Work

Beyond Genocide, Ethnocide and Identicide: Russia's ‘Strategic Imperial Demographic Policy’ of Russifying Ukrainian Children

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Following the Russian Federation's full‐scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, thousands of Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken from occupied territories and transferred to Russia. On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court officially recognized these actions as a war crime. Based on extensive documentary research as well as visual materials, this article argues that the Russian Federation is executing a systematic policy of child abduction. Frame analysis is used to understand the rationale behind the actions and narratives of both Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The discussion critically examines the applicability and limitations of terms such as genocide, ethnocide and identicide, contending that the phenomenon in question transcends these conceptual categories. Instead, the article proposes defining this forced transfer of Ukrainian children as a ‘strategic imperial demographic policy’.

Source: Nations and Nationalism

DOI: 10.1111/nana.70011

Authors: Ayşegül Aydıngün, Valeriy Morkva, İsmail Aydıngün

Institutions: Middle East Technical University, Cappadocia University, Başkent University

Language: English

Topic: European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750