The Kremlin’s flirtation with the idea of Russia’s invincibility started way before the recent heated Munich Security Conference. In fact, Moscow has been systematically deploying this idea as a tool of influence, blackmail and dissuasion all throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine.
(Lack of) victory on day three of the invasion
It may well be that the policy-makers in the Kremlin actually believe the narrative of Russia’s inevitable victory that their own propagandists have developed. How else could one explain the arrogant tone struck by the Kremlin’s disinformation superspreader-cum-news agency, state-run RIA Novosti, publicly celebrating victory on day three of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine?
Or, just as likely, this was already an early indication of the Kremlin’s inability to imagine its own limits, thinking that no matter the circumstances, a total Russian victory is absolutely inevitable. In fact, it was a gloomy echo of Stalin’s speech on 6 November 1941, espousing the idea of exceptionalism with the words ‘Our cause is just – victory will be ours’.
It’s not a defeat, it’s a gesture of goodwill
The idea of Russian invincibility was already in the background of pro-Kremlin disinformation from the early days of the full war. But it really took root as one of the core elements in the Kremlin’s rhetoric when it became clear that Moscow had bitten off more than it could chew. Narratives of Russia’s supposed invincibility were deployed to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine in its self-defence.
The pivotal moment came with the successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in the autumn of 2022. It was an awkward moment for the Kremlin’s disinformation peddlers. If Russia cannot be defeated, why are its invaders pushed back by Ukrainian defenders? Enter the idea of goodwill gestures. A convenient rhetoric device to square the circle. If you’re invincible, then it cannot be a retreat, and so, logically, it must be a goodwill gesture. This was exactly the disinformation packaging for Russia’s hasty departure from Kharkiv.
The Kremlin also deployed a similarly backwards logic during the initial months of the war. It tried to reconcile the myth of Russian invincibility with the unexpectedly slow advance of its ‘special military operation’ by claiming it was deliberately slowing down the pace of the invasion to preserve human lives. This way, the myth of invincibility could remain untarnished.
Invincible Russia and the existential threat of the ‘Collective West’
If we examine the pro-Kremlin disinformation for any prolonged period, another absurd inconsistency plaguing the myth of invincibility becomes clear. While the Kremlin continues to promote the myth of mighty invincible Russia, it also takes every chance to proclaim that the ‘Collective West’ or NATO pose an existential threat to Russia. Such inconsistency exposes this manipulative rhetoric. But we already know that the Kremlin likes to eat its cake and have it too.
Ultimately, it is also a case of wilful and deceptive role reversal, falsely depicting the aggressor as the victim. But that is exactly the point for the Kremlin’s spin-doctors – instill fear to mobilise the masses in support of war, but keep the anxieties from spinning out of control through constant reminders of invincibility.
After all, with Russian casualty numbers(opens in a new tab) far exceeding multi-fold the Soviet debacle in Afghanistan in 1979-89 and both of Russia’s wars in Chechnya in the 1990s put together, the masses do need a regular placating reminder that it will all end well.
The myth of invincibility as blackmail for negotiations
This malicious myth is not just for Russian domestic consumption. There are moments, of course, when the domestic consumption is paramount, like dismissing hasty retreats or sweeping Ukrainian advances across the border into Russia’s Kursk region under the rug. Ultimately, this myth serves the purpose of blackmailing Ukraine and its supporters into submission.
One of the core elements the Kremlin uses to prop up the myth of its self-invincibility is the inherent link with thinly-veiled nuclear threats.
The tactic becomes clear when we look at Ukraine’s attempts to engage the global community to reach a just and lasting peace. Example – Ukraine tries to bring together the global community for a summit in Switzerland, and the Kremlin refuses to engage and readily issues a list of unrealistic maximalist demands, claiming to the world that ‘Russia cannot be defeated’.
Fast-forward another year, the stage may well be finally set for negotiating an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the Kremlin plays the invincibility card again to blackmail, deceive and strong-arm the would-be negotiators.
Ultimately, the Kremlin’s manipulative efforts to paint a picture of invincibility are merely an attempt to distract from the fact that the bear has to squeeze all resources from its inside to prop up the image. However, it is a Russian Goliath that can be kept in check.
Article and pictures first time published on the EUvsDisinfo web page. Prepared for publication by volunteers from the Res Publica - The Center for Civil Resistance.
