Bratni wróg. Ukraina w perspektywie Putinowskiego zetyzmu
A Brotherly Enemy: Ukraine Through the Perspective of Putin’s Zetism

Summary/Abstract: This paper is an analysis of Putin’s anti-Ukrainian narrative. I argue that contemporary Russian culture is defined by the prevalence of highly traditionalist attitudes. These attitudes propagate the language of ideological confrontation with the West. I suggest the inclusion of the term ‘zetism’ into scholarly literature, which has become a symbol of verbal and military aggression against Ukraine. This symbol arose spontaneously; it is represented graphically (the letter ‘Z’) and placed on various conventional weapons of the Russian army. In the article, I conclude that in the next stage of the conflict, Putin’s Zetism will become a cultural sign of Russian ’war traditionalism.’ According to the Zetist perspective, Russia, as a holy and orthodox state, defends itself against Western aggression that is, its atheistic liberalism and leftism. This view interprets NATO’s aid to Ukraine as a cunning strategy to destroy Russia as the last bastion of the traditional order, including ‘traditional sexuality.’ Furthermore, I examine the tradition- alist narrative referencing the scholarly discourse of the stranger and the enemy (Florian Znaniecki). I argue that Ukraine is described as a brotherly enemy—that is, one who has be- trayed the Russkiy Mir, the Orthodox, traditional community, by selling it out to an unfamiliar and hostile ‘godless,’ ‘deviant’ West. Zetism conveys an unambiguous message to Russians: Rus- sia’s mission is to ‘liberate’ Ukraine from outside forces and then to destroy the anti-values of the Western world.

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