book festival in Moscow. — AFP

EUPHEMISMS to talk about the dead, military jargon, patriotic poems and self-censorship: two and a half years of fighting in Ukraine have had an impact on Russian language and literature.

On Feb 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced a “Special Military Operation” – referred to by its Russian acronym as “SVO”.