Myroslav Marynovych, a well-known former Ukrainian dissident, historian and a famous religious expert, conceives that Russian information war is more powerful and terrible than a military one, because “Putin undermines the very ability of people to distinguish between the truth and lies”. Putin uses two ways to do this: he “constructs lies around deep stereotypes, routed in basic cultural instincts” and he “misuses the basic principles of post-moderning”, where false opinions are excepted for granted as truth without critics and rejection.
As the result, by using fake information and misleading legitimate opinions, “Russian propaganda destroys the whole system” and prevents it from an ability to define the truth.
Unfortunately, the West and Western people are also among the targeted audience of Russian propaganda. “Both, the Russian people and some people in the west are influenced by these techniques; to say nothing about the Ukrainian people, who are victims of them”, – designated Myroslav Marynovych.
Therefore, he argues that the truth, which is threatened by Putin’s regime, is one of the key prerequisites for a new paradigm. “Without the ability to recognize and appreciate the truth, the new paradigm would simply mean the death of the humanity”.
The more threats we have, the bigger role of the Euromaidan in safeguarding human society. What the Euromaidan did was not simply fight for democracy, the rule of law, and European values (of course, without diminishing these struggles): it showed that a new paradigm is possible. Everything was there: cooperation between people, a common goal, willingness to find and demand truth. The task of the Post-Maidan Ukraine is to help find the way how to restore the ethical dimension of truth not only in Ukraine, but in Europe as well.
The need for truth and a new paradigm is evident and can not be put into question. “The West is in crisis”, honestly admitted Karl Gershman, the President of the National Endowment for Democracy. “Without the truth, we will not be able to reinvent European civilization. Actually, Ukraine is carrying out today the main task of European civilization: to unite cultural essences of various types of Europe“, M.Marynovych is convinced. “But if the truth about Ukraine still would be hidden, the world will not understand Ukraine and the role it is playing today in saving the entire European civilization”.
