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Enemies at the Gate: Political Medievalism, Russian Style

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COVID-19 is a global problem, but the reactions to it have differed vastly from country to country. Like in many countries, the pandemic caused a nationwide shutdown in Russia. When addressing his nation about the virus, Vladimir Putin placed it among the ranks of Russia’s historic enemies he said as way of encouragement to his national audience in early April of 2020: “Our country has been throug...
Putin's speech draws on historical references to highlight Russia's resilience in the face of external threats and bolster nationalist sentiment. He compares medieval invasions by Pechenegs and Cumans with modern challenges, notably COVID-19. Emotional exploitation: weaponized anger (Putin's use of historical adversity to rally nationalist sentiment) Distortion: out-of-context framing ( Putin's comparison of modern threats with medieval invasions for politic...