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The Western narrative presents the modern state of Ukraine as a peace-loving nation invaded for no reason by a neighboring aggressor (the Russian Federation). It is shown as a young modern democracy reborn from the ashes of the collapsed Union of Soviet Socialists Republics in 1991, a new young state willing to prosper and modernize itself by establishing ties with the EU, and generally speaking, with the all the Western world. Is it really like this? In order to answer this question it is necessary to go back in History and focus on some past events that have led to the present conflict with Russia. Once we analyze the turbulent past of these lands where the modern Ukrainian state is located the reader will judge by himself. The snapshot we have been presented by the Western Mainstream Media shows the second largest military (nuclear) power taking over a small country by the force of arms. Indeed there is a war as the reaction of the Ukrainian government and its armed forces has possibly surprised all even the Russian Command, in terms of will to fight and technical capabilities. There’s an aggressor, that claims this to be just a “special military operation” with limited goals and insists, at least at the time of writing these lines, that there is not declaration of war against Ukraine. The scope of the operation would be to DEMILITARIZE, DENAZIFY and force Volodymyr Zelensky’s government to adopt a NEUTRAL STATUS (no participation in military blocs, namely NATO) and the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and the Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states. Let us analyze the first statement of this post: “The Western narrative presents the modern state of Ukraine as a peace-loving nation invaded by a neighboring aggressor (the Russian Federation)” as this is necessary to comprehend the details of a new war in the “old continent”. About “the Western narrative”, we need to refer back to the previous post. Regarding the assertion “peace-loving country” it is necessary to go back in History at least a few centuries as we will see how the new Ukrainian state (as conceived after 1991) has never existed. So, what’s the source then of the Ukrainian spirit if it has never existed? There has never been an Ukrainian nation? What’s the meaning then of the war-cry “Slava Ukraini” (“Glory to Ukaine”)? It is undeniable that the area where this modern state is established comprises different ethnics and nationalities, including obviously Ukrainians. The origins date back to the 9th century, the times of the Kievan Rus dominions, a federation of Slavic tribes which had their capital in Kiev (Prince Oleg). This became one of the most prosperous realms of medieval Europe. Kievan Rus, after its maximum expansion, took a huge territory that stretched from the Black Sea to the shores of the Baltic Sea to the North and from the modern Polish Eastern borders to Moscow. The term “Rus” referred to the governing elite of Scandinavian origin (due to the fact that the nordic tribes had intermingled for conquest or commerce in these lands with the Slavs for hundreds of years before). But later this name was extended to all tribes being Slavic or Nordic and they all became “Rus”. We can consider Kiev the cradle of the Rus culture. The flourishing kingdom started its decadence in the 12th century due to internal divisions and the ambitions of different rival princes. As a result a number of different entities emerged. After the Mongol (“Holden Horde”) invasions that took place in the 14th century, the territory known today as Ukraine, was occupied by the Asians on the east while the Polish-Lithuanian empire took the Western areas. The Northern regions belonged to the Russian Principates, including enclaves like Kiev itself, Lvov and Chernigov. The 15th century saw the emergence of the Ukrainian Cossacks, a voluntary army that struggled for the sovereignty of a homeland. However until the 17th century Kiev is now under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the 18th century czarist Russia occupied most of the territories (except the Cossack Khanate with today is approximately the Don basin (“Donbass”) and the Crimean peninsula. Finally Ukraine in the 20th century enjoyed indeed a brief independence as a sovereign state taking advantage of two major events: the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) that was tearing apart the Russian Czarist Empire and World War I. This way on the 9th of February, 1918, just 9 months before the termination of the devastating Great War (1914-1918) Germany and its allies recognized Ukraine as a state (approximately similar to the 1991 borders but excluding the Crimean peninsula). The Germans took over this territory and the new Lenin’s Russia was forced to sign the Brest-Litowsky peace treaty in 1918. Ukraine enjoyed a very short existence because in 1919 the Soviets took over all this extension annexing it as part of the USSR. It was given and administrative status as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Along with the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, these two where the first fathers of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Those were the times of the Russian Civil War between the so-called “Reds” and “Whites” (ex-Czarist forces). Different foreign powers intervened in the conflict, including Poland which launched an offensive and took territories from Belarus and Ukraine and even seized Kiev in 1920. The conquest did not last as the same year Soviet Russia recovered them from the Poles. Ukraine, also referred as the “granary of Europe”, was collectivized in accordance to the new Communist doctrines and saw most of its agricultural production of Ukraine, the Caucasus and Kazakhstan confiscated by Stalin. The decision proved disastrous for these people. The ensuing hunger passed into History as the Holodomor. It is estimated than in the single winter of 1932 millions of the inhabitants on these regions simply perished of hunger. Other European powers intervened in the Russian Civil War, like Poland, Czechoslovakia and more. As we are seeing the southern part of the medieval Kievan Rus has been the home of different ethnic groups, among them national Ukrainians, Jews, Poles, Hungarian, Romanians, Cossacks, Russian ethnics, Tatars, Gypsies, etc. Historical clashes amongst the different ethnic groups or nations took place inevitably, developing the Ukrainians a very acute sense of “oppressed nation” and a sense of rivalry among the others. This spirit was exacerbated by the recently proclaimed Hero of Ukraine, Stepan Bandera. Bandera, is a very controversial figure as for ones is the man who gave his life and ideals for the creation of an Ukrainian nation and for others was a terrorist, allied to the Third Reich during WWII and therefore just another Nazi. Bandera headed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a right-wing movement that engaged in acts of political violence. View Comments