Putin Should Read More History | Into Context | War in Ukraine 05

In Vladimir Putin's eyes, Ukraine is an artificial creation of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. His current invasion is justified on the premise that Ukraine has no valid claim to sovereignty. In this episode, Indy and Spartacus take that false narrative apart by looking at the long history of Ukrainian nationalism.

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Marek Kamiński
Community Management: Ian Sowden
Written by: Lennart Visser
Research by: Lennart Visser and Iryna Dulka
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Artwork and color grading by: Mikołaj Uchman
Sound design by: Marek Kamiński

Colorizations:
Mikołaj Uchman

Sources:
Artur Orlionov

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Progressive Progress - Howard Harper-Barnes
March Of The Brave 4 - Rannar Sillard
Weapon of Choice - Fabien Tell
Epic Adventure Theme 4 - Håkan Eriksson
Break Free - Fabien Tell
Out the Window - Wendel Scherer
London - Howard Harper-Barnes
Underlying Truth - Howard Harper-Barnes
Easy Target - Rannar Sillard

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[TimeGhost]

Humanity has throughout its history learnt the lessons from both its successes and failures on the past. Those lessons are in part enshrined in the founding charter of the United Nations, produced during one of the darkest moments of our species. We continue to hold that charter dear, perhaps precisely because we know what happened for it to finally be written, and that is why we continue producing historical videos that we hope will inform the world as to the importance of preserving democracy, freedom, and human rights.


Sources:
Paul Magocsi, A History of Ukraine (University of Toronto Press, 1996).
Timothy Snyder, The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999 (Yale University Press, 2003).
Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History (University of Toronto Press, 2000)
Danylo Statsenko, Word and name Ukraine: from the Kyiv Chronicle to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, (Istorychna Pravda, 2021)
Antonovych V. My confession: Selected historical and journalistic works (Lybid, 1995)
Ivan Franko, Ukraina Irredenta (Life and Word, 1895)
Ewa Thompson, Imperial Knowledge: Russian Literature and Colonialism (Greenwood Press, 2000)
Ivan Dziuba, RUSSIFICATION in the Ukrainian context (Encyclopedia Of History Of Ukraine)
Natalia Yakovenko Essay On The History Of Ukraine From Ancient Times To The End Of The Eighteenth Century (Genesis, 1997)

[michelmurr]

I'm ukrainian. Never really cared about the country since I lived my whole life in lebanon. But since the war I really wanted to understand the history behind it all. Thank you so much this was really a very informative video

[Kevinism]

My great-grandparents were "Austrian Ruthenes", as the ship roster says, born in Galicia. My grandmother was born in the diaspora, and her first language was Ukrainian, which she did not pass down to her children. Despite this, she was always outspoken about our specifically Ukrainian ancestral identity. For the past three years, I have been studying the language, and the history and culture is woven into it.

I have been a viewer lf yours since you launched "the Great War" channel and cannot, in either language, express how I am grateful to you for giving my fellow anglophones a way to view the many-faceted jewel of Ukrainian history.

[windwalker]

An amusing note: the Russian attack along the western approaches to Kyiv has been stopped by the Stalin Defense Line. There's a network of pillboxes and bunkers, connected by tunnels, which were used against the Germans during the last war. The Ukranians started repairing them months ago, and they're in good enough shape to do the job again.

[thePyrotechnist]

This is one hell of a well researched video essay. As a Ukrainian, I recommend it to anyone trying to understand Ukrainian national identity

[GermanConquistador]

This has been the most comprehensive debunking of Putin's Lie of Ukrainian Illegitimacy I have yet seen.
Thank you TimeGhost Team - Your work is now History itself.

[rabihrac]

This "natural/unnatural country" thing surely does apply to my country Lebanon. Thank you TimeGhost History for putting things in their perspective

[subutaynoyan]

As Ukranians say: Kiev was a great city of Eastern European steppes before Moskow was even a village

[baa]

It seems to me there are two things necessary for a nation to exist: the people must think of themselves as a nation, but also, the neighbors must accept this as well (or be made to accept this). This can make it hard for a people who want to be a nation but are blocked from it. Possibly the most recent nationality to emerge is the North Macedonians, and they've had to fight every inch of the way against Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria.
Looked at this way, what Putin wants to do is strangle Ukrainian nationhood by denying it recognition, then absorb it into Russia. Pretty clearly, the Ukrainians think of themselves as a nation--they're proving that the hard way, day by day (and being oppressed by belligerent neighbors is an excellent nation-building exercise). But sometimes, heroic resistance isn't enough, as the Welsh might testify. Or the Provençals. Or the Sioux, for that matter. Though note, in two of those three cases the people still think of themselves as a nation, so their cause isn't dead yet. Overall, I don't think Putin can manage to extinguish Ukrainian nationhood now, since he's roused all of Ukraine's neighbors to a robust defense of the country, and united the Ukrainians as never before.

[pattygman]

As always a brilliant presentation of the facts. Well done time ghost team.

