One may regard the professed Russian hegemony over Ukraine as a misguided sense of history or simply a result of mindless acceptance of present-day Russian political rhetoric. The historical truth, however, is pretty simple and runs counter to Putin’s claim that Ukraine as a nation does not have a history separate from that of Russia and remains dependent upon it for its survival.
Ukrainian history is remarkable for its turbulent past brought about, in part, by its place in the geographic landscape. This facilitated repeated invasion particularly by nomadic tribes from the east. What followed was a long succession of domination, in whole or in part, by the Mongols, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire and Austro-Hungary and finally by its inclusion within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the 20th century. Perhaps most remarkable has been its ability to establish a lasting identity as a nation through the will of its people. This seems always to have existed even in the form of an idea if nothing else. Ukraine is a resurgent nation that somehow has never given up the call to survive.
Despite its ancient history, dating to the Iron Age, the origin of this identity, as it is currently felt, is likely to have been wrought during the 15th through 17th centuries when an unusual warrior class arose in the steppes. A Cossack enterprise came about simply as a means of protecting the land from repeated invasion by the Tatars of Crimea and the Ottoman Turks. An unusual feature of this community of warriors was its abidance to democratic principles while it emulated a freedom-loving existence that attracted not only those around them but had sufficient magnetism to influence the generations that followed. It was still a time of uncertainty, a brutal existence amid constant hardship. Not all was ideally well-suited toward what we would consider to be an ideal state but this was no longer a fearful land. The will of the people had now imposed itself back upon its intruders and realized the power it could wield. The fearful had become the feared as their retaliation against these intruders provided Ukrainians with the idea that they had a place to defend and a place to preserve their faith, their culture and language.
It is this idea that has provided them with an ethos that has fueled Ukrainian obstinacy, giving birth to a nation that now realizes its origins in the distant past and remains committed to a self-determined future. This is not a new thing. We have seen the same arise in the United States of America in its rejection of colonialism and, more recently, in the country of Georgia which, despite its size, confronted Russia over the shameful intrusion of its land in 2008. It is a story repeated elsewhere throughout the world under varied circumstances but always born of the same elemental truth that one can never defeat a good idea.
It is the same idea and the same spirit that has attracted more than 20,000 volunteer fighters from 58 countries to Ukraine to take up arms as part of an International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine. They have been joined by autonomous military units from Georgia, Chechnya and Belarus, who well understand Russian tyranny promulgated directly by Putin and his enablers or through some of Putin’s disciples – Kadyrov in Chechnya and Lukashenko in Belarus. These units engage in coordinated military excursions against the Russians on Ukrainian soil. Several foreign elements have joined with the Russians but have come to do so for reasons that do not align with any sense of deeper purpose other than to stand on the side of authoritarianism which they believe should prevail over free will and self-determination.
The idea of nation comes not simply from the convenience of a specific geographic location or its geophysical boundaries and not from conveniently construed notions of conquest and assimilation. It is not a manufactured thing but an essence procured from a people who simply share the thought of an ideal union. It’s a matter of local history with its many tragedies, of a particular set of cultures and language and a sense of pride in individual and communal achievement. Finally, it is the idea such a thing can happen that brings people back to the desired goal – to live on because we will it.
Copyright @Kost Elisevich, MD, PhD 2022. All rights reserved. Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action.
Another good one, Kost!