Speak of the Devil: The Kremlin’s Futile Attempts at Consolidating a Ukrainian Enemy Image

Elizaveta Gaufman is Assistant Professor of Russian Discourse and Politics at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.

Why did Russia start the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022? If you examine the numerous statements released by the Russian government and pro-Kremlin media, there are many reasons to choose from, from biological laboratories that are supposed to infect birds with diseases that can spread among the Russian population, to NATO, to the tried-and-tested narrative about “Ukrainian Nazis.” However, recently a new reason was put forward by the Russian government: “de-satanification” of Ukraine. It seems that the Kremlin can no longer persuade the population to fight against Banderovites (the name Russian propaganda uses for the Ukrainian military), and they decided to resort to a much more comprehensive enemy image—the Devil. As a scholar of enemy images, I argue this turn in Kremlin rhetoric shows that the Russian government has exhausted all possible ways to deride Ukrainians and is going for the metaphysical jugular. While it is a staple method in propaganda, this strategy is going to fail for a number of reasons, including very low religiosity levels in Russia. However, it is important to take a look at the enmification mechanism altogether.  

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How to Make Progress on Gender Equality Without Decreasing Religious Freedom: The OSCE Context

Montserrat Gas-Aixendri is a full professor of law and religion at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain).

The commitment of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development to “leave no one behind” includes a promise to end discrimination. The road toward effective equality between women and men is not yet complete, and there remain many forms of discrimination that can and must be stamped out. Progress calls for the contributions of all social agents, including religious organizations. Nevertheless, freedom of religion or belief and gender equality sometimes seem to be rights standing in opposition to each other in an artificial antagonism. For some, religious freedom is viewed as an inherent obstacle to the achievement of equality, whereas for others, gender equality is regarded as a threat to the protection of religious values and practices. The resulting tensions are particularly plain to see in the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), where several cultures are present and the landscape contains a wide range of cultural and religious diversity.

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La Recepción del Derecho de Libertad Religiosa en América Latina

Carmen Asiaín Pereira se desempeña como senadora en el Parlamento de Uruguay. Es doctora en derecho y ciencias sociales por la Universidad de la República y es profesora de derecho y religión, posgrado, en la Universidad de Montevideo y profesora de derecho y religión y de derecho de la salud, posgrado, Facultad de Teología de Uruguay Monseñor Mariano Soler. Como abogada acreditada ante la Corte Eclesiástica Nacional (Uruguay y Argentina) y socia del estudio de abogados Pollak & Brum, es litigante en derecho matrimonial canónico y asesora y litiga casos de libertad de conciencia y religión o creencias contra el Estado.

El siguiente es un resumen de sus comentarios como panelista en el Primer Simposio Brasileño sobre Libertad de Religión o Creencia, en el panel “Perspectivas Latinoamericanas sobre la Libertad Religiosa.” Los panelistas discutieron la libertad religiosa en el contexto del derecho internacional de los derechos humanos y, más específicamente, de los países del sistema interamericano: cómo se consagra con diferentes matices en las constituciones de los países latinoamericanos y qué problemas enfrenta la región.

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