Thread by @DrAnnaPirates

Anna’s History Class:

I will migrate old lessons and add new ones to this eventually. It will be running thread. This is written for West to understand what has happen to us, who we are and who they are.

Part 1 - What is Ethnic Russian in any of former and current slave states? How does Russia colonize? Genocide. It's sensitive topic for us and also complicated one. This thread is very simple explanation of what such question mean outside of Russia.

1. When Russia occupy country, they not only occupy it physically, they occupy it socially and even mind occupation. I use #America as example of what this look like. Imagine Russia invade America. They raze everything and first priority murder anyone who can resist.

2. They call these people “elites” but what this really mean is anyone who has strong cultural, natural, factual ties. They target prominent leaders, writers, thinkers, scientists, religious leaders, journalists, historians, activists. Anyone who has tools or standing to resist.

3. So they round up all your Hemingways, CNN, Fox (they probably help), politicians, doctors, lawyers, everyone like that. Then who remain is now Russian. Forget America. It never existed. There is no American Revolution because America never exist.

4. It's Russia and has always been Russia. You now will speak Russian, know only Russian version of history, watch only Russian approved movies, read only Russian approved books, listen to only Russian approved music.    
You will be Russian.

5. If you resist, you are executed or disappeared or sent to psychiatric hospital to be corrected, because not to accept this new reality mean you are mentally ill. Your achievements in science and culture are now Russian. You went to moon in Russian built machine, manned by

6. Russian cosmonaut and achieve first man on moon for Russia. Your streets, cities, buildings are renamed. Famous Broadway street in New York City is now Lenin Street. New York City itself is now St Putinsburg. Your property? Gone. It's not yours. It belong to Russia.

7. They decide where you live. They assign where you live and how you live. You good Russian? You might get your own flat. Or you bribe someone. Generally, you put in large communal flat with strangers. Oh, criminal or pedophile share flat with you? Too bad. You complain? Gulag.

8. You have profession? Forget your job. You now work for Russia. Your religion? It's Russia. Now you have generations of this. All things on TV tell you that only Russia is good. You are best culture ever because you went to moon first or had Russian writer named Hemingway.

9. All other countries are trying to kill you or steal your achievements. You are greatest humans ever because you suffer for your greatness. I tell you very simple overview.
Generation after generation until this thing called America is forgotten & everything you knew is lost

10. Except there are those who keep language and culture and traditions of (especially of ethnic groups) alive secretly (partisans). They undermine system through small acts of disobedience so that they do not become completely swallowed.

11. Eventually you are freed in 1991. Who you are now? Those that kept America and Americanism, its history, culture, language, traditions are easy to wake up to being free and American. But those that could not or were afraid to defy being Russian are not ready to wake up

12. Or don't know how or are older and feel connection to only thing they know. Also during this occupation people intermarried. So now you have true Russian born or half Russian born. But who is anyone once they are free? This is national pain and trauma we have had to deal with

13. For 30 years. Russia used that time to agitate, divide, corrupt, but each act made us more defiant this time. Those closer in proximity you are to Russia, East, you had less access to your identity. Closer to Europe (West) you were able to hide your identity in secret

14. And wake up right away. Imagine you are suddenly awake and free. You want to reclaim your Americanism, language and history as quickly as possible. Others want to go slower. Some don't' know who are they.

15. Some identify as ethnic Russia (whatever that mean in America occupied for so long). Some are because of family ties. You all speak Russian of course. You had to. But some speak English still. There is push and pull how to make this process of reclaiming yourselves

16. Go faster or slower. But 99% DO NOT WANT TO BE RUSSIAN even if they identify as ethnic Russian. They are Ukrainian. 1% left are older, too old to adept. They don’t want to be part of Russia but they feel left behind. This sadly who Russia targets for collaboration.

17. This is what West does not understand when they speak about language or identity of not just Ukraine but every Russian occupied slave state. When people say “ethnic Russians” in Ukraine are Russians, that’s just not true. Russia is nationality, not ethnicity.

18. Those here who identify as Russian do so for many reasons as I explain. Those families that intermarried will have that connection but not because they are Russian. They still are Ukrainian. Speaking Russian as I show does not mean “is Russian”

19. You also now get bigger answer to why Russia hates Ukrainians so much. They convince us so long that we are Russian that THEY BELIEVE it now also. It’s insult to them that we say we are not Russian. Why they so afraid

20. Of us? Why are we such threat to them? Because Russia is made up even now of still occupied nations. If we can wake up and say we are not Russian, so can they. #Chechnya tried. #Dagestan tried. What if they all wake up? Then Russia is not empire, but two city states.

21. When you hear Ukrainians say Kharkiv as Kharkov. They not say it because they are Russian. They say it that way because they learn to say it that way. Same for Odesa/Odessa. Nowhere on earth is Russia hated more than Odesa no matter how we say Odesa or what language we speak

22. What you see now is war genocide. What does peace genocide look like behind Iron Curtain? Like this but you never hear of it. Not most of you until 2022. 7 million killed in one year. This is 🇷🇺peace. That’s why we fight as we do. We have no choice. #Holodomor