8: Neighbors: Russia and Ukraine
In this episode…
We dive into the history and culture of the relationship between two contentious neighbors, Russia and Ukraine, to get a better understanding of how they ended up where they are today.
Show Notes:
Our Bibliography for this episode:
Bermel, Neil. “Ukrainian and Russian: How Similar Are the Two Languages?” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Mar. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/story/ukrainian-and-russian-how-similar-are-the-twolanguages.
Krawatzek, Félix, and George Soroka . “Ukraine and Russia: Two Countries Whose Memories of a 'Shared' Past Could Not Be More Different.” The Conversation, 17 Oct. 2022, https://theconversation.com/ukraine-and-russia-two-countries-whose-memories-of-a-shared-past-could-not-be-more-different-175570.
Mark, Joshua J. “Kievan Rus.” World History Encyclopedia, Https://Www.worldhistory.org#Organization, 3 Dec. 2018, https://www.worldhistory.org/Kievan_Rus/.
“Rurik Dynasty.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rurik-dynasty.
“Russia.” Central Intelligence Agency The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/russia/.
“Russia: Population Size by Federal District 2023.” Statista, Statista Research Department, 2 Feb. 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009384/population-size-in-russia-by-federal-district/.
Smolkin, Victoria. “Why a Centuries-Old Religious Dispute over Ukraine's Orthodox Church Matters Today.” The Conversation, 1 Dec. 2022, https://theconversation.com/why-a-centuries-old-religious-dispute-over-ukraines-orthodox-church-matters-today-109768.
“Staraya Ladoga.” Viking Archaeology, Archeology in Europe, http://viking.archeurope.com/settlement/russia/rus-trade-routes-to-the-east/staraya-ladoga/.
Sullivan, Becky. “Russia's at War with Ukraine. Here's How We Got Here.” NPR, NPR, 24 Feb. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/02/12/1080205477/history-ukraine-russia.
“Ukraine Profile - Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 5 Mar. 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18010123.
“World Population Prospects - Population Division.” United Nations, United Nations, https://population.un.org/wpp/.
Tolmor, Den. Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, Netflix, 2015, Accessed 4 Feb. 2023.
Note that last one if you’re interested in the documentary we discussed about the Maidan Revolution.
Takeaways:
It’s undeniable that the history of these two countries is interconnected, but each has its own distinct history; while Ukraine spent 222 years under Polish rule, Moscow rose to prominence despite the Golden Horde.
Ukrainian and Russian, while being closely related, have enough distinction to be considered separate languages, including four letters in each alphabet that the other doesn’t have.
Ukraine has tried to declare independence three times in the last few centuries, but has been subjugated by a larger, more powerful neighbor each time.
Since the 1930s, Ukraine’s history has been particularly bloody and tragic, starting with an engineered famine which killed 3.9 million Ukrainians which was followed by millions of Ukrainian deaths in WWII and the Holocaust. Most recently (prior to the outbreak of war last year), the 2014 Maidan Revolution developed out of a peaceful protest when police attacked and killed over 100 protestors.