Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
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avan ces o re sul ta dos de in ves ti ga ción en las áreas de Cien cia Po lí ti ca y De re cho Pú bli-
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Vol. 41, Nº 76 (2023), 753-768
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Recibido el 04/11/22 Aceptado el 16/01/23
On the issue of historical origins and
civilizational preconditions of the Russian-
Ukrainian war of 2014-2022: attempts of
scientic reection
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4176.44
Viktor Lehkodukh *
Volodymyr Horielov **
Svitlana Marchenko ***
Olga I. Khromova ****
Halyna Shchyhelska *****
Abstract
The aim of the article was to determine the current state of the
ideological basis of the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2014-2022. The
purpose was to achieve a scientic reection on the historical and
civilizational foundations of the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2014-
2022, with a key focus on the distorted facts of the past. The presentation of
the research results is carried out on the basis of the chronological method.
The main sources of the work are written historical evidence (Hypatian
Chronicle and Chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg, etc.). In addition,
the problem of the main historical and political origins of the divergence
between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, the features of the formation
of Asiatic-type despotism in Russia and the problem of Eurocentricity of
Ukrainian territories over the centuries were considered. In conclusion,
it is summarized that the simplied schemes of interpretation of the
history of Ukrainian and Russian peoples became the main feature for the
* Lieutenant colonel, postgraduate of graduate school of Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army
Academy, Ukraine32 Heroes of Maidan Street, Lviv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-
0002-3823-1619
** Candidate of Historical Science [Ph. D. in Hystory], Senior Researcher at the Research Laboratory
problems of military history of Ukraine of Military History Research Center, The National Defence
University of Ukraine named after Ivan Cherniakhovsky 03049 Kyiv. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/
0000-0003-3958-6697
*** Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Social Sciences Faculty of Law,
Public Administration and National Security Polissia National University Stary boulevard, 7, Zhytomyr.
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3662-9826
**** Candidate of Philosophical Sciences (Ph.D.), Docent, Associate Professor of the Department of
Philosophy and History of Science and Technology; Faculty of Railway Transport Management;
State University of Infrastructure and Technologies, Kyrylivska St. 9, Kyiv. ORCID ID: https://orcid.
org/0000-0002-5445-4230
***** Ph.D (World History), Associate professor of Ukrainian Studies and Philosophy Department, Faculty
of Economics and Management, Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University, Ruska str., 56,
Ternopil, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2926-2288
754
Viktor Lehkodukh, Volodymyr Horielov, Svitlana Marchenko, Olga I. Khromova y Halyna Shchyhelska
On the issue of historical origins and civilizational preconditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war of
2014-2022: attempts of scientic reection
Russian, anti-Ukrainian propaganda in the period of 2014-2022. On the
basis of distortion of historical facts and nancial opportunities poured
into the information sphere, the old Soviet and imperial myths are actively
replicated in Russia.
Keywords: historical background; foundations of civilization; Russian-
Ukrainian war; Russian propaganda; contemporary political
history.
Sobre la cuestión de los orígenes históricos y las
precondiciones civilizatorias de la guerra ruso-ucraniana
de 2014-2022: intentos de reexión cientíca
Resumen
El objetivo del artículo fue determinar el estado actual de la base
ideológica de la guerra ruso-ucraniana de 2014-2022. El propósito fue
lograr una reexión cientíca sobre los fundamentos históricos y de
civilización de la guerra ruso-ucraniana de 2014-2022, con un enfoque
clave en los hechos distorsionados del pasado. La presentación de
los resultados de la investigación se realiza sobre la base del método
cronológico. Las principales fuentes del trabajo son las pruebas históricas
escritas (Hypatian Crónica y Crónica de Thietmar de Merseburg, etc.).
Además, se consideró el problema de los principales orígenes históricos y
políticos de la divergencia entre los pueblos ucraniano y ruso, los rasgos
de la formación del despotismo de tipo asiático en Rusia y el problema de
la eurocentricidad de los territorios ucranianos a lo largo de los siglos. En
conclusión, se resume que los esquemas simplicados de interpretación de
la historia de los pueblos ucranianos y rusos se convirtieron en el rasgo
principal para la propaganda rusa, anti-ucrania en el periodo de 2014-2022.
Sobre la base de la distorsión de los hechos históricos y las oportunidades
nancieras vertidas en la esfera de la información, los viejos mitos soviéticos
e imperiales se replican activamente en Rusia.
