Russian stereotypes and myths of Ukraine and Ukrainians and why Novorossiya failed
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Date
2019
Authors
Kuzio, Taras
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
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Abstract
This article discusses two inter-related issues. Firstly, the factors lying behind Russia's
fervent belief that its Novorossiya (New Russia) project, aimed to bring back to Russia eight
oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhhya, Odesa, Mykolayiv, and Kherson
in eastern and southern Ukraine and launched during the 2014 "Russian Spring," would be
successful. Russian identity misunderstood, and continues to misunderstand, Ukraine and
Ukrainians through stereotypes and myths of Ukraine as an "artificial state" and Ukraine's
Russian speakers as "fraternal brothers" and Russians and Ukrainians as "one people" (odin
narod). Secondly, why Ukrainian national identity was different than these Russian stereotypes and myths and how this led to the failure of the Novorossiya project. Russian stereotypes and myths of Ukraine and Ukrainians came face to face with the reality of
Russian-speaking Ukrainian patriotism and their low support for the Russkij Mir (Russian
World). The article compares Russian stereotypes and myths of Ukraine and Ukrainians
with how Ukrainians see themselves to explain the roots of the 2014 crisis,"Russian Spring," and failure of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Novorossiya project.
Description
Keywords
Russian-Ukrainian relations, Russian spring, Russian world, Crimea, Donbas, Novorossiya (New Russia), article
Citation
Kuzio T. Russian stereotypes and myths of Ukraine and Ukrainians and why Novorossiya failed [electronic resource] / Kuzio T. // Communist and Post-Communist Studies. - 2019. - Vol. 52, Issue 4. - P. 297-309.