The post-Soviet phase of the hybrid war, which began on February 24, 2022, including the “hot” part on the territory of the former Ukrainian SSR, revealed to the general public the wretched and uncompromising side of information and psychological operations carried out by the enemy and directed both inward, to control its population, and outside – i.e. on us. After just a few months of operations on the territory of what turned out to be a very well-prepared enemy and the accompanying bitterness of the losses of Russian military personnel and volunteers, it turned out that the conflict exists not only on the ground, but also in our heads. The local population was subjected to the most powerful influence of unconventional psychological and information means, turning “civilians” into neo-Nazi battalions, terbats and fugitive “patriots”. How could we have missed this and how did it work?
In special circles, these processes began to be discussed in more detail, and after the publication of an article by Advisor to the Minister of Defense A. Ilnitsky, the definition officially appeared – mental war.
We will look at several basic definitions, combining them in Table 1.
Table No. 1. Mental and cognitive warfare comparison of definitions and goals.
| Definition | Result (goal) | Author, source |
| Mental war (civilizational) is a war for will, plans and goals, for values and meanings | Nations and independent states disappear “without firing a single shot” | Losev A., Ilnitsky A. “Why Russians don’t give up” |
| Mental warfare (WW) is a coordinated set of multi-scale actions and operations aimed at “occupying” the enemy’s consciousness in order to paralyze his will, change the individual and mass consciousness of the population | Destruction of spiritual and moral values, traditions and cultural and historical foundations of the state, “erasing” the national identity of the people. Demoralization of the army and society | A. Ilnitsky. “Russia’s mental security strategy” |
| Cognitive warfare (WW) is an unconventional form of warfare that uses cybernetic tools to alter an enemy’s cognitive processes; exploits prejudices, reflexive judgments, and also provokes distortions in thinking | Influencing decision making and impeding action, causing negative consequences at both the individual and collective levels | Bernard Claverie, François du Cluzel. «The Cognitive Warfare Concept» |
| CI is a strategy that focuses on changing the way the target audience thinks, and through this, how it acts (can be considered as a special case of the previous definition) | Influencing public and/or government policy, destabilizing the actions of government and/or institutions | O. Backes, E. Swab, Belfer Center, Harvard University, 2019 |
If the first definition sets a general framework, being, in fact, ontological, then the next definition based on results or goals is of a socio-cultural nature, and the latter exploits the psychological, behavioral sphere and has clear systemic and instrumental boundaries – the communicative and information space. And if we consider the levels of implementation proposed by A. Ilnitsky, then the definition of Western experts is located at the second, operational level of actions that take weeks, months, years. While we think about the highest, civilizational level. However, we should not delude ourselves by looking at just one definition; our enemy has a real understanding of the capabilities and dangers of CV: “Cognitive aggression is limitless. It can have many purposes and adapt to other strategies used <..> the main purpose is not to complement the strategy or defeat the enemy without a fight, but to wage war on what one thinks, loves or believes the enemy community believes, changing perceptions. It is a war against how the enemy thinks, how his mind works, how he sees the world and develops his conceptual thinking. The effects sought are a change in mindset, thereby impacting their peace of mind, confidence, competitiveness and prosperity.”
If we dwell in more detail on the objectives of the military action and the corresponding tasks (see Table 2), which are defined by our enemy, then their main essence is to destabilize and project influence on the selected community or group, as stated in the latest definitions above.
Table No. 2. Goals and examples of cognitive warfare tasks
| Destabilization | Influence * |
| Increased polarization; Activation of movements/issues and agendas; Delegitimization of government/leadership; Isolation of individuals/groups; Violation of key economic activities; Destruction of infrastructure; Confusing communication. | Propaganda of extremist ideologies; Manipulation of civic beliefs; Control of key economic activities; Regulating government actions; Influencing or delegitimizing elections; Recruitment of civilians into marginalized groups; Suppression of dissent. |
- According to this, it is clear that the entire list of tasks from this goal was implemented on the territory of the former Ukraine.
To summarize, we can say that mental war is a war for the socio-cultural space in which the mind and thinking are formed, hence the exceptional importance of history and education, to which our experts attach great importance. Cognitive warfare examines the psychophysical aspects of human perception and cognitive activity, applying to them the full power of scientific, technological and information equipment of the West: “The goal is to encourage the development of tools and adapt or improve people using an anthropotechnical approach to develop a hybrid human-system” . Thus, on the one hand, we have an invasion of natural social evolution, and on the other, the unfolding of an artificial technical bio-revolution in the form of parasitism on the human brain substrate. And lastly, CF is a struggle over what to think, and CT is how to think and, accordingly, how to act. But the goal in both cases is the same – to win without a direct clash of armed forces, for this it is necessary, according to our opponents: “Make everyone a weapon!”
