THE RUSSIAN–UKRAINIAN WAR IN UKRAINIANS’ ONLINE FOLKLORE

Abstract

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered an unprecedented surge of folk creativity in the digital sphere. Online folklore became one of the key mechanisms of psychological adaptation, social mobilisation, and information resistance within Ukrainian society. The relevance of this study lies in the need to examine new forms of folk creativity that have emerged in real time during armed conflict and to explore their connections with traditional folk culture. The aim of the article is to systematise and analyse the principal thematic groups, images, and functions of Ukrainian online folklore related to the Russian–Ukrainian War. The study draws on a corpus of online folklore texts, including memes, jokes, tongue twisters, incantations, and adaptations of folk songs, that circulated on Ukrainian social media from the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The research employs folkloristic textual analysis, comparative- typological analysis of traditional and contemporary folklore genres, and semiotic analysis of creolised (verbal-visual) texts. The material is classified into two major categories: home-front texts and frontline texts. The findings demonstrate that online folklore about the Russian–Ukrainian War constitutes a dynamic system that combines archaic folkloric structures with contemporary digital forms. Two principal thematic groups were identified: home-front texts (air-raid alerts, fundraising campaigns, festive symbolism, and the construction of the "us/them" opposition) and frontline texts (the dehumanization of the enemy, the sacralisation of weapons, and the formation of a pantheon of heroes). Contemporary air-raid incantations reproduce the traditional banishing formula characteristic of folk charms, while the sacralisation of weapons (e.g., "Saint Javelin") and the image of the "Ghost of Kyiv" echo the archetypes of the magical helper and the epic hero. The analysis also reveals a shift from the predominantly optimistic and humorous folklore of the first year of the invasion toward increasingly dark humour and a more pronounced demonization of the enemy. The study concludes that Ukrainian online folklore surrounding the Russian–Ukrainian War performs several important socio-psychological functions, including emotional relief, psychological protection, the construction of collective identity, and social cohesion. The findings demonstrate both the continuity and adaptability of folk tradition, showing how archaic folkloric mechanisms, such as the "us/them" opposition, the trickster figure, and the sacralisation of heroes, are organically integrated into the contemporary digital environment. The study opens new avenues for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of folkloristics, social psychology, media studies, and cultural studies.