Whose side will the world take? Analysis of Putin’s and Zelenskyi’s speeches during the big war

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The speeches and performances of state representatives influence the decisions of millions of ordinary people, officials and governments of other countries. We have prepared a series of publications analyzing the speeches of Ukrainian and Russian presidents in order to show how narratives about our country emerge, how they tell the story of each of us, and what is our image in the eyes of the whole world.

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2014 was not only the beginning of the war between Ukraine and Russia, but also of the struggle between narratives. Each of them is obvious to its own audience and completely alien to the opponents.

Refuting the enemy’s narrative is systematic and painstaking work which demands daily attention. The narrator of Ukrainian history today is primarily the official government of Ukraine. Speaking before the international audience, government representatives explain the world as Ukrainians see it. Each speech of the President as the head of state is indicative, because it gets the widest audience and the most attention. All speeches together create a single narrative and one story.

«I just want to make sure that you and I read the same books. Therefore, we equally understand the answer to the main question: how did it happen that in the 21st century, the war is waged in Europe again, and people are dying?» – said President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, during the Munich Security Conference.

Since childhood, we interpret the world through stories - stories that have a beginning and an ending. We explain our reality by the actions of heroes: noble, intelligent and clever. In these stories, good and light overcome the evil villains. Through the character of the protagonist, these stories tell about our ideals and values.

Our history begins with a narrative:

Let’s begin, brothers,

From old Volodymyr

To Ihor of today.

This is Ihor, the glorious prince,

His mind girded by strength,

His heart sharpened with courage.

The military spirit was fulfilled

And he led his brave regiments

On the land of Polovtsi,

For the Rus’ land. [«The Tail of Igor’s Campaign»]

Read also: «Smell of chamomile rum, wind of my hundred-voiceness,» – dissident and poet Ihor Kalynets about Ukraine’s way to freedom

We use stories to explain complex and abstract concepts, such as «mentality»:

The two Cossacks walked through the steppe, found a tree and sat down in the cool. One plays the bandura, the other one listens to it. Suddenly, one of them says:

- Oh trouble, brother! Death is coming! (You see, it can be seen from afar in the steppe!).

- Well, then what? – he responds.

- Let’s run away!

- No, brother, the Cossacks don’t like to flee! And the heat is so damn hot! Let’s sit down. Once a mother gave birth to the world, once we’re to die! [«Cossacks and Death» fairy tale].

From religion, myths, legends, and fairy tales to novels, operas, and science – we define the truth about the past and the future, the sacred and the sinful by stories, or narratives.

Narrations make it possible to «understand» a complex reality, often chaotic, confusing, and unpredictable. They turn it into a smooth flow of events, where everything has a reason. Stories provide space for action to heroes who have their own intentions and motives, morals are conveyed to viewers and listeners of stories. The experience of the main character helps to learn, understand the world, accept reality or, on the contrary, accept the need to change it.

Politics is no exception. Politicians also turn into «storytellers» from time to time, although this usually happens during the campaign period, on the eve of elections. They weave their stories into political programs, advertisements, and speeches:

I will tell you about the Ukraine of my dreams. Ukraine, where only fireworks at weddings and birthdays are «fired». Where doctors and teachers get real wages, and corrupt people get real terms. Where the Carpathian forests are untouched, not the deputies. [Pre-election program of the candidate for the post of President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi].

This was the story of Volodymyr Zelenskyi, while he was still the candidate for the post of President of Ukraine in 2019. Before a full-scale invasion. But in February 2022, as in 2014, stories of «stability» turned into «stories of war»: more emotional, more fatalistic, and more categorical:

In 2014, Russia came to us with one word, and that word is war. On February 24, Russia added another one, forming the phrase «full-scale war» [100 days of war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s address to Ukrainians, June 3, 2022. Video].

We defend Ukraine, which is a sovereign, independent, democratic, social and legal state. Having taken the weapons in our hands, we did not hesitate, like at a crossroads. We did not choose whether to defend the first article of the Constitution or to obey God’s First Commandment. God is on our side, he says that protecting one’s home from the unclean is not a sin. The sin is not to protect it [Address of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the occasion of the Constitution Day of Ukraine, June 28, 2022].

Read also: If Ukraine received all the weapons it needs, the war would already be over – Zelenskyi

On the eve of a full-scale invasion on February 19, at the Munich Security Conference, Volodymyr Zelenskyi raises the question of what stories the world believes in. He demonstrates that this determines the reality we find ourselves in today, and to which we will move tomorrow:

I just want to make sure that you and I read the same books This way, we understand the answer to the main question in the same way: how did it happen that in the 21st century, the war is waged in Europe again, and people are dying? Why does it last longer than the Second World War? How we got to the biggest security crisis since the Cold War? ​​For me, as the President of a country that has lost part of its territory, thousands of people, and faces 150,000 Russian troops, equipment and heavy weapons near its borders, the answer is obvious. [Speech of the President of Ukraine at the 58th Munich Security Conference].

Still, the obvious answer is not for everyone. Russia has its own alternative version of events:

So let me start with the fact that modern Ukraine was created entirely by Russia;

As a result of Bolshevik politics, Soviet Ukraine arose, which even today can be called Ukraine named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, with full reason;

The fact remains: even two years before the collapse of the USSR, its fate was virtually predetermined. It is now that radicals and nationalists, in particular and above all in Ukraine, take credit for winning independence [Putin’s address on February 21, 2022].

Political «facts» presented in the form of a story seem more truthful. Political stories full of «facts» seem indisputable. In 2014, not only the war between Ukraine and Russia began, but also the struggle of narratives, each of which is obvious to its audience and completely alien to the opponents.

Read also: «Walk away, you with your concerns». Putin reveals Russia’s victim complex during the annual press-conference

Refuting the enemy’s narrative is a systematic and painstaking work that demands daily attention. In Russia, the propaganda system made its consumers «deaf» to Ukrainian history for decades. Joseph Biden, speaking in Warsaw on March 26, addresses those Russians who are «capable of listening to him», realizing that not all are capable.

Whose side will the world take? As simple as the answer may seem today, it is difficult to predict whose story will ultimately win out:

I know what terrible actions the barbarian invaders have committed in Bucha and other cities, for which they must answer before the international courts. This should happen if the world is really just and free [May 22, Andrzej Duda’s speech in the Verkhovna Rada].

Today, one of the tasks that Ukrainians are facing is to create their own «narrative» about the future and to make this story sound louder and truer than the aggressor’s alternative explanations. Then the whole world will believe in our story, and before Russia is defeated on the battlefield, its victory will become unthinkable for the Russians themselves.

The narrator of Ukrainian history today is primarily the official government of Ukraine. Speaking before an international audience, government representatives explain the world as Ukrainians see it. Each speech of the President as the head of state is indicative, because it gets the widest audience and the most attention. All speeches together create a single narrative, a single story. Who has the main role in it, who is the villain and what he is trying to achieve, and what is the alternative point of view – this is something that can be observed in more detail.

Solomiya Kryvenko, translated by Vitalii Holich

Illustration by Dmytro Taradayka

Full or partial republication of the text without the written consent of the editors is prohibited and considered a violation of copyright.

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