{"id":3611,"date":"2021-07-15T06:26:44","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T06:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html"},"modified":"2021-07-15T06:26:44","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T06:26:51","slug":"this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This isn\u2019t an argument about the past\u2019 We asked professional historians to weigh in on Putin\u2019s \u2018historical article\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"EmbedBlock-module_root__28k9U EmbedBlock-module_cc__1BQ5g EmbedBlock-module_default__LSDny EmbedBlock-module_desktop__SF5a_ EmbedBlock-module_proportional__3lAv4\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_lead__35nXx\">\u201cUkrainians and Russians are generally one people,\u201d Vladimir Putin proclaimed during his annual call-in show at the end of June. About two weeks later, the Kremlin published an article authored by the Russian president titled \u201cOn the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians\u201d (it\u2019s now available in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, but you can just read our summary here). In his essay, Putin claims that modern Ukraine is a product of the Soviet era, but he also stretches his argument back to the Middle Ages. For some perspective on Putin\u2019s take, Meduza asked professional historians from Russia and Ukraine to weigh in on the roots of his views. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"EmbedBlock-module_root__28k9U EmbedBlock-module_cc__1BQ5g EmbedBlock-module_xs__1hFgW EmbedBlock-module_proportional__3lAv4\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"\/impro\/GyFbdWSbQHcio9ixA_nhRptUwBuI3apv61_nS_dLnaY\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTYxL29yaWdp\/bmFsLzAwaTN1RHJh\/Zk9WWW9FQUFXSHJn\/d1EucG5n.png\" class=\"lazyload\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/impro\/GyFbdWSbQHcio9ixA_nhRptUwBuI3apv61_nS_dLnaY\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTYxL29yaWdp\/bmFsLzAwaTN1RHJh\/Zk9WWW9FQUFXSHJn\/d1EucG5n.png\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h4 class=\"SimpleBlock-module_h4__2TJO3\"><strong>Georgiy Kasianov<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\"><em>Professor, Head of the Contemporary History and Politics Department at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine\u2019s Institute of History of Ukraine<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">The method Putin uses is called \u201cpresentism\u201d \u2014 applying modern world views and concepts to times and eras when, if these concepts did exist, they had a completely different meaning. By all appearances, Putin relies on the concept of the \u201cnarod\u201d (people) that emerged in the second half of the 19th century. For him, \u201cone people\u201d is a kind of cultural (this includes religion) and territorial community that has a common history.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">However, it\u2019s worth remembering that the terms \u201cnarod\u201d and \u201cnatsiya\u201d (nation) had different meanings in different eras. Therefore, talking about the thousand-year history of a particular people as if it has a single meaning and purpose is an outdated concept. That said, this is actively used among politicians \u2014 as well as historians serving politics. In this particular case, we see a repetition of standard arguments from Soviet history textbooks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">As you can imagine, Ancient Rus\u2019 was a huge territory without roads and modern means of communication. It was inhabited by a large number of isolated groups that were only united by the rule of a prince and, to some extent, the church. Any sense of unity could only be imagined at the level of the political and educated elites. The vast majority of people belonged to a huge number of groups that were isolated from each other, and only acquainted with other groups that could be reached on foot or on horseback.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">Mass perceptions of the self as part of a \u201cpeople\u201d emerged during the era of mass standardized education, of streamlined standardized language taught in standard schools, of mass literacy, and the existence of communications, mass media, and so on. All of this gradually became available to the masses in the second half of the 19th century. This is when the political concepts of the \u201cnarod\u201d and the \u201ctriune Russian nation\u201d begin to circulate beyond the level of religious and secular elites.<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">It\u2019s worth noting that appeals to the thousand-year history of the people can be used for diametrically opposed ends. Putin appeals to this idea to substantiate his claims about the civilizational unity of Ukrainians and Russians. Meanwhile, Ukrainian politicians evoke this idea to prove historical detachment, the uniqueness of the historical experience of Ukrainians and Ukraine, as well as their unique identity and self-sufficiency. Russia is presented as a civilizational Other \u2014 or even an Alien.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">An important feature of Russia\u2019s policy of nation-building and retaining geopolitical influence along its outer perimeter is that the principles of ethnocultural nationalism are turned outward. The \u201cRussky mir\u201d<em> <\/em>(Russian world) comprises both ethnic Russians outside of Russia and those within the country. The idea of a single, unified people is built on this concept. But there\u2019s a different policy practiced inside the country \u2014 political nationalism, where the term \u201crossiyskaya natsiya\u201d (Russian nation) includes all ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. Though the special role of the constituent people, ethnic Russians, is emphasized.