How Can Language Be a Sword: Exploring the Nature of Language in the Soviet State

The review article examines the recent book by Eugenia Kuznetsova, an Ukrainian writer, translator, and specialist in postcolonial studies, “Language as a Sword: How the Soviet Empire Spoke” (2023). The main themes discussed in the article are the instrumentalization of language in the Soviet state and the development and characteristics of the Soviet Russian language. Despite possible criticisms of Kuznetsova’s book, it nevertheless convincingly shows how the Russian language became the “sword” of the Soviet totalitarian state and why national languages should serve as “shields” for all nations and peoples living there. The importance of the study for understanding the current linguistic situation in Ukraine and the Russian Federation is also emphasized.