糖心传媒

URochester historian explains how Ukraine history is intertwined with Russia糖心传媒檚糖心传媒攂ut also with that of many other nations, empires, ethnicities, and religions.

糖心传媒淚t’s a complicated history. But I want to be clear that what糖心传媒檚 going on in Ukraine now is a brutal act of aggression with absolutely no justification,糖心传媒� says , an associate听professor of 听at the , who is an expert on Russian and Soviet history, Stalinist culture and politics, the history of mass media, and Soviet soldiers in World War II.

While the history of the Ukrainian state probably cannot be traced back any earlier than 1918, Lenoe says 糖心传媒渢o be clear糖心传媒攖oday Ukraine is a nation state糖心传媒� where polling in elections indicates that the 糖心传媒渧ast majority of Ukrainians糖心传媒� want to preserve their independence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made several dubious historical arguments, most notably in his 5,000-word essay 糖心传媒�,糖心传媒� published on the in July 2021. In it, he elaborates on his assertion that Ukrainians and Russians are 糖心传媒渙ne people糖心传媒� as a precursor to and defense of Ukraine糖心传媒檚 invasion.

For instance, Putin claims that Ukraine didn糖心传媒檛 exist as a separate state and had never been a nation. Instead, he argues, Ukrainian nationality was always an integral part of a triune nationality: Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian. Putin also writes that Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians share a common heritage糖心传媒攖he heritage of a realm known as (862糖心传媒�1242), which was a loose medieval political federation located in modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, and part of Russia.

糖心传媒淲hen Putin says this is the heritage of these three Slavic peoples糖心传媒攊n one sense, he糖心传媒檚 not wrong. But there糖心传媒檚 no continuous line to be traced from this loose river confederation to the Russian state. And there糖心传媒檚 also no continuous line to be traced from this loose confederation to the Ukrainian state,糖心传媒� says Lenoe, who is the author of听 (Harvard University Press, 2004) and (Yale University Press, 2010). He is currently finishing his third book, tentatively titled .听

Ukraine, for its part, also points in its declaration of independence to a continuously existing state from 1000 CE. Says Lenoe, 糖心传媒淭oday, both Russians and Ukrainians are making claims about their direct descent from Kievan Rus that are simply mythical and wrong.糖心传媒�

Over the course of centuries, the area that is today Ukraine has been alternatingly swallowed up, controlled, or taken over by the Mongol Empire, later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire, while Crimea was at one point a client state of the Ottoman Empire. Between the World Wars, portions of western Ukraine were ruled by Poland,听Romania, and听Czechoslovakia.

In short, Ukraine糖心传媒檚 territorial and ethnic history is 糖心传媒渃omplicated and complex,糖心传媒� Lenoe says. Of course, its history is closely intertwined with Russian history, he adds. But it糖心传媒檚 also intertwined with Polish history, with the history of the Greek Orthodox Church, even Romanian history, and the history of the Turkic peoples on the Eurasian .

Here the URochester historian fact-checks several of Putin糖心传媒檚 historical claims and discusses the ideas of nationhood and statehood, particularly with regard to Ukraine.

Q&A with Matthew Lenoe

What do historians mean by 糖心传媒渘ation糖心传媒� or 糖心传媒渘ationhood糖心传媒�?

• Contrary to popular belief, a nation is not something that has existed for centuries or millennia, with its origins in the distant past.

LENOE: Historians don糖心传媒檛 think of nations as existing from time immemorial. Instead, nations emerge from a process that is sometimes very deliberate. Often the birth of a nation goes hand-in-hand with people糖心传媒檚 increased literacy, the instituting of universal schooling; a state has defined boundaries, a central bureaucracy that is professionalized, and it is not the retinue of a noble. One of the legacies of the Enlightenment is the idea that every nation deserves a state.

When did Russia and Ukraine first emerge as states?

• The Russian state emerged around the 1450s. Ukraine as a state didn糖心传媒檛 exist until the early 20th century.

