RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR OF 2022 : HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF TRAGEDY AND LESSONS FOR NEXT GENERATIONS OF UKRAINIANS

Abstract

Problem statement. For many of our compatriots, the large-scale invasion of sovereign Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 came as a complete suddenness, an extreme aggression by the so-called “brotherly people”. The Russian Federation has launched a full-scale invasion along the entire length of the common border, as well as from the territory of Belarus and the temporarily occupied Crimea, launched missile strikes against military and critical civilian infrastructure in the regions of Ukraine and continues to conduct military operations destroying cities, villages and the civilian population, perpetrating genocide against the Ukrainian people. But if we carefully analyse Ukrainian-Russian relations throughout the centuries of our non-neighbourliness, then the openly hostile attitude of today's the Russian establishment and the part of Russian society that supports it is not surprising. The purpose of the article is to conduct a historical analysis of the Russian aggression origins against the Ukrainian people, nation, state, culture, Ukrainians during the X−XXI centuries and outline the historical prospects of relations with the Russian state for the preservation and stable development of future generations of Ukrainians. Conclusions. The future of the Russian state depends entirely on the position of the civilized world. According to leading historians, with whom we fully agree, the destruction of the modern Russian empire could lead to the development of such post-imperial ethnic groups as the West Siberian, Far Eastern, Cossack pre-Caucasian, etc. At the same time, we can agree with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the coalition forming advisability of countries most interested in Russia's disarmament, which could include Britain, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and possibly Turkey. Such an alliance could be a powerful lever in opposing the revival of the Soviet Union, which was a “prison of nations” and has now been partially revived to force all civilized countries (especially those bordering Russia and Belarus) to consider further steps. So, let us remember and constantly remind our children that the policy of the Soviet leadership towards Ukraine was occupation, as well as the policy of the Russian Empire in the XIX century and the Russian Federation now. It consisted in purposeful actions to destroy Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as the bearer of national identity, history, culture and language in order to permanently consolidate the territory of Ukraine under Moscow's rule. Today, Ukraine is forced to defend its civilized European choice and state sovereignty from Russia. It is necessary to remember and prevent the mistakes and miscalculations that led to the defeat of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917−1921, the main of which were internal disagreements in the face of external aggression, which led to the occupation of the territory. Today we have a chance to end this war for the sovereignty of our state, for the life of the people in it and finally bury the empire of evil.