Recently, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict incident has become a hot topic on the Internet. Ukraine, a country rarely mentioned, was once an ally of Russia. So what exactly is it that has brought Russia's relations with Ukraine to where they are now?
What are the historical ties between Russia and Ukraine? What irreconcilable grievances do they have?
When it comes to the origin of Russia and Ukraine, the topic that can never be avoided is the Slavic nation. During the Roman Empire, there were three representative groups of people on the European continent: Germanic, Celtic, and Slavic.
If divided by geography, russians belong to the East Slavs. Similarly, Ukrainians are also generally considered to be gathering places for East Slavs. Since they are all Slavs, Russia and Ukraine should have a good relationship, so why do they suddenly turn against each other?
In fact, Russia and Ukraine also have a "honeymoon period", only because of some contradictions left over from history, which has led to the two countries today. Before we can understand this history, we first need to pay attention to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
Because this place was once the origin of the civilization of the Great Russian Powers. In the distant 9th century AD, the East Slavic people established the Principality of Kievan Rus' and Rus' state. It is a typical monarchy with its capital in Kiev.
After two centuries of development, the development of the Kyevan Rus' Principality entered its heyday. The scope of trade of the principality included Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and Western Europe, and its economic and cultural development was quite prosperous, which can also be seen as similar to China's "Tang Dynasty".
The development of the Principality of Kievan Rus became the source of civilization in Russia and Ukraine. After the glory of Kievan Rus began to decline, the 12th century showed a downward trend.
In the early 13th century, the Mongol Iron Horse flattened the plains of Eastern Europe and shattered the bustling scene of Kievan Rus'. The Great Khan of the Mongols divided Kievan Rus' and ruled northeastern Rus' rule. It was during this period that Russia was founded.
The southwestern part of Kievan Rus gradually developed into a principality such as Lithuania and Poland. In the mid-to-late 16th century, Lithuania and Poland were established as republics, and the country's territory included most of what is now Ukraine.
It can be seen that although the civilizations of Russia and Ukraine both originated in the Principality of Kievan Rus, the fates of the two countries began to diverge after the Mongol invasion. Under the colonial rule of the Republic of Poland, Ukraine embarked on the path of economic serfdom.
Russia's predecessor, the Principality of Moscow, began to develop in the late 15th century as an independent and powerful state, and also helped the surrounding principalities to escape the Mongol invasion.
From the 17th century onwards, Ukrainians, dissatisfied with the oppression of the Polish rulers, began to embark on the path of uprising and resistance. The leaders of the uprising, weighing the pros and cons, chose to ally themselves with Tsarist Russia. Of course, this is a forced choice for Ukrainians.
Although blessed by Tsarist Russia, there were still many complaints about the new ruler. In the mid-17th century, a Pereya Slavic Agreement tied Russia and Ukraine firmly together.
The dominant Tsarist Russia ordered Ukraine to recognize the supreme power of the Tsar. The Ukrainian leader's submission to Tsarist Russia was in fact the right to rule in exchange for the right to protection.
Because, when the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of the 20th century, the Ukrainian side immediately expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with the Pereya Slavic Agreement. Ukraine views the 17th-century merger of Russia and Ukraine as a "political union" and denies the "same cultural roots" of the two countries.
These claims have indirectly led to a further intensification of the contradictions between the two countries. Of course, Ukraine's grievances do have their origins. When Tsarist Russia was engaged in the Northern War, it neglected The interests of Ukraine, which made the Ukrainian top brass very angry.
Ukraine enjoyed only a brief period of autonomy in the mid-18th century, while for most of the rest the Tsarist Central Government chose to interfere in Ukraine's affairs. The Tsarist government, in order to strengthen its rule over Ukraine, imposed serfdom in Ukraine.
In order to prevent discontent in Ukraine, the Tsar queen deliberately co-opted the Ukrainian nobles and prevented them from uniting with the people against the tsar. Not only were there forced institutional reforms, but even Ukrainian culture was greatly affected.
In the 1870s, the Tsar banned the sale of Ukrainian books in the country and did not allow theaters, schools, and social events to produce cultural achievements related to Ukraine. At the same time, the Tsar banned the use of the Ukrainian language by school staff.
All in all, the Tsar tried to erase Ukrainian culture through various means in the fields of education and life. In schools established by the Tsar of Ukraine, teachers had to teach in Russian.
Beginning in the 1830s, Tsarist Russia banned Greek Catholicism in Ukraine. As a result, Ukraine has been holding back the Russian government for a long time. Commenting on the history of that period, Ukrainians today say that Russia violated the original Pereyaslav Agreement and imposed nothing more than colonial rule on Ukraine.
Russian experts and scholars objected to the Ukrainians' claims. They argue that Ukraine, as a small country, does not have the capacity for independent sovereignty. Ukraine's ability to have today's vast land was achieved with the help of Russia.
If Ukraine is only regarded as a colonial country, how can it be so generous to help Ukraine expand its territory? In addition, during the period of industrialization, the rapid development of Ukraine is also an indisputable fact, although it is limited in some systems, but also out of consideration for the all-Russian market, this clear division of labor is also conducive to the development of Ukraine.
