The Crimea and the Donbass in flames: the influence of Russian propaganda and the Ukraine crisis

This thesis focuses on examining the enemy during the 2013–2014 Ukraine Crisis and providing context to the headlines regarding the politics of the conflict. It examines both the external enemy and the internal enemy, as characterized by the Russian press. The external enemy chapter focuses on NATO and five key propagandized myths that were popularized around the time of the Ukraine Crisis. The internal enemy chapter focuses on gender, examining the roles masculinity, femininity, and sexual orientation has in politics. Examining the propaganda helps to dissect the tactics used by the Russian government and media. Depending on how successful those tactics are, it could have a direct effect on whether they are recycled and used again in another conflict with another country, say in Moldova or Romania or Poland in the future. This thesis conducted a comparative analysis of the propaganda in the Ukraine Crisis surrounding events that have occurred in the areas of gender, WWI/WWII, Russian culture, and the enemy against historical Soviet and post-Soviet propaganda.http://archive.org/details/thecrimeanddonba1094550562Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited