Serhiy Dzherdzh, PhD, political scientist
Kyiv, Ukraine
Each year on the 28th of July we celebrate the Day of Introduction of Christianity onto Kyivan Rus – Ukraine by St. Volodymyr the Great, the Holy Apostolic Grand Duke of Kyiv, in 988 AD.
This time Putin declared that Grand Duke Volodymyr had “put the start to establishment of a united Russian nation and actually paved the way to construction of a strong centralized Russian state”.
However, the very name “Russia” emerged only in 1721 AD. Earlier this country was called the Moscovian State, or the Muscovy, or the Duchy of Moscow, or the Muscovite Ulus. Its basis was comprised of Finnish and Turkish peoples.
Volodymyr is the Kyivan duke. In 988 AD he made to baptize the state of Kyivan Rus on the Dnieper in Kyiv. Earlier Grand Duke Volodymyr was himself baptized in Chersonese (now Sevastopol).
There are no facts of any connection of Kyivan Rus with the Finnish ethnos of the land of Moksel, where in 1147 AD (or in 1272 AD, according to different sources) Moscow was founded. That land was home to the nationalities of Merya, Wes, Moksha, Chud, Mordvinians and Mari. During the time of existence of Kyivan Rus there was no mention of the Moscovian State.
The Duchy of Moscow, as an Ulus of the Golden Horde, was founded by Khan Menghu-Tymur as earlier as in 1277 AD. Before that time, Kyivan Rus had existed for more than 300 years.
The Duchy of Moscow was a part of the Golden Horde – a state of the Genghisides. From late XIII to early XVIII century the people of that land was called Muscovites.
Inhabitants of Kyivan Rus, however, are Rusiches, or Rusins, but not “Russians” with the double “s”. Doubling consonants come from Finno-Ugric peoples. No Slavic language has such doubling.
Silver coins by Kyivan Grand Duke Volodymyr of the Sviatoslav dynasty (in the period from 980 to 1015 AD) had the depiction of a trident as the national emblem of Kyivan Rus. It has always been the national emblem of Ukraine.
Russia had not only taken over the lands of the Mongolic empire called the Golden Horde, but also took over its traditions.
The most important task for Russia is not only to occupy the lands of Kyivan Rus – Ukraine, but also to privatize the Ukrainian history.
But this will never be. For there is God, and there is justice.
CASPIAN DEFENSE 