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Nina 🐙 Byzantina

Feb 21 • 34 tweets • 5 min read

Putin: Ukraine is not just a neighbor, but an integral part of our history, our culture, our spiritual roots--Orthodox Christianity. Many of them are also our family members.

Putin's address regarding Donbass live:

Putin: Modern Ukraine was formed in its entirety by the Bolsheviks right after the 1917 Revolution. Some of this occurred by taking away historic Russian lands. Later, Stalin attached western Ukraine (formerly under German-speaking rule). Then Khrushchev attached Russian Crimea.

Putin: In its early days, Soviet Ukraine was formed based on Lenin's ideas of Ukrainization (by creating Ukrainian culture where there was none before + by adding Russian land). This was part of the Bolshevik strategy to stay in power, eg. the humiliating Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Putin: We cannot change the events of the past (the establishment of early Soviet statehood under Lenin, and in it--the formation of modern Ukraine), but we must be aware of these facts, which are backed up by many archival documents.

Putin: Despite the many centralizing initiatives that took place under Stalin, the USSR did not make any fundamental changes regarding Lenin's treatment of the national (i.e. ethno-cultural question). This was shortsighted--fostering the ethno-nationalist sentiments and elites.

Putin: After Stalin, the Soviet government continued to foster ethno-nationalism in the Soviet republics, which eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The collapse of historic Russia--in its USSR form--is the result of the Party leaders' actions.

Putin: After the collapse of the USSR, Russia alone not only took on the debt of the entire Soviet Union (paid off in 2017) but continued to financially aid the FSU states and cooperate with these states in various spheres.

Putin: Shortly before 2014, Russian-Ukraine trade exceeded 2019 EU-Ukraine numbers significantly. But the Ukrainian government continued to make choices to harm their own country's best interests.

Putin: Lately, the government of Ukraine has been attempting to systematically eradicate all the historic and cultural ties between Russia and Ukraine. Furthermore, the money meant for the people of Ukraine--owned by Ukraine's oligarchs--is in foreign (western) banks.

Putin: The result of oligarch in-fighting in Ukraine--rather than the establishment of the modern Ukrainian statehood after 1991--resulted in an extremely unstable state and in the 2014 Maidan backed by the west to the tune of millions of dollars a day.

Putin: The immediate result of the Maidan was the rise of extremist violence, such as the Odessa's Trade Unions House fire, in which dozens of people were murdered. Those responsible have escaped punishment, but we know each of them by name, and they will face the consequences.

Putin: Today Ukraine is facing economic collapse, having wasted the resources not just from the Soviets, but from the Russian imperial period. Ukraine is directly controlled by foreign powers all the way to the highest levels of government e.g. jurisprudence.

Putin: Today Ukraine is a colony with a puppet regime facing full de-sovereignization.

Putin: At the same time, the Ukrainian government continues to push the Russian language and culture--despite the significant % of ethnic Russian citizens--out in the most radical ways through legislation. Pushing out the Orthodox Church as a political instrument is next.

Putin: The new official military strategy of the Ukrainian state includes the creation of cells of extremist radicals, using the MENA experience, in Crimea and Donbass.

Putin: Billions of dollars in "lethal aid" came into Ukraine from multiple foreign powers, especially those of NATO. Should Ukraine acquire serious modern weapons, this would cause an additional significant security threat to Russia.

Putin: multiple military centers (navy, aviation) created by NATO countries in Ukraine are used by these foreign countries for reconnaissance purposes re Russia. For NATO countries, Ukraine is essentially a new theater of military action.

Putin: Ukraine's NATO membership would be a direct security threat for Russia.

Putin: When discussing the reunification of Germany, the USSR was promised not a single inch of NATO's eastward expansion. These were empty promises.

Putin: Russia fulfilled all its promises by removing its troops and its influence from its Cold War positions. NATO countries have not.

Putin: Why make Russia an enemy? Washington does not want "such a large Russia." This explains the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy toward Russia.

Putin: public NATO documents directly list Russia as a central threat.

Putin: Should modern NATO countries' missiles (eg Tomahawks) be placed in Ukraine, they would be able to hit multiple targets in Russia.

Putin: Russia always chooses the path of diplomacy and has been pursuing this path with NATO countries.

Putin: Our security requests are simple and include 1. No further NATO expansion 2. No placement of contemporary weapons, per above, in Ukraine. They were ignored by NATO countries.

Putin: Russian development, modernization, and sovereignty are the cause of foreign sanctions regardless of what Russia does.

Putin: Russia has the full right to establish and maintain its own security.

Putin: Our western colleagues alone declared themselves "the civilized world," while ignoring the ongoing death and destruction that has been occurring in Donbass since 2014. How much longer can we watch this tragedy unfold?

Putin: Despite the Minsk Agreements, Ukraine has made no cardinal changes in its treatment of the people in Donbass. Therefore, we are immediately recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics to be ratified by the appropriate RF state organs.

My hands were shaking while simultaneously translating + paraphrasing Putin's address full of facts and figures (which is typical for his statements). The bear has awoken.

One of the most important parts of Putin's address is the fact that the 8 years of suffering of the people of Donbass--under fire and lacking basic necessities--is over. Their lived experience--their humanity--is finally recognized.

The highlights of Putin's speech are here:
rt.com/russia/550170-…

The full transcript (original and translations) will be posted on the kremlin ru site as they typically are and disseminated by the media.