From the Battlefield to Spotify: How Russia Rewrites Eastern Europe’s Identity

The visibility of Russia’s hard power has long been assertively projected and globally acknowledged. As a nuclear superstate with ambitions of maintaining the world’s second most powerful military, Russia has consistently positioned itself as ever-prepared whether for defense or, more often, strategic expansion. Yet, while its hard power grabs headlines, Russia’s soft power operates far more discreetly. Rooted in a legacy of Soviet-era information warfare, Russia’s contemporary influence campaign is embedded in the open and pluralistic media environments of Western democracies. Here, under the guise of free speech, Kremlin-aligned narratives infiltrate the mainstream, shaping perceptions not only of Russia itself, but of its neighboring Eastern European states.

The Kremlin’s enduring pursuit of a revived empire mirroring the Soviet Union is not just through military incursions, but through the slow erosion of borders, identities, and narratives, effectively reimagining post-Soviet states as extensions of Russia’s ideological frontier. A striking example of this narrative export occurred during Tucker Carlson’s widely publicized interview with Vladimir Putin in early 2024. In the conversation, the Russian president delivered a lengthy, carefully crafted “history lesson” on the origins of Russia and Ukraine, painting Ukraine as a misled fragment of the greater Russian world. While presented as factual, this version of history selectively omits context, simplifies regional identities, and aligns closely with the Kremlin’s justification for aggression in Eastern Europe.

Most of the Kremlin’s informational tactics are far more subtle. The narratives are quietly embedded in cultural references, media ecosystems, and social discourse. A cornerstone of this strategy is the A cornerstone of this soft power strategy is the global promotion of the idea of "great Russian culture", including its literature, classical music, art, Orthodox heritage, and, crucially, its language, as a civilizational force that implicitly positions Russia as the natural cultural and spiritual center of the post-Soviet region.. For example, Russkiy Mir Foundation, a state-funded organization created in 2007 to promote the Russian language and cultural programs globally. Through a network of “Russian Centers” and collaboration with educational institutions, it seeks to foster a sense of shared heritage across post-Soviet and Slavic communities. As noted in the Russian Soft Power overview by RQÉPS, initiatives like Russkiy Mir help “construct a symbolic Russian sphere” and position Moscow as a cultural hegemon, especially in regions with large Russian-speaking populations. The soft appeal is which acts as a conduit for distributing pro‑Kremlin messaging under the banner of cultural loyalty or identity preservation. According to migration studies, Germany alone hosts an estimated 2.2–2.3 million ethnic Russians, making it one of the world’s largest Russian-speaking communities outside Russia. Meanwhile, media and satellite networks, including state-backed outlets like RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik, ensure a persistent global presence of Russian viewpoints under the guise of independent reporting. According to data from the European Parliament and the Atlantic Council, RT was available in over 100 countries before several bans post-2022, and broadcasted in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Arabic, and German.

 As a result, Russian narratives have seeped into global perception, particularly in how the West views Eastern Europe. The idea of “Russia” has become a cultural shorthand for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet space, blurring historical, cultural, and ideological distinctions. These countries are often symbolically stripped of their distinct identities and lumped together as extensions of Russia. Cultural institutions like MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art, New York City)  and the Tate have mislabeled Ukrainian artists as Russian, while “Russian music” playlists on Spotify routinely feature performers from across the region. This pattern has been frequently noted by listeners in Spotify’s Community forums, where users have pointed out that artists from Ukraine, Central Asia, and other non-Russian post-Soviet states are often categorized under “Russian” genres, regardless of their actual language, nationality, or artistic identity. The growing demand for historical truth and attempts to reclaim cultural autonomy is often framed by the Kremlin as dangerous nationalism or extremism that are treated with suspicion in the West, making Western audiences hesitant to support decolonial efforts. Politically, too, the region is judged through a Russian lens as corrupt, autocratic and stagnant, making it harder for post-Soviet states to assert their own paths and fully break from the shadow of an increasingly aggressive neighbor.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 created a striking dissonance in the West’s perception of the region, forcing a long-overdue differentiation between Russia and its neighbors. One key narrative that began to unravel was Russia’s long-standing portrayal of Ukrainian national identity as extremist or even neo-Nazi, a framing deployed in 2014 and repeated in 2022 to justify its aggression. At the time of the Crimea annexation and war in Donbas, this narrative allowed Russia to obscure its direct involvement, presenting the conflict as a civil war driven by radical Ukrainian nationalism. This distorted framing delayed international reaction and limited support. In 2022, the scale of violence exposed the hollowness of that rhetoric, prompting the West to reexamine not only the invasion itself but the entire ecosystem of misinformation that had supported it.

Ukrainian media has gained visibility, shedding light on Russia’s persistent narrative war against not just Ukraine, but the identities of the entire post-Soviet region. For example, initiatives like the Shadows Project emerged to recover and elevate long-suppressed Ukrainian culture, actively identifying artists misrepresented as Russian in Western museums and archives. These efforts are vital in challenging the cultural erasure perpetuated by decades of Russian soft power, helping to restore rightful national identities and correct distorted historical narratives. “Culture is one of the most powerful defenses against disinformation, manipulation, and fear” notes the team behind the Shadows Project.

In an era of hybrid warfare, where soft power quietly lays the groundwork for open aggression, it is more important than ever to approach information critically. Because the most dangerous weapons are often not seen, but believed. Cultural distortion is not a side effect of conflict, but a core tactic. Russia’s strategic erasure of post-Soviet identities through media, mislabeled art, and language dominance is a deliberate effort to rewrite regional history. While some progress has been made in reclaiming narrative space, these efforts must continue, because what’s at stake is not just cultural credit, but the power to define historical and present truth itself.