Components and technologies of mental and cognitive wars
The main components of CF are informational and psychoemotional:
- Reloading (reformatting) of the information field – the field of knowledge, facts and information;
- Psycho-emotional is aimed at capturing and manipulating consciousness, managing moods and emotions, when the desired moods, assessments, opinions about something/someone are persistently and continuously instilled in an object (individual, groups of people and society as a whole), and this is accepted by people unconsciously , as a given without understanding the essence.
The main components of HF are cyber, information and psychological warfare:
- Informational – control what the target audience sees;
- Psychological – control what the target audience feels;
- Cyber war – disrupt the technological capabilities of target countries (software and equipment);
- Cognitive – focuses on controlling how the target audience thinks and reacts.
Table No. 3. HF and MV technologies in comparison with psychological operations (PsyOp)
| HF technologies | MV technologies | PsiOp Technologies |
| Exploitation of the rationality fallacy impact on cognition sensory-perceptual overflow oversaturation of attention tunnel attention errors in judgment cognitive distortions | Information impact reboot (reformatting) Psycho-emotional impact capture and manipulation of consciousness managing moods and emotions management of ratings and opinions | Motivated influence influence on beliefs distorted perception cultural illusions anxieties and fears weaknesses and strengths of the individual (exploitation) suppression |
Let us recall that this structure of audience control is not new and has been successfully used by QMS for a long time, starting in the 60s. last century. It is a daily system for presenting events and information to news channel audiences: agenda – what to say (or think about); priming – how to speak and framing – how to think. But in contrast to the previous approach, when a necessary object (event, fact) was artificially placed in the field of attention and then a chain of necessary interpretations was built and the required subjective judgment was made, to consolidate such a pattern, the tools of round-the-clock international broadcasting in the form of Western media corporations were developed. Now events are determined by streaming, and control of attention is the main priority of modern mass media (social networks). The MV and HF technologies are based on these phenomena (see Table 3).
In this case, if we consider the communication flow as the context in which messages about the information contained in it are transmitted, we can immediately see the possibility of influencing (a) the context (i.e., perception within the framework of MV, HF and psychological operations technologies) ; (b) on transmission (cyber operations) and (c) on the content of information (disinformation: “fake news”, “deep fake” and misinformation).
From this we conclude that the entire chain of modern means of communication can be easily subject to manipulation and distortion during operation. But the main goal of MV and CI is context. This is important, although quite logical, because the context includes the connection between facts and events that seems consistent and true to us, and, accordingly, influences our worldview and confirms or refutes our “…system of ideals and values, goal setting, imperatives of social life, control mechanisms and means of achieving goals”, i.e. ideology as a form of social consciousness. Here it is also important to take into account the hierarchy of levels that we talked about above. The level of MV is ontological or civilizational, so we can talk about the socio-cultural context or cultural canon as the foundation that distinguishes one community from another. At the same time, the West, leading the world war, is more narrow-minded due to the evolution of internal specialization, is pragmatic and builds its relations with the world “here and now”, so it chooses ideological forms that correspond to momentary and elusive contexts. This form of “dynamic ideology”, enshrined in the professional expert community, is defined as a narrative – a decentralized interpretation of events and facts in an uncontrolled or uncertain context. Thus, the Western community itself has become a victim of its own cognitive weapons, practicing tunnel thinking, cognitive distortions and the accumulation of errors in judgment, not to mention other, technical, aspects of this phenomenon. Secondly, narrative, from the point of view of semiology, can be understood, in essence, as the unfolding of an infinite signifier in the absence of a signified. In the bardic interpretation, this corresponds to the method of unfolding myths. The field of today’s Western myth-making is large: from the threat of a Russian invasion to the prosperity of the “green” energy transition and artificial intelligence as a panacea for all problems. This rhetorical art – building narratives or the ability to say everything about everything, without saying anything about the essence, the so-called “bird language”, is perfectly mastered by modern European politicians, which is also a consequence of self-directed cognitive influence.