LENOE:听The history of the Russian state, as opposed to the nation, can be traced back to roughly the 1450s in a principality called Muscovy. Meanwhile, the history of the Ukrainian state probably cannot be traced back any earlier than 1918. So, to say that there was a Ukrainian nation in 1000 CE is an anachronism. There was no Ukrainian nation, just as there was no Russian nation in 1000 CE.

Mass Ukrainian nationalism emerged out of the traumas of the 20th century. Like Ukraine, there are plenty of states in Europe now that don糖心传媒檛 have a long tradition of statehood. Putin claims that there糖心传媒檚 not a Ukrainian history separate from Russian. But that糖心传媒檚 not true. Among the speakers of Ukrainian and in the lands now comprising Ukraine, there were many different experiences. They belonged at times to different states and realms. But there was interaction between Ukrainian speakers throughout much of this history, and they developed a common identity, especially after the mid-19th century.

What made Ukraine historically a place of 糖心传媒渂orders and mixing糖心传媒�?

• Ukraine is an area of various ethnicities, including nomads, absent of clear religious or physical boundaries.

LENOE:听The word 糖心传媒淯kraine糖心传媒� derives from a Slavic root, which can mean 糖心传媒渇rontier,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒渆dge,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒渂order,糖心传媒� or 糖心传媒渙utlands.糖心传媒� It has always been a place of borders and mixing, although the country itself didn糖心传媒檛 exist yet, including the border between the steppe and the forest zone, which is extremely important in terms of the sorts of people who lived here. You have the mixing of many ethnicities: different Slavic ethnicities, . Eventually, you get Jews, Germans, people who come to be called Poles, Greeks, people who spoke Iranian languages, and so on. Religious boundaries were equally fuzzy between the Orthodox Christian Church and the Catholic Christian Church, with Islam thrown in.

What role do the Cossacks play in Ukrainian history and statehood?

• Through rebellion, they established a Ukrainian Cossack state, the Cossack Hetmanate, that existed from 1648 to 1764.

LENOE: The Cossacks were folks who lived in the steppe and started probably as multiethnic warrior bands; they pretty quickly became Orthodox and largely Slavs. They were fishermen or agriculturalists; they often lived on protected fortresses and rivers, and a lot of their living was made by raiding the Crimean Tartars and Ottomans.

The whole area of the steppe was known as the wild fields and was a kind of free zone. The Cossacks thought of themselves as free men. That糖心传媒檚 very important. They practiced early on a form of warrior democracy. Controlling the steppe was something both Moscow and Poland wanted to do. And they both tried to use the Cossacks: Moscow hired them as mercenaries and supplied them with weapons, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would do the same.

Important to note is , a Cossack who lead a rebellion against the Polish Commonwealth in 1648 and 1649 that resulted in the creation of a Ukrainian Cossack realm, known as the Hetmanate. You can糖心传媒檛 quite trace the modern Ukrainian state to this, but Ukrainians remember it as an important part of their heritage. Khmelnytsky had to maneuver between Russia, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire to maintain independence. In the end, the Hetmanate threw in its lot with the Russians, under heavy pressure. Putin claims that the Russians 糖心传媒渓iberated糖心传媒� the Cossacks, but it was really a forced 糖心传媒渃hoice.糖心传媒�

Putin claims that a separate Ukrainian identity is an artificial invention. Is he right?

• Putin is about a quarter right糖心传媒攊n part because he is aware of modern scholarship on Ukrainian identity.

LENOE:听Putin is referring to a myth that a separate Ukrainian identity was created in the mid-1800s by Poles and a few 糖心传媒渕isguided糖心传媒� Ukrainian intellectuals.

Now, as with a lot of what Putin or somebody in his entourage says, he糖心传媒檚 aware of certain kinds of modern scholarship. There糖心传媒檚 a quarter truth here. In the mid-19th century, when intellectuals start debating identity and assemble a Ukrainian grammar, the peasants couldn糖心传媒檛 have cared less: they were almost entirely illiterate, they would not have thought of themselves as Ukrainian, they would have thought of themselves as Orthodox people, identified by their village, maybe identified with their position in life糖心传媒攁s a peasant or townsperson. And the same thing held for Russia, perhaps with the difference that after the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, nobles were starting to think of themselves strongly as Russian.

