Vladimir Putin. Imperial Russia. And Rewriting History.

Vladimir Putin gave a speech full of confusing conspiracies and angry accusation about modern Ukraine.

But one innocuous sentence might have said more about Putin than most in the west realised.

“Since time immemorial, the people living in the south-west of what has historically been Russian land have called themselves Russians... This was the case before the 17th century, when a portion of this territory rejoined the Russian state, and after.”

What might seem like an innocuous statement to an audience unfamiliar with Eastern European history says a lot about the mindset of the President.

DRAFTJS_BLOCK_KEY:bbn57On the 21st of February Vladimir Putin gave a speech full of confusing conspiracies and angry accusation about modern Ukraine.

The first Russian state was founded in 1557. And Eastern Ukraine then a province in the Polish Lithuanian commonwealth conquered into the empire in 1654. With the west being conquered gradually between 1772 and 1795.

This is what

President Putin is referring to when he says Ukraine “rejoined” Russia in the 17th century.

But if Russia had not existed prior to the 16th century and had never contained any Ukrainian territory. How can the region be said to be “rejoining” Russia?

Putin is likely referring to the Federation of the Kievan Rus. A Scandinavian trading confederation which ruled much of Eastern Europe between the 9th and 13th century.

While this may seem like an strange stretch of the imagination. The Russian state has claimed descent from the Kievan Rus since it’s founding.

Ivan the third claimed the title Prince of the Rus and claimed ownership over all the ancient Kievan Rus empire. Kiev became a spiritual centre for the new Russian nation.

But following its conquest Imperial Russia would find a region with its own language and culture.

What follow

ed was a period of aggressive Russification. Ukrainian culture and language would be referred to as little Russian.

Much of Putin’s current rhetoric on Ukraine could have been lifted straight from imperial propaganda.

In 1864 t

he Tsar’s minister of the interior Pyotr Valuyev. In a secret decree to officials in Ukraine banned almost all use of the language.

“A separate Little Russian language never existed, does not exist, and shall not exist, and their [Little Russians] tongue used by commoners is nothing but Russian corrupted by the influence of Polish."

The reference to Polish originated from official Russian national dogma that said Ukrainian’s identity was invented by Polish subversion.

Putin’s claim Ukraine was invented by Bolsheviks is the last in a long line of misinformation come from Russian nationalists claiming Ukrainian identity is not real.

In rewriting history Putin is not blazing a new path forward, but rather re-invigorating Tsarists myths last used to justify an aggressive period of ultra nationalist imperial expansion.