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">Interestingly, the author of the article, while claiming that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, acknowledges the uniqueness and separateness of the Ukrainian people. And he doesn\u2019t deny them the right to make an independent choice. The article was even translated into Ukrainian, which is unprecedented in the last 30 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">Here too, the standards of Soviet times are visible. The Soviet government institutionalized ethnicity in the form of national republics and the recognition of national languages as state languages in these republics. The frame that united them all was the idea of a \u201cnew historical community \u2014 the Soviet people.\u201d And now we see the argument about a single people as a reference to this idea \u2014 one that perished along with the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"EmbedBlock-module_root__28k9U EmbedBlock-module_cc__1BQ5g EmbedBlock-module_xs__1hFgW EmbedBlock-module_proportional__3lAv4\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"\/impro\/8AmaAm3Pltc9ERCa9GSPSF-_EDd7kHKxB9X-QBuE4aM\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTY5L29yaWdp\/bmFsLzZJVkNsVFYz\/aXNaZzZCNm53MW1P\/VncucG5n.png\" class=\"lazyload\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/impro\/8AmaAm3Pltc9ERCa9GSPSF-_EDd7kHKxB9X-QBuE4aM\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTY5L29yaWdp\/bmFsLzZJVkNsVFYz\/aXNaZzZCNm53MW1P\/VncucG5n.png\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h4 class=\"SimpleBlock-module_h4__2TJO3\"><strong>Mikhail Krom<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\"><em>Lecturer in History at European University at St. Petersburg<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">Politicians are politicians, they aren\u2019t engaged in scholarship. For me it\u2019s obvious that this is a politician making a statement, and that his interests and plans are behind it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">There simply isn\u2019t a single, God-given historical point of view [on the question of the unity of Russians and Ukrainians] \u2014 this is naive. Moreover, the concept of a people (<em>narod<\/em>) is very flexible both from the point of view of territory and movement of the population. In the early modern era, Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Russians already identified and talked about themselves [as separate peoples]. It\u2019s impossible to point to a more precise date, but, for example, Belarusians were mentioned in 17th century texts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">In general, peoples and nations aren\u2019t formed just like that. There are important events in their formation. For example, for Ukraine, it\u2019s the Cossacks, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and the fight against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Later on, there\u2019s a whole series of events up until post-Soviet times. This is how historical memory is formed, and without it there can be no nation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">Conflict contributes to identifying as a people. In the context of the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict [the war in eastern Ukraine that has been going on since 2014], more Ukrainian citizens say that there\u2019s such a thing as a nation of \u201cUkrainians.\u201d This conflict makes this question more relevant than it would be in peacetime. In the context of a conflict, the identities of both parties become more pronounced.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"EmbedBlock-module_root__28k9U EmbedBlock-module_cc__1BQ5g EmbedBlock-module_xs__1hFgW EmbedBlock-module_proportional__3lAv4\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"\/impro\/l3lXUPUF9Q2yMDy-McFsqh7WtmMRdjYT6FFlGkIKTd4\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTc3L29yaWdp\/bmFsL0dfR3RjMEdn\/UDUwWUhTU0NEaFE1\/aGcucG5n.png\" class=\"lazyload\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/impro\/l3lXUPUF9Q2yMDy-McFsqh7WtmMRdjYT6FFlGkIKTd4\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTc3L29yaWdp\/bmFsL0dfR3RjMEdn\/UDUwWUhTU0NEaFE1\/aGcucG5n.png\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h4 class=\"SimpleBlock-module_h4__2TJO3\"><strong>Alexei Miller<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\"><em>History PhD, author of \u201cUkrainian Question: Russian Empire and Nationalism in the 19th Century\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">The tradition of discussing the topic of Eastern Slavs as a single people or multiple peoples dates back more than three centuries. A single Slavic-Russian people is first mentioned in the <em>Synopsi<\/em>s, which was composed in the Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv in 1674. The <em>Synopsis <\/em>remained the most popular history book in Russia in the 18th century and was even popular in the 19th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">In this sense, the argument has a history of its own, in which all the parties involved adhere to approximately the same principle: that their opponents\u2019 views are absolutely meaningless or unnatural. Three hundred and fifty years is quite a long time for an idea. At first, it was the subject of discussions, disputes, and bargaining mainly among a small strata of educated people. It captured large groups of the population later on. The meaning of these disputes and their participants has changed, just as life itself, social fabric, borders, and political regimes change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">The formation of a nation is an ongoing process. When we talk about the Russian-Ukrainian case, the events of World War I, the Civil War, and Bolshevik policy played a key role in how these processes developed. They all changed things significantly. If discussions about the possibility of a triune Russian nation were a realistic project in the mid-19th century, then in the wake of Bolshevik policies such an argument can only be regarded as a nostalgic legacy of the past.