Language‑Sword: How the Soviet Empire Spoke – Yevheniia Kuznetsova

In Language‑Sword: How the Soviet Empire Spoke, Yevheniia Kuznetsova tackles profound questions about linguistic identity in the USSR. This popular-science work shatters the illusion of language as neutral, exploring why some individuals feel shame speaking their native tongue or local dialect. Why are so many languages endangered today in Russia? Why does one language feel superior while another inferior?

Comprised of about 100 brief essays that can be read in any order, the book illustrates how Russian became an ideological weapon—“the sword”—in the Soviet Union. Yet Kuznetsova proposes that one’s native language ought to become a “shield” in resisting imperial influence. Through clear, accessible prose and linguistic analysis, she invites readers to reflect on how language shapes culture, history, and identity, especially within totalitarian systems