What Constitutes a Pro-Russian?

The idea to ponder what constitutes a pro-Russian political activist occurred to me while reading a recent article on Karlin’s blog about the rampant censorship of opposition media in Ukraine…

Anatoly Karlin made this statement:

Since the start of this year, the Ukraine has mounted an accelerating campaign to shut down all “pro-Russia” (apostrophes because more often than not they’re not so much explicitly pro-Russian, as merely less anti-Russian and more oppositionist than the mainstream) media.

Well, the climate in many East European countries is such that any conciliatory tone towards Russia is considered pro-Russian. That is, only hysterical Russophobia will do. You must believe any accusation towards Russia no matter how ridiculous that is. You must believe that not doing business with Russia is great thing. Otherwise, you will be branded pro-Russian, and will be cast out of polite society.

However, are any of these people branded pro-Russian any good for Russia? I have already questioned the pro-Russianness of Ukrainian political parties earlier on this blog. I am someone, who reads the Peremogi blog daily, and there is a central thesis there, no pro-Russian parties in Ukraine, and nobody Russia should trust. Well, I think the Russian official circles have already taken the memo to heart judging by attitude they take towards the various individuals branded as pro-Russian in Ukraine.

Here is something I found recently on the Peremogi. Recently there was a vote in the Ukrainian parliament on “addressing the UN to ask the countries of the World not to recognise the upcoming Russian parliamentary elections”. It was a classic ritualistic spitting in direction of Russia but let’s see how the pro-Russians voted?

None of the members of the Opposition Platform for Life voted against this motion. You would think that friends of Russia would vote against? So, whenever hysterical Russophobes accuse someone of being pro-Russian, the Russians should not take that at face value. Instead, before you call anyone “pro-Russian” ask these questions.

If he is Ukrainian or Belarusian, does he believe that his respective nations are a part of one Russian nation that was divided by the enemies of Russia? Or does he believe notions such as Ukrainians are more European than Russians, or more Slavic? Does he ever express those ideas in public?

The above is a fundamental of any pro-Russian sentiment among Eastern Slavs. You may further ask if they desire any integration with Russia. You might surprised how many of the pro-Russian start blathering something about sovereignty or neutrality. The latter is no pro-Russian sentiment.

If he is from the former eastern block, does he believe in normalizing trade relations with Russia? But a grade further would be, does he want any further economic integration with the Russian Federation?

Many of the Russophiles in Eastern Europe are nationalists and very much about self reliance, many support exiting the EU, and would not trade it for a Russian led union. And I am one of these.

Also, opposition to the glorification of Nazi collaborationists and defence of the Russian language in Ukraine are rather domestic issues than they are pro-Russian positions. Most Ukrainians use the Russian language daily, and most have ancestors that have fought the Nazis. Naturally, there is a part of the population that is receptive to such slogans. But anyone taking up these issues should not be automatically viewed as pro-Russian. Alexei Honcharenko once supported rights for the Russian language, but he switched sides after the Maidan.

It is without mentioning that any pro-Russian movement in Ukraine in the last 30 years was hopelessly unsuccessful and nothing worthy of Russian support…

Ukrainian Officials Have Gone Completely Bonkers on Identity Politics

Top Ukrainian officials allowed themselves displays of Svidomism that is scarcely fathomable…

First Alexey Arestovych said Ukraine should undergo a rebranding to Rus’-Ukraine to take the brand of Russians from Russia. I really wonder, what is wrong with Ukraine?

Mind you, the name Ukraine is rather modern too. It only gained circulation in the early 20th century. In a sense, back then the lands that are now Ukraine have undergone a rebranding. However, instead of being honest about their history, that is that the Ukraine is a result of emancipation of the creole culture created there through centuries of Polish rule, the Ukrainian nationalists such as the historian, Mikhailo Hrushevsky, who to my knowledge coined the hybrid term “Rus’-Ukraine”, began to usurp the rights to Old Rus’.

When it comes to Rus’, it was established by Swedish Vikings that were initially based in the north, in areas that are today part of the Russian Federation. Vladimir came to Kiev from the north, from Novgorod. The Ukrainians act as if the Russians have somehow stollen the rights to call themselves Russians.

From RT (hat tip: AK):

Alexey Arestovich, who works as the spokesman for Kiev’s delegation to the contact group on Donbass, claimed that Ukrainians are actually the real Russians.

Arestovych is a strange character. He was a blogger and a pick up artist before representing Ukraine in Minsk. But if a comedian can be a president, then all things are possible. Just do not expect anything highly intellectual from them.

Alexey Danilov, the head of the national security council, suggested to write the Ukrainian language in the Latin Script. This is utterly cargo cultish. Actually, the Cyrillic script is native to Slavs, and the switch to Latin script was always done when the German and Latin influence became dominant. In a sense, it would be a rejection of the Rus’ identity. The Cyrillic is a fusion of Greek and Glagolitic made specifically for Slavic languages. I am not certain such an initiative would be something Ukraine needs, it would create more problems than solve whatever the objectives this initiative has.

These initiatives from rather top Ukrainian officials are somewhere out of the realm of the absurd and betray an identity crisis in Ukraine. I have a solution, Kiev is the mother of all Russian cities and the Ukrainians are nothing but rebranded Russians, whose regional identity was used to manipulate them. However, as long as the Ukrainians continue to claim legacy of the Rus’, they cannot go against that legacy.

