PropagandOFF — Russian Information Warfare Decoded

A reference dictionary of Russian information warfare — propaganda terms and narratives, psychological and psycholinguistic operations, and demoralization and disinformation campaigns. Browse the cards below or use search.

Anglo-SaxonsConspiratorial shorthand for the US and UK cast as the scheming puppet-masters behind world events.conspiracyotheringBanderitesPejorative used in Russian state discourse to label Ukrainians as ideological heirs of Stepan Bandera and the OUN-B.dehumanizationhistorical distortionanti ukrainianBiolabsThe conspiracy theory that the US runs secret bioweapons labs in Ukraine, Georgia and other neighbours of Russia.conspiracyfabricationdisinformation tacticCollective WestAn umbrella antagonist lumping the US, EU, NATO and allies into a single hostile, conspiratorial bloc aimed at Russia.conspiracyotheringwar justificationColor RevolutionThe Kremlin frame recasting popular pro-democracy uprisings as Western-engineered coups d'état.conspiracydelegitimizationrepression justificationCompatriots AbroadA flexible category of Russian speakers outside Russia whom Moscow claims a right and duty to 'protect'.imperial narrativeintervention pretextDenazificationPretext claiming Ukraine is run by Nazis who must be removed by force — the headline justification for the 2022 invasion.war justificationdehumanizationhistorical distortionDesatanizationA Russian propaganda narrative framing the invasion of Ukraine as a holy war against demonic forces, used to license atrocities and set limitless war aims.war justificationdehumanizationcivilizational claimFifth ColumnDomestic critics, journalists and the opposition recast as internal traitors serving foreign enemies.otheringrepression justificationForeign AgentA legal-propaganda label branding media, NGOs and individuals as 'foreign agents' to imply espionage and disloyalty.repression justificationcensorshipGayropaA portmanteau of 'gay' + 'Europe' depicting the EU as morally decadent and civilizationally exhausted.otheringlgbt disinfotraditional valuesGenocide in DonbasThe unsubstantiated claim that Ukraine was committing genocide against Russian speakers in Donbas, used to justify the 2022 invasion.war justificationfabricationKyiv JuntaLabel portraying Ukraine's elected government as an illegitimate cabal installed by a Western-backed coup.delegitimizationanti ukrainianLiberationThe Kremlin's habit of branding invasion, occupation and annexation as 'liberation' — a euphemism that recasts conquest as rescue and has repeatedly preceded genocide and mass atrocity.euphemismwar justificationimperial narrativeLiberation of EuropeThe Soviet and Russian narrative that the Red Army 'liberated' Europe in 1945 — used to obscure four decades of occupation, the annexation of the Baltic states, and the mass rape of German women.historical distortionimperial narrativeeuphemismLiberation of SokhumiThe Apsuan and Russian name for the 27 September 1993 fall of Sokhumi — a 'liberation' that was followed by a massacre, the genocide of Georgians, and mass sexual violence.euphemismhistorical distortionwar justificationMultipolar WorldA geopolitical framework used to challenge US hegemony and justify Russian imperial expansion and rule-breaking.imperial narrativewar justificationNATO ExpansionThe Kremlin claim that NATO's eastward enlargement broke a Western promise and encircled Russia, used to recast its war on Ukraine as forced self-defence.war justificationhistorical distortionimperial narrativeNovorossiyaA Tsarist-era name for the northern Black Sea steppe, revived to frame southern and eastern Ukraine as historically Russian land.imperial narrativeterritorial claimOne PeopleThe claim that Russians and Ukrainians are 'one people' and Ukraine an artificial state, used to deny Ukrainian nationhood and justify its absorption.historical distortionimperial narrativewar justificationPassportizationPassportization is the systemic, fast-tracked mass conferral of Russian citizenship to populations in foreign territories to justify military intervention.imperial narrativewar justificationsoft powerPeace Enforcement OperationThe euphemism for Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia, dressing a war of aggression as a neutral 'peace enforcement' action.euphemismwar justificationintervention pretextRussian WorldCivilizational frame casting Russia, Russian speakers, and the Orthodox Church as a sphere transcending state borders.imperial narrativesoft powercivilizational claimRussophobiaA label recasting any criticism of the Russian state, or resistance to it, as irrational ethnic hatred of Russians.disinformation tacticvictim reversalwar justificationSeparatistsThe Kremlin label that disguises Russian-manufactured and Russian-backed aggression as homegrown 'separatism' — producing controllable frozen conflicts in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and beyond.disinformation tacticintervention pretextimperial narrativeSpecial Military OperationThe mandated euphemism for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine; calling it a 'war' is criminalized inside Russia.euphemismcensorshipwar justificationTraditional ValuesA state-promoted moral agenda framing Russia as the global defender of family and faith against Western liberalism.soft powerlgbt disinfootheringUkrovermachtA derogatory Russian propaganda portmanteau of 'Ukrainian' and 'Wehrmacht' that equates the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Nazi Germany's military.war justificationdehumanizationhistorical distortion