DISINFO: Ukraine rewrites its history to move away from Russia
SUMMARY
Ukrainian history is full of myths because a realistic approach leads to the conclusion that Ukraine is part of the Russian statehood.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative designed to discredit Ukraine's history, statehood and independence.
There are a lot of mentions in history showing that Kyiv existed before Moscow, and Ukraine before Russia.
The history of Ukraine dates back to the Kyivan Rus era in the 9th-13th centuries. Early in the 20th century, after the collapse of the Russian empire, the Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed, simultaneously with other nations, like Georgia, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. When the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in late 1917, fierce attempts were made to re-establish Russian control over the newly independent states. Soviet Russia managed to take control over Ukraine, establishing a Bolshevik regime.
Battling against nationalist movements, Moscow created "Soviet Republics" in order to mimic national independence: the Estonian Soviet Republic was, for instance, established in Narva in 1918. Soviet Russia managed to take control over Ukraine, establishing a Bolshevik regime. Moscow performed aggressive anti-Ukrainian policies, exterminating the population during four famines; battling the language and the Ukrainian culture.
However, Moscow continues to use selective historical narratives of the Soviet past to diminish Ukraine's history and therefore its statehood.
See more disinformation cases claiming that Ukrainians are not Ukrainians but Russians.