Moreover, in response to what Ukrainians say about the restrictions on Ukrainian culture in Tsarist Russia, this phenomenon ceased to exist after the February Revolution in Russia. The Soviet Union even placed the Ukrainian language in the position of Chinese, which shows the importance attached to Ukraine.
As Russian experts and scholars have said, this is indeed the case. After the February Revolution in Russia, the Ukrainian people also wanted to take advantage of this revolution to carry out a national independence. But neither the hostile forces nor the neighboring countries are willing to recognize Ukraine's independence.
Thus, after the victory of the October Revolution, Ukraine had no choice but to join the Soviet family. In Ukraine's view, this is also a helpless move. Historically, Ukraine has twice allied itself with Russia, and both times it has reluctantly joined.
This also makes the contradiction between Ukraine and Russia form invisibly. The dispute between Ukraine and Russia has many similarities with China's relations with Taiwan.
The similarity is that small places rely on the protection of large countries, but they always think of "job hopping" and "independence", and the excuses they find are all varied. The difference is that Taiwan Province is part of China's territory, a fact that is shared by China's 180 countries that have established diplomatic relations.
Ukraine even wants to cut off its cultural roots with Russia, which makes Russia even more angry. Ukraine's anger is largely due to famine in the early 1920s.
At that time, the Soviet Union neglected the development of national agriculture in order to develop into a strong industrialized country. As a result, Ukraine's agricultural sector has been greatly affected. In 1932, a widespread famine broke out in Ukraine.
More than 3 million people died in this famine. This famine also laid a deep foundation for the contradictions between Russia and Ukraine, and evolved into a political problem. High-level Ukrainian figures now believe that the famine was a genocide carried out by the Soviet Union against Ukraine, and believe that soviet leader Stalin deliberately did it.
This view has also been written into Ukrainian textbooks. Russian scholars also object to this view. Their argument was that immediately after the famine in Ukraine, the Soviet government had planned aid to Ukraine.
If the famine was deliberately planned by the Soviet Union, then why did the Soviet Union choose to save Ukraine? Russian scholars have called ukraine's top brass a distortion of history. However, whatever explanation is received, Ukraine has always been firm in its views.
In order to realize the dream of Ukrainian independence, the Ukrainian top level also cooperated with the German army once in World War II. Ukrainian nationalists borrowed the strength of the German army and rebelled against the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
The nationalists were eventually suppressed by Soviet forces, and the nationalist Banjra was killed by spies. In honor of their nationalists, Ukraine also held commemorations on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Banjera's death.
In 2010, the President of Ukraine also awarded Banjera the title of "National Hero". In Ukrainian textbooks and other cultural propaganda, it is difficult to see words about soviet help to Ukraine.
So, did the Soviet Union really not make an effort for the development of Ukraine? The answer, of course, is no. After World War II, the Soviet government put a lot of energy into restoring Ukraine's economy, culture and other fields.
After 1922, the Soviet Union divided Luhansk and Donetsk into Ukraine. In 1954, Khrushchev gave Crimea to Ukraine as a gift for the 300th anniversary of the merger of the two countries. This move is considered by Ukraine to be a disguised "surveillance".
In short, no matter what efforts the Soviet Union made, in the eyes of the Ukrainians, as long as their national independence was not recognized, it was an ulterior motive. In Ukrainian textbooks, the people have always been called upon to fight for national independence.
Ukraine's many moves have constantly intensified the contradictions between Russia and Ukraine. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine finally realized its dream of independence and became a completely independent country, but there have always been contradictions between the east and the west of the country, large and small.
In the east of Ukraine, which borders Russia, the people are pro-Russian, while in the central and western parts of Ukraine, they are pro-European. The contradictions between Ukraine and Russia did not end completely because of Ukraine's independence, but intensified.
Since 2014, Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine have held several diplomatic forums and signed the Minsk Agreement, which is intended to peacefully resolve the crisis in Russian-Ukrainian relations, but they have not been able to achieve satisfactory success.
Leaving aside the historical issues and the current war problems facing Russia and Ukraine, we can feel whether Ukraine's independence move is wise just from the perspective of Ukraine's development in recent years.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine mainly relied on the export of agricultural products and metal minerals as its main business. By 2021, according to United Nations statistics, 4.6 million people in Ukraine do not receive adequate nutrition, and 20% of children are malnourished and stunted.
Many young people in Ukraine have been forced to leave their homeland and seek new life abroad. This is a lot like the situation in Mongolia in northern China. Ukraine, like Mongolia, has rich mineral resources and fertile land, but the country's leaders have not been able to use these resources.
When they are attached to Russia and China, they can seek opportunities for development under the protection of the great powers, and once they are separated from the influence of the great powers, they will have a desolate scene of being stretched thin.
The desolation of Outer Mongolia is in stark contrast to the prosperity and development of Inner Mongolia, and Outer Mongolia is aware of the power of great powers. It is not known under what circumstances such a consciousness will arise in Ukraine.