From: New Voice of Ukraine by Yana Sychikova Education Policy Analyst
When we talk about Russian aggression, the conversation often revolves around missiles, drones, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and propaganda. Yet one of the most insidious fronts of this war lies far from the battlefield — in lecture halls, academic conferences, and research networks. A study by Japanese scholar Sanshiro Hosaka offers a rare window into how this intellectual front operates.
In December 2021, months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Hosaka spoke at a meeting of the Association of Ukrainian Studies in Japan. He showed how pro-Russian narratives had quietly permeated even elite academic circles. Examining Japanese academic publications, he found that most of those written in 2014–2015 relied heavily on Russian sources and repeated familiar myths: a “civil war in Ukraine,” “oppression of the Russian language,” and a “nationalist threat.”
The reason, Hosaka explained, was simple. At that time, Japan had seventy-eight Russian studies scholars for every one expert on Ukraine. As a result, Ukraine was viewed almost entirely through Russian lenses — and even well-intentioned researchers often fell into the trap of imperial interpretation.
This is not just a Japanese problem. Wherever local voices are missing, Russian narratives fill the vacuum. For years, Moscow has invested in what it calls academic diplomacy: exchange programs, conferences, and cultural centers that use universities as convenient façades for influence. Inside Russia, however, academia itself has become a stage prop. Universities now function as branches of the security services, with so-called “First Departments” monitoring scholars, students, and international contacts.
Voice of Ukraine 