Palabras clave: antecedentes históricos; fundamentos de la civilización;
guerra ruso-ucraniana; propaganda rusa; historia
política contemporánea.
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Introduction
The Kremlin regime began its active expansion against Ukraine in 2014,
when it took advantage of anti-government protests and a degree of chaos in
the state and occupied the Crimean peninsula (Ishchuk, 2022). Russia also
tacitly supported pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine by providing
them with volunteers, equipment, and military supplies (Johnson, 2022).
The ideological justication for this aggressive policy was the Russian
regime’s conviction of its own historical rights to these territories, which
were replicated in all possible media channels and even partially found their
way into European and American analytical resources that had contacts
with Russian news agencies (Bînă and Dragomir, 2020). The eectiveness
of such actions was quite high because even completely inert citizens were
persuaded of their own rightness (Bînă and Dragomir, 2020). The military
aggression against Ukraine in 2022 demonstrated the destructive inuence
of militaristic and pseudo-historical propaganda, which created a false
picture of the real situation.
The present situation had little in common with the intrusive material,
but the Russian attack and the behavior of the invaders in the occupied
territories vividly demonstrated the fallacy of perceptions of brotherly
peoples, common heritage, and cultural anity. The deep divisions between
Ukrainian and Russian societies, which had previously attracted little
scholarly attention and were sometimes denied at all, became undeniable.
1. Research Problem
The historical origins of the Russian-Ukrainian war were formed back in
the Middle Ages, that is, during the formation of the Ukrainian and Russian
peoples. Modern researchers see them primarily in the disagreements of
mental and worldview principles, so they speak of the war between societies
of a completely dierent mentality, historical memory, cultural identity,
and traditions. These disagreements have not been emphasized in the
public consciousness for a long time (Krasnozhon, 2019).
Russian media resources celebrated theses about the “unity” of the
Ukrainian and Russian nations (and specically as a Russian nation),
while the Russian narrative was popular in the Ukrainian information
eld even after 2014 (some political forces and the resources under their
control even on a general level sought to use the national issue to gain
popularity among their voters). For this reason, the problem of dierences
in worldview, culture, and historical past requires additional consideration
and argumentation, especially given the aggressive Russian propaganda
and the imposition of false imperial values.
756
Viktor Lehkodukh, Volodymyr Horielov, Svitlana Marchenko, Olga I. Khromova y Halyna Shchyhelska
On the issue of historical origins and civilizational preconditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war of
2014-2022: attempts of scientic reection
1.1. Research Focus
The main focus of the research is on historical, cultural and diplomatic
coverage of the processes that distinguish truthful information from
constructed false and biased assessments. The problems of Russian
propaganda tools and its ideological basis require additional coverage.
It is about Russian imperial, Soviet and modern Russian authoritarian
mythologemes that are actively introduced into public discourse and
replicated by all possible means. The historical origins of civilizational
dierences between Russia and Ukraine through the prism of
historiosophical reection are also emphasized.
1.2. Research Aim and Research Questions
Consequently, the purpose of the article is to scientically reect on the
historical and civilizational preconditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war of
2014-2022. Consideration of this purpose involves the search for answers to
questions related to the origins of Russian despotism and authoritarianism,
the past of Rus-Ukraine in the system of international politics of the
Middle Ages, Eurocentricity of Ukrainian lands through the centuries, the
peculiarities of the formation of the modern European integration path of
Ukraine in historical retrospective.
2. Research Methodology
2.1. General Background
The methodological basis consists of several scientic principles and
methods of research: general scientic and specically historical. Among
the general scientic methods include synthesis, analysis, induction, and
deduction. In the study, the main part is formed on the historical methods
of research: historical-comparative, historical-typological, historical-
systemic, etc. Presentation of the results of the study begins with the VI
century and in chronological order are described events of the Middle Ages,
early modern, modern time in order to compare events in Russian and
Ukrainian history.
2.2. Materials
The main materials of the study are historical sources of Russian and
European origin. In particular, the materials of the Ipatiev Chronicle were
used.
Among the European narrative sources, we shall single out:
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1. The Annales Bertiniani, created in the ninth century, Describing
events in the West Francan kingdom and neighboring countries and
their diplomatic relations (Bertiniani, 1964).
2. The Chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg, created in the early 11th
century, describes the Prince of Rus’, Volodymyr Sviatoslavych,
and the individual circumstances of the Christianization of Rus’
(Thietmar, 1889).
