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ANALYSIS:UkrainianRussianculturalconflict
Kuzio,Taras.UkrainianWeekly[JerseyCity,N.J]10May2009:1,19.

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Abstract
ThenewTarasBulbafilmhasobviousideologicalandgeopoliticalramifications.Bulbaisportrayedasfighting
"Westernenemies"anddiesfor"theOrthodoxRussianland."Thefilm'sdirectorVladimirBortkoopenlyadmitted
thathisaimwastoincrease"proRussian"sympathieswithinUkraineandtopropagatethemyththatUkrainians
andRussiansbelongtoone"nafod."ThefilmunashamedlypropagatesapanSlaviclinethathaswonpraisefrom
RussiannationalistpoliticianssuchasVladimirZhirinovsky.
"TarasBulba"openedonApril3inMoscow'sKinoteatrOktyabrtothunderousapplauseatBulba's"Russiansoul"
speechandsceneswhereKozaksexpelPolesfromUkraine.Thefilmhasarousedwidespreadpublicinterestand
criticism,andhasalreadygrossed$14millioninRussiaandUkraine(KyivPost,April22).Thefilmhasattracted
botholderviewers,nostalgicfortheUSSR,andyoungerpeoplebecauseofitsabundanceofgratuitousviolence
(www.life.pravda.com.ua,April3).
Ukrainianopinionpollssuggestthe"proRussian"PartyofRegionsofUkraineleaderViktorYanukovychandthe
"treasonous"PrimeMinisterYuliaTymoshenkoarethetwoleadingpresidentialcandidates,neitherofwhom,
therefore,matchMr.[ViktorYushchenko]'srequirementsfora"patriotic"president.OnApril24UkrayinskaPravda
andfourdayslatertheproYushchenkoUkrayinaMolodabothranleadingarticlesonnegotiationsalready
underwayforanew"proRussian"coalitionbetweenthePartyofRegionsandtheYuliaTymoshenkoBlocfacilitated
byVladyslavSurkov,firstdeputyheadoftheRussianpresidentialadministration.

FullText
DiscussionsoverthemanyconflictsbetweenUkraineandRussiahavefocusedonthemorewellknown:thestatus

oftheRussianlanguage,unpaidenergybillsandgaspipelines,withdrawaloftheBlackSeaFleet,Russia'sinvasion
ofGeorgia,supportforCrimeanseparatismandfutureNATOmembership.
WhatislesswidelyknownistheundeclaredUkrainianRussianculturalwarthatisasbitterasanyotheraspectof
thepoorstateofthebilateralrelationshipbetweenUkraineandRussia.
TheUkrainianRussianculturalwarhassignificantramificationsinUkraineandRussia'sdomesticpolitics,national
identitiesandgeopoliticalorientations.IthaslongbeenestablishedthatthelanguagespokenbyUkrainians
(UkrainianorRussian)andtheirattitudestowardsRussiashapedbytheirstanceoncultureandhistoryinfluences
thevotingpatternsofUkrainiansintoproWesternandproRussianorientations.Theseorientationsthen
influenceattitudestowardstheirsupportforUkraine'sintegrationintotheCommonwealthofIndependentStates
(CIS),NATOandtheEuropeanUnion.
Unlikeinthe1990s,RussiaunderVladimirPutinhasgoneontheoffensiveinseekingtocounterwhatitseesas
the"Ukrainiannationalist"viewofUkrainianhistoryandculturethathasbeenpropagatedbyPresidentViktor
YushchenkosincehiselectioninJanuary2005.Mr.Yushchenko'sactiveandpersonalinvolvementinrevivingthe
UkrainiannationalmemoryhasaddedtothedeepseatedantagonismthatRussia'sleadersholdtowardshim.
TheUkrainianRussianculturalwarhasbecomeacuteasaconsequenceofthereleaseinAprilofanewRussianfilm
aboutNikolaiGogol'sfictitiousKozakleaderTarasBulba.ThefilmwassponsoredbytheRussianMinistryofCulture
atacostof$20millionandtookthreeyearstoproduce.
ThenewTarasBulbafilmhasobviousideologicalandgeopoliticalramifications.Bulbaisportrayedasfighting
"Westernenemies"anddiesfor"theOrthodoxRussianland."Thefilm'sdirectorVladimirBortkoopenlyadmitted
thathisaimwastoincrease"proRussian"sympathieswithinUkraineandtopropagatethemyththatUkrainians
andRussiansbelongtoone"nafod."ThefilmunashamedlypropagatesapanSlaviclinethathaswonpraisefrom
RussiannationalistpoliticianssuchasVladimirZhirinovsky.
"TarasBulba"openedonApril3inMoscow'sKinoteatrOktyabrtothunderousapplauseatBulba's"Russiansoul"
speechandsceneswhereKozaksexpelPolesfromUkraine.Thefilmhasarousedwidespreadpublicinterestand
criticism,andhasalreadygrossed$14millioninRussiaandUkraine(KyivPost,April22).Thefilmhasattracted
botholderviewers,nostalgicfortheUSSR,andyoungerpeoplebecauseofitsabundanceofgratuitousviolence
(www.life.pravda.com.ua,April3).
Itwasreleasedforthe200thanniversaryofGogol'sbirthwho,althoughborninUkraine,wroteintheRussian
languageandhastraditionallybeenviewedasa"Russian"writer.TheUkrainianRussianculturalwarhas,
therefore,descendedintoanhistoricaldisputeoverGogolknowntoUkrainiansasMykolaHohol.
OnApril1PresidentYushchenkovisitedGogol'smuseuminhisnativePoltavaregion(www.president.gov.ua,April
1).AtaconcertinGogol'shonor,Mr.Yushchenkosaid,"GogolwroteinRussian,wasaUkrainian,andthoughtand
felthimselftobeaUkrainian.Ibelieveitisridiculous,andtoacertainextenttheconflictssurroundingwhich
countryhebelongstoaredemeaning"(www.president.gov.ua,April1).
Onthesameday,RussianPrimeMinisterVladimirPutinhailedGogolasan"outstandingRussianwriter."
TheUkrainianRussianculturalwarhadearlierbecomecontestedoverMr.Yushchenko'spropagationofthe1933
HolodomorasdirectedagainstUkrainiansandasgenocide.Russiahasgoneontheoffensiveagainstbothofthese
Ukrainianclaims.
OnFebruary25theRussianForeignMinistryissuedaDVDwhichwillbefollowedlaterthisyearbythreevolumesof
6,000historicaldocumentstocounterthe
Ukrainianclaims.TheheadofRussia'sFederalArchivesAgency,VladimirKozlov,introducedtheDVDataMoscow
pressconference,withtheclaimthattheFaminewas"theresultof[Stalin's]criminalpolicy"againstthe

