Dear friends,
Today I am truly delighted to be able to present you with an amazingly interesting video: an interview of the Ukrainian writer and historian Oles Buzina in which he (in 90 minutes or so) not only covers the key moments of the history of the land which today is called “the Ukraine”, but also explains where the modern Ukraine came from and what it is. To my knowledge, this is the first time that an English speaking audience gets access to such a thorough and well presented explanation of what the Ukraine is, and what it is not, what is factual, and what is myth.
The translation and subtitling of this video has been made by one of our brother in arms, Vox Populi Evo (here is their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/VoxPopuliEvo/videos) to whom I personally and, I believe, every one watching that video, owe a standing ovation of gratitude!
A few words about Oles Buzina: if you click here you will see his Russian Wikipedia entry machine translated by Google. I just would want to stress one thing: Buzina is controversial and I cannot say that I always agree with his views. He is clearly a kind of a weird guy Russians call “chudak” – an original, sometimes weird, sometimes provocateur, sometimes eccentric. But I think that nobody would dispute two facts: Buzina is very, very Ukrainian and he loves his country and he really knows his “stuff” (the history and nature of the Ukraine) extremely well. I personally don’t know of anybody who could have done a better job, especially in only 90min.
Enjoy the video, feel free to post your reaction, opinions, and questions and, if you can, please express your thanks to Vox Populi Evo!
Cheers,
The Saker
Short History of Ukraine. Oles’ Buzina 23.12.2014 | Eng. Subs
Excellent video! Calm,rational and positive. I like his view of the Soviet era,good and bad,pretty realistic view. Just the part where jews cannot be fascists… Otherwise very educational and optimistic.
He is good when he talks about history. When it comes to the current events, not so much. He is equating Kiev nazis with Donbass people fighting for their rights. And the part about Jews cannot be nazis is just laughable. Is he aware of what is going on in Palestine?
Unless his definition of a nazi is different, of course.
That land was Syria. There is no such thing as “Palestine”, that name was invented by the brits a mere century ago, referring to the extinct biblical peoples named Philistines. And that old british Palestine had a flag with Star of David on it too, by the way.
Not that I’d defend the current criminal masonic regime that abuses both Jews and Arabs, but get real – Palestine is even less realistic than the british-incepted Israel of today. Try some serious sources instead of the internet nazi rumor mill. Start here:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths3/MFmandate.html
http://lefemineforlife.blogspot.de/2008/05/freemason-israel-prime-ministers-1948.html
We are always happy to meet another hitlerite conspiracy peddler. At which age did you stop believing in reality? Masonic conspiracies were always part of the hitlerian ideological fundament.
You need to upgrade your historical knowledge with regard to Palestine and the origin of that name which goes waaaay back, long before the invention of “British”.
Ahhh,no !
” The name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima and the Umayyad and Abbasid province of Jund Filastin. ”
“The term “Peleset” (transliterated from hieroglyphs as P-r-s-t) is found in five inscriptions referring to a neighboring people or land starting from c.1150 BCE during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. The first known mention is at the temple at Medinet Habu which refers to the Peleset among those who fought with Egypt in Ramesses III’s reign,and the last known is 300 years later on Padiiset’s Statue. The Assyrians referred to the region of “Palashtu” or “Pilistu”, beginning with Adad-nirari III in the Nimrud Slab in c.800 BCE through to a treaty made by Esarhaddon more than a century later. Neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term.
“The first clear use of the term Palestine to refer to the entire area between Phoenicia and Egypt was in 5th century BC Ancient Greece, when Herodotus wrote of a ‘district of Syria, called Palaistinê” in The Histories, which included the Judean mountains and the Jordan Rift Valley. Approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in Meteorology, in which he included the Dead Sea. Later Greek writers such as Polemon and Pausanias also used the term to refer to the same region, which was followed by Roman writers such as Ovid, Tibullus, Pomponius Mela, Pliny the Elder, Dio Chrysostom, Statius, Plutarch as well as Roman Judean writers Philo of Alexandria and Josephus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine
It was province Judea under Romans and later renamed into Palestine by Adrian after final defeat of Jewish revolt. Palestine is plainly changed name of Philistines people those who in Bible used ot be enemy of Jews there. The point is, however, there was no Arabs there or anywhere in Northern Africa for example. History is fluid.
https://www.google.no/search?q=palestina+ancient+maps&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=kLwOVZT9EefOyQPuzIHYBw&ved=0CB0QsAQ&biw=1252&bih=602
And its not all, with regards of writen textes from as far back as before christ.
