Pequeña Rusia

A mediados del mes pasado se notificó al mundo la existencia de un nuevo país, Malorossiya (Малороссия), o Pequeña Rusia. El territorio involucrado es la región del Donbass, en el extremo oriental de "Ucrania". Pocos medios de Occidente se dignaron comentar sobre el tema. La primera de las dos notas que posteamos hoy es la declaración de Independencia de la Pequeña Rusia, Malorossiya. La reprodujo Red Voltaire:

Título: Declaration on the creation of a new federal state, Malorossiya

Texto: “The project of the state of "Ukraine", formulated one hundred and fifty years ago and implemented in different versions during the twentieth century, has reached its logical conclusion and led to the country’s disintegration, the civil war and the death of tens of thousands of people, including children, women, and elderly people. And this process is irreversible. An attempt to turn the story back will result in "balkanization" of the conflict, expansion of chaos, escalation of the civil war and even bigger number of casualties.

To stop the civil war and avoid new victims, we, representatives of the majority of the regions of the former "Ukraine" assembled in Donetsk on July 18, 2017, discussed the current situation and came to the following conclusions:

- the state of "Ukraine" has revealed itself as a failed state and demonstrated its being incapable of granting its inhabitants a peaceful and prosperous present and future;

- the current authorities – ’president’ Poroshenko and the Verkhovna Rada – elected in Kiev after the coup d’etat against the backdrop of political terror and the absence of elections in the Crimea and Donbass, are illegitimate;

- the state of "Ukraine" is on the brink of economic catastrophe and depopulation;

- an ultranationalist coup is brewing in Kiev, as a result of which outright neo-Nazis will come to power instead of "Banderites with a European face";

- as a result of the neo-Nazi coup, a civil war of all against all will begin in the country and cause its subsequent disintegration;

- the Ukrainian nationalistic project (the Galician one) has discredited itself by the shedding of civilians’ blood in the country;

- the ideology of "Ukrainism" has proved to be misanthropic, mixed with xenophobia (Russophobia, anti-Semitism, Polonophobia) and neo-Nazism (the ideology of national exclusivity and superiority);

- resulting from historical development and due to the Maidan, the word "Ukraine" is forever associated with the names of the Nazi accomplices Bandera and Shukhevich, with the tragedies of the Baby Yar, the Volyn massacre and Khatyn, and, nowadays, with mass murders of people on the Maidan, in the Trade Unions’ House in Odessa, and the Genocide of the Donbass people.

On the basis of the above, we believe that the state of "Ukraine" in the form it was established after the collapse of the USSR is UNSERVICEABLE.

We, representatives of the regions of the former "Ukraine", propose to re-establish the state and to proclaim the state of MALOROSSIYA under historical background out of the former "Ukraine". In this case, it is of fundamental importance to rename the country, since "Ukraine" as a state is guilty of war crimes, mass terror and genocide of its own people.

In turn, the new name of the country based on historical traditions will enable us to reunify those pieces of the former "Ukraine" that seemed to have parted ways forever, including because of participation in the civil war on different sides of the front line.

We must turn the page of our people’s history which is flooded with the blood of our brothers and sisters.

Malorossiya is an INDEPENDENT, SOVEREIGN state with a new name, a new flag, a new constitution, a new state structure, new principles of social and economic development, and new historical prospectives. But this is NOT A REVOLUTION! This is a return to history. This is a novelty that restores, not destroys.

In view of the economic plight of the country, the chaos and disintegration potential, regarding the possibility of launching a "war of all against all", we consider it necessary to declare a state of emergency for the transition period – up to 3 years. During this time, the process of adoption of the new Constitution and the establishment of the rule of law should be completed.

Under a state of emergency, a ban on the activities of political parties and foreign funds is to be introduced, and penalties for criminal offenses, especially against the person, are to be increased. The fight against corruption will be toughened, as well as penalties for it. The shadow arms market is to be eliminated, including by registering weapons in accordance with the new law.

In the same period, an investigation is to be carried out with the involvement of foreign specialists – from Russia, Belarus, the European Union – into the crimes committed by the Maidan Kiev regime: murders on the Maidan, the murder of Odessa citizens in the Trade Unions’ House on May 2, 2014, war crimes in Donbass in the so-called ATO.

In the same period, the People’s Tribunal is to be prepared to charge the state criminals who have led the country to disintegration and civil war: V.F. Yanukovich (with a request to Russia for his extradition), P.A. Poroshenko and his clique: Turchinov, Yatsenyuk, Kolomoisky, Paruby, Nalivaichenko and others.

We are sure that, having recovered from the criminal neo-Nazi ideology of "Ukrainism", we will be able to build a new society on the basis of friendship and mutual assistance, but not hatred and envy. The creative genius of our people will manage to bring Malorossiya to the forefront of global civilization and play a role in history. The role of Good and Truth.”

