Russians often ask this question but... (And i heard this thesis two times yesterday said by russians only btw)
- Don't forget about Crimean Tatars who live there and i really doubt they would like to either join Russia or be separated from Ukraine. Why? Lots of them were banished from the island by Russian Empire. Though still a lot of Crimean Tatars are living there now. Also they supported Maydan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Tatars .
- WIKI says the number of ukrainians living in Crimea - 24.32%, russians - 58%, Crimean Tatars - 12 .
- But russians usually don't remember Dagestan(Russia) or the Chechen Republic(Russia) where the number of russians is less than 5%. Or Belgium with german speaking people .
- Ukrainian regions were a part of the Russian Empire for quite a long time. Why would they not join Russia?
- Crimea is an autonomy, but even now people stimulated by politicians say that they want Ukraine to be a federation. Do they know what is the difference between autonomy and federation?
And in addition. Knowing history of the country is crucial here.
If you look at the Russian Imperial Census of 1897 you will see that people living in the eastern part of modern Ukraine were 80-90% ukrainian speaking. And now if you go to the country area of eastern regions you will see lots of ukrainian speaking people.There were 3 man-made famine in Ukrainian SSR conducted by Soviet regime and lots of repressions killed more ukrainians than ukrainians died during the 2 World War. And now guess what Stalin does? He invites russians to the industrial western part of Ukraine. This region required a work force at that time.
So the question is not that simple and clear if you are looking just at big cities like Kharkiv or Donezk.
PS. The myth that Maydan is a question of ukrainians - russians to live in one state is stimulated by politician i believe. It is a question of corrupted government and people who don't want to live in a state with USSR standards.
>Lots of them were banished from the island by Russian Empire.
You either use this as a very politically loaded term for Stalinist Soviet Union (which is a problem with your post on its own right), or you are wrong.
>- But russians usually don't remember Dagestan(Russia) or the Chechen Republic(Russia) where the number of russians is less than 5%. Or Belgium with german speaking people .
Russia and Belgium, unlike Ukraine, aren't nation states. Russia is a multi-ethnic country, which is stated in its constitution.
> Ukrainian regions were a part of the Russian Empire for quite a long time. Why would they not join Russia?
Why should they?
>- Crimea is an autonomy, but even now russians stimulated by pro-Russia politicians say that they want Ukraine to be a federation. Do they know what is the difference between autonomy and federation?
So some Russians say one thing, other Russians say different things, so what? I tell you that there is a great deal of difference between unitary state with some autonomies and federation (which is obvious really, think Spain and USA).
>If you look at the Russian Imperial Census of 1897 you will see that people living in the eastern part of modern Ukraine were 80-90% ukrainian speaking. And now if you go to the country area of eastern regions you will see lots of ukrainian speaking people.
How is the census of 1897 related? You wouldn't say parts of Far East and Siberia, which were predominantly Ukrainian-speaking then should be parts of Ukraine now?
>There were 3 man-made famine in Ukrainian SSR conducted by Soviet regime and lots of repressions killed more ukrainians than ukrainians died during the 2 World War.
Oh, now 3 man-made famines specifically designed to destroy Ukrainian nation, great. What do you think of people of Lower Volga, North Caucasus and Siberia who perished of famine of 1932-1933? I guess you prefer not to notice their existence because they don't serve your political goals of the day.
>And now guess what Stalin does? He invites russians to the industrial western part of Ukraine. This region required a work force at that time.
Yeah, I guess it's also Stalin (a Georgian btw) who put all the iron ore and coal there, just to extinguish all the Ukrainians so when Ukraine becomes independent there are less Ukrainian-speaking people there? What a prophet, wasn't he? Or should he just ignore industrial potential of Eastern Ukraine whatsoever?
This is a really telling example of Russia-directed scare-mongering, I feel uneasy about it, as a Russian.
- Don't forget about Crimean Tatars who live there and i really doubt they would like to either join Russia or be separated from Ukraine. Why? Lots of them were banished from the island by Russian Empire. Though still a lot of Crimean Tatars are living there now. Also they supported Maydan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Tatars .
- WIKI says the number of ukrainians living in Crimea - 24.32%, russians - 58%, Crimean Tatars - 12 .
- But russians usually don't remember Dagestan(Russia) or the Chechen Republic(Russia) where the number of russians is less than 5%. Or Belgium with german speaking people .
- Ukrainian regions were a part of the Russian Empire for quite a long time. Why would they not join Russia?
- Crimea is an autonomy, but even now people stimulated by politicians say that they want Ukraine to be a federation. Do they know what is the difference between autonomy and federation?
And in addition. Knowing history of the country is crucial here. If you look at the Russian Imperial Census of 1897 you will see that people living in the eastern part of modern Ukraine were 80-90% ukrainian speaking. And now if you go to the country area of eastern regions you will see lots of ukrainian speaking people.There were 3 man-made famine in Ukrainian SSR conducted by Soviet regime and lots of repressions killed more ukrainians than ukrainians died during the 2 World War. And now guess what Stalin does? He invites russians to the industrial western part of Ukraine. This region required a work force at that time.
So the question is not that simple and clear if you are looking just at big cities like Kharkiv or Donezk.
PS. The myth that Maydan is a question of ukrainians - russians to live in one state is stimulated by politician i believe. It is a question of corrupted government and people who don't want to live in a state with USSR standards.