A history of Ukraine and Russia
Ukrainecast
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Is Putin Right About Ukraine?
Ukraine has been independent since 1991 so the fact that they might once have been part of some greater Russia as Putin imagines is neither here nor there. They've come out of a sort of nationalist wing which goes back to 1991 people at the same time. If you look at that cohort, all now in their late 60s early 70s they were all basically middle level KGB military men in 1991 who saw their superiors lose an empire. The bitterness and resentment about 1991 is much more relevant to Putin and his entourage in pursuing this war than their crazy ideas about Kiv and Rus being the foundation of the Russian Empire or all the other things.
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