This article examines the gender dimension to representations of the Ukrainian crisis in the hegemonic Russian media discourse, via an analysis of the ways in which images and metaphors associated with the gender order are used to escribe
events in Ukraine. It focuses in particular on the term “Gayromaidan” (Geiromaidan), a label that has been actively applied to the Euromaidan by the latter’s opponents. The article begins with a discussion of the theoretical aspects of the study of gender discourse as a factor in international relations. It then proceeds to sketch out the context to this issue, setting out the ways in which the gender problematic is included in the representation of contemporary Europe. Next, the article examines how the supporters of European integration for Ukraine have been represented in media gender discourse throughout the period under study. Finally, the authors analyze the methods used in the symbolic demasculinization of Ukraine in Russian media, applied within the framework of the politics of national identity pursued during Vladimir Putin’s presidency.