But again, dont lett shitt as nasty as facts and truth, sdisrupt your constant barrage of lies.
peace
oh my God, I’ve only watched 60 seconds and he’s already mentioned Paustovsky, twice, AND Gogol and Bulgakov – fantastic – love this man!
pb
Brilliant.
Brilliant.
============
The video is just the man talking. Nothing else to see. A little hard to read.
It is easier to click Youtube, then in that view click the “more” link and choose “transcript”. Copy that and paste it into any notepad, to be able to read it as text.
Kat Kan,
Indeed: it would be fantastic to be able to read it , in my own speed, and bigger sized. But the transcript that you seem to see, is not available on youtube when I click on ‘more’ and go for: Transcript.. It is empty there.
Could the friends of Vox Poluli Evo put the transcript on youtube please?
Sorry,
I just found out: if you go to the video channel of Vox Populi you will find the transcripts ( . More> Transcripts) : https://www.youtube.com/user/VoxPopuliEvo/videos
Brilliant, yes. Original sources, what a novel approach!
Too bad he stops short of the 21st century. He seems to lack awareness of, or perhaps interest in, external forces driving events.
Good day Saker and Friends,
Thank you very much to Oles for his analysis and to Vox Poluli Evo for the translation: and many thanks to you for presenting this excellent discussion.
The historical summary of Ukraine provided by Oles is extremely useful to better understand some of the geopolitical factors in the current conflict. In the end, the main conclusion of Oles as applied to Ukraine seems to be consistent with the origin of the overall situation as it applies to the US.
Oles said that the purpose of the Ukrainian mobilization is to distract attention of the people from the economic situation. This is a war of oligarchs and the fight is all for money. The war cannot last forever because human resources come to an end.
His assessment seems to apply to the source of the conflict as well: the US is facing an imminent financial and economic collapse, and the 1%er is driving the world into a global war. The current system is falling apart and new resources are required to postpone the inevitable crisis. Our corporate and individual oligarchs are completely driven by greed and they lack the most basic moral instincts.
The war cannot be resolved by means of traditional weapons. The war will stop when the resources needed to pay for it come to an end. The current financial system erected by our elites for their own benefits must be transformed. The Russian strategy of showing muscles while avoiding the fights, and at the same time fervently working with the BRIC countries to change the dollar-based system, is the key for a resolution of this issue. This takes time but the financial crisis is rapidly approaching.
The dollar-based system is falling apart and the elite knows it. They will do everything to provoke an open conflict to distract people from the real issue. The problem for them is to keep people ignorant and push as much as possible, no matter the costs, without tripping the nuclear wire.
Article referenced is from FEB 25, so good to review here now that nutty was reelected.
A recent report by an Israeli TV station revealed that Saudi Arabia would allow Israeli jets to use its airspace to attack Iran, demonstrating the clandestine strategic alliance between Saudi Arabia and Israel. As the Times of Israel reported in an article titled: Saudis ‘would let Israeli jets use their air space to attack Iran’:
“The Saudis have declared their readiness for the Israeli Air Force to overfly Saudi air space en route to attack Iran if an attack is necessary,” the TV report [from Channel 2] said.
http://thenewsdoctors.com/nato-allies-saudi-arabia-and-israel-edge-closer-to-war-with-iran/
march 18- 21 arctic drills
here canada, with Harpoon frothing at the mouth over this, i recall well heck 25 years ago we were supposed to get 2 measly Class 8 i think icebreakers for ‘arctic sovereignty’, but it never happened. (russia has always had many Class 10)
http://tass.ru/en/russia/783450
MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Military exercises and combat readiness checks are under way in many Russian regions.
Russia’s National Defense Control Center is exercising operational control of the strategic command and staff exercises jointly with its regional centers of all levels, the Defense Ministry’s press office said on Wednesday.
