In reality, Ukraine is a society not of sharp divisions, but of complexity, diversity and blurred lines. In this, it is not unusual among modern states, especially those whose territories that have witnessed war, conquest and imperial domination. While parts of contemporary Ukraine have fallen under Austrian, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian and Tatar influence in the past, not to mention the trauma of the Nazi occupation, Russia has exerted the greatest geopolitical influence. Most of today’s Ukraine was under Russian imperial control from the late 17th to the early 20th centuries, when it became part of the Soviet Union. Aside from some periods of measured tolerance, the general policy in both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union towards Ukrainian culture and language was one of denigration, if not outright oppression.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 03:13:26 +0000
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