By 1816, you糖心传媒檒l find the beginnings of a written Ukrainian language, coupled with an increasing romantic interest in the Cossacks as noble pirates, adventurers, and fighters for freedom. And while the Cossacks are a memory that both Russians and Ukrainians share, they become central to Ukrainian identity. By the mid-19th century, you have intellectuals and writers, such as (1814糖心传媒�1861) and (1817糖心传媒�1885), drawing on what they see as a Ukrainian legacy that goes back to the Cossack Hetmanate and, indeed, they糖心传媒檙e saying back to Kievan Rus. Contra Putin, these folks are not Poles, but Ukrainians living within the Russian Empire.

Kostomarov really is one of the founders of Ukrainian nationalism. His vision is interesting, because he was also what we might call a 糖心传媒渓iberal.糖心传媒� He said that the Ukrainian people are naturally free people, that they will win their freedom from the Russian Empire, and that they will lead the world糖心传媒檚 peoples to freedom.

Putin claims that the German Empire and Austrian-Hungarian Empire essentially created a modern Ukraine. Is that true?

• The Central Powers were the World War I coalition that consisted primarily of the German Empire and听Austria-Hungary. Putin糖心传媒檚 claim that this coalition sponsored an independent Ukraine is wrong.

LENOE:听That糖心传媒檚 basically a bunch of nonsense. Putin is basing that on the fact that Ukrainian leaders, at a particular moment, sought the support of the Central Powers to save their independence movement from the Bolsheviks. But at that point, there had been already a three-generation-long movement for Ukrainian autonomy or independence. So, this claim is nonsense.

Is modern Ukraine the product of the Bolshevik era, as Putin claims?

• Putin takes to an extreme the nuanced scholarship about the Soviets糖心传媒� sponsoring different nationalities, including Ukraine, which later split from the Soviet Union.

LENOE: Early Bolshevik nationalities policy actually sought to build different nations culturally, because they wanted to head off the threat of nationalism to Communist power. They wanted to make sure they didn糖心传媒檛 incur nationalist rebellions. Rather than relying on brute force, the idea was to have different republics that would be politically controlled by Moscow but would have cultural autonomy. In a sense, you can talk about a continuous Ukrainian state from 1918 onward, because nominally Ukraine was a kind of sovereign state within the Soviet Federation.

Now, as we know, in a lot of ways that idea of autonomy was false, but it糖心传媒檚 still worth noting. Initially, the Bolsheviks actually promoted Ukrainian language and culture by creating a network of Ukrainian, rather than Russian, language schools. By the 1930s, of course, policies toward nationalities and minorities became very repressive under Stalin. However, in many ways policies promoting non-Russian national identities remained in place throughout Soviet history. So, Putin makes a claim here that the Bolsheviks with their nationalities policy actually created new nations.

Putin is using a much more nuanced scholarship in a brute force way. Recent scholars have argued that the Soviets created to some extent their own nationalities problem by sponsoring these different nationalities, which later split from the Soviet Union. And Putin is taking that point糖心传媒攈e or somebody in his circle is aware of the scholarship糖心传媒攖o an extreme, saying there was no Ukraine until the Bolsheviks created it by sponsoring Ukrainian culture. As we糖心传媒檝e seen, that糖心传媒檚 a false claim.

Did Ukrainians welcome Nazi Germany糖心传媒檚 invasion in 1941?

• In the far western parts of Ukraine糖心传媒攜es, but only at first. It quickly became clear that the Nazis were even worse than the Stalinists.

LENOE: One of the stories you糖心传媒檒l hear is that when the German troops came, Ukrainian peasants were waving swastika flags, giving them bread and flowers. The Ukrainian peasants hated , so in the far west, Germans were probably welcomed. Although it糖心传媒檚 not clear what happened in the rest of Ukraine, it quickly became clear that the Nazis were even worse than the Stalinists.

