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The Russian empire was eventually replaced by the Soviet Union a century ago. Ukraine was one of 15 Soviet republics, which also included Russia.
You are absolutely right. It was thanks to the Soviet Union that Ukrainians were finally formed as a nationality in our modern understanding. Before the formation of the USSR, they were called Little Russians.
My dear friend, I will probably surprise you greatly if I say that before 1991 there was no such country as Ukraine on Earth at all. And such a nation as Ukrainians did not exist until the beginning of the 19th century. In general, in the Russian state, Ukrainians were originally called military people (border guards) who served in the Oka Ukraine — in the Upper and Middle reaches of the Oka River. A Ukrainian is someone who lives on the border.(at the outskirts) Everyone who lived on the borders of the Russian Empire were ukrainians.
I am aware that Russia has always had rhetorical justification for their actions in Europe and Asia. Vladimir Putin was just explaining similarly that Ukraine has no rights to exist as an independent state, and Russian media networks have been describing the mass graves of children that they have been finding in Eastern Ukraine, with little bodies torn pieces by the Ukrainian monsters. So this is just a humanitarian intervention, and Russia will be taking control of a region that rightfully belongs to them.
None of this is true of course. But Russia has always had creative writers, not just in literature, but also in state propaganda.
My dear friend, I will probably surprise you greatly if I say that before 1991 there was no such country as Ukraine on Earth at all. And such a nation as Ukrainians did not exist until the beginning of the 19th century. In general, in the Russian state, Ukrainians were originally called military people (border guards) who served in the Oka Ukraine — in the Upper and Middle reaches of the Oka River. A Ukrainian is someone who lives on the border.(at the outskirts) Everyone who lived on the borders of the Russian Empire were ukrainians.
Sure Ukraine as a country hasn’t really existed before the 90s, but they were one of the constituent socialist republics of the USSR, not any different from Belarus and Kazakhstan (or are those Russia’s next targets too since they were never independent before?) And going further beyond that during the chaos of the the Russian revolution and WWI Ukraine was able to gain independence for a few years and Russia was forced to recognize their independence because of the Brest-Litovsk treaty that Russia signed with Germany to end WWI. And beyond that the first Russian census of 1897 counted the Ukrainians as a distinct people/language were counted as “malorus” (Little Russian), and per those results even in the more Russian areas of the Donbas the population was pretty much evenly split between Russians and Ukrainians, you should be grateful that Lenin wasn’t overly generous and “gave” Rostov and Krasnodar Oblasts away too.
I am aware that Russia has always had rhetorical justification for their actions in Europe and Asia. Vladimir Putin was just explaining similarly that Ukraine has no rights to exist as an independent state, and Russian media networks have been describing the mass graves of children that they have been finding in Eastern Ukraine, with little bodies torn pieces by the Ukrainian monsters. So this is just a humanitarian intervention, and Russia will be taking control of a region that rightfully belongs to them.
None of this is true of course. But Russia has always had creative writers, not just in literature, but also in state propaganda.
The Russian media is going to say what it's going to say to justify the political actions of their leadership. It's propaganda, sure.
But let's not pretend the stuff we see in our news on the subject isn't also spoon fed to the media by our governments. We've seen repeatedly over the last 20-30 years that the commercial news media in America is easily 'managed' by government agencies pursuing an agenda. We saw daily reports over the last month with information 'leaked' from U.S. sources, and of course, we all know that those 'leaks' are really government/military spokespeople feeding reporters with stories 'off the record'.
In truth, the history of Ukraine and Russia is complicated like that between almost any two European countries that are next door to each other. You can make a case for Ukrainian independence, you can make a case against it. You would rely on your interpretation of history in both cases. It's not an open-and-shut case either way though.
Primarily though it's a matter for Ukrainians and Russians to sort out. It's not something Americans or Western Europeans should feel a need to have a strong voice in. As per usual when Western interventionism is urged, we're asked to fully subscribe to one narrative in a situation with many different perspectives. At the end of the day whether Ukraine is independent or not, whether it is in NATO or not, matters not one bit to someone in Los Angeles, Toronto, London or Rome. It's not our conflict, it's not our future or past.
There are people in Washington D.C. and elsewhere who will act like it is our 'duty' or some other nonsense like that to get involved. Usually the same people who said it is our 'duty' to send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and Somalia and Syria and so forth. There's always some grand cause that justifies putting other people's children's lives on the line. It's almost like they're just playing a game. Oh sure it is the grand game of geopolitics. Unfortunately based on experience, America is very unlikely to play a positive role in geopolitical conflicts that most Americans - including the 'official' experts - struggle to fully grasp. I'm not blaming them for not fully understanding these issues as they're indeed extremely complicated. But I do blame them for not understanding that the only correct answer is to stand aside and say "I don't think this is my business." when the question is one of war and peace.
Do you seriously think that all Russians are so dumb, brainwashed and isolated, that they don't have access to other news sources and can't form their own opinion about world affairs and politics?
They do have Internet, some travel and see the world, people talk and news get spread.
Most people don't believe a word they hear/read on state propaganda news, but they aren't uninformed.
Maybe in some very remote small villages, but not towns.
There are so many Russians in Brooklyn, NY that the area is called Little Odessa.
Quote:
New York City is home to the largest Russian population and Russian-speaking population in the Western Hemisphere. The largest Russian-American communities in New York City are located in Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. Brighton Beach has been nicknamed Little Odessa due to its population of Russian-speaking immigrants from Ukraine and Russia.
The New York Tri-State area has a population of 1.6 million Russian-Americans and 600,000 of them live in New York City. There are over 220,000 Russian-speaking Jews living in New York City. Approximately 100,000 Russian Americans in the New York metropolitan area were born in Russia.
New York City also has a large population of immigrants born in Central Asia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other ex-Soviet states. Most of the Central Asian immigrants are from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and due to their Soviet influence, most of them speak the Russian language.
But this is only part of it.
The OTHER ( and more important part) is the investigation into the war crimes, committed by this "free and democratic" Ukrainian government, with 400 open cases and about 80(?) accused of these crimes, starting with the government officials and military commanders giving orders, and all the way to the bottom of those on the ground, committing the atrocities against the civilians.
The time of denial that no war/ethnic cleansing ever happened in Eastern Ukraine are over.
( And no, I am not "the Russian public" - far away from it.)
Do you seriously think that all Russians are so dumb, brainwashed and isolated, that they don't have access to other news sources and can't form their own opinion about world affairs and politics?
They do have Internet, some travel and see the world, people talk and news get spread.
Most people don't believe a word they hear/read on state propaganda news, but they aren't uninformed.
Maybe in some very remote small villages, but not towns.
And obviously, this involves talking to Eastern Ukrainians directly - as their relatives, friends, neighbors.
So obviously, Russians are aware of something, that the West is not.
And that's why their take on the whole thing is different, comparably to what Western propaganda wants everyone to believe.
Soon, erasure, euro123 co. will have you believe that the driver in that car was in fact a Nazi.
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