User:Апельсинка-Апельсинчик/Special military operation

Special Warfare Operation (Специальная военная операция, also special operation; abbreviated SWO) is a propaganda euphemism introduced by the Russian leadership and used by pro-Russian sources to describe Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The term carries ideological elements similar to doublethink.

The use of the euphemism "special military operation" is an example of a modern Russian newspeak, part of which is the formation of an alternative idea of a less dangerous picture of reality by softening the wording in official reports and in the media. In addition to the term "SWO", the Russian authorities' vocabulary had other euphemisms to describe the events during the invasion of Ukraine: explosions on Russian territory were referred to as a "pop" or "loud sound," the retreat or even flight of the Russian army could be called a "planned regrouping of troops" or a "goodwill gesture" (as in the case of Snake Island), and the expression "precision strikes" was used by the Russian Ministry of Defense to describe brutal attacks on peaceful targets in Ukraine, be it a shopping center, a high-rise building, a train station, a hospital.

During 2011-2022, Russia fell in the press freedom ranking from 142nd to 155th place, indicating significant state control over the media.

In culture
Because of its nature as an obvious euphemism, the term has become an internet meme mocking Russian propaganda. At the end of 2022, euphemism won the "Expression of the Year" category of the independent Russian contest "Word of the Year".

The semi-official symbol for the term is the Latin letter «Z».