Ancient history and subversive attempts to affect regional symbols by information warfare actors

Abstract

The aims of the study include the expansion of information about various aspects of the emblematics of the Donetsk region in their connection with the processes of information warfare and in comparison with other regions of the country; wider disclosure of the processes of creation, approval and use of various symbols in the context of the motivation of various information warfare actors to establish specific narratives regarding the history of the region through these symbols. In particular, the study singles out the symbols associated with ideas about the «ancient history» of the region and determines why they were used by different actors. The analysis covers the development of official heraldry and vexillology of the Donetsk region, the reflection of historical themes in company brands and other commercial names, the reinterpretation of official symbols by private individuals since 1991. Methodologically, the research is primarily based upon historical-genetic, historical-comparative, historical-systematic methods. The combination of these methods made it possible to highlight that emblems and symbols in the Donetsk region had their origin in the views (and, accordingly, personal origins) of the post-Soviet political and business elites of the region; to compare them with the position of the elites of other regions of Ukraine during the same period of time; to show how systematically the influence of the position of the Donetsk elites played in favor of the Moscow-backed hybrid adversary. Media materials, Internet blogs, and archival materials were used to achieve these results.
The results of the study indicate that the administrative and business elites of the Donetsk region in the 1990s and 2000s were interested in regional symbols that would separate the region from the history of Ukraine as a whole. The elite deliberately ignored the advice of professional Ukrainian historians. Although they did not appear in the official heraldry of the region, symbols from ancient history were of particular interest to Donetsk elites, specifically those related to the ancient Scythians and Sarmatians, and became widespread in various commercial brands controlled by representatives of the regional leadership, their close acquaintances, and business partners. This separation of emblematics and symbols of the region from unified Ukrainian «national mythos» differed from the experience of the Vinnytsia region elites in the same chronological period. Given the origin of the Donetsk elites, it is logical that in this way they sought a compromise between their own Soviet patriotism and their role in the new, independent Ukrainian nation. Such policies of the regional authorities will later allow Moscow-affiliated agents of influence to promote their own narratives of «ancient Russian history» in the region. Their goal was to increase historical confusion in the minds of the population, sow distrust in official sources (in particular, established academic narratives on the history of Ukraine), and facilitate the spread of the «Russian World» ideology amongst the mostly apathetic population of the region.
The research is fully original and belongs to the author; it is mostly based on the materials that have been personally found or seen by the author (including as a citizen in Donetsk during the early stages of Moscow’s hybrid invasion to the region). From the practical point of view, the results fully demonstrate how the lack of a unified information and history policy in 1990–2000s Ukraine was abused by regional elites for decentralizing actions. This would not have been so problematic, if it did not also help the activities of anti-Ukrainian foreign forces, interested in separating the Donetsk region from Ukraine. Thus, the research’s materials have a certain use for the education or the adult learning courses for the workers of bureaucracy. Prospects for further research on the topic lie in the search for other symbolical images from ancient history that are used in the information warfare surrounding the history of Ukraine, especially from the Moscow side, with the identification of key trends and reasons for the creation of propaganda on such a topic. Furthermore, the article contains archival and visual materials, first introduced to academic use, which may aid further researchers of information warfare.