Putin's Illusions About Ukraine and Historic Truths

 In Moscow on May 9 in his speech on the anniversary of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) Putin again accused Ukraine and the West of aggression against Russia.  He accused the West of plotting invasion and Ukraine of being a Nazi-ruled state.  Putin declared that "...there is no place in the world for executioners, punishers and Nazis."  In recent remarks, Putin has denied the historic existence of Ukraine as a nation and the Ukrainians as a separate and distinct people and culture.

While Putin did not announce any new initiatives or escalation of the war as many anticipated, the Russian army and various informal auxiliaries, such as Wagner and Syrian mercenaries, continue to occupy and assault Ukrainian villages and cities while attempting to degrade the Ukrainian military that it is unable to defeat.

In effectively a counterpoint to Putin's rants, Andrei Kozyrev, former Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and author of The Firebird: The Elusive Fate of Russian Democracy, writing in the Financial Times (May 7/8) recalls that while he was growing up Russians and Ukrainians were called "brothers and sisters".  They fought Germany together, "suffering gravely and contributing decisively to a final victory.”

More poignantly, Kozyrev recalls that "When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, about 90 percent of Ukrainians, including majorities in Crimea and Donbas, voted for independence in a referendum.  I was proud to be a member of the Russian Federation government that honoured that choice."

Kozyrev describes Putin's annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine as a "brazen violation of Russia's obligation s under the Budapest memorandum" and he regrets the inadequate response of America and Europe.

And regarding Putin's May 9 speech where Putin accuses Ukrainians of being Nazis, Kozyrev remarks, "Putin has in fact established a connection with the Nazis--but through his own deeds, not by slandering Kyiv."

Putin's May 9 speech is a fantasy.  His lies are as transparent to Russians as they are to everyone else.  But, ultimately, reality corrects for falsehoods and gravitates to truth.

Ukraine is not Russia - and never has been

 

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Many outside Ukraine and Russia view Ukraine and Russia and their peoples as largely the same.

However, the current war is, in fact, a war between two cultures or societies.

The reason for the confusion is that in modern times imperial Russia captured and attempted to colonize Ukraine.  Ukraine only managed to break free in 1991.

But the difference between the two has been recognized for as long as the two have existed, even while Ukraine was a part of a Russian empire.

For example, in 1861 the Russian historian, Mykola Kostomarov, wrote this about the difference between Ukrainians and Russians, 

(Source: Paul Robert Magocsi's A History of Ukraine; The Land and Its Peoples)

"The Southern Rus' [Ukrainians] are characterized by individualism, the Great Rus' [Russians] by collectivism...In the political sphere, the Southern Rus' people were able to create among themselves free forms of society which were controlled no more than was required for their very existence, and yet they were strong in themselves without infringing on personal liberties.  The Great Rus' people attempted to build on a firm foundation a collective structure permeated by one spirit.  The striving of the Southern Rus' was towards federation, that of the Great Rus' towards autocracy and a firm monarchy."

Despite the archaic and russo-centric reference of his time to a "Southern" and a "Great" Rus', Kostomov distinguished between the two as having distinctly different cultures.  Although an imperialist who believed in a federated Slavic civilization, he was also a leading figure in the Ukrainian national movement that recognized a distinct Ukrainian culture--not a Putinist at all.

Ukrainians' individualism and love of freedom stand in contrast to Russians' autocratic culture.  Ukrainians are not just a separate nation, they are a separate Slavic people with a distinct culture from that of Russia. 

A Rational and Deeply Hoped for Humanitarian Moment in Ukraine

Two months cut off and under constant Russian bombardment, these children and others are now being evacuated under UN umbrella from Mariupol'.

Meanwhile, attention to Russian war crimes gains momentum.  Here is a podcast on the legal dimensions of prosecuting war crimes, including genocide.

https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2022/04/28/will-russian-war-criminals-face-justice