The Evolution of Russian Strategic Narratives on Military Humanitarian Intervention and Responsibility to Protect from Georgia to Ukraine

This chapter assesses Russian strategic narratives toward own interventions in Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014–). By looking more broadly at Russian strategic narratives aimed at persuading other global actors and publics abroad and at home, it identifies how Russia attempted to develop a story that could win global acceptance. It identifies numerous similarities in diplomatic language used to justify military interventions in Georgia and Ukraine—while also outlines how Russian rationale for interventions changed through time. Overall, Russian narratives on intervention focus on delegitimizing the perceived opponents, making the case for the appropriateness of own actions under international law, and projecting what it proposed as the proper solution to the conflicts. A major factor that influenced Russian narratives was considerations whether the given situation will lead to increase or loss of Russian influence and territory. This analysis shows that contrary to traditional Russian emphasis on sovereign responsibility and non-intervention, Russia supported claims for self-determination by separatist groups in Georgia and Ukraine (from 2014–2022). Russia used deception and disinformation in its strategic narratives as it mis-characterized these conflicts using Responsibility to Protect (R2P) language, yet mostly justified own interventions through references to other references to international law. R2P language continued to play a role in justification of an all-out invasion of Ukraine starting 2022. Additionally, Russia’s focus on the protection of co-ethnics and Russian-speakers is reminiscent of interventions in the pre-R2P era.