3. “The Journey of Patriarch Makarii,” by Paul of Aleppo, which
describes the customs and life of Cossack Ukraine (Stanytsina,
2020).
4. The Description of Ukraine, by Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan,
which describes in detail the climate and population of the Ukrainian
lands of the XVII century (Beauplan, 1660).
The use of descriptions of archaeological monuments, in particular
coins, which circulated in the territory of Rus and Hetmanshchyna was of
separate importance (Stanytsina, 2020).
2.3. Instrument and Procedures
Based on the analysis the main subject of research (the origins of the
Russian-Ukrainian war) is divided into smaller parts (the study of mental
structures of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, the analysis of Russian-
Ukrainian relations through the centuries, etc.). By means of synthesis,
the mentioned parts are united and own conclusions about the main
historical origins of the Russian-Ukrainian war are formed. As a result of
the use of historical and comparative method comparativistic analysis of
the development of the mentality of the Ukrainian and Russian people was
carried out. At the same time, the historical-systemic method was aimed
at the study of separate phenomena of the past of Russia and Ukraine as
integral world historical systems (Gushchyn et al., 2022).
The study took place in several stages. On the rst - a thorough analysis
of modern historical literature, on the second - the mental dierence
between the Ukrainian and Russian people was characterized, the origins of
the Asian despotism of Russia were traced, the belonging of the Ukrainian
nation to the European family of nations was investigated, the genesis was
characterized. The third stage formed conclusions and prospects for further
research on this debatable problem.
758
Viktor Lehkodukh, Volodymyr Horielov, Svitlana Marchenko, Olga I. Khromova y Halyna Shchyhelska
On the issue of historical origins and civilizational preconditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war of
2014-2022: attempts of scientic reection
3. Research Results
3.1. The Origins of Asian Despotism in Russia
Russia in its historical memory mostly did not perceive European
ideas and values, this rejection is explained by the historical creation of
the Moscow kingdom on the territory of the Genghis Khan Empire (Golden
Horde). The latter is known for the fact that it was a despotism of the Asian
version with characteristics of totalitarian thought. Even K. Marx noted in
his time in The Secret Diplomatic History of the Eighteenth Century that:
“The Moscow Empire was created in the humiliating conditions of Mongol
slavery and represents a typical Eastern despotism” (Marx, 1889: 123).
From this time the Moscow tsar became the heir of the Mongol khans. The
overthrow of the Tatar yoke involved: 1. Replacement of the Tatar khan by
an Orthodox tsar; 2. Transfer of the capital to Moscow (Hrushevskyi, 1966).
It is known that many boyars and military nobles of the Moscow tsar
consisted of Tatar nobles. At the same time, in contrast to the Russian
people, the Ukrainian people had long been an organic part of the European
nation. The national dierences between Ukraine and Russia were also
explained by the fact that the Ukrainian territory (before the establishment
of Russian domination) was more connected with Europe in the social and
cultural sense (Chupriy, 2018).
The famous historian M. Hrushevskyi also noted the powerful inuence
of Asian despotism on the formation of the culture, traditions, and mentality
of the Russian people (Hrushevskyi, 1966). He believed that, compared
to the Great Russian (i.e., Russian) people, the Ukrainian is a people of
Western (European) culture. He further remarked that although the
Russian people are becoming more Europeanized, yet they are in captivity
of Eastern culture (Hrushevskyi, 1966).
Oleksandr Nevskyi promoted the formation of Golden Horde eastern
despotism in Northern Russia, who refused the prospect of the European
anti-Mongolian alliance headed by Pope Innocentius IV and the Galician-
Volyn (Ukrainian) prince Danylo Romanovych. Oleksandr Nevskyi
contributed to the Mongols in every way, exposed his brother Andrii
Yaroslavovych (who wanted to oppose the khan), and received his lands as
a reward from the Mongols.
By his victories over the European knights in 1240-1242, Oleksandr
approved the right of Northeast Rus for the Asian vector of development.
Oleksandr Nevskiy made a nal choice between east and western civilization
in favor of the eastern one.
At the same time, a new stage in the formation of eastern despotism in
Russian lands is associated with Ivan Kalita, who committed brutal pogroms
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on the rebels against the Tatars (Konta, 2017). As a result, he became the
head of the Golden Horde administration on the Volga (Chupriy, 2018).
