The Russian military has fared poorly and the Ukrainian has fared well, defying pundits’ predictions about the war in Ukraine. Can children’s stories help explain this difference?
When the Russian invasion began, hardly anyone in the West expected that Ukraine would be able to put up any kind of serious opposition to Russia’s aggression.
Much has been written about how leaders, including allies, underestimated Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership abilities. But beyond miscalculating how a comedian could transform into a Winston Churchill-like figure, the Ukrainian military’s military assessments were also dead wrong.
After several weeks of war, it is clear that many overestimated the will and fighting ability of the Russian army and underestimated the ability of the Ukrainian army to resist against an opponent superior in numbers, equipment and position.
How to explain the evolution of the war in Ukraine against the predictions of experts?
We believe that one of the factors underlying the unexpected performance of the armies of each country may be due to cultural differences between Russians and Ukrainians. Those differences were cultivated in part through the fairy tales of her childhood.
One of us, Sophia Moskalenko, is an expert in the psychology of stories. The other, Mia Bloom, studies children’s involvement in extreme violence: why and how children become violent. We know the power that folklore has in shaping the worldview of childhood and ultimately the adults those children become.
underdog hero vs. magical thinking
Folklore is important for understanding people’s cultural stories, that is, narratives that describe something unique about the history of that culture and its people. They help define a cultural identity and, in subtle ways, shape future choices. The main narratives that Ukrainian children grow up with – serving as the dominant cultural script – are radically different from those that Russian children absorb.
Ukrainian folk tales, such as Kotygoroshko, Kyrylo Kozhumyaka, and Ivasyk Telesyk, feature unassuming characters who persevere against insurmountable odds. The character arc takes them through challenges, testing their will and taking them from vulnerable to successful.
A sculpture in kyiv of the Ukrainian fairy tale character Kotygoroshko defeating the evil dragon.
These tales follow the well-known narrative arc of the hero’s journey, a formula used for decades in bestselling books like Harry Potter and Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars.
In Ukrainian children’s stories, the protagonists often start out as unlikely heroes, but their courage, intelligence and grit help them succeed against all odds.
In contrast, Russian children’s stories usually revolve around a central character named Ivan Durak – Ivan the stupid. He is the third son, the youngest of the brothers, one of whom is smart, and the other normal. When the main character is not explicitly called “stupid”, he is portrayed as lazy, lazing in bed all day while his older brothers work hard.
In Russian tales such as Pike Wish, The Frog Princess and Sivka Burka, the protagonist ends up winning. But he doesn’t win because of his own virtues, but because of the intervention of a magical being – a fish, a frog, a horse – who does all the hard work while the protagonist takes the credit.
These Russian folktales seem to suggest that the recipe for success is not to be too smart and work too hard, like the two older brothers, but to wait for magic to take over.
Facing the biggest challenge
Most adults don’t think about the stories they heard as children. Yet these early stories, experienced through the lens of childhood emotions, shape our understanding of the world. They determine our actions, especially in times of crisis.
Fairy tales prepare us to recognize real-life heroes and villains, love and betrayal, good and evil. They guide our actions as we navigate these dichotomies.
The difference between traditional Russian and Ukrainian folklore could partly explain the difference between the performances of the Russian and Ukrainian armies.
When faced with the biggest challenge of their lives, members of the Russian military have not performed well and have shown low morale. On the contrary, the Ukrainians have risen to the challenge in spectacular fashion, with courage and determination, turning from underdogs into heroes who could triumph against all odds.
This article has been published in ‘The Conversation‘.
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