Russia’s Armed Forces are for the first time holding their Arctic exercises that kicked off on Monday and will last through March 21.
Pushback against the recent tactics of that estonian harpie
MOSCOW, March 19 /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry is seriously concerned with Estonia’s unwillingness to investigate the death of Russian national Dmitry Ganin who died in Tallinn in 2007, the ministry’s spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday.
Dmitry Ganin was among one thousand protesters who gathered in central Tallinn on the night from April 26 to 27, 2007 to defend the “Bronze Soldier”, a monument to Soviet soldiers who liberated the Estonian capital from fascists during WWII which th
http://tass.ru/en/russia/783864
I missed the part about the pre-Nuddleman American NGO’s that decended on Ukraine twenty years ago to stifle post Soviet reconstruction, bringing democratic poverty. Also missed the part about the US taxpayer paying for the eventual Maidan massacre.
Ukraine doesn’t have money for bullets? No problem, the IMF just figured out a legal way to dump another 17 B to keep the butchery going, anything to keep the pressure on the real target – Russia.
If and when this foreign directed conflict dies down, the locusts will hop on their planes to plan another insurrection somewhere.
French, Spanish, English and US internal conflicts? Sure, they just happened /sarc. It’s perfectly natural for normal people to stop productive endeavors and march off to kill or die.
I do wonder how this guy has lived this long with blinders on, well maybe I really dont.
One guy figures that this stuff is missing on purpose i.e. it’s aid to/for ISIS/IS/ISIL/Daesh/Islamic Emirate, ‘off the books’ that’s being flown in on those cargo planes, a few shot down a week ago, & air dropped.
As much as $500 million in U.S. military aid to Yemen is unaccounted for, U.S. officials said Tuesday, sparking fears that military equipment could be seized by Shiite Houthi rebels or even Al Qaeda.
The Washington Post first reported Tuesday that the Defense Department has lost its ability to monitor the location of $500 million in weapons, aircraft and equipment donated to the country by the U.S.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/17/pentagon-may-have-lost-track-500-million-in-arms-to-yemen-officials-say/
Added historic maps for every century since 1000:
https://deepresource.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/oles-buzina-on-the-history-of-ukraine/
Kind regards,
Dutch
Beautiful maps. Thanks very very much.
Short history of the Ukraine: 1. “Fortune favors the bold “is the correct quote. 2. Force rules he says at one point and then another he says nothing can be settled military means. And this man is an historian? Eccentric for sure and if that means not inconsistent then, well be it!
OT but this is a great short video about GMO dangers…its on CNN>>> I don’t know why CNN is going against the stream here, but its really a good interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=myz5RRt6cs0
Every video in the Saker blog that is in a foreign language with English subtitles cannot be understood as the subtitles are so small they are illegible, with no known way to enlarge them.
You can zoom in on your screen by pushing down the control “ctrl” button and the + button at the same time. The more often you click on the +, the more you zoom in. To reverse push ctrl –
Use a proper Youtube client such as the Flash plugin for Internet Explorer or Firefox on Windows, click on the cog symbol, then on the Options link, then adjust font family, font size, etc to your liking. Youtube clients for Android, Windows Phone or what not are, or may be, more restricted in what they allow you to configure.
One question: The Buzina ideology reminds me that of Igor Berkut, head of “greater Ukraine” party: Doble Ukrainian-Russian patriotism, Ukrainian (with Ukrainian culture) as brother,ly with Russia (keeping apart that Berkut seems more “Sovietophile” than Buzina). What do you think, Saker?
I read the transcript as suggested by Kat Kan.
I’m noting that he agrees (85:15 – 86:50) with what I’ve said repeatedly on this blog, namely that despite a certain propaganda frenzy this conflict is not, in essence, about so-called “nazis” or “fascists” that are aggressing DPR/LPR. He states there is a certain percentage of these folks, and I would agree there is a certain percentage of nationalists equipped with fancy symbols reminiscent of Third Reich insignia, noting en passant that symbols are just symbols and there’s no need for symbolist or anti-symbolist hysteria – it’s always actions and weapons that cause harm, not words and symbols, and the shelling of Donbass is done by the regular army, without any symbolist contribution.