Because of his loyalty to the khan, he was able to annex to Moscow other
principalities that were subject to the khan. Thus began the “assembly” of
Russian territories by Moscow. In addition, the Moscow nobility happily
invited Tatars to military service.
Figure No. 01. The scheme of formation of the Asian despotism of Russia
Source: Authors’ development.
Consequently, the Asian culture and mentality of Russians does not
accept Western values and negatively relates to its carriers, as well as
Ukrainians, who have repeatedly conrmed their European aspirations in
their squares in 2004 and 2013-2014.
4. Rus-Ukraine in the system of international European politics
By synthesizing inuences from the West, Rus’ itself exerted considerable
inuence on its Western neighbors. An active foreign policy, numerous
treaties, and agreements present Rus as an independent medieval state
with inuence in the political space (Hrushevskyi, 1966).
760
Viktor Lehkodukh, Volodymyr Horielov, Svitlana Marchenko, Olga I. Khromova y Halyna Shchyhelska
On the issue of historical origins and civilizational preconditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war of
2014-2022: attempts of scientic reection
A unique source of the ninth century is the Annales Bertiniani, which for
the rst time among European sources mentions Rus. The Rus ambassadors
were rst received by the Byzantine emperor and then, at his request, by the
king of the Franks (Bertiniani, 1964).
This is convincing proof of the existence of the Rus state as early as 839
and evidence of its military and political power (Bertiniani, 1964). The
European community was aware of the zeal for the campaigns. Indeed, the
campaigns of the princes of Kyiv against Byzantium in the ninth and tenth
centuries received publicity in Europe and this further helped to establish
the military and political reputation of Rus (Chupriy, 2018). Therefore,
Byzantium constantly sought to maintain friendly relations with the
Russians by concluding peace treaties.
Unconditional proof of the inuence of Rus in the international political
arena also dynastic ties of the princes of Kyiv with the courts of European
states in the XI-XII centuries. Dynastic marriages were one of the forms of
interstate relations in the Middle Ages. The practice of dynastic marriages
is connected with the activity of Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh.
Thus, the dynasties of Byzantium, Western Europe, and indeed Germany
and France had kinship ties with the representatives of the Rurik dynasty
(Hrushevskyi, 1966).
Marriage was accompanied by certain political goals, so the rulers
sought to be born with the Kyivan princes, in order to obtain their military
and diplomatic support. Dynastic ties together with various diplomatic
combinations and wars represent Rus’ as part of the European state and
political system. It is also important that representatives of the Rus elite
carried their culture and education to the European world (Thyret and
Hollingsworth, 1995; Tsekhmister, 2022). A striking example is a daughter
of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Anna, who became the wife of the French King
Henry I. She probably brought the Reims Gospel to France.
The political activity of Rus is a no less important proof of its role in
the system of trade routes. It was through Rus lands that the route “from
the Varangians to the Greeks” passed, combining the Baltic and Black Seas
and closing the trade routes in Eastern Europe. An important land trade
route was the way from Kyiv to the west through Krakow, Prague, and
the German city of Regensburg, which was a major trading center on the
Danube (Thyret and Hollingsworth, 1995).
In the 10th century Rus’ trade relations with Germany were recorded.
Rus’ merchants passed through the Czech and South German lands,
heading west, but it is also important that German merchants were also
frequent in Rus, they were interested in local or Byzantine goods, which
were in Kyiv (Hrushevskyi, 1966). The presence of important trade routes
in Rus contributed to its economic, cultural growth (Parshyn and Mereniuk,
2022).
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These facts conrm the political activity of Rus’, for which the European
world was open. This state did not develop in isolation, it formed its
own levers of inuence on the European continent. Then-Rus was an
independent state based on its own traditions combined with Byzantine
and European traditions. Even after the end of political history, the cultural
inuence of Rus was noticeable on the historical development of Europe.
The heir to the state tradition of Rus’ became the Galicia–Volhynia state,
and its rulers continued the actions of their predecessors (Ishchuk, 2022).
At the time of Roman Mstislavich, Danylo Romanovych, Lev Danylovych,
and others, the state continued to be politically active, the cultural center of
Europe at that time.
5. Eurocentricity of Ukrainian lands through the ages
The thesis about the unity of Ukrainians and Russians does not correlate
with historical facts. The events of ancient times testify to the ancient
harmonious ties of Ukraine with the civilized world. Greek and Roman
inuences on the territory of Ukraine can be traced from the VII century BC,
it is from this time begins the period of Greek colonization of the Northern
Black Sea area (Hrushevskyi, 1966).
