On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians

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On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians
AuthorVladimir Putin
CountryRussia
LanguageEnglish, Russian, Ukrainian
Publication date
12 July 2021

"On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" (Russian: Об историческом единстве русских и украинцев; Ukrainian: Про історичну єдність росіян та українців, romanized: Pro istorychnu yednist rosian ta ukraintsiv) is an essay by Vladimir Putin published on 12 July 2021, shortly after the end of the first phase of the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis. In the essay, Putin describes his views on Ukraine and Ukrainians.[1]

According to RBK Daily, the essay is included in the list of mandatory works to study by the Russian military.[2]

Contents[edit]

In the essay, Putin argues that Russians and Ukrainians, along with Belarusians, are one people, belonging to what has historically been known as the triune Russian nation.[3] To support the claim, he describes in length his views on the history of Russia and Ukraine,[4] concluding that Russians and Ukrainians share a common heritage and destiny.[5]

The essay denies the existence of Ukraine as an independent nation.[6] Noting the large number of ethnic Russians in Ukraine, Putin compares "the formation of an ethnically pure Ukrainian state, aggressive towards Russia" to a use of weapons of mass destruction against Russians.[7]

Putin openly questions the legitimacy of Ukraine's contemporary borders.[8] According to Putin, the modern-day Ukraine occupies historically Russian lands,[8] and is an "anti-Russia project" created by external forces since the seventeenth century, and of administrative and political decisions made during the Soviet Union.[3] He also discusses War in Donbas, maintaining that "Kiev simply does not need Donbas".[9]

Putin places blame for the current crisis on foreign plots and anti-Russian conspiracies.[8] According to Putin, the decisions of the Ukrainian government are driven by a Western plot against Russia as well as by "followers of Bandera".[10]

Putin ends the lengthy essay by asserting Russia's role in modern Ukrainian affairs.[8]

Follow-ups[edit]

Several months later, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, also published an article on Ukraine. In it, he agrees with Putin's essay, and declares that there will be no negotiations with Ukraine until the Ukrainian government is replaced.[11] The article, endorsed by the Kremlin, was criticized for its denigrating and antisemitic tone.[12][13]

Vladislav Surkov, the personal adviser (2013–2020) of Putin, also published an article concerning Ukraine and other ex-USSR territories. In the article, he questions the legitimacy of the western border of Russia (including the borders with Ukraine and the Baltic states), and argues that Russia should abolish the "wicked peace" that keeps it confined by the borders.[14][15]

In a speech on 21 February 2022, following the escalation in the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, Putin said that "modern Ukraine was wholly and fully created by Bolshevik, communist Russia".[16] Sarah Rainsford wrote in BBC News that Putin's speech was "rewriting Ukraine's history", and that his focus on the country was "obsessive".[17]

The article "The Advance of Russia and of a New World" by Petr Akopov was briefly published in several Russian state news sites on 26 February 2022, two days after Russian forces openly invaded Ukrainian controlled territory, but was soon deleted. Its original publication on RIA News at precisely 8:00 a.m. suggests it may have been automatically published by mistake.[18] The article celebrates the "gathering the Russian world, the Russian people together—in its entirety of Great Russians, Belarusians and Little Russians" (using a Russian-empire term for colonized Ukrainians), and Vladimir Putin's historic responsibility for "resolution of the Ukrainian question".[19][20][18]

Reactions[edit]

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, criticized the essay, comparing Putin's view on the brotherhood between the nations with the story of Cain and Abel.[21] Former president Petro Poroshenko also sharply criticized the essay, describing it as a counterpart of Hitler's Sudetenland speech.[22] Former president of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves similarly likened it to Hitler's 1938 rhetoric justifying the partition of Czechoslovakia.[23] Ukraine's envoy to United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya commented, "fables about the 'one people' ... have been refuted in Donbas battlefields".[24]

According to the Institute of History of Ukraine, the essay represents the historical views of the Russian Empire.[25] The Ukrainian World Congress compares Putin's view of Ukraine "as a non-nation" to that of Joseph Stalin under whose watch at least five million Ukrainians perished during the Holodomor.[4] The analytics platform VoxUkraine [uk] described the essay as a "mixture of historical myths, lies about Crimea and Donbas and manipulation of Ukrainian economic data".[26]

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace called the essay a "historical, political, and security predicate for invading [Ukraine]".[27] The Stockholm Free World Forum senior fellow Anders Åslund branded the essay as "one step short of a declaration of war."[8] According to Foreign Policy, the essay is a "key guide to the historical stories that shape Putin's and many Russian's attitudes".[28] Historian Timothy Snyder has described Putin's ideas as imperialism.[29] British journalist Edward Lucas described it as historical revisionism.[30] Other observers have noted that the Russian leadership has a distorted view of modern Ukraine and its history.[3][8]

