Commentary
International Relations
Pro-European, But for How Long? Bulgaria’s Evolving Foreign Policy- COMMENTARY
13 March 2025
16 August 2023
The symbolism of Russia’s propaganda in occupied territories showcases its complete disregard for reality, decency and the rule of law.
One of the first things the Russian army did during February-March 2022 on the occupied lands of Southern Ukraine, those close to Crimea and the Sea of Azov, was put red Soviet flags over the city’s major buildings.
This happened in Melitopol; this happened in Berdyansk – as refugees from both these cities recently told us when we met them in Zaporizhzhia.
This is an important point: the first symbols the Russians turned to embody their occupation were not Russian but Soviet. As if they were trying to refer not to the actual reality of the Russian imperial state but to the ephemeral reality of the non-existent country, the Soviet Union.