1 Brothers? of Russia?
Worse than Cain to Abel: why Russia is no brother - neither of Ukraine nor of us
- Russians and Ukrainians are brothers
- Russians and Ukrainians have a common history1
- Ukraine is part of the Russian Nation
- Brothers don’t rape, torture and kill each other
- And they don’t call their brothers “Khokhols”
Putin has claimed, that Russians and Ukrainians are one people.2
1.1 Pan-Slavism
In general historical context, the notion of “brotherly nations” has its roots in Pan-Slavism,3 which originated, similar to Pan-Germanism,4 in the aftermath of the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars. Both of these Romantic nationalist movements thrived on the feelings of unity and nationalism that emerged within ethnic groups during this period of upheaval against traditional European monarchies.
1.2 Imperial Russia
In Imperial Russia, this notion transformed into the idea of an All-Russian nation or triune Russian nation (consisting of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus)5, the primary goal of which was to deny the existence of Ukrainian and Belarusian identities and to demonstrate the inferiority of these nations compared to Russians. This can be seen even in labeling Ukrainians as “Little Russians.” Later on, in the Soviet Union, this propagandistic idea received a new, less straightforwardly imperialistic form of “brotherly nations,” a notion that did not negate Ukrainians as a separate nation but still served as merely a cover-up for its consistent policy of Russification.
1.3 Wishful thinking
In reality, it is hard to find any plausible arguments that could convincingly back this idea. Since the two nations started to take shape after the fall of Kyivan Rus’ (around 1240), they went their separate ways, experiencing different influences and forming different political cultures. Ukrainian national identity finally emerged in the 19th century (which was the case for most European nations),6 when Ukraine was divided between the Russian Empire in the east and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the west.
1.4 Soviet Union
Interestingly, the formation of the Soviet Union is often seen solely as a treaty between the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republics, and the preceding events mostly remain out of the spotlight. However, the Bolsheviks did not receive support in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was forcefully formed as a result of the Ukrainian-Soviet War in 1917–1921.7
1.5 Red Terror
Finally, taking into account the disasters and tragedies Ukraine experienced throughout the 20th century, it is fair that Ukrainian society perceives Russians as a hostile nation, not only its current political leadership. Almost every Ukrainian family experienced losses not only in the cauldron of World War II but also in great famines, waves of political repressions, and deportations conducted by Russians.
1.6 Russia’s war
Thus, naming this war “Putin’s war”, as often witnessed particularly in German media outlets, is rather inaccurate, as the current hostilities are historically speaking just another stage of centuries-long Russian aggression against the Ukrainian people, whether in the form of direct fights or more intricate ways of extermination. So, the history of “brotherly nations” — the idea that 91% of Ukrainians8 do not support nowadays — is instead the history of mass destruction, murder, invasion, deportations, deception, and degradation. Ukrainian-Russian relations are now perceived as less fraternal at the political and social levels compared to the past, exemplified by the Bundestag’s recognition of the Holodomor as genocide in Ukraine in November 2022.9
1.7 Russia’s genocide
If Russians and Ukrainians could be considered as one people with a common history and culture to share, the question arises why Russia, as the bigger brother, announced genocide of Ukraine (Chapter 40) and deliberately destroys Ukrainian culture (Chapter 94) and kills Ukrainian people (Chapter 91)?
universities[^brothers-russia-9], libraries[^brothers-russia-10], publishing houses[^brothers-russia-11], as well as cultural institutions such as museums[^brothers-russia-12], and concert halls[^brothers-russia-13].
Nico Lange (2024) Aber die NATO! 10 populäre Mythen über Putins Krieg gegen die Ukraine, Kapitel 10. Münchener Sicherheitskonferenz, Zeitenwende on tour. https://securityconference.org/assets/user_upload/MSC_Aber_die_NATO_10_Mythen.pdf#page=40↩︎
Article by Vladimir Putin ”On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians“. (2021, July 12). President of Russia. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181↩︎
Kosyk, V. (n.d.). Pan-Slavism. Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CA%5CPan6Slavism.htm↩︎
Pan-Germanism. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Pan-Germanism↩︎
Narrative X-ray: The Trinity of Russian Civilization. (2023, September 28). Propastop. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://www.propastop.org/eng/2023/09/28/narrative-x-ray-the-trinity-of-russian-civilization/↩︎
Himka, J-P. (n.d.). Revolution of 1848–9 in the Habsburg monarchy. Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CE%5CRevolutionof1848hD79intheHabsburgmonarchy.htm↩︎
Zhukovsky, A. (n.d.). Ukrainian-Soviet War, 1917–21. Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkPath=pages/U/K/Ukrainian6SovietWar1917hD721.htm↩︎
Восьме загальнонаціональне опитування: Україна в умовах війни [The Eighth National Poll: Ukraine During the War]. (2022, April 8). Rating Group. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://ratinggroup.ua/en/research/ukraine/vosmoy_obschenacionalnyy_opros_ukraina_v_usloviyah_voyny_6_aprelya_2022.html↩︎
Müller, V. (n.d.). Deutscher Bundestag - Bundestag ordnet Holodomor als Völkermord ein. Deutscher Bundestag. [Deutscher Bundestag - Bundestag categorises Holodomor as genocide. German Bundestag] https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2022/kw48-de-holodomor-923060↩︎