Latest news with #RusskiyMir
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
"Novorossiya" ideologist claims Russia has no borders and will expand in all directions
Vladislav Surkov, former adviser to Kremlin ruler Putin and chief ideologist of the "Novorossiya" project, which aims to annex southeastern Ukraine and Crimea, has stated that the ideology of the Russian World (Russkiy Mir) "has no borders", meaning Russia will continue to expand its influence in all directions. Source: ISW Details: Surkov, known as the ideologist behind the "Novorossiya" project, voiced Russia's expanded imperial ambitions in an interview with the French weekly L'Express. He claimed that the ideology of the Russian world "has no borders" and exists "everywhere there is Russian influence". Surkov also stated that Russia would achieve this strategic goal, which he claimed had remained unchanged since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite potential "manoeuvres, slowdowns and pauses" along the way. Surkov said that bringing Ukraine back into Russia's sphere of influence had been an objective since the collapse of the Soviet Union, referring to Ukraine as an "artificial political entity". Surkov believes that the Russo-Ukrainian war will "separate the Russians and the anti-Russians" and "confine" the latter within their "historical territory" so they "stop spreading across Russian soil". When asked about Russia's borders, Surkov claimed that the ideology of the Russian World has no limits and exists "everywhere there is Russian influence" – be it cultural, military, economic, ideological or humanitarian. He stated that Russia "will spread out in all directions". Analysts emphasise that the Kremlin has repeatedly used the concept of the Russian World to justify military interventions in former Soviet republics, arguing that the territories of the former USSR and Russian Empire are historically Russian lands. Quote: "The Kremlin has used the 'Russkiy Mir' narrative for decades to justify Russian aggression in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova and to set conditions to influence independent countries once colonised by the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire. Putin and other senior Russian officials have repeatedly propagated pseudo-history to deny Ukrainian statehood and nationhood and have falsely asserted that Ukraine's Western neighbours have legitimate claims to Ukrainian territory in an effort to sow division between Ukraine and Europe." To quote the ISW's Key Takeaways on 22 March: US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff uncritically amplified a number of Russian demands, claims and justifications regarding the war in Ukraine during an interview on 21 March. Vladislav Surkov, a former close adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently reiterated a number of longstanding Kremlin claims and ambitions that directly contradict Witkoff's assertions in an interview with French media aimed at Western audiences. [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.] Surkov's statements are consistent with those made by Putin and senior Russian officials, who have recently and repeatedly stated that Russia intends to bring Ukraine under Russian control and establish suzerainty over neighbouring countries in order to weaken the West and strengthen Russia's global influence. Witkoff uncritically repeated several inaccurate Russian claims regarding the status of the Ukrainian territories that Russia illegally occupies. Witkoff's statements undermine US President Donald Trump's stated desired end state for the war in Ukraine that achieves an enduring peace and is in the best interests of the United States, Ukraine and Europe. Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk, and Russian forces recently advanced near Siversk and Pokrovsk and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Kremlin continues to innovate new ways to leverage conscripts to increase the pool of servicemembers eligible for military service in the future. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
CBC
04-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
'We have survived each attempt of annihilation, and we live to witness the true Gospel': Ukrainian Archbishop
Last week marked the end of the third year of Russia's war in Ukraine. It also saw two prominent Ukrainian figures fly from Kyiv to North America. One was President Zelensky, who was berated by Donald Trump and JD Vance, in a shocking realignment of American foreign relations. The other was Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of Ukraine's five million Catholics, who was welcomed warmly at the Isabel Bader Theatre at the University of Toronto. Archbishop Shevchuk grew up practising his faith secretly as it was outlawed under the USSR. He spent Christmas 2024, celebrating Mass in a bunker, amid missile alarms. In February of this year, Archbishop Shevchuk delivered a public lecture hosted by Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies entitled simply: War, Peace and Truth. In it he makes an impassioned case for seeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine through a faith tradition, and invites the listener to engage in a kind of spiritual resistance against Russia's incursion. That resistance would include rejecting the concept of Russkiy Mir, a vague term which literally means "Russian world," but amounts to a Russian ideology that would obliterate Ukraine's identity, in part by claiming that Ukraine was always Russian. Here are excerpts from Archbishop Shevchuk's talk. Gratitude "In the great Canadian tradition of welcoming those who have suffered at the hands of violence and evil, Canada has received nearly 300,000 displaced Ukrainians since the beginning of Russia's full scale war against Ukraine. "I know that [the] USA received a little bit more: 350,000. Your hospitality is and has been outstanding. Your unity as a nation indicates a resolve to welcome the stranger, and to stand against tyranny and international aggression. Your support contributes to achieving a just peace for Ukraine. For the goodwill and hope that Canada has shared with us today. This evening, I express the profound gratitude of all Ukrainians. Thank you very much for being with us." We are paying the highest price for freedom. But there is no other choice in the face of evil. - Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk Resistance "Ukrainians have a legitimate need to uphold a basic moral principle. The defence of one's honour and good name. "In the Bible, to name means to acknowledge God-given dignity. A name recognizes personhood. To name is to bless. To name is also to bestow a power. When God reveals his name to Moses in the burning bush, he shares with Moses the power that liberates captives. In the New Testament, God takes the name Jesus. Saviour. God saves for the sake of true peace — to tear down the wall of enmity between God and man and between the warring factions in the world." 'Russkiy Mir' "Russian authorities propagandize the existence of so-called Russkiy Mir, or 'the Russian World.' And as you know, in Russian "world" and "mir" very often has [sic] a meaning of peace. Mir could be translated as 'world' or 'peace.' What kind of peace? That world of Russian propaganda and slavery can give us a future. "Russia's prolonged aggression into Ukraine aims not simply to conquer territory, but to rewrite history and to instrumentalize [Russian Orthodox] religion as a service of this ideology… To assert the myth of Russkiy Mir requires the eradication of Ukraine… To build its empire, Russia must annihilate the name of Ukraine." Ukrainian Children "The war and occupation, [the] abduction of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children and their brainwashing to hate Ukraine is a constituent element of Russia's Orwellian social policy. Colonialism, now imperialism that resorts to genocidal tragedies, is exactly what today's 'Russian World' [Russkiy Mir] is all about… "Ukrainians will never return to a colonial status. Never again. Ukrainians will never submit to genocidal policies. Our people will not surrender their culture, religious and social liberty. Ukrainians will never sacrifice their children." Keeping faith "If Russia succeeds in occupying Ukraine, our church will be liquidated again. And that is already happening in the occupied territories. In the past three centuries, each time Russia has occupied lands inhabited by Eastern Catholics, they have been forced to convert to Russian Orthodoxy, were driven into exile or sent to perish in a gulag. "We have survived each attempt of annihilation, and we live to witness the truth of the Gospel. And I am here today as a survivor. In Ukraine… we learn that freedom is never [to be taken] for granted, and right now we are paying the highest price for freedom. But there is no other choice in the face of evil. "We must continue to speak this truth, defend the sanctity of human life and the honour of our name, of our very identity. We know that great risk is involved, but we maintain our resolve. Trusting in the Lord's promise: you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Download the IDEAS podcast to listen to this episode. *Excerpts edited for clarity and length. This episode was produced by Seán Foley and Greg Kelly. Watch | War, Peace and Truth: An Evening with Sviatoslav Shevchuk and Timothy Snyder
