In the two and a half years that the war in Ukraine has been going on, more than two thousand scientific articles devoted to the “special military operation” have been published in Russia. Among them are both those that have almost nothing to do with science, and quite professional studies by Russian scientists in the fields of law, psychology, sociology, and military affairs. T-invariant has reviewed these articles and tells us what they are about.
How we counted and read
This review is based on the ELibrary National Electronic Library database as of August 15, 2024. The search term is “special military operation”, which contains about 2,200 articles.
This is relatively little. For example, on the currently fashionable topic of “historical politics” during the same period, Russian scientists wrote about 5,500 articles, and about 650 articles on “Conversations about the Important.” That is, scientists in Russia do not ignore the war in Ukraine, but they treat it in much the same way as Russian society as a whole: they try not to notice it and focus on familiar topics.
A significant number of articles about the “SVO”, contrary to expectations, do not relate to something like a philosophical justification of the “Russian world” or the ideological fight against Nazism, but are devoted to very specific military and near-military problems.
Almost a third of all articles (27% – and this is the most popular category) are studies of legal collisions created by the war: from the legal status of district police officers in the “liberated territories” to an analysis of the activities of the courts of the “Luhansk People’s Republic” before and after its incorporation into Russia. In second place are articles of an exclusively military nature: from an analysis of the problems of military-political work in the Russian army to the technical features of arranging railway containers for the economic needs of field hospitals.
Articles of dubious scientific value are distributed fairly evenly across the entire array of journals. It cannot be said that openly ideological opuses are published only by second-rate journals in the regions. An article entitled “Technologies of external influence on the policy of the Russian Federation in the context of a special military operation in Ukraine” can be found in the Bulletin of Moscow University[1]. And the article “The system of oligarchic capitalism in Russia contradicts the achievement of the goals of the special military operation” feels great in the RAS journal “Economic and social changes: facts, trends, forecast” [2].
Sociology: opponents of the war, but supporters of the regime
Among opposition politicians and analysts, the consensus is the idea of the absence of truthful sociological research in warring Russia. However, in addition to VTsIOM, sociologists across the country have independently conducted several dozen field studies over two and a half years, the results of which are generally identical.
This summer, the book “Russian public opinion in the conditions of military conflict” was published. An interview with one of its authors, Doctor of Sociology Vladimir Zvonovsky, can be read here.
According to published data, Russians generally support the war. In Khabarovsk Krai, support ranges from 40 to 70% (depending on personal political views)[3]. In Dagestan, it is up to 40% of the population[4]. A large independent survey of residents of the Volga region gives similar results[5]. The same is thought by the youth of Obninsk, the first Russian science city, where more than 60% of respondents have a positive or neutral attitude towards the war[6].
This support is clearly not fervent. People understand perfectly well that war is hard. The “special military operation” is the main factor of concern for residents of the Belgorod region(they are twice as likely to worry about rising prices), while up to 84% of respondents believe that the government (from the military to district heads) can fully protect them from any external threats[7].
The war polarizes Russian society. Almost half of our compatriots believe that their lives have not changed at all, while exactly the same number testify to the opposite.
Those who “notice” the war do not have any long-term plans, while those for whom nothing has changed see the future as cloudless[8]. People note that the same position on the war in Ukraine leads to increased solidarity, while a different one leads to increased conflict[9].
However, this split occurs on a personal level. People quarrel among themselves, but do not scold the state. A critical attitude towards the war (for example, up to 19% of residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region with 41.1% undecided) does not affect the level of approval of the activities of the president and the government or the approval of the current course of the country[10]. This is confirmed by the results of a study by sociologists from Moscow State University: yes, there are more critics of the government among opponents of the war, but they are still in the minority[11].
Even those who are neutral or negative about the war in Ukraine are happy about the victories of the Russian army: in the same Obninsk, up to half of the critics of the war generally positively assessed its first results[12]. And in the Belgorod region, people are sure that, despite all the hardships of the war, the region’s residents have become more united due to assistance to the “new regions”, displaced persons, and soldiers[13].
Psychology: problems that no one deals with
Psychologists also add touches to the portrait of Russian society during the war period, recording the growth of anxiety in society, the psychological problems of “veterans of the SVO” and the fact that almost no one is interested in these problems.
Thus, according to research, up to 20% of all visits to the Altai Regional Psychiatric Hospital are related to anxiety about the “special military operation” and the participation of relatives in it[14]. And in border regions, up to 60% of residents have all the signs of personal anxiety[15].
