Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation

This article examines the evolution of the Kremlin’s emotional management strategies during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Based on qualitative content and critical discourse analysis of 900 media and official texts (2025–2026), the study identifies a shift from targeted fear during the first years of the war to a total politics of fear, implemented towards the whole society, including previously depoliticised segments. The findings show that this shift was predictable under the framework of the emotional management cycle. The shift from emotional governance to manipulation creates structural constraints that limit available strategies, making the escalation of emotional manipulation and the move toward generalised fear a likely outcome. The article contributes to understanding how regimes structurally produce generalised fear in prolonged crises.