For those who do not know, National Socialism in Germany and Fascism in Italy united their nations, stopped infighting, obtained and earned the enthusiastic support of the overwhelming majority of Germans and Italians, and led the countries to prosperity.
What we’re seeing in Ukraine is completely different.
I think it’s time for *democrats* to own up. (Not talking about the political party in the USA, but about the *system*.) Democrats dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Democrats firebombed Tokyo, Kyoto, Dresden and Hamburg into incendiary nightmares. Democrats napalmed Korea and Vietnam. Democrats unleashed terrorist death squads into Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. And Democrats destabilized Ukraine to plunge it into this war.
It doesn’t have anything to do with National Socialism or Fascism. The symbols are, I think, just decorum for a stratum of people that exists in every society and that can be manipulated one way or another provided that there is no economically sound prospective for them. They must have been given money for their “nationalist” activity, just as they were given training, including in Poland and Lithuania.
I disagree with Buzina that it is only oligarchic infighting to distract the people from looting of the country. These oligarchs are in cahoots with Democratic Role Model and Master Mind Uncle Sam and the looting is a side show while the purpose is to drag Russia into a European war (of unknown dimensions), as explained by Rostislav Ishchenko.
Buzina got mixed up about the Lombard dialect being the base of modern Italian (it is indeed the Tuscan dialect). And I cannot understand how he thinks the Bismarck empire to be “a show of degradation” – it was a stunning success (science, economy, culture), and it would have prevailed against an alliance of Britain, France (plus colonial support troups) and Russia had not the USA joined that alliance.
So I think that some of his views are very superficial.
But I trust him on the history of Sloboda Ukraina, Malorossiya and Novorossiya because (a) I know so little about it (so I have almost nothing to oppose) and (b) it makes sense and matches the little I know.
National Socialism in Germany and Fascism in Italy “united” their nations by intimidating the opposition. They had a few positive effects – Mussolini had the trains running on schedule and vanquished the mafia and Hitler ended mass unemployment – but soon their magic stopped working and both resorted to wars to keep the people united by declaring a common enemy.
Mussolini and Hitler where both put in power by foreign finance and corporate elites and aided by Hearst media. Mussolini was even bought in 1914 needlessly pushing Italy into ww1 for nothing. Bismarck would not have allowed Britain to play Russia and Germany against each other. Not that Wilhelm did anything wrong other than having too few spies operating to figure out the british plotting.
The foreign financiers would never have allowed Hitlers economical operations if they hadnt wanted Germany strong enough for bleeding themselves to death together with the USSR.
Germany after ww1 was bit of a technological colony of the US.
But I think it is correct that the economy in nazi Germany proves what can be done with a free design of the financial system provided there is no hostile empire preventing it.
I think Lumi that your use of Democratic is a personal philosophy….the anglo-american alliance created both nazis and fasists ()which are the same monster but different arms)
Democratic is a philosophy, that if it worked would work…but just like most philosophies, it doesn’t work…its an ideal.
Ideal socialism should work too, but it won’t. We need change. Real change.
Thanks Ann, Wim, Peter, for replying.
Well, Ann, I grew up in the 80ies, in West Germany, and when Western socialists were talking about the other German State and the Ostblock in general, they would refer to “real existierender Sozialismus”, right, so as to stress the fact that the reality on the other side of the Wall is not identical to the cherished ideal of socialism or communism. But finally it became clear to everyone that “real existierender Sozialismus” is all we have achieved in this world, and the ideal somehow never materialized.
So my question is, why would we want to look at Democracy differently? Why would we want to uphold some hollow ideal of Democracy when we’ve had ample opportunity to note that, as implemented, real existierend, it is a profoundly cynical and hypocritical system providing material benefit to its citizens at the cost of ruthless exploitation of other countries resources and other peoples’ labour, and if need be, bringing death and destruction by means of war and terror?
Yes, I can see that in theory it could be better (and in praxi: on a small scale, in communities, local self-governance), but why should we apply milder standards when judging Democracy than when judging Socialism?
The Crimes of Democracy are numerous, and they’re going on and on.
