VP-Hypostasis in the Russian Green Man (ихтамнет)-Discourse

Abstract

Abstract: This article analyzes the linguistic phenomenon of VP-hypostasis within the context of the Russian discourse surrounding ixtamnet (“they are not there”)—a phrase that emerged during the Ukraine conflict as a discursive tool to obscure the presence of Russian troops. VP-hypostases are syntactic constructions that morphologically resemble phrases but function discursively as self-contained units of meaning. The author demonstrates how ixtamnet serves as a discourse trigger, generating collective knowledge and legitimizing political narratives. Using corpus linguistic methods, particularly word and phrase embeddings, semantic networks are revealed that show the term’s discursive linkage to concepts such as “Donbass,” “Wagner Group,” and “mercenary.” The study highlights the performative and ironic character of such hypostases in political language and contrasts them with similar constructions in other languages. VP-hypostases are interpreted as discourse-focusing markers that encode complex social meanings within minimal linguistic form. Keywords: VP-hypostasis, discourse linguistics, corpus linguistics, word embeddings, discourse trigger, language ideology, phrase formation.