What Memories and Imaginations Motivate Russian to Fight in the War?: Application of Machine Learning in the Study of Ideology

• In Event: Digital Footprints and Authoritarian Memory: Investigating Ideology, Governance, and Public Memory in Russia through Digital Methods

Abstract

This research examines the beliefs that drive Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian battlefield, shaping their ability to legitimize and normalize the war. Using cognitive linguistics and machine learning techniques, it analyzes over 500 YouTube interviews with Russian prisoners of war and cross-referenced findings with a BBC database of over 55,000 confirmed Russian casualties to understand soldiers' sociodemographic profiles. It uses digital methods to instrumentalize the theory of “lifeworld” (Lebenswelt), identifying cognitive models that shape their perspectives.

Author

• Ivan Grek, George Washington U