Thread by @maksymeristavi

#RussianColonialism perfected genocide and ethnic cleansing even before the terms were invented.

anyone interested should learn about the 1708 russian invasion of Baturyn, the capital of Ukraine's first democratic proto-republic

after Ukraine's tried and failed to break free from #RussianColonialism by siding with Sweden in the Great Northern War, moscow decided to punish Ukrainians with a carefully orchestrated Baturyn massacre — one of the most horrific mass slaughters in Europe's history

by 1708 Baturyn was a thriving Ukrainian capital, a cultural, intellectual, and political center with a population of up to 15,000 — making it even slightly bigger than Kyiv at the time. genocidal #RussianColonialism is the reason why you probably never heard about the city

on November 2nd, 1708 russian colonial troops approached Baturyn's city fortress. russians suggested Ukrainians surrender but received a traditional Ukrainian answer that wasn't much different from modern-day 'russian warship go f*ck itself.'

however, outnumbered by russian troops and demoralized by the defeat of the Ukrainian-Swedish alliance, some Ukrainians deserted and shared with the colonizers a secret passage to the fortress. russians did not face Ukrainians on a battlefield and hit them in the backs

russian colonial troops eliminated Ukrainian soldiers in less than two hours but did not stop there. they decided to make a performative execution of each and every city's resident and leave scorched earth instead of Baturyn
euromaidanpress.com/2021/11/20/bat…

this 2015 painting by Ukrainian artist Yuriy Nahulko is devoted to the Baturyn mass slaughter. russians mass raped the city's women and then cut them to pieces. they did the same to the elderly and kids, chopping even the newly-born

russian colonial general Menshikov encouraged his soldiers to be creative in their executions: just killing the civilians wasn't enough. they deployed so-called execution wheels for the agonizing mutilation and torture of Ukrainians

according to well-preserved witness accounts and investigations by 18th and 19th-century historians, russians also cut off the heads of Ukrainian leaders. they sent them as souvenirs to their military and imperial command

This is a 1995 painting by the Ukrainian artist Mykola Danchenko titled 'Baturyn apples', depicting russian colonial general and mass murderer Mehshikov during his rampage in Baturyn

this is a 1990 linocut by Ukrainian artist Vasyl Lopata commemorating the civilian victims of the Baturyn massacre - it portrays russian emperors standing on the bodies of slaughtered Baturyn women and kids

Swedish historian Anders Fryxell claimed that russian general Menshikov ordered to crucify the corpses of the Baturyn defenders, put them on rafts, and let them down the Seim river so the rest of Ukraine would see the consequences of resisting russia

this is a painting by a Ukrainian mid-20th-century artist Andriy Mordovets reimagining the horror of the crucified bodies of the Baturyn defenders floating down the river

this is a 2000 painting by Ukrainian artist Andriy Ivakhnenko reconstructing the Baturyn mass murder. According to French historian Jean-Benoit Scherer russians looted the city, and what they couldn't steal they set on fire. Baturyn ceased to exist
mazepa.name/cms/wp-content…

despite the explicit russian ban on restoring the city, unbreakable Ukrainians eventually rebuilt Baturyn. but it remains a shadow of its former self. for several generations, it wasn't even classified as a town. before the ongoing genocide, barely 2,500 lived there

the last 25 years Ukrainian archaeologists spent uncovering mass graves of Ukrainians slaughtered by russian colonial troops in Baturyn. three centuries later, still an incredibly traumatic experience for many of them - digging out mutilated bones of kids and women

in 2008 Ukraine rebuilt a section of the Baturyn fortress and made it part of the museum. It celebrates the former glory of what once was a Ukrainian capital. It also honors the multi-century struggle of Ukrainians for freedom and against tyranny

the same year Ukraine installed this memorial in Baturyn to honor the memory of thousands slaughtered by russian colonial troops and the entire Ukrainian capital being leveled to the ground. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko compared the events to the Holodomor genocide

many European armies engaged in atrocities at the time. still, the Baturyn massacre sent shockwaves. European newspapers reported on it with headlines "a terrible massacre," "all of Ukraine is in blood," "Women and children on the points of sabers"
mazepa.name/biograph/mazep…

but the most horrific thing is that russia keeps committing these 18-century style mass murders in 21st century: no-hostage, scorched-earth terrorism with rape, torture, and slaughter of civilians, including little Ukrainian kids

https://twitter.com/maksymeristavi/status/1654803217547444224

in 2022 Baturyn was again occupied by russian colonial troops. the Chernihiv oblast, where the city is situated, once again witnessed an unimaginable scale of terror — echoing the horror of the Baturyn massacre
time.com/6255183/ukrain…

the staff of the Baturyn memorial risked their lives to hide & protect the historical artifacts of russian crimes from the invaders - it took decades to uncover the mass murder evidence. they wouldn't allow russians to erase this history once again
golos.com.ua/article/365203

This is Nataliya Rebrova, director of the Baturyn memorial - she worked through several weeks of russian occupation and didn't leave the museum for a single day

and this is her colleague, a Ukrainian historian & archeologist Dr. Yuriy Kovalenko. started working at the museum in 1999 & since 2005 he was part of the team leading archaeological excavations at the site of the Baturyn slaughter. Dr. Kovalenko authored 70+ academic papers

Dr. Kovalenko had to put his research of russian colonial crimes on pause and enlisted to defend Ukraine from another russian invasion. he was killed by enemy fire on the frontline earlier this year.

Even 300 years later, Baturyn keeps losing its finest to #RussianColonialism