April 12, 2024
Putin's Letter
The lengthy letter published by Putin before the invasion, as well as other
recent writings, appear unclear to us Westerners. In fact, it aims to refute the
widespread idea in Ukraine that Russia invaded it in the 1600s and has since
dominated it almost like a colony. In reality, it is not so: Ukrainians (like
the White Russians) have always participated in the empire on equal terms with
Russians. It's enough to remember that the USSR was governed more by Ukrainians
(Khrushchev and Brezhnev) than by Russians (Gorbachev and Lenin), and for longer
by Stalin, who hailed from Georgia in the Middle East. Since these facts are not
known to us, we interpret them differently. It should be noted that Putin, in
his letter, acknowledges the right of Ukrainians to have an autonomous state,
but in this case, they must also allow the secession of Russian-speaking regions
through a referendum.