Literary Hub: “Russia has a new official dictionary. The Explanatory Dictionary of the State Language of the Russian Federation, compiled by St. Petersburg State University, with the assistance of the legal department of the Russian Orthodox Church, has joined the list of official reference materials within the Russian Federation. The dictionary, which defines authoritarianism as “the most effective form of governance in difficult times” and bans the word жопа (ass), is (as is frequently the case in such situations), less a catalog offering a description of the Russian language as it is spoken in 2025 than it is a prescriptive ideological document. The dictionary’s compilers make no secret of the fact that they operated under the directives of Vladimir Putin’s 2022 Presidential Decree that made the “protection of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, culture and historical memory” a national strategic priority. Vladimir Putin, along with his allies in the Russian Orthodox Church, has for nearly two decades now weaponized “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values” not only as means of squashing dissent at home but also as a powerful element in Russia’s aggressive, expansionist geopolicy. In Africa, the United States, and Europe, Russia has sought to portray itself as a defender of traditional values and Christian civilization, paying particular attention to squelching/rebuking[?] progressive policies related to gender and sexuality, and in doing so courting the sympathy and support of reactionaries abroad. This means that Russia’s new values-based dictionary is a problem for us all…”