KULTURA JAKO NARZĘDZIE SOFT POWER W WOJNIE UKRAIŃSKO-ROSYJSKIEJ .......... 66

CULTURE AS A SOFT POWER TOOL IN THE UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN WAR

In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Alongside energy and civilian infrastructure, culture became a target of Russian attacks, as it used to be much earlier as well, already in the 18th century. Ukrainian culture had long been overshadowed by the Russian Empire, as evidenced by the works of many Russian classic writers: their texts serve as carriers of imperial authority and introduce a clear division between high (Russian) culture and lower, primitive cultures (the cultures of Malorossiya, the Caucasus, Central Asia). It was only the military aggression of Russia that led to a change in Ukraine’s cultural policy and the attitudes of the entire society, for which culture became a tool of resistance and national survival. Significant institutional changes occurred, resulting in the establishment of a leading body responsible for conducting cultural diplomacy: the Ukrainian Institute. Discussions about incorporating Ukraine into the global colonial discourse are becoming increasingly prominent, serving to further highlight the imperial violence of the Russian Empire, the USSR, and currently Russia, and to fully regain control over its own heritage. Culture, as one of the main tools of soft power, is both a target and a means of these processes.