Putin's 'new Russian empire'
- By Cui Heng
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E-mail China.org.cn, May 3, 2014
Ukraine emerged as an independent state in 1991. In the 300-odd years before 1945, eastern Ukraine was part of the Russian empire and the former USSR, while its western part belonged to Poland. People in the two parts maintained their own way of living and developed different religious beliefs, a different language, and a different state of mind.
Though a Soviet Ukraine was founded after the Second World War, it did not develop a national identity as it was subject to Soviet rule.
When the Soviet Union collapsed and both Europe and Russia were unaware of the importance of or were incapable of winning over Ukraine, Ukrainians had a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to forge their own identity. But they still failed to do so as they did not have much time and the necessary external stimulus. What's more, the incessant internal turmoil over the past 20 years has deprived Ukrainians of this unprecedented opportunity.
Though Russia proposed to ease the conflicts in Ukraine by introducing a federal system, it was still difficult as a federal nation is also founded upon a shared national identity.
Nationalism or pragmatism?
The idea that a "New Russia" signals the change in Putin's running policy is farfetched. The key characteristic of Putin's tenure is perhaps best summarized as pragmatism. A touch of liberalism, conservatism, nationalism or even socialism can be found in his policies, but his policies and concepts are mostly based on practical situations.
Though "New Russia" is tainted with nationalism, the term does not refer exclusively to the east Slavic descendants, but a community of people who share the same language and history. It is thus closer to the concept of an "empire," which does have to be a negative term.
As to what will become of Ukraine, we may have to take a wild guess. It is unlikely that Russia will take eastern and southern Ukraine in the near future, as Crimea is already a hard nut to crack, and a separation with the Western powers would be inevitable if any further moves take place. What's more, whether eastern Ukrainians would accept the "New Russia" remains uncertain. After all, the separation between eastern and western Ukraine is much more complicated than just a pro-European and pro-Russian stance.
The author is a student working on his doctorate at the Russia Study Centre of East China Normal University.
This article was translated by Zhang Lulu. Its original unabridged version was published in Chinese.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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