Note that medieval European values are based on the elements of
Roman culture, the Greek idea of statehood. These elements also passed
to Eastern Europe, which territorially encompassed Ukraine, where the
idea of statehood was realized in Rus’. This rst Ukrainian state of Rus’
in its main parameters was a typical state formation for medieval Europe,
and thus an organic part of the young European civilization (Thyret and
Hollingsworth, 1995).
Rus appeared along the famous trade route “from the Varangians to
the Greeks”. This route was the eastern part of the continuous European
network. Note that the silver coin denarius, typical of Europe, was
distributed in the territory of Rus (Hrushevskyi, 1966). This demonstrates
the predominance of the European connections Rus’. Analysis of the
dynastic marriages of the Kyivan princes conrms that mainly their sons
and daughters married Europeans. It is known that Prince Yaroslav the
Wise is called in historiography “the father-in-law of Europe”.
Adoption of the European religion of Christianity incorporated in the
spiritual plan Rus’ into the European civilization community. During the
Lithuanian-Polish period of the XIV-XVIII centuries. Ukrainian lands at
rst voluntarily became part of Lithuania. This accession occurred mainly
peacefully, primarily as a result of the principality’s desire to get rid of
Mongol dependence (Konta, 2017). However, even now Ukraine has not
lost its orientation towards Europe and has maintained close diplomatic
762
Viktor Lehkodukh, Volodymyr Horielov, Svitlana Marchenko, Olga I. Khromova y Halyna Shchyhelska
On the issue of historical origins and civilizational preconditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war of
2014-2022: attempts of scientic reection
relations with it. Note that the Lithuanian Statutes (the basic law in the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania) were based on Rus’ law (See Figure 2).
Figure No. 02. Status of the Ukrainian lands within the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania
Source: Written by the authors of the article.
It should be noted that European coins were spread in Ukraine from
the 10th century to the beginning of the 18th century. This is conrmed
by written sources and numerous archaeological nds (Vynar, 2020).
The presence of such material facts conrms that the Rus’ lands had close
relations with the leading European countries.
At the same time, during the Cossack period, Ukraine’s relations
with European countries strengthened considerably. Directly agrarian
colonization of Ukrainian steppes in the 16th-XVIII centuries was a
consequence of the powerful development of Europe and the growth
of demand for Ukrainian agricultural products. Colonization of fertile
territories of Ukrainian steppes and forest-steppe in the realities of the
Tatar threat acquired armed expression (Konta, 2017).
Consequently, it is the phenomenon of the Ukrainian Cossacks that is
associated with important social and economic processes in Europe at that
time. Ukrainian territories were familiar with the revolutions of the 17th
century that swept through Europe. It is signicant that A. Cromwell, the
leader of the English revolution, congratulated Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the
leader of the national-liberation rebellion in Ukraine, on his victory.
The proclamation of the hetman state laid the beginning of the formation
of a legal society of the European type in Ukrainian lands, which presupposed
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the election of ocials. At the same time, the Ukrainian cities of that time
possessed democratic European principles based on Magdeburg Law and
polyethnicity. The latter presupposed the choice of the head of the city. In
particular, the example of Lviv can be traced to the powerful coexistence of
several Christian and Muslim communities, which for the Middle Ages can
be considered an exceptional practice even for then Europe (Parshyn and
Mereniuk, 2022).
The judicial power was exercised independently of the state
administration. It should be noted that during the Cossack period Ukraine
became a place of European culture and education. The well-known traveler
Pavel from Aleppo, having arrived in Hetmanshchyna, recollected that the
peasants here were also literate. At the same time, the foreigner was amazed
by the knowledge of the music by the population of Hetmanshchyna. The
Customs and writing of the Ukrainians also surprised the famous French
engineer Guillaume de Beauplan (Beauplan, 1660).
Following the example of European universities of that time in Kyiv
was founded the rst high school in Eastern Europe - the Kyiv-Mohyla
Academy. The vast majority of the Hetmans of Ukraine studied at this
institution. Among the nobility of that time, many people studied at Western
universities. Since that time Latin, which was the basic language in Europe,
also spread in Ukraine (Thyret and Hollingsworth, 1995). Let us mention
the fact that at that time the noble entourage of the Russian Tsar Peter I
was illiterate. A striking example is A. Menshikov, a Russian statesman and
military leader, a favorite of Peter I.
