We Are Not Brothers
In its war of annihilation against Ukraine, Russia employs many narratives. A historically new narrative is the claim that NATO has crossed a red line and is threatening Russia. The story of the ‘brotherly peoples’ has been known for centuries. Equally well-known for centuries is the narrative that Russia is the elder brother. A look at the facts quickly makes it clear that none of these narratives correspond to reality. A historical fact, however, is Russia’s suppression of all things Ukrainian, and has been for centuries. By Anastasiia Hatsenko.
Russia has many narratives about why it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. One of these is expressed in Putin’s words from November, stating that Russia would be forced to act if its ‘red lines’ regarding Ukraine were crossed by NATO. Russia has started a war against Ukraine, which it calls a ‘military special operation’, and declares that weapons supplied to Ukraine by NATO member states threaten Russia’s security. The Kremlin also wants to ‘demilitarise’ and ‘denazify’ Ukraine by ordering genocide on the territory of a sovereign and independent state. Nevertheless, some politicians, for example President Macron, continue to call Ukrainians and Russians ‘brothers’. Why we were never fraternal and how Ukraine’s path to full NATO membership proceeds.
If we start from the beginning, that is, from the moment ethnic groups formed, it becomes clear even then that we have different roots. Ukrainians are connected to most Slavic tribes. Russians have Finno-Ugric roots. The Muscovites, and later the Russian tsars, understood that without a great past, it would be impossible to create a great nation, a great empire. To do this, one had to embellish one’s historical past and even appropriate that of another. Therefore, the Moscow tsars made it their mission to create an official mythology of the Russian Empire.
A Long History of Deception
This could have been ignored if this mythology had not touched upon the fundamental interests of Ukraine. For centuries, they have tried to make people understand that the Russian state and the Russian people originated in the Grand Duchy of Kyiv, that Kyivan Rus’ was the cradle of three brotherly peoples – Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians, and that Russians, by the law of ‘elder brotherhood’, had the right to be the heirs of Kyivan Rus’. How, however, can we speak of an ‘elder brother’ if this ‘elder brother’ was born later? Kyivan Rus’ was founded in 882, while Moscow emerged in 1147.
Suppress and Enslave
To appropriate the history of Kyivan Rus’ and continue this theft, the Russians had to oppress, enslave, strip the Ukrainian people of their name, and starve them to death. At this point, it is important to talk about the language problem. Moscow has always tried to ensure that the Ukrainian and Russian languages are similar. The truth is that Ukrainians can easily understand Belarusian, Polish, Czech, and Slovak. Russians, however, understand neither Ukrainian nor the aforementioned languages. Ukrainian is most similar to Belarusian, as they share 29 common features. Ukrainian also has 23 commonalities with the Czech and Slovak languages.
In addition to attempting to show similarities, Russia tried to assimilate (Russify) all the ethnic groups it conquered from the 16th to the 19th centuries: Ukrainians, Poles, Balts, Finns, and many other nations. After Russia gained control of most of Ukraine in the early 18th century, it decided to separate Ukrainian identity.
Ukrainian Was Banned as a Language
Russia restricted the use of the Ukrainian language with two documents. The Valuev Circular of 1863 was a secret decree by Pyotr Valuev, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire, which prohibited many publications (religious, educational, and literary, recommended for use in primary literacy education for citizens) in the Ukrainian language.
The second was the Ems Ukaz. It was a secret decree by Tsar Alexander II of Russia, issued in 1876, which prohibited the use of the Ukrainian language in print, with the exception of reprinting old documents.
Russification in the Soviet Era
When Ukraine was part of the USSR, from 1953 onwards, the number of Russian-language schools in Ukraine grew, and they were better funded. The number of Russian language and literature classes in Ukrainian-language schools increased. Thus, students in Russian-language schools in Ukraine could be exempted from learning the Ukrainian language upon their request and that of their parents. In particular, such an order was issued by the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of the USSR of 17 April 1959 ‘On strengthening the connection between school and life and the further development of public education in the Ukrainian SSR’. Because of this Russification, many Ukrainians still speak Russian, but not because of the similarity between the languages.