It is obvious to Russian psychologists that a significant number of “veterans of the SVO” return from Ukrainian territories with pronounced post-traumatic stress disorder[16]. About two thirds of demobilized personnel need psychological help. At the same time, even the military themselves note that the medical support provided to them is formal and insufficient[17]. And the lack of this assistance leads to low adaptability and the development of antisocial behavior[18].
Law and social support: chaos and confusion
Issues of legislation and law enforcement practice are the most popular among Russian scientists writing about the “special military operation”. If we add to them articles on the problems of social security for military personnel and their families (also largely related to gaps in legislation), then it turns out that every third article about the “SVO” speaks of the presence of a huge number of unresolved legal issues.
Their spectrum is diverse. From the problem of classifying the murder of commanders by military personnel while performing a combat mission[19] to the activities of district police officers in the “new territories”. From the legal status of military-civil administrations in the “SVO” zone to the creation of prosecutor’s offices there. From the analysis of the activities of the “LPR” courts to the inclusion of the “republic” in the Russian Federation[20] and the legal status of military clergy[21]. From the regulation of the right to outpatient medical care to the analysis of legal problems with “credit holidays” for “SVO” participants.
Taken together, the array of articles on legal problems in and around the “SVO” will give any “foreign agent” media outlet a run for its money in covering the problems of the war in Ukraine. The number of these articles and their subject matter indicate that the war in Ukraine is taking place in legal chaos.
Humanities and Theology: War as the Highest Form of Love
Those interested in the humanitarian component of domestic research on the “special military operation” will find articles that talk about “sovereign statehood as a special type of statehood”[22], analyze the results of the “SVO” from the standpoint of the “third paradigm”[23], view the war in Ukraine as a fight against countries “implementing the principles and rules of the culture of egoism”[24] and other similar studies.
Doctors of philosophy, law, history, sociology and otherIn two years, the scientists managed to explain that the “SVO” is a “cultural project for the revival of the Russian idea as its metaphysical existential foundation”[25] and “a phase transition of the Great Russians into the inertial phase of ethnogenesis”[26]. They managed to justify the need to abolish all churches in the “liquidated Ukrainian state”, except for the Russian Orthodox Church[27]. And even with references to the Bible to declare that “sometimes war can be the only possible manifestation of active love” [28].
It is worth noting that among the authors of such articles there are very few famous and public figures: for example, the author of the article “Special Military Operation and the New World Order” [29] is the dean of the Faculty of Public Administration at Moscow State University Vyacheslav Nikonov.
Military Affairs: Preparing for New Wars
Military academic journals admit that political work with Russian military personnel on the eve of the “SVO” was ineffective, creating a distorted image of the “brotherly oppressed people” and imaginary antagonists – “nationalist battalions”. As a result, the Russian military was not prepared for the resistance of the population in the occupied territories [30]. On this basis, new methods of psychological influence on the enemy army and the civilian population of the occupied territories are being developed and tested[31].
The military conducts its own social surveys, and they give quite positive (for them) results. For example, they clearly show an improvement in the image of the officer’s profession and its specification: future cadets of military schools now have a better understanding of what they will be doing, and this contributes to their effective career guidance [32].
The experience of updating the methodology of teaching a foreign language is also discussed, but not at all in the direction of abandoning it (as in Kravtsov’s Ministry of Education), but on the contrary: the study of a foreign language is strengthened by studying technical terms used in NATO military equipment [33].
The military in their journals openly analyze the structure of injuries and wounds (two thirds of injuries, according to these studies, are mine-explosive, and only 11% are bullet) [34]. They even actually admit the use of prohibited psychoactive substances in this war. Moreover, the research is devoted to analyzing the impact of these substances on living organisms and counteracting this influence[35].
Reading articles in military journals shows better than any political analysis what to expect from the Russian army and political leadership in the future. No one is going to stop the war: they are going to wage it more effectively than now.
Let’s summarize everything described above. What is discussed in a whisper in the public space (from the psychological problems of “SVO” veterans to the use of prohibited weapons in Ukraine) and is often presented as “insights” is analyzed quite openly in Russian scientific journals. In this sense, it can be said that Russian scientists are much more honest than many of their colleagues in the country and abroad. Even this superficial review shows that it is wrong to think that all significant Russian science studying society has left Russia, gone silent, or caved in to the “party line.” In addition to pseudo-scientific and opportunistic publications, there is also a significant number of very specific empirical studies that help to better understand what is happening (and most importantly, what will happen!) to Russia and its citizens.