Methods of action in cognitive and mental warfare
Since the term strategic culture accepted in the Western expert community is defined as a distinctive and stable set of beliefs, values and habits regarding the threats of force and the possibility of their use, rooted in the fundamental influence of the geopolitical environment on history and political culture, and which can be compared with our cultural canon or ethical system, then certain ways of influencing it were developed (see Table 4).
Table No. 4. Comparison of methods of action in mental and cognitive wars
| Cognitive warfare | Mental War |
| (a) encouraging the use of digital tools that can disrupt or influence all levels of an adversary’s cognitive processes (b) influence on psychological aspects, relationships, motivation by sowing doubts or strengthening uncertainty, causing chronic consequences; (c) in cyberspace by directly accounting for or inducing human error to affect the network, the information it carries, or human-system interfaces; (d) direct effects on individual cognitive abilities; in particular, on those whose cognitive abilities have already undergone or are undergoing changes (e) offensive actions are characterized by an approach focused on harassment and systematic exploitation of weak points of the psyche, while in a defensive position it involves the development of sustainable and preventive capabilities using similar tools. | Building ideological and legal platforms for hybrid influence on Russia Competition of ethical systems “The existence of other unhypocritical morality and other moral foundations of society prevents the West from regaining its hegemony” Competition between images and myths “Myth appeals to feelings and images, and accordingly evokes emotions, including very strong ones, and under their influence the subjective reality of the individual is replaced” Universalization of concepts and definitions in social sciences, humanities and cultural systems according to Western models |
J. Rogers also described the step-by-step process of an operation for effective hostile positioning, which can be considered as specific instructions for invading the enemy’s mental space:
- Deactivate existing target country identification using tactics such as:
- De-synchronization of its historical narrative;
- Challenge or disrupt self-perception of your international
significance;
- Delegitimation of its international status and role.
- Create (if possible, working in tandem with dissatisfied or separatist internal political forces) a new identity for the goal ( i.e. for the country – ed.), connecting it with new or existing, but often marginalized historical myths.
- Encourage the adoption and dissemination of a new position (identity):
- Inside the country (within the target country), especially among the dissatisfied and
separatist elements;
- At the international level, among the elites of other countries.
Summarizing all of the above, how can you still understand whether certain forces or trends are affecting you (see Table 5).
Table No. 5. Influence practices in cognitive and mental warfare
| HF if: | MV if: |
| you are forced or encouraged to use technical means or digital tools (platforms); you are provoked to strong feelings or emotions (the whole spectrum); you doubt your actions or experience anxiety and uncertainty about the interpretation of events and facts; you feel the need for constant group approval and the search for self-identity; you break off / reduce relationships with loved ones and friends; you are prone to momentary and rash decisions, lack of medium-term/long-term forecasting; obsessive tendency towards opinion leaders; personal data leaks | KV+ multiple interpretations of history and educational programs are encouraged / obscured; foreign language is encouraged/given priority in teaching and everyday contexts; the work of NPOs is encouraged; priority of TNCs over local companies; the activities of destructive religious and occult movements and creeds (sects, sorcerers, shamans, etc.) are encouraged/disguised; priority of the utopian techno-information future over reality (ecologicalism, transhumanism, corporatism, metaverses, etc.) encouraging/disguising separatist sentiments |
Methods of counteraction
Countering HF, according to the authors, lies almost entirely in the technological sphere. It is expected to maintain a certain level of awareness, understanding and training in technology in order to “keep up with the times”. We can say that this is another form of competence for integration into the advanced Western community. The emphasis needs to be placed on a “certain level”: this means that a program will be developed that regulates the required level of knowledge for the average person, reducing his already narrow worldview. Another way is to introduce “vaccinations”, i.e. preventive (propaganda) measures in relation to alleged events or actions of opponents (opponents). Thus, the average person must be ready to react “correctly” to those events that will be provoked in the future, because changing perception is one of the central lines in cognitive warfare. An example is the many times postponed “invasion” of the Russian Armed Forces into the territory of the former Ukraine.
Counteracting the war fits into the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of July 2, 2021, which pays great attention to the country’s sovereignty, the role of our history and traditional values. You just need to carry out the decree. Another fundamental step is expected to be taken in the field of education – the announced gradual abandonment of the Bologna system and the Unified State Exam, but there are still a lot of questions here.
