Russians use euphemisms and self-censorship to talk about war

President Putin's "Special Military Operation" in Russia sparks changes in language, literature, and public discourse amid conflict in Ukraine.

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

The abbreviation has become ubiquitous in Russia — repeated by political and military officials, used on social networks, in books and on illuminated billboards on the side of the road of the Russian capital.

The use of the word “war” was initially completely banned and punishable with a prison sentence.

It has reappeared in official language, even from Mr. Putin, but only to describe what he says is a war instigated by Ukraine and the West against Russia.

Nina Popova, a pro-government author who is also the deputy head of the Russian Writers’ Union, uses the word without batting an eyelid.

Her organisation, a propaganda tool during the Soviet era, oversaw the publication in June of an anthology of poems entitled For Our Friends celebrating the courage of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.