A Brief History of Ukraine and Russia's Contentious Relations

November 7, 2024 | 05:37 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has yet to be resolved. It is unfortunate that the two former Soviet Union countries, who shared cultural heritage, are engaged in a prolonged dispute.

But what are the underlying causes of this contentious relationship? In this article, we will take a brief look at the history of Ukraine and Russia’s relations to better understand the current situation.

Kyivan Rus and The Origins of Russia-Ukraine

The history of Ukraine and Russia traces back to the Kyivan Rus. It was the first East Slavic state that paved the way for the formation of present-day Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.

The state emerged in the 9th century and established its center in Kyiv. Although the latter is the present capital of Ukraine, Kyiv is often referred to as “the mother of Russian cities”, indicating its historical significance to Russia, says CFR.

According to National Geographic, in 988, under the rule of Volodymyr the Great, the state adopted Orthodox Christianity as the new religion, an event that solidified the shared religious and cultural identity of Ukrainians and Russians.

In the centuries that followed, parts of Ukraine were contested by several powers. According to ukraine.ua, the Mongols invaded Kyvian Rus from the east in the 13th century. This undermined the state-building potential of the local nobility.

Biwas (2023) in History of Russia-Ukraine Relations & Its Impact on the U.S. & India also added that the Mongol invasion marked the division of both countries. While Russia was able to develop into its own state, Ukraine gradually fell under the rule of Lithuania and Poland after both armies invaded in the 16th century.

However, after the war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsarist Russia in the 17th century, the territory of Ukraine was divided into two parts. The eastern part of the Dnieper River, known as the "Left Bank," came under Russian imperial control, while the western region, known as the "Right Bank," was under Polish rule.

A century later, particularly in 1793, the Russian Empire annexed the Right Bank. Over time, they banned the use of the Ukrainian language and forced people to adopt the Russian Orthodox faith.

This was the starting point of when the Empire began to consider Ukrainians and Belarusians as “Little Russians”.

Russia and Ukraine in the Soviet Era

The 18th century marked Ukraine's full incorporation into Russian rule. Nevertheless, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, according to Biwas (2023), Ukraine proclaimed its full independence from the Russian Republic on January 22, 1918.

The country experienced a brief period of independence as the Ukrainian People’s Republic until 1922. In that year, Ukraine was reconquered by its neighbor under the Soviet Union.

Life was not easy for Ukrainians during the Soviet era. As highlighted in ukraine.ua, people endured significant hardships, including forced collectivization, genocide - Holodomor, the Great Terror, the Holocaust, deportations, GULAG, punitive psychiatry, Soviet military interventions, the Chornobyl disaster, and many others. This series of events led to the death of millions of Ukrainians.

Later, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became independent. However, the dream of creating a solid, sovereign country took a lot of work.

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