Differences Between Russians and Ukrainians
Since its beginnings, Russian propaganda has tried to prove that Ukrainians and Russians are one people. As far as the culture and mentality of Ukrainians and Russians differ, Ukrainian Doctors of Philology have identified four criteria: attitudes towards religion, nature, women, and public life. Our attitude towards NATO is an example of the active participation of Ukrainians in public life, and this is another indicator of our difference from Russians.
The Prague Summit in 2002 reaffirmed Ukraine’s desire to become a member of the Alliance and adopted a NATO-Ukraine Action Plan. On 22 February 2005, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission took place at the level of Heads of State and Government. President Yushchenko assured that Ukraine would continue its course towards Euro-Atlantic integration with the prospect of full membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. However, after Viktor Yanukovych became president, laws were passed that provided for a policy of non-alignment, making it impossible for Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Alliance.
Ukraine Was Non-Aligned in 2014
Ukraine remained a non-aligned state until 2014. The Revolution of Dignity brought many changes in the political and social life of Ukrainians. Among the citizens of Ukraine, a revolution erupted against the illegal dispersal of a peaceful demonstration by students and civic activists, which began on 21 November 2013 in response to the government’s decision to suspend preparations for signing the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
Revolution of Dignity as a Sign for Europe
The Revolution of Dignity also showed Russia that Ukrainians choose the path of rapprochement with Western partners, but not with the Kremlin. This dissatisfaction with the Russian leadership led to the occupation of Crimea and the beginning of military aggression in the Donbas region. Thus, in 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted amendments to certain laws of Ukraine regarding Ukraine’s refusal to implement a non-aligned policy. Since then, Ukraine has been back on its path of European and Atlantic integration.
Request to NATO to Close Airspace
Ukraine’s ‘disappointment’ with NATO (or its refusal to join NATO, as demanded by Russia) has recently been high on the public agenda. Ukraine asked NATO to close its airspace or/and provide Ukraine with fighter jets. It is hard to say that Ukrainians would be satisfied with NATO’s inaction in this area.
Furthermore, in March, after negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, it was heard that one of the Ukrainian side’s proposals was that Ukraine could be secured through a status of non-alignment and without nuclear weapons, as well as without foreign military bases, but with security guarantees (UN Security Council states +), according to the principles of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Is Ukraine ready to abandon its strategic course of becoming a NATO member, as Russia demanded before the full-scale invasion and now demands, or could this merely be an element of negotiations with Russia?
It is not so easy to abandon Kyiv’s accession aspirations. And it is important to remember that it was not NATO that caused the invasion. So, refusing to join the Alliance is not enough to satisfy Putin. Moreover, Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO are enshrined in its constitution. It is not at all easy to change the constitution. Under martial law and a state of emergency in Ukraine, it is downright impossible. Furthermore, it is a rather lengthy process that requires votes in two sessions of the Verkhovna Rada and approval by the Constitutional Court. So it is a long process, even if there is a peaceful sky over Ukraine.
At the same time, President Zelensky stated that such changes can only be considered with the consent of Ukrainians in a referendum. Again, this is not possible when the country is at war. The logical question is, can Ukrainians choose the option of neutrality for the country and abandon the course of NATO accession? The answer can be found by looking at the nationwide surveys by Rating Group Ukraine. They show that before the large-scale invasion on 16 and 17 February, 62 per cent of Ukrainians supported Euro-Atlantic integration. By 1 March, 76 per cent of Ukrainians wanted to see their country as a member of NATO.
Weapons Help the Army Endure
The next surveys may show less support, although joint exercises with NATO, information exchange, and the supply of weapons by some NATO members help the army to be so strong. But there is still frustration in the air about NATO’s unwillingness to close the sky (meaning a no-fly zone, editor’s note), as well as due to hesitation in providing fighter jets. President Zelensky also proposed the establishment of a new organisation, U-24. In his opinion, it should be an intergovernmental organisation that can immediately stop conflicts between countries.
Meanwhile, Ukraine understands the importance of cooperation with NATO in the context of joint exercises, information exchange, and Ukraine’s participation in peacekeeping missions. Therefore, we should expect that the strategic course towards NATO will be maintained, but Ukraine will tactically try to find new guarantees for its security.
Anastasiia Hatsenko is a Ukrainian expert on Euro-Atlantic cooperation at the Adastra think tank and chairperson of Paneuropa-Youth Kyiv.
c Featured image: European Union Christophe Licoppe