I’m not a believer in systems. The system can be whatever. It’s what the people make of it that matters. Who knows? Socialism didn’t work in Germany, but maybe it’s the right system for Cuba? Because it’s the right people running it? There’s a Jesus saying that you shall know things by their fruits, and apparently the Cuban socialists are better for the country than the plutocratic greedsters favoured by the US.
Peter, yes, I think, Bismarck would have kept the alliance with Russia that Wilhelm did not renew, and he would have avoided the strategic va-banque situation Hitler ran into. I know Hitler had financial supporters in the US, and I think this included zionist interests (to scare wealthy German Jews off to the zionist colony in Palestine), but some people go over the top in claiming he was an “Anglo agent”. He did make Germany into a de-facto Anglo tool by attacking the Soviet Union, though.
On the other hand, I cannot see how, by November 1940 (Molotov’s visit), he could have avoided that war, one way or another. Stalin did prepare for a transeuropean roll-out of bolshevism by means of the Red Army. There is no doubt. Let it happen? Resist? Prevent? Moscow, in 11/1940, approached Berlin from a position of strength, just like the US approached Japan before Pearl Harbour.
Interesting. I had to go through the whole thing a few times to realize what was not sounding right. Or rather not sounding at all. He does not see the grey animal in the room (its true that there is much room in the Ukraine)! He departs from his Olympian detachment only when he dismisses the “cliches”. Are “our oligarchs fascists?” or “Is the Jew Kolomoisky a fascist”, “is the Jew Pinchuk a fascist”. No, no, no, “how could a Jew be a fascist?”. This is just “propaganda” peddled by “TV” (which one?)
Oh, well, there might be some few:
“Right-Wing Ukrainian Leader Is (Surprise) Jewish, and (Real Surprise) Proud of It. A Q&A with the Right Sector Parliamentarian Borislav Bereza”, by Vladislav Davidzon|December 1, 2014 @http://tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/187217/borislav-bereza.
Some excerpts:
Q. But you are also a member of Right Sector?
A. I am a Jew and also a Cohen. There have never been any questions about this. Right Sector is composed of people of varied nationalities, not just Ukrainians and Jews, but also Poles and Belorussians, Georgians, Chechens, we have people of every [Soviet] ethnicity represented. The question is not one of ethnicity; it is “are you a Ukrainian? Do you support Ukraine? Are you a Ukrainian patriot?” In which case, you are my brother. If you are Ukraine’s enemy, whatever nationality you might be, you and I have nothing to talk about.”…
I can’t vouch for this, but it’s worth a thought:
Дмитрий (Авдим) Ярош – глава боевого крыла еврейской революции в Украине
Еврейская фамилия Ярош происходит от ивр. а-Рош (), что значит “глава”, “вождь” и указывает на высокое положение предков Авдима Яроша в хасидской общине Украины.
Сам Авдим родился в еврейском местечке Каменское 30 сентября 1971 (10 тишрея 5732 года по иудейскому календарю), в святой день Йом Кипур (“Судный день”). Мудрецы Торы истолковали рождение мальчика в этот день так, что Господь Бог Израиля выбрал его своим великим воином, который будет вселять в гоев страх и ужас, и потому с детства воспитывали его в традициях военного сионизма и готовили к великой роли. Авдим уже в 12 лет знал наизусть Шулхан Арух и сочинения Зеева Жаботинского. Посмотреть на маленького гения в Каменское приезжал лично Менахем Бегин. После продолжительной беседы он благословил Авдима, и назвал его “будущим Маккавеем”.
Q. Well, let’s start with the Red and Black flag of the UPA [or Ukrainian Insurgent Army], under which you march. Under which you fight.
A. Great! Wonderful! You have to understand: It was not merely the representatives of the Red Army that were annihilated under the auspices of the Red and Black flag, but also fascists, as well as all those who were invading Ukrainian lands. The Red and Black flag of the UPA represented the fight for an independent Ukraine. Do you know the three classic principles that [Stepan] Bandera postulated in relation to all the national minorities living in Ukraine?
