Abstract

In theories of settler colonialism, an epistemology of ignorance alters knowledge production by denying past and ongoing violence in order to justify the existence or expansion of the state. My research applies this paradigm to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Analysis of Putin's addresses and recent censorship laws reveals a form of knowledge production, understood as a specific kind of disinformation, as a key component in the Russian strategy. By applying settler colonial theories, my analysis also reveals the historical context that disinformation distorts in order to erase knowledge of Ukrainian distinctiveness.