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The idea of the project ‘Ukrainian History: A Global Initiative’ has already caused a lot of controversial comments, especially after one of its main ideologues, Timothy Snyder, presented it primarily as a kind of history of Ukrainian lands since ancient times. This approach is hard to understand for many Ukrainians – three million words mostly about the times when the very concept of “Ukraine” did not exist, writes Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Portnikov for zbruc.eu.
But it becomes much clearer when we realize that for almost the entire world, except for us (for the most part), all those territories that today are part of modern Ukraine, and Ukrainian ethnic lands in general, have never been perceived as Ukrainian. They were perceived as anyone’s: Polish, Ottoman, russian, but not Ukrainian! This narrative was actively promoted by russian politicians, historians, and journalists, and after the declaration of Ukraine’s independence, it continued to be perceived as the norm, not only in the world but also in our country.
I remember how a few years ago the famous russian TV presenter Leonid Parfyonov came to Kyiv with the presentation of his film “russian Jews”, and I turned out to be one of the few who asked an absolutely, in my opinion, valid question: Why the Jews who lived in Kyiv, Berdychiv, Odesa or Warsaw are considered russian (there were almost no Jews in the ethnic russian territories a hundred years ago – until 1917, their presence there was limited by law). Well, OK, “Jews of the russian Empire” – but “russian”? However, it is precisely what russians want, they want this territory, at least until 1991, to be considered naturally theirs, and after 1991 – a “complete misunderstanding.” And the world may even sympathize with our struggle against russian aggression but subconsciously believe that it is some kind of internal conflict – well, a conflict between democracy and dictatorship. Especially when they start shouting “this is not russia, this is putin!”, “there will be no putin – and there will be no war!” Yes, maybe there will be no war. But russia’s view of Ukraine as a cluster of russian historical lands will remain. And that is why it is important for us that the world realizes that these are not russian lands. This is not just a war between two countries, but two civilizations, it is not a “civil war.”But if the authors of this historical project can explain the understanding of the heritage of these lands by foreigners, we need to take into account the people of these lands. The Ukrainian people. With their perception in the world and their own self-perception.
Timothy Snyder talks about incredibly interesting events that took place on Ukrainian lands, but are not strongly associated with Ukrainians themselves. Of course, this is also important. But in the history of any nation, many events took place on the lands of its historical or modern residence. Every reader of the Bible knows how many events happened in the land of Israel before it became the promised land. After the destruction of the Jewish states and the expulsion of the Jews, not less and perhaps even more exciting events began to take place there. But the history of Israel is the history of the Jewish people, not the history of the Philistines. And not the history of modern Jordan, partially located in the biblical lands.
It is the same for any nation. The founder of German social democracy, Ferdinand Lassalle, is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Wrocław, while Marshal Paul von Hindenburg was born in Poznań. This is the history of modern Polish lands. But the history of Poland is the history of the Polish people. And Lassalle and Hindenburg will find a place in German history. Like, of course, Kant, who is buried in the cathedral in Kaliningrad, even though Königsberg is the regional center of modern russia.
So what we really need, first of all, is a comprehensive history of the Ukrainian people. The history is not just the land on which these people live, but the history of the process of transforming the population into a nation. Of course, I am not revealing anything new here, Hrushevsky [Ukrainian academician, politician, historian and statesman – UT] also wrote about the Ukrainian people. But Hrushevsky wrote his history of the Ukrainian people precisely as the history of the population of the Ukrainian lands, united only by language and faith, he wrote before the October Revolution, the emergence of the Ukrainian SSR, and modern Ukraine. We also need to understand that a nation is primarily about self-awareness and readiness to be a part of civilization and community.For me, the usual criteria for defining a nation – when it concerned Ukrainians – were never enough, because I saw that people who considered themselves Ukrainians were in an absolute minority in their own country, on their own territory, among the same Ukrainians as they were but infinitely farther from their own self-awareness. And, by the way, when in my youth I made the decision to be a Ukrainian journalist, I perfectly understood that I would work for this minority. Frankly speaking, as a Jew by origin, this did not particularly bother me, because I am used to being in the minority and feeling like a part of it. What it’s like to be part of the majority I will always understand in Israel, but not in Ukraine. But I could always at least “construct” the feeling of sorrowness that I would feel if I were an ethnic Ukrainian, who decided to work for Ukrainians but still felt as part of the minority. The entire Ukrainian culture, the entire Ukrainian civilization, is literally permeated with this feeling of sorrowness. Ukrainians, believe me as an observer, are not a people of grief at all. But this grief of Ukrainian culture is like trying to reach one’s own compatriot, who cannot hear or see you, but perfectly hears and sees strangers.
Now, during this great war, Ukrainians – precisely in the civilizational sense of the word – have an incredible chance to finally become the majority. The bearers of the imperial perception of Ukraine evaporate with every day of confrontation, even the russian language, even if it exists and will exist in everyday life, has practically ceased to be the language of civilization on the Ukrainian lands, even the russian Church is convulsively trying to prove that it is not russian. Those who have always been indifferent – and they have been the majority here – are starting to see or “suddenly” realize that now it is more beneficial to be Ukrainians. And they may never become that, but they can make their children Ukrainians so that they will have it better. This can become the third great civilizational achievement of the last decades: Ukrainian statehood, Ukrainian Church, and Ukrainian civilizational majority.
But when this happens, this majority will have to preserve the grateful memory of the minority – the minority that did not renounce itself under any historical circumstances. Therefore, the true history of the Ukrainian people will be the history of the minority that has become the majority.
This is nothing to be ashamed of. When Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, a minority of his people followed him. This minority crossed the sea as if on dry land, created a state, preserved its memory in their prayers facing Jerusalem, restored the state, and now defends it in wars with new enemies. This minority eventually became the new majority. And the old majority dissolved into oblivion in the shadows of foreign pyramids.
