{"id":2316,"date":"2022-02-28T09:26:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T14:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/?p=2316"},"modified":"2022-07-19T21:05:23","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T01:05:23","slug":"five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alexander Rojavin \u201920, Law & Public Policy Scholar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexander Rojavin is a multilingual intelligence, media, and policy analyst specializing in information warfare. He is currently working on a book on modern Russian cinema as a key battlefield in the Kremlin\u2019s information war. He is also co-chair of the Symposium on Disinformation Studies. In his spare time, he moonlights as a published literary translator (Routledge, Slavica Publishers, forthcoming Academic Studies Press).<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day four of the Russo-Western war has ended. Day five begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is what this is, by the way. Not \u201cRussia\u2019s war in Ukraine.\u201d Not a \u201cRusso-Ukrainian conflict.\u201d Certainly not a\u2014so help me God\u2014\u201ccrisis in Ukraine.\u201d This is a war thrust by Russia onto the liberal world. A war between authoritarianism, as represented by the kleptocracy controlling the 5th<\/sup>-largest army in the world, and democracy, the \u201cglobal West,\u201d as represented by Europe\u2019s largest nation, a nation with the world\u2019s 21st<\/sup>-largest army. A nation now defending the borders of all those whom it warned of the imminent possibility of invasion for eight years. A nation protecting the continent that kept it at arm\u2019s length for three decades. And now, with the West finally waking up to a truth that it should have seen coming from decades away, Ukraine is forced to prove that it is indeed the border guard of democracy\u2014the first line of defense against armed conquest from the east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This could and should have been avoided. But people\u2019s memories are short, and internalizing the lessons of the 20th<\/sup> century\u2014lessons about the effectiveness of appeasement in the face of irrational, smoldering authoritarianism that has financially integrated itself into a global economy\u2014proved too difficult. So instead, we are helped to a demonstration of what happens when complacency becomes internationally institutionalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American audiences should be told what is currently happening on the military side of things. Ukrainian citizens are being blown apart in their homes. Russian soldiers are being slaughtered by the thousands, then cremated in mobile crematoriums whipped out by the Kremlin for the occasion. Russian mothers are calling a special hotline established by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to help worried Russians learn of their sons\u2019 and husbands\u2019 whereabouts. Centuries-old proud cities are being reduced to rubble because their inhabitants dared to yearn for the possibilities of democratic rule. American audiences must<\/em> understand what is currently happening because of the West\u2019s inability to grasp the history, culture, and mindsets of other peoples. The realities of this war must be relayed in the hopes that maybe this time, some of the lessons will stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These realities will be relayed, and I hope to have some hand in that, but at this moment, I will clue this Blog\u2019s readers in to developments in the ongoing information war, which has proven a key battleground in the last four days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, a few nice words about two Western measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) President Biden is the first American leader in thirty years to effectively prosecute an information war. President Bush failed to punish Russia after its invasion of Georgia, and President Obama bears some of the blame for the continued occupation of Crimea and the Assad regime\u2019s survival in Syria. I shouldn\u2019t even have to speak of President Biden\u2019s immediate predecessor. But by preemptively calling out for months the exact plays that Russia would execute, President Biden himself has accomplished multiple objectives. He conditioned Americans and their allies to mentally prepare themselves for this war, thereby legitimizing any uni- or multilateral actions the United States would take. He repeatedly signaled to the adversary that the West is keenly aware of its playbook and is prepared to act swiftly. And he denied the Kremlin any rhetorical room to hide. By dispelling the shroud of legal and moral relativism within which the Kremlin prefers to act, he shined a flashlight under the bed and revealed the monster\u2019s exact contours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) Just because the authoritarian monster can be seen does not mean it isn\u2019t dangerous\u2014but the E.U. has finally demonstrated a decisiveness without which authoritarianism cannot be overcome. Among other measures, the E.U. has outlawed the Kremlin\u2019s international disinformation flagships RT <\/em>and Sputnik<\/em>. Warnings of a slippery slope, of the lurking dangers to press freedoms should certainly be acknowledged\u2014and finally dismissed. Eight years of the Kremlin\u2019s disinformation onslaught have provided ample evidence that the freedoms of organizations like RT <\/em>and press freedoms are two completely non-intersecting concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. First Amendment exists to ensure a thriving marketplace of ideas. But there is<\/em> no place in this marketplace for RT<\/em> or Sputnik<\/em>. The fourth estate\u2014journalism\u2014is one of the most critical parts of a democracy\u2019s immune system. Plurality of thought and diversity of media ownership must be ensured for the marketplace-immune system to function properly. But if we take this metaphor further, then RT<\/em> is an autoimmune virus. It would be one thing if RT<\/em> meant to participate in the marketplace of ideas. But its goal isn\u2019t good-faith participation in the marketplace, but the marketplace\u2019s subversion and destruction\u2014and afterwards, the destruction of all other democratic institutions. RT <\/em>and Sputnik<\/em> are autoimmune viruses, and they must be treated as such. The E.U., to its credit, has finally done so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my next article, I will explain how Russia has waged its information war for the past few days and how Ukraine has countered it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, Ukraine\u2014and the entire Western world\u2014has survived a fourth night. Day five has begun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alexander Rojavin \u201920, Law & Public Policy Scholar Alexander Rojavin is a multilingual intelligence, media, and policy analyst specializing in information warfare. He is currently working on a book on modern Russian cinema as a key battlefield in the Kremlin\u2019s information war. He is also co-chair of the Symposium on Disinformation Studies. In his spare time, he moonlights as a published literary translator (Routledge, Slavica Publishers, forthcoming Academic Studies Press). Day four of the Russo-Western war has ended. Day five … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[67],"class_list":["post-2316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"\r\nFive Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Law & Public Policy Program<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Law & Public Policy Program\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alexander Rojavin \u201920, Law & Public Policy Scholar Alexander Rojavin is a multilingual intelligence, media, and policy analyst specializing in information warfare. He is currently working on a book on modern Russian cinema as a key battlefield in the Kremlin\u2019s information war. He is also co-chair of the Symposium on Disinformation Studies. In his spare time, he moonlights as a published literary translator (Routledge, Slavica Publishers, forthcoming Academic Studies Press). Day four of the Russo-Western war has ended. Day five ... Read More\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Law & Public Policy Program\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-28T14:26:49+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-20T01:05:23+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beckie Schatschneider\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beckie Schatschneider\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beckie Schatschneider\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d\"},\"headline\":\"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-28T14:26:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-20T01:05:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":937,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Law & Public Policy Program\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-28T14:26:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-20T01:05:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/\",\"name\":\"Law & Public Policy Program\",\"description\":\"Temple University Beasley School of Law\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Law & Public Policy Program\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/cms\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lppptest.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/cms\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lppptest.png\",\"width\":1835,\"height\":496,\"caption\":\"Law & Public Policy Program\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d\",\"name\":\"Beckie Schatschneider\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/author\\\/rschatsc\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Law & Public Policy Program","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Law & Public Policy Program","og_description":"Alexander Rojavin \u201920, Law & Public Policy Scholar Alexander Rojavin is a multilingual intelligence, media, and policy analyst specializing in information warfare. He is currently working on a book on modern Russian cinema as a key battlefield in the Kremlin\u2019s information war. He is also co-chair of the Symposium on Disinformation Studies. In his spare time, he moonlights as a published literary translator (Routledge, Slavica Publishers, forthcoming Academic Studies Press). Day four of the Russo-Western war has ended. Day five ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/","og_site_name":"Law & Public Policy Program","article_published_time":"2022-02-28T14:26:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-20T01:05:23+00:00","author":"Beckie Schatschneider","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beckie Schatschneider","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/"},"author":{"name":"Beckie Schatschneider","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/person\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d"},"headline":"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine","datePublished":"2022-02-28T14:26:49+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-20T01:05:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/"},"wordCount":937,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/","name":"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Law & Public Policy Program","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-02-28T14:26:49+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-20T01:05:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/five-days-into-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Five Days into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/","name":"Law & Public Policy Program","description":"Temple University Beasley School of Law","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#organization","name":"Law & Public Policy Program","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/lppptest.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/lppptest.png","width":1835,"height":496,"caption":"Law & Public Policy Program"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/person\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d","name":"Beckie Schatschneider","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/author\/rschatsc\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paQyul-Bm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2586,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316\/revisions\/2586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}