Lowercase “r” in “russia” – What does this mean in Ukrainian culture and diaspora?

By Ke Cook

The Start

At the start of 2022, Ukraine entered a war that was started by a russian invasion. Many people were killed as a result of this. As of now, thousands of civilians in the country have been injured or massacred. While the numbers are expected to be higher than this count, the assumption is that there have been 16,431 civilians killed and 48,613 injured (Statista Research Department, 2025). In response to this ongoing war, Ukrainians and their allies are taking a stand. The lowercase “r” in “russia” and titles/leaders related to the country. The ultimate act of shunning the actions that have cost so many people their families and lives. 

 What does this mean? Why is this significant in Ukrainian culture and history?

Many people who do not know the history of Ukraine tend to deem this act as insignificant or unproductive in the mission of fighting back against russia. This, however, is completely untrue. The main point of the ‘lowercase r’ is to fight back against the historical constructs. In the 17th Century, Smotrytsky’s Grammar played a huge role in influencing the Church Slavonic language, but by the end of the century, the Kyiv metropolis had been subordinated to the moscow patriarchate (Sabitov, 2025). After that time, the dioceses were held by the jurisdiction of the russian synod. Russification came into play, and this led to the further push against Ukraine. There were centralized language policies within the russian empire, and then in the soviet union. 

Printing books in Ukrainian language was banned starting in 1690 by the moscow patriarchate. Moving into the 1700s, peter I issued a decree in 1720 banning printing in the Ukrainian language and ordering the seizure of Ukrainian church books, and peter II ordered all government documents to be rewritten from Ukrainian to russian in 1729 (Bans on the Ukrainian Language, 2025). Catherine II banned teaching in Ukrainian at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (founded in 1615), Eastern Europe’s oldest institution of higher learning, in 1763 (Oppression and Eradication: The Linguicide of Ukrainian by Russia, 2024). Moreover, between 1881 and 1884, there were bans on teaching Ukrainian in public schools, church sermons in Ukrainian, and theater performances in Ukrainian in every province of little russia. Likewise, Ukrainian writers, painters, directors, poets, teachers, priests, publishers, and scholars were killed in the 1930s after their creations in the 1920s. This was called the “Executed Renaissance,” and while some famous ones were Mykola Kulish (playwright) and Marko Vorony (poet), there were about 200-500 figures that were killed in russia. As a result of all of this, the Ukrainian language lived, with over 40 million speakers and a status as an independent language and not a dialect of russian (Bans on the Ukrainian Language, 2025).

In reference to this history, in which there is so much more, it can be understood that this seemingly minor linguistic attack is quite powerful.

How is this built into a widespread social construct?

This linguistic change has become an extension of physical monuments being torn down, education reforms, and more (Katerynych, 2026). Social media connects us all on such a large platform, and we are able to spread information very easily. Some examples of posts on various platforms and news sites that have sparked the support of allies all over the world are (sources 7-14 respectively): (Click on Posts below to hyperlink to full story)

Roman Sheremeta's Post

We need to stop writing "russia" with a capital "R"
War and Ukrainian Linguistic Changes
росія

Don't write “Russia” and “Russian” anymore/ New spelling rule in Ukrainian language

Don't write “Russia” and “Russian”
Politico
Radio Free Europe

Social media also allows us to connect with our policymakers so that we can provide insight on what is right for the people. In this case, Ukraine’s language commission made the decision to allow the decapitalization of “russia” and other similar words in unofficial documents in 2023. Official letters came from the Institute of the Ukrainian Language and the Potebnya Institute of Linguistics, and appeals made by the Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, via social media were also taken into account by the Commission when making this decision (Tril, 2023). This is a big step in the right direction.

Recap

  • A relatively new construct in Ukraine has emerged: “lowercase ‘r’ for ‘russia’”
  • This has become a social norm that both its citizens and their allies/ally organizations should follow to show support and to silently but explicitly advocate for Ukraine’s freedom and independence
  • The reason behind this is based on historical linguistic dynamics between the two countries
  • This way of writing is now the standard; social media has helped form a breakthrough in this movement

What can you do to help fight for Ukraine?

    • Donate what you can to your local organization – at DAWN, we offer remote volunteer and donation opportunities to provide Ukraine with the aid (medical, food and water, etc.) that its people need during this difficult time.
  • Educate yourself – use academic papers and other reliable sources to get the information you need. Some trusted sources you can find here:
  • Share knowledge obtained from reliable resources and proper research. Please add to the information already available. Use the sources listed for this article to further your knowledge on the ‘lowercase “r” for “russia”’ movement and post about what you know – the information on this movement specifically is SCARCE! 

Please continue to show support for Ukraine! Sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on news and upcoming events!

Sources:

  1. Statista Research Department. (2025). Ukraine War Casualties 2022. In Statista. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293492/ukraine-war-casualties/
  2. Sabitov, D. (2025). “russia” with a lowercase letter: A mythological approach. Studia Rossica Posnaniensia, 50(2), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.14746/strp.2025.50.2.5
  3. Oppression and Eradication: The Linguicide of Ukrainian by Russia. (2024). In Ukraineworld.org. https://ukraineworld.org/en/articles/opinions/linguicide-ukrainian-russia
  4. Bans on the Ukrainian Language: 400 Years of Destroying the Word. (2025, December 31). True Ukraine. https://trueukraine.net/en/articles/ukrainian-language-bans/#the-scale-of-the-repression
  5. Katerynych, P. (2026). Lower-case russia: Decapitalization, neologisms and mock Russian as wartime resistance in Ukraine. Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 143(1), 9–25. https://doi.org/10.4467/20834624SL.26.002.23149 
  1. Tril, M. (2023, September 22). Ukraine allows lowercase “Russia” in informal writing. Euromaidan Press.https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/09/22/ukraine-allows-lowercase-russia-in-informal-writing
  2. Roman Sheremeta. (2026). Facebookapp. https://www.facebook.com/roman.sheremeta.7/posts/pfbid0AFhXbUv4MQGrCSuXctNa8u636kif4XgDMueUwoZgyV3tiwJhxPxUxyCHd1QuRgejl
  3. Reddit – Please wait for verification. (2026). Reddit.Com. https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/x960u5/we_need_to_stop_writing_russia_with_a_capital_r/
  4. Yaroslav Azhnyuk on Instagram: “Same here, I’ve been spelling russia with a lowercase “r” since the full-scale invasion.” (2026). Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DMS2tPmNaWF/
  5. mischa. (2022, May). War and Ukrainian Linguistic Changes. Mischa Spiegelmock. https://spiegelmock.com/2022/05/01/war-and-ukrainian-linguistic-changes/
  6. Buzovska, M. (2023, September 22). “Russia” with a small letter is now official – the National Commission for Language Standards has granted permission – PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA – Ukraine, Kyiv. Pragmatika.Media. https://pragmatika.media/en/news/rosiia-z-malenkoi-bukvy-teper-ofitsiino-natskomisiia-zi-standartiv
  7. (2026). Youtu.Be. https://youtu.be/fj6VYowCCD0?si=vlD7OlGWOzXheZkY
  8. Chiappa, C. (2023, September 22). Ukraine’s language commission snubs Russia. Politico. https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraines-language-commission-oks-lowercase-spelling-of-russia/
  9. RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities. (2023, September 22). Ukraine Allows Russia-Related Words To Be Written In All Lowercase. Rferl.Org; RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. https://www.rferl.org/amp/ukraine-lowercase-russia-related-words-language/32604577.html

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