Historical background of the Russo-Ukrainian War

Ukrainians and Russians have a long history of interactions and mutual influences, which is often used to explain and also to justify the Russo-Ukrainian War.

The legacy of the Kyivan Rus'[edit]

Ukrainians and Russians both see the Kyivan Rus' (Russian: Kievan Rus') as the place where the history of their nations, states, and Orthodox churches originated.^[1] Starting in the 12th century, the Kyivan Rus' disintegrated into several centres of power, the most important of which were Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east and Galicia–Volhynia in the south-west.^[2] Danylo of Galicia–Volhynia was crowned "King of Rus'" (rex Russiaecode: lat promoted to code: la ) by a papal legate in 1253.^[3]

According to the Russian national narrative, the Russian state was founded in Kiev (Kyiv), then - in the 13th century - its centre was transferred to the principality of Vladimir-Suzdal and soon afterwards to Moscow.^[4] This narrative of a common history of state, people and church spanning more than 1000 years is still prevalent in Russia today. It includes the notion that Ukrainians are a part of the Russian people, having no history of their own.^[5] Until very recently, Western historiography mostly followed the Russian narrative, using terms like Old Russia or Kievan Russia instead of Kyivan Rus' and turning a blind eye to the existence of Ukrainians and their history.^[6]

On the other hand, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, the founder of modern Ukrainian historiography,^[7] claimed the legacy of the Rus' exclusively for Ukraine, arguing in an essay published 1904 that the true successor state of the Rus' was not Vladimir-Suzdal, but Galicia–Volhynia which passed on the legacy to Poland and Lithuania.^[8] Hrushevsky compared the relationship between the Kievan and Muscovite states to the relationship between Rome and its Gallic provinces.^[8]

On the occasion of the milennial of the death of prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev (as the Russians call him) or Volodymyr the Great of Kyiv (as the Ukrainians call him) in 2015, the presidents of Russia and of Ukraine both claimed the legacy of the Kyivan Rus' exclusively for their own people. Vladimir Putin said that Vladimir "cleared the way for the establishment of a strong, centralized Russian state",^[9] while his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko quoted Hrushevsky's formula of the "Kyivan Rus-Ukraine".^[10]

From an academic point of view, this dispute is unproductive because national categories cannot be applied to the Middle Ages, and there were neither Russians nor Ukrainians.^[11]

Mongol and Polish rule[edit]

After the Mongol invasion, those parts of Rus' that would later become Ukraine came under the control of Lithuania and Poland, while the north-east around the emerging centre of Moscow was under Mongol control. Historian Serhii Plokhy agrees that Russian religion, written language and arts, system of laws and ruling dynasty originated in Kyiv. He points out however that linking Russian ethnicity, spoken language and culture to those of Kyiv is "problematic".^[12] Both the princes of Lithuania and of Muscovy claimed to be Princes of all Rus'.^[13] The legal and bureaucratic traditions of the Kievan Rus' were inherited by Lithuania, but not by Muscovy,^[14] where a new legal system centered on a very powerful tsar was being developed.^[15]^[16]

Pereiaslav Agreement[edit]

Russian historian Nikolay Ustryalov (1805 – 1870) created the myth that the 1654 Pereiaslav Agreement meant the "reunification" of the "Little Russian" and "Great Russian" people.^[17]

Soviet Ukraine[edit]

The politics of Joseph Stalin's government brought about a catastrophic famine in 1932–33. Estimates range from 6 to 7 million dead, among them about 3.5 million Ukrainians and 1.5 million Kazakhs.^[18] There is an ongoing debate as to whether the famine—called Holodomor in Ukraine—can be labelled as a genocide.^[19]

Independent Ukraine[edit]

The 2011–2013 Russian protests which were sparked by election fraud in a similar way as Ukraine's Orange Revolution, increased Russian president Vladimir Putin's fear of being deposed by a colour revolution.^[20]

References[edit]

↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.29
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 37
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.40
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 29
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 31, 33
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 33
↑ Plokhy, Gates of Europe p. xx
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 32
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 35, quoted from: Ivan Nechepurenko (2015-07-28). "Moscow, Kiev Grapple With Historic Ties to Prince Vladimir". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 35, quoted from: "Із прийняттям християнства Володимир визначив європейський напрямок України" [With the adoption of Christianity, Volodymyr defined the European direction of Ukraine] (in українська). Retrieved 2024-07-16.
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 34 "Der Erbstreit ist wissenschaftlich unergiebig, denn von beiden Seiten werden nationale Kategorien zurück ins Mittelalter projiziert, als von Russen oder Ukrainern noch keine Rede sein konnte." [The dispute about the legacy is academically unproductive, because both sides project national categories back to the Middle Ages, when neither Russians nor Ukrainians had been heard of.]
↑ Plokhy, Russo-Ukrainian War p. 4 "The Russians can indeed trace back to Kyiv the origins of their religion, written language, literature, arts, law code, and—extremely important in the premodern era—their ruling dynasty. Their attempts to claim Kyiv as the source of their ethnicity, language, and popular culture turned out to be more problematic. Travelers from Moscow and St. Petersburg found that the locals in Kyiv and environs spoke a language different from theirs, sang different songs, and had a distinct culture. But that did not matter too much, as the myth of Russia's Kyivan origins had already embedded itself in the consciousness of the Russian elites by the late fifteenth century."[1]
↑ Snyder, Muscovite Power 19–31 minutes in
↑ Snyder, Muscovite Power 32 minutes in
↑ Snyder, Muscovite Power 32–33 minutes in
↑ Kappeler, Russian History p. 49–51
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.31
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.167–168
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.168 "Der weit überproportionale Anteil an ukrainischen Opfern wirft die Frage auf, ob die sowjetische Führung mit der von ihr herbeigeführten Hungersnot nicht nur allgemein die Bauern, sondern spezifisch die ukrainischen Bauern und damit die Basis der ukrainischen Nation treffen wollte." [The vastly disproportionate number of Ukrainian victims raises the question whether the Soviet leadership was targeting not just the peasants in general with the famine it caused, but specifically the Ukrainian peasants and thereby the foundations of the Ukrainian nation.]
↑ Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.229

Bibliography[edit]

Kappeler, Andreas (2022). Russische Geschichte [Russian History] (in Deutsch). München: C.H.Beck oHG. ISBN 978-3-406-79290-8. Search this book on
Kappeler, Andreas (2023). Ungleiche Brüder: Russen und Ukrainer vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart [Unequal Brothers: Russians and Ukrainians from the Middle Ages to the Present] (in Deutsch). München: C.H.Beck oHG. ISBN 978-3-406-80042-9. Search this book on
Sasse, Gwendolyn (2022). Der Krieg gegen die Ukraine: Hintergründe, Ereignisse, Folgen [The War against Ukraine: Backgrounds, Events, Consequences] (in Deutsch). München: C.H.Beck oHG. ISBN 978-3406793059. Search this book on
Plokhy, Serhii (2023). The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-1-324-05119-0. Search this book on
Plokhy, Serhii (2016). The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-141-98061-4. Search this book on
Snyder, Timothy. The Making of Modern Ukraine. Class 7. Rise of Muscovite Power. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

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[1] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.29

[2] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 37

[3] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.40

[4] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 29

[5] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 31, 33

[6] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 33

[7] Plokhy, Gates of Europe p. xx

[KappelerRusUkr32-8] 8.0 ^8.1 Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 32

[9] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 35, quoted from: Ivan Nechepurenko (2015-07-28). "Moscow, Kiev Grapple With Historic Ties to Prince Vladimir". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2024-07-16.

[10] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 35, quoted from: "Із прийняттям християнства Володимир визначив європейський напрямок України" [With the adoption of Christianity, Volodymyr defined the European direction of Ukraine] (in українська). Retrieved 2024-07-16.

[11] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p. 34 "Der Erbstreit ist wissenschaftlich unergiebig, denn von beiden Seiten werden nationale Kategorien zurück ins Mittelalter projiziert, als von Russen oder Ukrainern noch keine Rede sein konnte." [The dispute about the legacy is academically unproductive, because both sides project national categories back to the Middle Ages, when neither Russians nor Ukrainians had been heard of.]

[12] Plokhy, Russo-Ukrainian War p. 4 "The Russians can indeed trace back to Kyiv the origins of their religion, written language, literature, arts, law code, and—extremely important in the premodern era—their ruling dynasty. Their attempts to claim Kyiv as the source of their ethnicity, language, and popular culture turned out to be more problematic. Travelers from Moscow and St. Petersburg found that the locals in Kyiv and environs spoke a language different from theirs, sang different songs, and had a distinct culture. But that did not matter too much, as the myth of Russia's Kyivan origins had already embedded itself in the consciousness of the Russian elites by the late fifteenth century."[1]

[13] Snyder, Muscovite Power 19–31 minutes in

[14] Snyder, Muscovite Power 32 minutes in

[15] Snyder, Muscovite Power 32–33 minutes in

[16] Kappeler, Russian History p. 49–51

[17] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.31

[18] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.167–168

[19] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.168 "Der weit überproportionale Anteil an ukrainischen Opfern wirft die Frage auf, ob die sowjetische Führung mit der von ihr herbeigeführten Hungersnot nicht nur allgemein die Bauern, sondern spezifisch die ukrainischen Bauern und damit die Basis der ukrainischen Nation treffen wollte." [The vastly disproportionate number of Ukrainian victims raises the question whether the Soviet leadership was targeting not just the peasants in general with the famine it caused, but specifically the Ukrainian peasants and thereby the foundations of the Ukrainian nation.]

[20] Kappeler, Russians and Ukrainians p.229

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