Text: Sergey Chernyshov
[1] Prilepsky P.A., Burov A.S. Technologies of external influence on the policy of the Russian Federation in the context of a special military operation in Ukraine // Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 21: Management (state and society). 2023. Vol. 20. No. 2. P. 126-140.
[2] Ilyin V.A., Morev M.V. The system of oligarchic capitalism in Russia contradicts the achievement of the goals of the special military operation // Economic and social changes: facts, trends, forecast. 2023. Vol. 16. No. 4. P. 9–37. DOI: 10.15838/esc.2023.4.88.1
[3] Stasyuk E.V. Features of self-identification of young people in the Khabarovsk Territory in the context of a special military operation // Power and Administration in the East of Russia. 2023. No. 4 (105). P. 218–230. https://doi.org/10.22394/1818-4049- 2023-105-4-218-230
[4] Shakhbanova M.M. Attitude of Dagestanis to a special military operation (results of a sociological survey, December 2023) // Regionalaspects of social policy. 2023. No. 25. P. 56-68.
[5] Romanovich N.A. Public opinion on the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine // Problems of Social and Humanitarian Sciences. 2022. No. 2 (31). P. 203-212.
[6] Patsula A.V. Kolesnikova E.D. Attitude of high school students and students of the first science city of Russia to the special military operation in Ukraine // Bulletin of the educational consortium Central Russian University. Series: Humanities. 2022. No. 22. P. 77-80.
[7] Reutov E.V., Garmashev A.A., Polukhin O.N., Reutova M.N. Transformation of Perception of Security Issues in the Border Region in the Context of a Special Military Operation // Power. 2023. Vol. 31. No. 4. P. 86-94.
[8] Smirnov V.A. Social Well-Being of Russian Youth in the Context of a Special Military Operation // Bulletin of Tomsk State University. Philosophy. Sociology. Political Science. 2024. No. 77. P. 241–250. doi:10.17223/1998863Х/77/20
[9] Smirnov V.A. Pogodina Yu.A. Social well-being of Russian girls in the context of a special military operation // Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 18: Sociology and political science. 2023. Vol. 29. No. 4. P. 89-101.
[10] Ustinkin S.V., Nikitin A.V. The problem of youth trust in public and state institutions in the context of a special military operation (SVO) // Technologies of social and humanitarian research. 2023. No. 4. P. 32-52.
[11] Smirnov V.A. Civil attitudes of Russian students in the context of a special military operation // Higher education in Russia. 2023. Vol. 32. No. 8-9. P. 9–23. DOI: 10.31992/0869-3617-2023-32-8-9-9-23
[12] Patsula A.V. Kolesnikova E.D. Attitudes of high school students and students of the first science city of Russia to the special military operation in Ukraine // Bulletin of the educational consortium Central Russian University. Series: Humanities. 2022. No. 22. P. 77-80.
[13] Reutov E.V. 2023. The Impact of a Special Military Operation on Social Consolidation Processes in the Belgorod Region. NOMOTHETIKA: Philosophy. Sociology. Law, 48(4): 704–709. DOI: 10.52575/2712-746X-2023-48-4-704-709
[14] Sheremetyeva I.I., Stroganov A.E., Kandrina N.V., Plotnikov A.V., Kuleshova E.O., Kuryshkin V.I. Social, Psychological, and Clinical Features of the Course of Neurotic Disorders in Individuals in a Special Military Operation. Bulletin of Medical Science. 2023. No. 1 (29). P. 37-42.
[15] Lavrov V.V., Lavrova N.M., Butenko S.A., Lavrov N.V., Zezyulinskaya I.A. Socio-psychological factors of resilience of residents of border regions during a special military operation // Knowledge. Understanding. Skill. 2023. No. 4. P. 192-204.