Ukrainians as a whole hated the Axis occupation. There was, however, a fairly widespread collaboration among Ukrainians in the Holocaust, based on long standing anti-Semitism. No question, there were police units that Ukrainians volunteered for which were involved in the mass murder of Jews. This is troubling now because both Poland and Ukraine, where there was extensive Nazi collaboration, have passed that aim to ban discussion of that collaboration糖心传媒攁nd Ukrainian nationalists really don糖心传媒檛 want to talk about it.

Of course, it糖心传媒檚 also true that there are about [the World Holocaust Remembrance Center] as belonging to 糖心传媒渢he righteous among the nations糖心传媒澨切拇�媒攁n honorary designation for non-Jews who aided Jews during the Holocaust.

What about Putin糖心传媒檚 claim that Ukraine needs to be denazified today? Does Ukraine have a neo-Nazi problem?

• Putin糖心传媒檚 claim of fighting for denazification in Ukraine distorts history. It糖心传媒檚 another pretext to justify his invasion.

Lenoe: It糖心传媒檚 a very complicated situation. The memory of the Holocaust and the far-right OUN, the that was founded in 1928, is part of why Putin claims there are fascist or neo-Nazi elements in Ukraine. Indeed, it糖心传媒檚 troublingly that in 2012 [an antisemitic Ukrainian ultranationalist leader involved in terrorist activities and a known Nazi collaborator] was officially named 糖心传媒淗ero of Ukraine糖心传媒� by the government. Yet I should also note that there was a lot of liberal opposition to this in Ukraine. And yes, it糖心传媒檚 true that there was and is a kind of a Ukrainian national/neo-Nazi movement that looks back, for example, to the SS in World War II as a positive memory. The election support for those people peaked in 2012 at about 10 percent; since then it糖心传媒檚 dropped to below 5 percent.

In , Ukraine now has a Jewish president who lost relatives in the Holocaust. So, yes, there is anti-Semitism in Ukraine, but it糖心传媒檚 not overwhelming. And Putin糖心传媒檚 claim that the Jewish Zelensky is a kind of neo-Nazi糖心传媒攚ell, we糖心传媒檙e getting into some really preposterous territory here.

Do you think Putin believes his own statements on Ukraine糖心传媒檚 history?

• Yes, says Lenoe.

LENOE: I think that Putin believes what he has said. He was educated in this view of Ukraine when he grew up in the Soviet Union, and he puts this together with his understanding of the continued existence of NATO after the Soviet collapse, and US hegemony, and combines that with this idea that Ukraine is an integral part of Russia. And, he says, if Europeans are going to expand into Ukraine糖心传媒攚hether as EU members or NATO糖心传媒攖hat糖心传媒檚 basically NATO糖心传媒檚 invading Russia.

He糖心传媒檚 a desperate man: Russia糖心传媒檚 international position before this invasion was weak, and now it糖心传媒檚 far more so. Putin has created his own worst nightmare. If there was weak Ukrainian nationalism before, it will never be weak again. Ukraine will become like Poland, which you can take over, but never hold. He has inadvertently unified the West, along with countries like Japan and Korea, in an extraordinary bloc against Russia. Just to give you an example of how extraordinary this: the substantially. This was unthinkable before Ukraine糖心传媒檚 invasion, partly because of Germany糖心传媒檚 heritage of World War II.

How would you describe Putin糖心传媒檚 decision to invade?

• It糖心传媒檚 an irrational move driven by Putin糖心传媒檚 perception of a threat to Russia.

LENOE: This is the act of a desperate man who actually thinks there is an existential threat to Russia because of a possible NATO expansion. And it糖心传媒檚 his hubris. It糖心传媒檚 a sign that people aren糖心传媒檛 necessarily rational, and that simple-minded versions of don糖心传媒檛 work. This is a move that糖心传媒檚 irrational on every level, that might even lead to Putin糖心传媒檚 being overthrown by, for example, a military coup. In a sense, it糖心传媒檚 his emotional attachment to these kinds of historical claims and also a sense that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a humiliation that must be avenged.