THE POWER OF POWERLESS WORDS: HOW CAN RUSSOPHONE POETRY RESIST THE AGGRESSIVE WAR (2022-2023)?

Between 2022 and 2023, a significant body of anti-war poetry emerged in Russian literature, including works by authors residing in Russia and those who had recently emigrated. These poems represent diverse artistic movements. This article proposes a comprehensive theoretical framework for analyzing contemporary anti-war poetry and examining its genealogy. Rather than employing the term "anti-war poetry," this study introduces the concept of "anti-aggression poetry," as these works specifically critique the contemporary Kremlin regime's aggression toward Ukraine and its suppression of Russian civil society, rather than war in general. Two aesthetic and political movements chronologically and thematically preceded contemporary antiaggression poetry: critical poetry from the Russian-Chechen wars (1994-2000) and poetry from the 2010s that criticized societal violence and presented history through the lens of violence (primarily in works by Irina Kotova and Gala Pushkarenko). Beyond political interpretations, anti-aggression poetry can be most effectively analyzed through the theoretical framework of Czech dissident philosopher Jan Patocka, who conceptualized the "solidarity of the shaken" as fundamental to resisting the normalization of aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]