Q. No, I don’t.
A. He said: “If you help me, reach out your hand to help me create a free Ukraine, you are my brother.” He also added, “However, if you don’t help me, do not reach out your hand to help me, but neither do you hinder me, you can live here. There is enough room here and you can live here.” That was his classic phrase, “There is room here.” But, the conclusion: “If you hinder the process, stick spokes in the wheel, then you are an enemy and you need to be destroyed.” So, it is all very simple.
For my ideological brothers in the movement I am much more Ukrainian than an ethnic Ukrainian like [Ukrainian Communist Party leader Petro] Symonenko. When we speak, for example about Bandera, I was too once one of those who thought, having imbibed Soviet propaganda, that he was a fascist. But I was able to read many books and to think and figure out the truth: that this was a man who spent much of the war inside of a German internment camp. That he was liquidated by Soviet, rather than Nazi, intelligence agents.”
A. Look at this country where the governor of Dnipropitrovsk [Kollomoisky] is a Jew, where numerous heads of administration are Jews, where the speaker of Right Sector is a Jew! How can one speak of anti-Semitism? How can one speak of fascism?
To be a Jew is to yearn for freedom; that is why we left Egypt. To be a Jew is to reject being a slave. This is the essence of Judaism. That is also why we stand strong against Russian imperialism, which is a form of enslavement. With some exceptions like [Boris] Nemtsov or the dearly departed [Valeriya] Novodvorskaya who see through the propaganda, the Russians are currently slaves.”
I can’t vouch for this, but it’s worth a thought:
Дмитрий (Авдим) Ярош – глава боевого крыла еврейской революции в Украине
Еврейская фамилия Ярош происходит от ивр. а-Рош (), что значит “глава”, “вождь” и указывает на высокое положение предков Авдима Яроша в хасидской общине Украины.
Сам Авдим родился в еврейском местечке Каменское 30 сентября 1971 (10 тишрея 5732 года по иудейскому календарю), в святой день Йом Кипур (“Судный день”). Мудрецы Торы истолковали рождение мальчика в этот день так, что Господь Бог Израиля выбрал его своим великим воином, который будет вселять в гоев страх и ужас, и потому с детства воспитывали его в традициях военного сионизма и готовили к великой роли. Авдим уже в 12 лет знал наизусть Шулхан Арух и сочинения Зеева Жаботинского. Посмотреть на маленького гения в Каменское приезжал лично Менахем Бегин. После продолжительной беседы он благословил Авдима, и назвал его “будущим Маккавеем”. (There is more).
http://www.cominformua.com/razdeli/trudova-ukraina/item/2313-kto-takoj-avdim-yarosh
It’s all plain, clear, in the open. No moskal propaganda.
Kolomoisky is indeed a fascist, and in fact a Nazi, the distinction being the degree to which the fascists organize politically around racism.
Kolomoisky is fine with Naziism provided that the racism around which fascism organizes itself is something other than anti-Semitism. (At least, I’m pretty sure he would draw that line.) He appears to have negotiated this with the Nazis, who shut up about the Jews at about the same time the “volunteer” battalions were being financed. Both sides were thinking “Use them now, hang them later.” Siemens/Hitler, nothing new under the sun.
West Ukrainians are also Nazis. The culture has assimilated the game but not the name. They are fine with ethnic cleansing as a tool of economic policy. They have no problem with overt Nazis being given control of the police (Interior) and the courts (prosecutor general). Or, now, the nuclear power plants. I don’t know, but I fear, that this means some very bad actors may have just gained a nuclear capability.
I am not familiar enough with the history of the Ukraine to make any comment: however, a small item which may or may not reflect upon the man: contrary to the narrative, the Cossacks did indeed have their own distinctive sword and it was called a shashka, not a “sword” or a “sabre”. Made of Damascus steel, with mercury – the only liquid metal – moving within a specially designed interior longitudinal narrow cavity inside and along the length of the blade to give the weapon incredible chopping power.
For awhile this was translated to the Turks as inexplicable superhuman fighting powers of the Cossacks whom they had to fight for control of Azov and surrounds during the reign of the Ottomans.