In Romania, a part of the essay caused outrage. The section in question describes how, in 1918, the Kingdom of Romania had "occupied" (and not united with) the geographical region of Bessarabia, part of which is now in Ukraine. Romanian media outlets such as Adevărul and Digi24 commented on Putin's statements and criticized them. Remarks were also made regarding Northern Bukovina, another former Romanian territory now part of Ukraine.[31][32] Alexandru Muraru [ro], then a deputy of Romania, also replied to Putin's essay, declaring that Bessarabia was not occupied but "reattached" and "reincorporated" following "democratic processes and historical realities". Muraru also commented on Northern Bukovina.[33]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Shlapentokh, Dmitry (2021-09-08). "Putin and Ukraine: Power and the construction of history". Institute of Modern Russia. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  2. ^ "Шойгу обязал военных изучить статью Путина об Украине". РБК (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  3. ^ a b c Wilson, Andrew (2021-12-23). "Russia and Ukraine: 'One People' as Putin Claims?". RUSI. Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  4. ^ a b "Ukrainian World Congress President Fears "Full Invasion of Ukraine" - KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. 2021-12-13. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  5. ^ Tolliver, Sandy (2021-08-09). "America's ability and will to meet worldwide obligations is eroding rapidly". TheHill. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  6. ^ Heydarian, Richard Javad (2022-02-04). "Why Taiwan is not the next Ukraine". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  7. ^ "Putin's Ukraine rhetoric driven by distorted view of neighbour". The Guardian. 2021-12-07. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Dickinson, Peter (2021-07-15). "Putin's new Ukraine essay reveals imperial ambitions". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  9. ^ Snegovaya, Maria. "Why Is Putin Acting Now?". Archived from the original on 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  10. ^ "Vladimir Putin's Ukraine Obsesssion". The Globe Post. 2022-02-01. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  11. ^ "Почему бессмысленны контакты с нынешним украинским руководством". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 2021-10-11. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  12. ^ Blank, Stephen (2021-11-18). "Russia Plays the Antisemitic Card in Ukraine". Center for European Policy Analysis. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  13. ^ Stanley, Jason (2022-02-26). "The antisemitism animating Putin's claim to 'denazify' Ukraine". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  14. ^ "Сурков заявил, что России тесно в границах "похабного" Брестского мира". Interfax.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  15. ^ "Туманное будущее похабного мира". 2022-02-15. Archived from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  16. ^ "Putin orders troops into eastern Ukraine on 'peacekeeping duties'". The Guardian. 2022-02-21. Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  17. ^ "Putin's angry speech rewriting Ukraine's history". BBC. 2022-02-22. Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  18. ^ a b Coleman, Alistair (2022-02-28). "Ukraine crisis: Russian news agency deletes victory editorial". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  19. ^ "The Kremlin's propaganda machine is running at full throttle". The Economist. 2022-02-28. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  20. ^ Dzhanova, Yelena (2022-02-28). "Russian state news accidentally publishes article saying Russia has defeated Ukraine and restored its 'historical borders'". news.yahoo.com (Business Insider). Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  21. ^ "Зеленский прокомментировал статью Путина" [Zelenskyy commented on Putin's article]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  22. ^ "Статья Путина не об истории. Это — политический манифест с угрозами соседям" [Putin's article is not about history. It is a political manifesto with threats to neighbors]. 20 хвилин Украина (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  23. ^ Мялберг, Малл (2021-07-13). "Ильвес: Путин использовал риторику Гитлера" [Ilves: Putin used Hitler's rhetoric] (in Russian). Eesti Rahvusringhääling. Archived from the original on 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  24. ^ "Ukraine's envoy to UN: Claims of Russians, Ukrainians being "one people" refuted on Donbas battlefields". Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  25. ^ "ВІДГУК УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ІСТОРИКІВ НА СТАТТЮ В.ПУТІНА "ПРО ІСТОРИЧНУ ЄДНІСТЬ РОСІЯН ТА УКРАЇНЦІВ" (2021)". resource.history.org.ua. Archived from the original on 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  26. ^ "On the Historical Unity of Lies and Vladimir Putin". voxukraine.org. Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  27. ^ Roth, Andrew (2021-12-07). "Putin's Ukraine rhetoric driven by distorted view of neighbour". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  28. ^ Andrejsons, Kristaps. "Russia and Ukraine Are Trapped in Medieval Myths". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  29. ^ Snyder, Timothy (2022-01-18). "How to think about war in Ukraine". Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  30. ^ Lucas, Edward (2020-09-15). "Why Putin's history essay requires a rewrite". The Times. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  31. ^ Gaidau, Ion (2021-07-20). "Propaganda de tip sovietic a lui Putin: România a "ocupat" Basarabia". Adevărul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  32. ^ Badea, Marco (2021-07-20). "Manifestul propagandistic al lui Putin: "Rușii și ucrainenii sunt un singur popor". România "a ocupat" Basarabia și Bucovina de Nord". Digi24 (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-19. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  33. ^ Badea, Marco (2021-07-21). "Alexandru Muraru îi răspunde lui Putin: Bucovina și Basarabia au fost dintotdeauna ale României". Digi24 (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-03-02.

External links[edit]

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