[brendanokellymusic]

The coolest guys on the Internet. Laying down historical facts like concrete. I have been watching/listening to a lot of your videos for the last few days, and I have learnt a lot. Thank you.

[daleeladakus]

A great job as always! A wealth of information that deserves a re-watch. I grew up in the cold war USA and it seems like all my history has been "that is the USSR over there" and that was it. Such a long and gripping history. Even their name "Ukraine" or borderlands, is a big part of their national identity. It seems to me that they were a melting pot of different cultures of surrounding empires to create their unique culture of today. I can not wait for your next episode! You and your team have done it again! Thank you!

[stevekovoc]

The important thing, frankly, is that even if Ukraine was "made up" by Lenin.... so what? That doesn't mean Putin just gets to invade Ukraine. I think the fact that the people of Ukraine are fighting back dispels the idea that Ukraine is "made up" in the way Putin claims it is.

[halnywiatr]

Of tremendous significance is that Poland recognizes, accepts, and supports Ukrainian independence. But then, Poland has a history of fighting for democratic freedoms at home and abroad.

[maryanchabursky]

The first mention of the word Ukraine was in 1187 (40 yeaes after the creation of Moscow btw). The word Vkrayina was used to refur to the land of roughly modern Ukraine (specifically the regilns around Kyiv and Chernihiv).
The idea that Ukraine means borderland is a Russian imperialist myth. Kryi means edge, however kryina means land (today it also means country in Ukrainian). It can be translated literally as "edged object" (kryi also means pice of something). V or U (oo in Ukrainian) means "in". So Vkrayina or ookrayina (the native pronunciation of Ukraine) can be translated as literaly "in country or in land", and is hypothisised to have meant "our land" in the Kyiv dilects of east slavic.
It is a helarious Kremlin myth to imagine that the heartland of Kyiven Rus (it's literally in the name) was called "borderland".

[lucius]

All doubts that Ukraine is a state have been swept away by the tenacious defense they showed and showing against the Russian aggressor. If they were no nation before, they are certainly now.

[williamdonnelly]

All the videos you folks make are a goldmine for me, retired at 67 and with a lifetime interest in history. Incredibly researched and excellently presented. Thank you so much!!

[Artur_M.]

Putin was apparently too busy reading such "brilliant thinkers" as Ivan Ilyin and Aleksandr Dugin.
One need look no further than the Ukrainian anthem - _Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia_ (written in 1862) to see the modern idea of the Ukrainian nation already developed.

BTW said song seemingly took some inspiration from the song that eventually became the Polish national anthem (written in 1797) but that doesn't diminish it in any way, in my opinion. The influence of the Polish independence movement on the Ukrainian one is an interesting topic, especially 1863-1864 January Uprising, the leaders of which were looking back to the idea of the triple Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth, first postulated by the Treaty of Hadiach (1658) - a failed attempt to reconcile the Cossack Hetmanate with the PLC.
The January Uprising is even more important for the Belarusian national movement - it's not a coincidence that a Belarusian volunteer unit, currently fighting for Ukraine, is named after one of its leaders - Kastuś Kalinoŭski (Konstanty Kalinowski).

[ripvanallosaur]

Interesting facts as always and I love the tag team in some of these episodes.

[dmytrodelen]

I'm actually astonished that you hit all the marks in the main Ukrainian history. More foreigners need to watch this video to understand that our nationhood has begun much earlier than in 1991 or even in 1917.

Also, it's great that you mention that Ukrainian (then Ruthenian) intellectuals had actually helped Peter I to shape newly formed Russian empire. Most of them were alumni of Kyiv Mohyla Academy which was the main (and one of the few, but all in Ukraine) orthodox educational institutions in Eastern Europe. One of them was Theophan Prokopovich who presumably advised Peter to rename Muscovy to Russia (Rossiya) which was the greek name for Rus. Thus claiming the Rus heritage that Moscow has very little in common with by that time. The reasons to do so of people like Theophan is still debated to this day, but most likely, they’re very pragmatic. It’s easier to associate yourself with a new and emerging power that Muscovy was starting to become. And every new Empire needs a proper myth starting as earlier as possible.

Meanwhile the parts of modern day Ukraine and Belarus under the Commonwealth were considered Rus land or Ruthenia (just a Latin name of Rus). Moreover, the area near Lviv was called Ruthenian Voivodeship up until the end of 18th century.

So, if you bear this in mind, it’s just another proof that Ukrainian history starts from Rus period and that Rus period is not about todays Russia. They can claim their Novgorod heritage of course (although Ivan the Terrible made everything possible to erase it), but everything that happened around Kyiv was part of Ruthenia and thus Ukraine. And almost everything happend in Kyiv and Chernihiv at the height of Rus state.
Also, just google Kingdom of Ruthenia, you'll be quite delighted as well.

But ofc every russian will go wild because they truly think that Volodymyr the Great can be considered modern ‘russian’ but when we say, he can be Ukrainian they laugh. But we don’t care, this war has helped us embrace out true history and meaning.