Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1497523
D E F E N S I V E W A R A G A I N S T T H E A G G R E S S I V E WEST Another Russian concept is stemming from what I have described above (sections 1. and 2.). To understand how the Russians may view the invasion of Ukraine as a defensive effort, one should first attempt to comprehend how Russians perceive their state and identity. As I have already mentioned above, the Russians consider the conquest of Ukrainian soil back in the 17th Century as a just cause, and a liberation war, liberating and returning Rus' to the motherland. And that thread - recapturing and liberating the lost territory from western influence is one of the key components of Russian awareness. The Russians do not treat the Ukrainians as a separate, independent nation, capable of making its own decisions and establishing its national heritage. That means that the Russians perceive any Ukrainian attempt at creating a nation-state as an adverse action undertaken by the Western nation: Poland, Austria, Germany, the US, or the UK. It all depends on the era, and on who is perceived by Moscow as its key rival. Within the framework of that perception, any active US tampering with the Ukrainian matters post- 1991, not the Russian actions, led to an erosion of trust, or even adversity (post-2014), that the Ukrainians express towards the Russians. The Russians consider all of the above as a grand plot made up by the adversaries, to destroy their state. First, the enemy agents were supporting the fall of the Soviet Union, and then the Americans and their allies started to control the Russian media and began to create political elites of their own, also promoting nationalist postures within the society. The 2004 and 2014 Maidan revolutions are viewed by Russians as US-supported terrorist revolts, prepared by US intelligence. In other words, the Russians see the West as an entity tampering with its internal affairs, thus separating a part of the Russian territory, and convincing a part of the Russian nation, that Russia is the enemy. Then the West provoked repercussions in Ukraine, targeting those who, naturally, supported the natural effort to get reconciliation with Russia. The 2014 war and annexation are viewed, in Russia, as a forced reaction to those actions, aimed at rescuing those suffering from repercussions ANALYSIS