Russification As State Policy: The kremlin Is Launching a Strategy of Cultural Cleansing

The kremlin is preparing to approve an updated Strategy of State National Policy. The key focus of the document is on russian culture and language as “the foundations of national unity”. moscow openly admits that through Russification, propaganda and cultural cleansing, it seeks to form 95 % of the so-called “all-russian identity” by 2036.

The document outlines two main vectors:

Russification of the occupied territories.

It is about the official consolidation of the course of ousting national identities from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The kremlin does not hide the fact that its next target is belarus. The plan is to strengthen the propaganda influence, as well as to expand the role of the russian language as a “universal means of interethnic communication”.

Strengthening of anti-migrant policy under the guise of “fighting extremism”.

Equating six million migrants with sources of threat, moscow is increasingly using xenophobic narratives as a tool of political mobilization. This has caused a reaction from labor-exporting countries. In particular, Uzbekistan has publicly criticized the rf for violating the rights of its citizens. At the same time, the kremlin continues to speculate on public moods: according to the results of opinion polls, more than 80 % of russians are convinced that the number of migrants in the country is excessive.