peasantry,ratherthanagainstanyspecificethnicgroup(www.rian.ru,February25).
Ukraine'sdebunkingofStalinismanditspublicizingoftheFamine,hasforcedRussiaunderPutintodigressfromits
fullblownrehabilitationofStalinism.WhilerejectingUkrainianclaimsofanethnicGenocideFamine,Mr.Kozlovwas
forcedtoadmitthatacrime(famine)hadindeedtakenplaceagainstthepeasantry,asaresultofStalin's
collectivizationpolicies.Russia'srehabilitationofStalinismhaspropagatedthemyththatitwastheeliteswhohad
sufferedthemostfromStalin'spurges(www.gulag.ipvnews.org,September16,2006).
TheUkrainianRussianculturalwaranddifferencesovernationalidentityhavebecomeacutelyimportantin
Ukraine'spresidentialelections,whichareinvariablyperceivedasdecidingthecountry'sgeopoliticalfutureaseither
lyingwithRussiaandtheCISorwiththeWest.Thiswasthecaseinthe1994,1999andespeciallyinthe2004
presidentialelections,whenRussiaheavilyintervenedtohaltthe"nationalist"candidate(Yushchenko)andlost.Mr.
Putinhassincetakenthisasapersonaldefeatthatrequiressomeformofpayback.
Withsixmonthsremaininguntiltheelections,PresidentYushchenkohasdescribedhimselfasapersonwhodoes
"notbelongtothosepeoplewhowaverintheirpatriotism.IamnotalittleRussian,Iamnotakhokhol(derogatory
termforlittleRussians).IamaUkrainian"(EkhoMoskvy,April3).Mr.Yushchenkocontinued,"IamaUkrainian
president,Iknowthatthiscountryrequiresanidealpresident"(www.president.gov.ua,April3).
Ukrainianopinionpollssuggestthe"proRussian"PartyofRegionsofUkraineleaderViktorYanukovychandthe
"treasonous"PrimeMinisterYuliaTymoshenkoarethetwoleadingpresidentialcandidates,neitherofwhom,
therefore,matchMr.Yushchenko'srequirementsfora"patriotic"president.OnApril24UkrayinskaPravdaandfour
dayslatertheproYushchenkoUkrayinaMolodabothranleadingarticlesonnegotiationsalreadyunderwayfora
new"proRussian"coalitionbetweenthePartyofRegionsandtheYuliaTymoshenkoBlocfacilitatedbyVladyslav
Surkov,firstdeputyheadoftheRussianpresidentialadministration.
TheUkrainianRussianculturalwarispartofawiderongoingundeclaredconflictbetweenbothcountriesovertheir
evolvingnationalidentities.
Ukraine's"quadrupletransition"hasfocusedonnationandstatebuilding,aswellasdemocraticandmarket
economictransition.
Russia,whichdidnotdeclareindependenceinAugust1991,becameareluctantindependentstateandunderBoris
Yeltsinitneversettledonwhatnationandstateitwasbuilding.
UnderPutin,theemergingRussiannationalidentityisunwillingtoacceptaUkraineinanyguiseexceptone
populatedby"littleRussians."
ThearticleaboveisreprintedfromEurasiaDailyMonitorwithpermissionfromitspublisher,theJamestown
Foundation,www.jamestown.org.
AuthorAffiliation
byTarasKuzio
EurasiaDailyMonitor
CopyrightUkrainianNationalAssociationMay10,2009

Details
Subject

Conflicts

Culture
Internationalrelations
History
Location

Ukraine,Russia

People

Yushchenko,ViktorA

Ethnicity

European,EasternEuropean

Title

ANALYSIS:UkrainianRussiancultural
conflict

Author

Kuzio,Taras

Publicationtitle

UkrainianWeekly

Volume

77

Issue

19

Pages

1,19

Numberofpages

Publicationyear

2009

Publicationdate

May10,2009

Year

2009

Publisher

UkrainianNationalAssociation

Placeofpublication

JerseyCity,N.J.

Countryof
publication

UnitedStates

Publicationsubject

European/EasternEuropean,
EthnicInterests

ISSN

02739348

Sourcetype

Newspapers

Languageof

English

publication
Documenttype

Commentary

ProQuestdocument

367743979

ID
DocumentURL

https://libproxy.cc.stonybrook.edu/login?
url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/36
7743979?accountid=14172

Copyright

CopyrightUkrainianNationalAssociation
May10,2009

Lastupdated

20100623

Database

EthnicNewsWatch

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