<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">It\u2019s important that in Soviet times, large masses of people became Ukrainians or Russians depending on what political decisions were main. For example, there\u2019s the Kuban region [in southern Russia]. There were people living there who thought of themselves as \u201cLittle Russians\u201d \u2014 their roots went back to the Zaporizhian Sich [of the 16th\u201318th centuries]. If in the 20th century Kuban had become part of Ukraine, then today these people would, for the most part, have a Ukrainian identity. But they are Russians. In the southern Voronezh region there were also people who referred to themselves as Little Russians or Ukrainians even in the 1920s. But those who weren\u2019t sent to Ukraine at that time largely didn\u2019t become Ukrainians.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"SimpleBlock-module_p__Q3azD\">In our time, it\u2019s difficult to define the meaning of this argument [about the unified identity of Ukrainians and Russians]. There\u2019s a very wide range of opinions about what Putin\u2019s article and all these controversies are about. But the future will give us an understanding. This article isn\u2019t an argument about the past. This is an article that says something about the future. On the one hand, it\u2019s addressed to both Russians and Ukrainians. It\u2019s no coincidence that the Ukrainian translation appeared immediately. But it\u2019s also addressed to those who, according to Putin, exercise external control over Ukraine. This history isn\u2019t over. And the question now is what Putin is talking about: under what circumstances will Ukraine remain a state, and under what circumstances might it not survive? Some perceive these questions as threats. Others as a \u201cred line.\u201d And some see them as interesting reflections.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"RelatedBlock-module_header__2SuWP\">Backstory<\/h3>\n<p>The heirs of Ancient Rus Vladimir Putin runs roughshod over Ukrainian history in new essay\u2018More like Cain and Abel\u2019 Zelensky responds to Putin\u2019s essay on the \u2018historical unity\u2019 of Russians and Ukrainians<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"DonatesTeaser-module_title__hs-yr\">\u0421\u043b\u0443\u0448\u0430\u0439\u0442\u0435 \u043c\u0443\u0437\u044b\u043a\u0443, \u043f\u043e\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0430\u0439\u0442\u0435 \u00ab\u041c\u0435\u0434\u0443\u0437\u0435\u00bb<\/h3>\n<p>\u0414\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0434\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0433<\/p>\n<p class=\"MaterialNote-module_note_caption__1ezSo\">Interviews by <strong>Alexandra Sivtsova<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MaterialNote-module_note_credit__PuFyX\">Abridged translation by <strong>Eilish Hart<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--noindex--><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/meduza.io\/en\/feature\/2021\/07\/15\/this-isn-t-an-argument-about-the-past\">Source<\/a><!--\/noindex--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cUkrainians and Russians are generally one people,\u201d Vladimir Putin proclaimed during his annual call-in show at the end of June. About two weeks later, the Kremlin published an article authored by the Russian president titled \u201cOn the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians\u201d (it\u2019s now available in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, but you can just [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"\/impro\/GyFbdWSbQHcio9ixA_nhRptUwBuI3apv61_nS_dLnaY\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTYxL29yaWdp\/bmFsLzAwaTN1RHJh\/Zk9WWW9FQUFXSHJn\/d1EucG5n.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news-from-russia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018This isn\u2019t an argument about the past\u2019 We asked professional historians to weigh in on Putin\u2019s \u2018historical article\u2019 - Learn Russian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018This isn\u2019t an argument about the past\u2019 We asked professional historians to weigh in on Putin\u2019s \u2018historical article\u2019 - Learn Russian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cUkrainians and Russians are generally one people,\u201d Vladimir Putin proclaimed during his annual call-in show at the end of June. About two weeks later, the Kremlin published an article authored by the Russian president titled \u201cOn the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians\u201d (it\u2019s now available in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, but you can just [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Learn Russian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-15T06:26:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"\/impro\/GyFbdWSbQHcio9ixA_nhRptUwBuI3apv61_nS_dLnaY\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTYxL29yaWdp\/bmFsLzAwaTN1RHJh\/Zk9WWW9FQUFXSHJn\/d1EucG5n.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"\/impro\/GyFbdWSbQHcio9ixA_nhRptUwBuI3apv61_nS_dLnaY\/fill\/325\/0\/ce\/1\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\/OTQvOTYxL29yaWdp\/bmFsLzAwaTN1RHJh\/Zk9WWW9FQUFXSHJn\/d1EucG5n.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0d6f5f7bbb19440e07a465cadacf8014\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018This isn\u2019t an argument about the past\u2019 We asked professional historians to weigh in on Putin\u2019s \u2018historical article\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-15T06:26:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html\"},\"wordCount\":1603,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\\\/impro\\\/GyFbdWSbQHcio9ixA_nhRptUwBuI3apv61_nS_dLnaY\\\/fill\\\/325\\\/0\\\/ce\\\/1\\\/aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWR1\\\/emEuaW8vaW1hZ2Uv\\\/YXR0YWNobWVudHMv\\\/aW1hZ2VzLzAwNi84\\\/OTQvOTYxL29yaWdp\\\/bmFsLzAwaTN1RHJh\\\/Zk9WWW9FQUFXSHJn\\\/d1EucG5n.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Latest News From Russia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediateka.online\\\/learnrussian\\\/this-isnt-an-argument-about-the-past-we-asked-professional-historians-to-weigh-in-on-putins-historical-article.html\",\"name\":\"\u2018This isn\u2019t an argument about the past\u2019 We asked professional historians to weigh in on Putin\u2019s \u2018historical article\u2019 - 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