In a televised speech on Monday, Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukraine is an inalienable part of Russian “history, culture, and spiritual space”. He portrayed Ukrainians as a mere sub-group of a larger Russian nation, stressing that people in Ukraine have called themselves Russian “since time immemorial”.
This vision of a great Russian people comprising all East Slavs, including those who identified as Ukrainian or Belarusian, has a history.
First, it was invented to justify Tsarist rule in the 19th century. Then, it formed the cornerstone of Soviet national policy.