All Post-Soviet and Ex-Comecon Countries Will Succumb to Russophobia and Russia Must Punish Them

Well, the Russians will have no other choice…

So dear readers, recently I have encountered reports that they have so called language patrols in Kazakhstan. That is when activists come to a shop and demand the shopkeeper serves them in the national language of the given ethnic bantoustan instead of Russian. Scenes like this were common in Ukraine but Kazakhstan was off the radar for a while.

The local elites however are no strangers to playing the anti-Russian card. The language patrols in Kazakhstan get a police cover and are clearly sponsored by the government. Attacks on national minorities are a common scene in weak postcolonial regimes, it is a way of asserting authority. Think Idi Amin in Uganda, and the Asians, or Adolf Hitler and the Jews. This is an old tactic…

Russophobia is a serious problem that concerns every post-Soviet nation and the former Comecon countries too. Here is an old video of Dmitry Medvedev, then Russian president, complaining that Lukashenko employed anti-Russian rhetoric in pre-election campaign. Russia needs to react severely to any such displays, her honour depends on it. As of writing, there is some indication that the organiser of the Kazakh language patrols has fled to Georgia, it seems the Kazakh authorities came to their senses. So what are the strategies available to Moscow?

1) Well, I will turn to an article by Mikhaïl Delyagin. One of the obvious things is to ban the people engaging in Russophobic campaigns from entering Russia. This is more effective than you might think. I have observed it first hand, activists from the 2014 Maidan in Kiev that have just yesterday shouted anti-Russian slogans, have become gastarbeiters in Russia a while later. Far from being true to their creed, Russophobes aren’t against making money in Russia. Russia is by far the most formidable economy in the post-Soviet space. Russia is a true superpower.

We may call this first method “Idrak” after Idrak Mirzalizade, a stand up comedian of Azerbaijani origin, who happens to be a Belorussian citizen. He was recently made persona non grata in RF for his Russophobic jokes. He lived in Russia because he was avoiding military service in Belarus and Azerbaijan. According to recent reports, Idrak left Russia for Turkey via Belarus.

2) However, the above strategy is something that is readily practiced. Think the many foreign journalists, who did not have their visas extended. I am not certain there needs to be another law on the books for that. Instead, I believe that instances of Russophobia need to be monitored more carefully and this should be established by law.

Delyagin also suggests that businesses employing known Russophobes ought to be expelled from Russian market. This is a good idea but this would require a careful surveillance of the phenomenon of Russophobia on many levels. Something like a Russian version of ADL with an even broader reach.

3) A little diplomatic effort can make wonders. The Russian state still has a lot of influence they may exercise. Some efforts on the level of intergovernmental communication can make wonders.

4) Divesting from notoriously Russophobic regimes in Eastern Europe by building bypassing infrastructure. In this department Russia has made tremendous strides. Russia built a port in Ust’ Luga on the Baltics bypassing the need to use Latvian ports, and Russia also built two lines of the Nord Stream to bypass Ukraine and Poland in its transit of gas. This is having a profoundly beneficial effect on the budgets and infrastructure of these countries, just as what they deserve.

I am not an insider, just a casual observer, so I hope the Russian government takes this seriously.




Collapsed Flag Pole Crushes Ukrainian Official’s Lexus

For a while, cities in Ukraine were installing these ginormous Ukrainian flags. This is especially done in eastern cities. This totemic erection is called to demonstrate that here is Ukraine. Often the price tag for these flag poles is highly elevated. The officials usually scoop up the difference in price.

I guess that’s where the Lexus came from:

This happened in Kherson…

Lukashenko’s Hybrid Weaponized Migrants and the West’s Hypocrisy

A funny situation is playing out…

Bulba dictator, Alexander Lukashenko pretty much realised that he owes the EU shit in terms of border protection, and whom he lets into the country, and stopped arresting migrants from the Middle East aiming for Europe. There is hysteria among the pro-Western commentariat of Eastern Europe.

Check out this article:

On the one hand, of course, we might sympathize with illegal migrants, those ill-fated people whom the Minsk regime is now so cynically exploiting. Moreover, according to an investigation by Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT, Lukashenko is also profiting off of the trafficking scheme. Those people save up money to leave their troubled life behind and move to tranquil Europe, which their traffickers assure them will be a safe trip. Instead, they find themselves in a temporary detention camp, facing prospects of being deported. A truly hopeless situation…

Lithuanians, on the other hand, also must be heard out. Working hard for the past years to overcome the consequences of Soviet occupation, they are trying to adjust their lives to European standards. And then, out of the blue, their usual way of life which they’ve so eagerly sought to achieve gets turned head over heels. And all due to the Belarusian dictator’s revenge, his cynical attack through deploying migrant “pawns.”

Deported where? To Belarus? To Afghanistan?

Note that the Lithuanians are now in a precarious situation that does not have an easy solution. But honestly, all North African countries and Turkey are doing the same and nobody calls these migrants “Erdogan’s pawns”, or “Mohammed VI’s revenge”. Isn’t that kind of hypocritical?

Lithuania should show the Western countries how its done! By the way, Mohammed VI is a cool guy…

Post inspired by this video.

Ukraine’s Problem is That the Taliban Seized Power There Already in 2014




We were living under a Taliban for the last 7 years.
