Things get even more complicated when one looks at Russian attitudes toward their history. Some Russians view Soviet history as Russian history and the Soviet Union as a Russian state. Others violently disagree with what they consider to be a Soviet deformation of true Russian values. Some Russians view themselves as Western, others as Asian, still others as Eurasian. Most Russians trace the history of their state to Kyivan (Kievan) Rus, the huge polity that dominated Eastern Europe in the 9th–13th centuries, but there is as much continuity between Rus and Muscovy as there is between ancient Rome and Romania. Rus was established by Viking marauders who settled among the Slavic tribes near Kyiv. Muscovy was the product of Muscovite elites and Finno-Ugric tribes. Rus was destroyed by the Golden Horde; Muscovy was promoted by the Golden Horde. At Rus’s heyday, Moscow was a tiny village. At Muscovy’s heyday, Rus no longer existed. In time, imperial Russia developed the myth of its continuity with Kyivan Rus and insisted that Kyiv (Kiev) was “the mother of Russian cities.” The rulers of early Muscovy saw no continuity with Kyiv, so much so that no Muscovite prince or Russian czar has ever borne the name of a Rus grand prince. Contrast that with any other European dynasty and their innumerable Henry’s, Louis’s, and Otto’s. worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/russia-and-ukraine-artificial-or-authentic
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 10:02:52 +0000
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