Reductio ad Hitlerum: Reflections on the Russian Propaganda of de-Nazification in Ukraine
Reductio ad Hitlerum: Reflections on the Russian Propaganda of de-Nazification in Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: In the second lecture delivered at the University of Chicago in 1949, political philosopher Leo Strauss postulated reductio ad Hitlerum as a variant version of reductio ad absurdum. The inherent assumption of the argument is that the use of reductio ad Hitlerum as a justification procedure is a substitute maneuver for not having sound and plausible arguments. Because reductio ad Hitlerum is simply an all-and-nothing signifier, President Putin deceivingly misquotes de-Westernization, de-Ukrainization and Russification as de-Nazification occurrences of his ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. In fact, what Putin purports to achieve through the de-Nazification of Ukraine as defensive justification turns into outright Nazi behavior-like actions as a mechanism of defensive response. This article is ultimately a reflection on the puzzling meanings of the Russian de-Nazification strategies in Ukraine. Following brief methodological considerations on the above-mentioned stratagem and the explanation of the Russian approach of de-Nazification in Ukraine, three distinct sections - i.e., de-Nazification as de-Westernization, de-Ukrainization, and Russification, respectively - scratch out Putin’s official rationale for the invasion of Ukraine. A coda of this examination is added to explain that ‘Putinism 3.0’ is the subsequent result of the Russian reductio ad Hitlerum propaganda and actions in Ukraine. The final section also argues that Putin’s geopolitical imaginary is the last stage consistent with ‘Putinism 3.0’, and the arbitrary versions of de-Nazification (i.e., de-Westernization, de-Ukrainization and, respectively, Russification) are intermediate stages only.

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