As for the art of that time, it also developed under the inuence of
baroque, a style that was widespread in Europe. At the same time, in
Ukraine, it had its own, autochthonous expressed features, for which it was
called - Cossack Baroque. It was under the patronage of the Hetmans that
this style developed. At that time isolated from European values, Muscovy
was not able to create its own Baroque style and received it in the ready
form from Ukrainian Hetmanshchyna.
Forced separation of Ukrainian lands from Europe began by Peter
I, using his aggressive policy of “state mercantilism”. At rst, he ruined
Ukrainian merchants, who were taxed with a complicated duty. However,
Russian merchants received the right of duty-free trade (Chupriy, 2018).
In addition, there was a brutal monetary reform, which had the eect of
preventing Ukrainians from using European coinage. Thus, the Russian
authorities tried to pull Cossack Ukraine into the economic system of Russia
(Hrushevskyi, 1966). Especially dicult time in the history of Ukraine
were the years 1764 (abolition of Hetmanshchyna), 1775 (liquidation of
Zaporizhian Sich), 1783 (introduction of serf system), 1801 (prohibition to
build Churches in Cossack baroque style).
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On the issue of historical origins and civilizational preconditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war of
2014-2022: attempts of scientic reection
However, the Western Ukrainian territories were part of European
countries (Austria-Hungary, Poland). Despite the lack of state sovereignty,
the lands of Galicia and Volhynia generally maintained close economic
and cultural relations with European countries. At that time there was a
distinctive church elite in these territories, which developed Ukrainian
culture and art.
Consequently, the inhabitants of these territories managed to preserve
their national consciousness despite many negative historical events
and circumstances. After the seizure of the Western Ukrainian lands by
Soviet Russia (1939), mass brutal repressions began, which introduced
collectivization and industrialization here (Ostropolska, 2021).
However, the Russian authorities, using the mechanisms of brutal
repression, did not succeed in destroying the national consciousness of
the Ukrainians (Ishchuk, 2022). Thus, the analysis of history refutes the
theses about Ukraine as an original part of Russia. Historical facts show
that the Ukrainian territory ended up rst in the Russian Empire and later
in the USSR not of its own free will, but as a result of the Russian harsh
expansion. Eastern Ukrainian territories were part of the repressive and
despotic empire 200 years ago, and western Ukrainian territories only after
brutal repression after World War II.
6. Discussion
The importance of historical myths for contemporary Russian politics is
very high, as researchers have repeatedly pointed out (Bînă and Dragomir,
2020). The delirium of the imperial past, which has been created for
more than one hundred years, has had its specic mythologemes. They
are heterogeneous, devoted to several historical periods, and have their
own semantic load. In the rst place, it refers to the justication of the
superiority of the Russians and its rights to the surrounding lands. Such
policies appeared as early as the late Middle Ages, but in essence, these
messages have been unchanged for centuries. Moreover, they do not take
into account the real dierences between Ukrainians and Russians.
One of the frequently repeated theories is the designation of Moscow
as “the third Rome”. This ideological and theological concept was rst
proposed by Philotheus of Pskov in 1523. Its essence was that Moscow was
becoming the spiritual successor of the Roman and Byzantine empires.
Rome fell because “heretical Catholics” seized it, and “the second Rome”
(Constantinople) was seized by Muslims. True Christianity (Orthodoxy)
remained only in Moscow, therefore after it the concept of Rome as spiritual
and imperial capital cannot exist. Another myth heard even from the top
ocials of the Kremlin regime already during the Russian-Ukrainian war,
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is that Ukraine was created by Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) in 1918, giving
the Ukrainians territories that belonged to the Russians. By then, no such
ethnic, cultural, and historical space seemed to exist. Thus, the “return” of
the southeastern regions of Ukraine to the Russian state is a legitimate goal,
which can be realized in dierent ways, including military-aggressive ones.
Such mythologies do not take into account civilizational dierences
between the Ukrainian and Russian nations but are based on something
else. First of all, Russian propaganda presents its claims as a priori facts and
reproduces them using all possible channels of information dissemination
(Johnson, 2022). This creates a “numerical advantage” in the information
eld. Given the long and systematic work, Russian ideas have their
supporters abroad. At least many inuential people, until the Russian army
showed its real face in Ukraine, took such arguments seriously.