***

La nota que sigue es de Hristo Voynov para The Vostokian:

Título: What ‘Malorossiya’ Tells Us about Bigger Russia

Texto: On July 18th, pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine declared the formation of a new country, Malorossiya, Малороссия, or Little Russia. The term is in reference to the Tsar-era name for Ukraine, and so it is demeaning to Ukrainians who fought  to separate Russian influence and Ukrainian identities. This is a confusing development in the Ukrainian conflict, as far as anyone is concerned. In its immediate and practical effects, this declaration is unlikely to change anything on the ground, except for possibly creating a new form of hierarchy within the rebel ranks. In the long run, this decision can ruin the current attempt at finding peace, as it signals that the rebels are not interested in staying within the state of Ukraine, which to Ukraine is a deal breaker.

The main question that must be asked is simple; why? The conflict has been ongoing for three years, the separatist entities have changed their identities multiple times, from the separate Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) which then united to form Novorossiya, but only for a short period of time. This declaration brings about little change for the people’s republics, except for a rebranding of the political identity of the rebels. Instead, it is a threat that the state of Malorossiya would replace the failed state of Ukraine, as the Prime Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic Aleksandr Zakharchenko describes it. If we are to take him at his word, one cannot exist without the other.

The decision to form Malorossiya was not even unanimous, as the declaration of the new state was done only by the leadership in Donetsk. The Luhansk based leadership stated they were not involved in the decision. It is no wonder then that the capital of the new state would be Donetsk. Under this plan, Ukraine’s former capital would be relegated to being a mere ‘cultural center’. The most important actor, Russia, has also distanced itself from this decision and claimed it was not consulted in this decision. However, this is up for debate.

The consensus outside of Russia and ‘Malorossiya’ is that Russia is largely behind the rebellion, having funded it both financially and militarily. There is certainly enough evidence to prove a high degree of collaboration if not direct support, even if Russia vehemently denies it. Because of this, we must look at the current geopolitical landscape if we are to understand what ‘Malorossiya’ really means for the world.

The most likely possibility is that the leaders in the DPR decided to spoil the Minsk peace agreement, which has helped calm (but not end) the conflict. If either side in a conflict wants to spoil the attempted peace deal, it would need to know that a) its military capabilities are stronger than its opponent’s and b) the enemy’s foreign backer will not be sending more assistance to change the relative capabilities of the two. As it is the rebels that are taking the steps towards spoiling the peace process, they must have information that they think gives them the upper hand against the Ukrainian army.

However, because of the nature of Russia’s role in the conflict, it is safe to assume that if the rebels want to spoil the peace deal, it is because of Russia. One possibility is that they believe that if the conflict picks up again, they can drag Russia further into the conflict to their benefit. If the Ukrainian army starts an offensive, Russia would be obliged to send help to the separatists so they are not defeated. This would fit the pattern of Russia’s previous behavior in Ukraine and even Syria, which is to enter when its ally seems to be close to defeat and turn the tide of war, or at least turn the loss into a stalemate. That said, the rebels themselves have complained throughout the war that Russia has abandoned them. It is unlikely that they are betting on Russia saving them this time, at least without reason to believe that Russia will act in their favor.

Thus, the more likely scenario is that Russia supported the move, for two possible reasons. The first is the timing of the declaration. The past month has seen Kiev attempting to find framework in which to reintegrate the rebellious territory into Ukraine within the Minsk agreement framework, as well as discussion on how to strengthen the relationship between the EU and Ukraine. Both are things that the rebels and Russia would be interested in preventing, and returning to a state of war would be the simplest way to do so.

The second is the current political situation between Russia and the US, or specifically Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The relationship between the two is still up for debate, but there is no doubt that there is a relationship and that Trump wants good relations with Putin. If one approaches their relationship from an anti-Trump perspective, the conclusion is that Putin has leverage on Trump that can be used in the global theater. While the drama is still unfolding, it appears likely that Russia played a role in helping Trump win the 2016 US elections. Russia could hypothetically leak information out that would ruin Trump’s presidency if he were to act against their interests. If one approaches their relationship from a pro-Trump perspective, Russia is a natural ally to the US because of many reasons, such as ideological ties between the two leaders and the need to work together to fight terrorism.

If approached from either way, the reasoning for US appeasement of Russian actions in Ukraine is there. What could the US receive from Russia to justify allowing Russia free reign to resume destabilizing Ukraine? It could be undoing sanctions and returning confiscated Russian territory, which Trump has discussed the possibility of. It could be in exchange for the peace deal in Syria, which was dangerously close to seeing an intensified Russia-US proxy conflict in response to the US bombing the Syrian Army. There are many possible conclusions as to what the reason could be that are way out of the public eye. However, what is certain is that the ‘Malorossiyan rebels’ wouldn’t take such a provocative stance without considering Moscow’s current standing in world affairs.