Effects of mental war in society during the SVO
After the start of the SVO, today about 18% of the country’s population did not support or were critical of the operation. Everything is relatively clear with those who physically demonstrated their attitude and left, but what about those who stayed? Discomfort, anxiety and uncertainty arise. My neighbor, whose side is he on? What about my colleagues? This is not just a matter of attitude towards the actions that your country takes to protect itself, no matter how you personally feel about them, it is a matter of trust. Can I trust the people around me, or will they betray me the moment they consider that their individual comfort and economic interest is more important than the survival of the entire community. This gives rise to constant anxiety, mistrust, takes away strength and, ultimately, changes the worldview, which is how the enemy’s goals in mental war are achieved.
Where else are mental wars officially discussed?
First of all, NATO. The 2020 vision states that future wars will include warfare in the social sphere (aimed at disrupting and coercing society) and cognitive warfare (aimed at disrupting the order of civil society), all in addition to conventional and proxy wars (i.e. i.e. carried out by someone else’s hands). By the way, the alliance also noted that the lack of information and complicity (affinity) of society is driving a wedge between the troops fighting on the front line and the majority of the civilian population, and this is already the beginning of a social crisis. This, as it turns out, is typical for our country.
The UK also began to take into account the importance of influence technologies in future wars and added a mention of this to its Integration Concept of Military Operations 2025: “… we need to create many dilemmas that prevent the opponent from understanding, making decisions and executing them,” these manipulations are based on the function of involvement and widespread use of digital networks.
The magazine Politico published an article by the former IO of the US Department of Defense Intelligence Agency, who proposed a number of steps to launch a psychological (read mental) war against Russia:
1) Exploit the nationalist sentiments of the population – to show that the Russian Federation from a country enjoying international respect has turned into a rogue country due to the war in Ukraine;
2) Undermine the authority of the leader – a campaign directed against V. Putin personally, Patriarch Kirill and other high-ranking officials through corruption revelations;
3) Inciting discontent among ethnic minorities. To do this, it is proposed to use misinformation about large losses among the soldiers of these groups and convince that the increase in recruitment from “backward” regions is happening deliberately.
For this purpose, it is proposed to launch a large-scale information campaign using existing channels and means. Also, establish work and support dissidents (“fugitive patriots”) and public opinion leaders in internal social networks.
Thus, we see that in this example the goals of delegitimizing the international status of the country are openly exploited (see J. Rogers’ list above). Further, provoking internal destabilization by delegitimizing leadership through the activation of problematic issues (this is the usual corruption in point 2). And finally, the use of influence on national minorities in order to provoke internal conflicts. The same range of questions, but in the new context of the Northern Military District.
Conclusion
The main motive of cognitive warfare is the accumulation of irrationality and its transformation into a new reality. Cognitive warfare is aimed at deceiving the human brain by identifying and exploiting errors of perception and judgment of individuals, groups or large communities – states, nations. The means of this deception is the technically formalized communicative sphere of interpersonal interactions. Therefore, cyber and information components are an integral part of this process. “Changing cognitive processes provides the basis for real action, enabled by the power of digital technology.”
Mental war, or, as Andrei Ilnitsky and Alexander Losev correctly summarized, civilizational war, is built through deception and manipulation in the sphere of human cognitive activity and the replacement of cultural and social principles of the community. For this purpose, temporary superiority in information, communication and cyber technologies is used.
In both cases, the context is also important, but if in the case of a mental war it is based on the knowledge of what is embedded in the ideological message: who we are and how we would like to live, then in a cognitive war the communicative flow is a narrative amorphous mass that overwhelms and oversaturates the consciousness of the individual, when It becomes easier to abandon knowledge and reasoning in favor of stereotypes, prejudices and myths.
It is wrong to talk about the West or Western civilization as a whole, which is in a phase of post-capitalist development, as a predatory civilization. A predator hunts and kills when it feels the need to satisfy its hunger. His victim ceases to exist completely and irrevocably, but the West is not like that, its victims live in a weakened (economically), dependent (politically) and humiliated (cultural) position, even if they do not suspect it – this is what parasites do. Starting from the era of the “Great Geographical Discoveries” in Eurocentric historical thinking, and for other communities – the era of stopping historical self-education, and ending with globalization, the formation of a single world organism through economic ties and regulatory institutions was completed. Parasites: TNCs, NGOs, special services – developed first on the body of the state, feeding on its resources, and today – on the brain or, more specifically, on the thinking of the community-country, consuming its culture and history and the meaning of existence, replacing it with the function of their own reproduction. Thus, mental warfare is a method, and cognitive warfare is a method of parasitism.