He who has Naught … Steals and Kills
Russians have been denigrating Ukraine, the nation, its
language, religion and culture for as long as they’ve been trying to subjugate Ukrainians.
They have incessantly believed and insisted that Ukrainians, though cynically
regarding by them as a fraternal people, are inferior to Russians.
Even in movies, notably Soviet ones, actors, who may have
been portraying Ukrainians, spoke in the Russian language about Ukrainian
folklore and songs, implying that the culture is quaint like embroideries,
dance and pysanky, but in reality they are meaningless, not of the same level
as the great Russian culture and should be avoided by self-respecting Russians
and captive peoples. It’s not even worth speaking about that culture in
Ukrainian.
Actually, the Russian culture is shallow. Except for a couple
of cities, Russia has no national, or so-called folk depth that tells the story
of its people, whence they came from because they are not nearly as old as the
Ukrainian nation. When Kyiv was a viable domain, with European relationships,
beautiful churches and commerce, Moscow was a bog of frog choruses.
Across the vast landmass of Russia, its people are known for
drunkenness, theft and deceit. The few cultural figures and composers together
with the Russian Orthodox Church, which is a poor excuse for a religion because
it advocates the murder of Ukrainians, do not compensate for the dark abyss created
by the absence of a national culture. Russian culture revolves around the
moronic nesting dolls — matryoshka — Grandfather Frost and the Snowflake as
well as a wide range of stolen, plagiarized and bastardized artifacts,
observances and compositions.
Russia has throughout history consistently destroyed
Ukrainian culture. Today we see the “hochkulture” level of Russian culture as its
invaders wreak havoc in Ukraine, raping and killing children. In 80 days they
destroyed many historical museums and books. Russian invaders have committed
more than 200 crimes against Ukrainian culture in today’s war.
An example from history of Russia’s brutality against
Ukraine and Ukrainians is the slaughter of 15,000 residents and the sacking of
the town of Baturyn in the early 18th century. In the early 1700s, it was
common knowledge that tsarist capital of Saint Petersburg was built on the
bones of Ukrainian Kozaks. Then there is the infamous EMS Ukaze of
1876, a decree of Russian Emperor Alexander II that banned the use of the
Ukrainian language in print. The edict also forbade the import of Ukrainian
publications and the staging of plays or lectures in Ukrainian. In the 1920s
and 1930s, Moscow executed thousands of Ukrainian intellectuals and literati in
what became known as the infamous sanguinary “Executed Renaissance.” Moscow’s
famine of 1932-33 claimed the lives of 7 million Ukrainian men, women and
children. At the end of World War II, Russia outlawed the Ukrainian Greek
Catholic Church, arresting or executing hierarchs and clergy, and forbidding
the faithful from attending liturgies in their faith.
These are only a few examples of the consequences of Russia’s
jealous, blind hatred of all things Ukrainian. Moscow’s perennial goal has been
to destroy all memory of Ukrainian culture and language, which is a violation
of United Nations resolutions about protecting culture. Ukrainian officials and
witnesses have said today’s widespread, indiscriminate destruction of Ukrainian
cities, residential and commercial centers, infrastructure and civilians can
only mean that their mission is to annihilate Ukraine, Ukrainians and any
awareness of them.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian culture is filled with a
wide range of centuries-old beautiful, timeless classical folk culture as well
as what is commonly referred to as world-class culture, all of which have been usurped
by Moscow. To be sure, the well-rounded depth and breadth of the Ukrainian
national culture, something that is lacking in Russia, has saved the Ukrainian
nation in the past and will save the Ukrainian nation tomorrow.