[16] Evetskaya S.V., Isaev R.A., Lyuev T.Kh. On the issue of a biopsychosocial model of PTSD treatment in police officers who returned from the zone of a special military operation // Psychology. Historical and critical reviews and modern research. 2023. Vol. 12. No. 1A. P. 151-158. DOI: 10.34670/AR.2023.86.24.014
[17] Maslyakov V.V., Polidanov M.A., Sidelnikov S.A., Kokareva A.A. Dynamics of the emotional state of participants in a special military operation after providing medical and psychological assistance in an armed conflict // Psychology. Historical and critical reviews and modern research. 2023. Vol. 12. No. 9A. P. 81-89. DOI: 10.34670/AR.2023.24.24.012
[18] Romanova M.S., Kukulyar A.M. Study of psychological characteristics of contract servicemen as a factor in readiness to participate in a special military operation / M.S. Romanova, A.M. Kukulyar // World of Science. Pedagogy and Psychology. – 2023. – Vol. 11. – No. 5. – URL: https://mir-nauki.com/PDF/02PSMN523.pdf
[19] Tishchenko A.O. Some Aspects of Qualification of Murder in the Context of a Special Military Operation // Military Law. 2024. No. 2 (84). P. 142-146.
[20] Zharikova N.S., Zharikov P.A. 2024. Features of the Imposition of Punishment by the Courts of the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Context of a Special Military Operation // Bulletin of the Tyumen State University. Socio-Economic and Legal Research. Vol. 10. No. 1 (37). P. 71–85. https://doi.org/10.21684/2411-7897-2024-10-1-71-85
[21] Surovtsev A.I., Ryazhapov N.Kh. Legal and social status of the military clergy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the context of a special military operation // Inmilitary academic journal. 2023. No. 4 (40). P. 34-45.
[22] Shamarov V.M., Shamarov N.V. Sovereign statehood as a special type of statehood in the context of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine // Military Law. 2023. No. 1 (77). P. 64-72.
[23] Popov Yu.M. Prospects for the results of a special military operation from the standpoint of the third paradigm // Complexity. Reason. Post-non-classics. 2024. No. 1. P. 27-34.
[24] Merenkov A.V. The Culture of Egoism in the Context of a Special Military Operation // Vestn. Udm. University. Sociology. Political Science. International Relations. 2022. Vol. 6, issue 3. Pp. 305–316. https://doi.org/10.35634/2587-9030-2022-6-3-305-316
[25] Revyakov I.S. Special Military Operation as a Cultural Project // Culture in the Focus of Scientific Paradigms. 2023. No. 17. Pp. 121–125.
[26] Saifullin R.G. Special military operation in Ukraine in the context of the transition of the Great Russians to the inertial phase of ethnogenesis // Society. Environment. Development. – 2023, ¹ 1. – P. 115-124. – DOI 10.53115/19975996_2023_01_115-124
[27] Posrednikov D.V. Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the context of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine // Journal of Historical, Political and International Studies. 2022. No. 2 (81). P. 105-115.
[28] Sizov S.G. Church and war. Spiritual meanings of the special military operation of Russia // Bulletin of the Omsk Orthodox Theological Seminary. 2022. No. 2 (13). P. 160-167.
[29] Nikonov V.A. Special military operation and the new world order // Public administration. Electronic bulletin. 2023. No. 99. P. 7-34.
[30] Fomenko P.P., Yakutin A.A. Problems and experience of organizing military-political work during a special military operation in Ukraine // Military Academic Journal. 2023. No. 3 (39). P. 12-23.
[31] Filatov A. M., Korolev S. O. Taking into account the experience of organizing moral and psychological support in the Armed Forces of Ukraine when conducting military-political work during a special military operation / A. M. Filatov, S. O. Korolev // Humanitarian Bulletin of the Strategic Missile Forces Army. 2023. No. 1 (31). P. 59-69.
[32] Obukhova E. G. Cadets’ ideas about the ideal image of an artillery officer before and after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine // Artillery Journal. – 2023.– No. 2. – P. 77–84.
[33] Luchinina E.N. Nechaeva S.N. Updating the Contents of the Discipline “Foreign Language” in the Organization of Higher Military Education Taking into Account the Experience of a Special Military Operation // Bulletin of the Yaroslavl Higher Military School of Air Defense. 2023. No. 4. 81–87.
[34] Dorokhov A.E., Akperova S.R., Prosvetov S.G. Analysis of the Nature of Injuries and Wounds Received during a Special Military Operation // Youth Innovation Bulletin. 2023. Vol. 12. No. 2. P. 138-140.
[35] Grigoriev A.M., Yashkir V.A., Krylov V.I., Kolosova N.A., Fateenkov V.N. Identification of EA-3167, a structural analogue of the incapacitant BZ, in objects delivered from the zone of a special military operation, and detection of its metabolites in urine during exposure of rats. Bulletin of the RCB Defense Forces. 2024. No. 8(1). P. 18–33. EDN:hrotqc.
Sergey Chernyshov 30.08.2024