Among them, in particular, was the inuential multibillionaire Elon
Musk, who sensibly took the thesis of ancestral Russian territories as part
of Ukraine, and Pope Francis, who spoke out in favor of ending the war,
but for some time did not perceive the Russians’ responsibility for the
crimes committed. Current trends to remove fake pages and bots’ farms
that spread lies, limiting the inuence of lobbyists and paid inuencers are
eective steps to counteract machinations (Bînă and Dragomir, 2020).
Another psychological maneuver used by the Russians was the distortion
of facts (Kuzio, 2021). Emphasis was placed on visible truthful details,
while “inconvenient” facts were suppressed or erased (Martz, 2022). The
examples of the proposed mythologies show that they do not stand up to
detailed criticism. In particular, the Pskov monk declared Moscow to be the
third Rome in its own right. The Christian traditions of Moscow are quite
young, while much older Orthodoxy spread to Moldova, Serbia, Georgia,
etc.
Indeed, after its fall and capture by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the role
of the Orthodox center in Moscow increased. At the same time, there was
also Orthodoxy in the Ukrainian lands - calls for the primacy of the modern
Russian capital are articial. Also, Lenin actively used the word “Ukraine”
in his activities and on his own behalf, berating tsarism (Kuzio, 2021).
However, the concept of Ukraine itself appeared much earlier, and at
the time of the Bolshevik coup, the Ukrainian Central Council operated in
Kyiv as the democratic parliament of the Ukrainian people within the ethnic
limits of its settlement. In general, the term Ukraine was rst mentioned in
the Hypatian chronicle in 1187 (Hypatian chronicle, 1908: 663) Historical
truth is a powerful tool in overcoming the propaganda used by the Kremlin
regime.
A weighty factor was also the weakness of Ukrainian positions in
2014-2021. Ukrainian society was unprepared for the mass replication
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2014-2022: attempts of scientic reection
of fakes, perceived some of them (Ishchuk, 2022). There was no eective
counteraction in the information eld: pro-Russian politicians had the
right to vote in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, openly demonstrated their
views on national TV channels, and had some support from the population
(Schläpfer, 2016).
The state cultural policy was weak. For this reason, explaining the
civilizational dierences between Russians and Ukrainians was the
business of a few intellectuals and enthusiasts, whose views were drowned
in the sea of Russian propaganda. The situation has changed dramatically
since February 24, 2022, but now quite a few media gures who had taken
a moderate or pro-Russian stance before the open phase of the war have
taken the Ukrainian side (Martz, 2022). At the same time, only time will
allow time to build a reliable information model capable of countering
Russian fakes.
Much to demonstrate the Kremlin’s war crimes have been committed by
the Russians themselves. In particular, many Ukrainians believed before
the open expansion in 2022 that the Holodomor of 1932-1933 was not the
result of a deliberate policy of Soviet Moscow, but a coincidence of natural
factors. After the atrocities of the Russian army in the occupied regions of
Ukraine, doubts about the articial causes of the Holodomor disappeared.
Thus, the gradual destruction of Russian myths is also carried out by the
hands of the Russians themselves.
Conclusions and Implications
So, the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2014-2022 has a long basis of the
historical and civilizational plan. It is about signicant dierences in the
psychology and mentality of two dierent people. Ukrainians from princely
times (Kyivan Rus) gravitated to the European vector of development,
while Moscow princes chose for themselves the Horde subjection and the
corresponding despotic model of statehood.
As the analysis of historical coexistence showed, the dierences
only multiplied in the future - the conquest of Ukrainian lands and the
development of their Russian nobility approved the possibility of imperial
myths about the absence of the Ukrainian people as a whole.
All opponents of this viewpoint were subject to repression, which
intensied after the Bolsheviks gained power. If M. Hrushevsky could still
write about the history of Ukraine-Rus, during the Soviet rule Russians,
Ukrainians and Belarusians were considered one people, which had
disintegrated due to the Horde invasion, but always aspired to unity.
Such simplied schemes of history and cultural history have formed
the basis of modern Russian propaganda. The Kremlin regime, through its
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controlled media, has used considerable resources to broadcast selected
materials.
At the same time, Ukraine’s information policy was weak, and many
Ukrainian politicians were still inuenced by Russian centralism even
after 2014 and the outbreak of hostilities in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Obviously, only a revival of real research on Ukrainian history and culture
will allow the civilizational dierences between the Ukrainian and Russian
peoples to be demonstrated.
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