Russian President Vladimir Putin on stage during a rally in Moscow on March 18, 2022.Sergei Guneyev/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Alexander Motyl, Rutgers University – Newark When Vladimir Putin unleashed an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Ukrainian media, public and policymakers almost unanimously began calling the Russian president and the state he leads “rashyst.” The term is a hybrid of a derogatory moniker for Russia – “rasha” – and “fascist.” Ukrainians did so for two reasons. First, they were countering Putin’s absurd insistence that the Ukrainian authorities – includin…
