(Re)inventing Genocide: Legal and Political Implications of the “Genocide of Soviet People” in (Post‐)Soviet Russia

Abstract This article examines the emergence and instrumentalization of the concept of the “genocide of the Soviet people” in both Soviet and post‐Soviet contexts, tracing its historical evolution and contemporary use in chronological perspective. It situates the term within the Soviet period, demonstrating how discussions of mass violence and victimization were framed, and then follows its strategic reinterpretation in contemporary Russia. This article argues that Russian authorities have redefined and expanded the concept in order to advance ideological, legal, and political objectives, particularly in the context of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. It further analyzes thirty‐three regional court cases conducted between 2019 and 2025, beginning with the 2020 decision of the Soletskii District Court, which recognized the mass killing of civilians in Zhestianaia Gorka during the Nazi occupation as genocide. All these rulings reinterpret Nazi crimes committed during the Great Patriotic War as the “genocide of the Soviet people,” thereby shifting attention away from specific victim groups toward the broader Soviet population as a unified category of victimhood. Through an analysis of historical usage, judicial decisions, and public discourse, the study demonstrates how the concept of genocide has been adapted and instrumentalized to connect memory politics, legal practices, and state ideology in support of Russia’s domestic and foreign policy objectives, as well as its broader reinterpretation of the Second World War.