That is until they discovered the secret of the shashka, by reputedly smashing a captured weapon in rage and frustration after suffering continuously terrible injuries in battle. It was commonly known amongst Cossacks that an experienced fighter could cleave an enemy from shoulder to waist in one very powerful stroke.
Lastly the shack’s handle had NO protective finger or hand covering as was seen in more conventional swords. The end of the open handle was in the shape of a bulb which allowed the user to spin the weapon in the hand for stabbing, slicing or whatever manoeuver was required within a split second depending upon the position of the enemy. This made the shashka a superior weapon compared to the other swords and sabres.
I know this because my father, uncles, and all the men of his generation and the 4 or 5 generations before him were Cossacks and all served in warfare. This included many of our close friends and “zemlyaki” (“land brothers” or other Cossacks) This knowledge was passed down to me. I have held and handled a real 180 year-old Cossack shahshka. I am the first male in the line not to have participated in war, and hopefully, praise God, that will not come to pass.
Welcome Yuri. Thank you for bringing this fascinating story on your first visit. We have an information war going you may safely join in.
Dear Moderator
My deep gratitude to you for your most warm welcome and I gratefully accept.
I won’t bring along the shashka.
Y
My interest was piqued by Buzina’s mention of Gogol.
I got a book of his stories out of the library, the Everyman’s Library edition, titled “The Collected Tales.” Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
It has an interesting introduction by Pevear, in which he writes about Gogol’s very conscious use of themes from the Ukrainian folk tradition, and also about the “rage” for such Ukrainian folk ways elsewhere in Russia, especially in the capital. Apparently Gogol was obliged to rewrite one of his most famous short stories, “Taras Bulba,” to soften the Uk. nationalistic edges and make it more of a Russian nationalist tale. Actually lI couldn’t resist checking out the movie online. The Cossacks are teh heros, the Poles are the villains. The score to the movie, by Franz Waxman, is quite famous. Here is a fabulous scene, “The Ride to Dubno,” that you can watch on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lNwPA1FHdw
Pevear also repeatedly uses the term “Little Russian” and “Malorussia.” He also describes this region as having a very different, “feel” from the foggy, forested northern regions. The material in this intro suggests to me that LIttle Russia was viewed as an exotic region of the Russian empire that excited the imagination of the more “developed” center—also administrative center—of the country, especially Petersburg. Rather as the Wild West of the United States was a source of interest and entertainment to the “domesticated” East in the latter half of the 19th C., while the last of the Indian Wars were still in train.
I have started reading the tales, and they are indeed quite extraordinary. I have a feeling that these translations are pretty good. I checked out Google Books to see what they have there. Plenty of Gogol-related titles. One of them is “Nikolai Gogol: Between Ukrainian and Russian Nationalism.” The explanatory blurb says this:
“The nineteenth-century author Nikolai Gogol occupies a key place in the Russian cultural pantheon as an ardent champion of Russian nationalism. Indeed, he created the nation’s most famous literary icon: Russia as a rushing carriage, full of elemental energy and limitless potential.
In a pathbreaking book, Edyta M. Bojanowska topples the foundations of this russocentric myth of the Ukrainian-born writer, a myth that has also dominated his Western image. She reveals Gogol’s creative engagement with Ukrainian nationalism and calls attention to the subversive irony and ambiguity in his writings on Russian themes. While in early writings Gogol endowed Ukraine with cultural wholeness and a heroic past, his Russia appears bleak and fractured. Russian readers resented this unflattering contrast and called upon him to produce a brighter vision of Russia. Gogol struggled to satisfy their demands but ultimately failed.
In exploring Gogol’s fluctuating nationalist commitments, this book traces the connections and tensions between the Russian and Ukrainian nationalist paradigms in his work, and situates both in the larger imperial context. In addition to radically new interpretations of Gogol’s texts, Bojanowska offers a comprehensive analysis of his reception by contemporaries.
Brilliantly conceived and masterfully argued, Edyta Bojanowska fundamentally changes our understanding of this beloved author and his place in Russian literature.”
Of course, Gogol was an artist, not a politician. But this seems not to support was Busina says about Gogol. Perhaps I misunderstood Busina. Perhaps a new listener can find that Gogol section of the interview. Busina said that the Ukraine was a construct of the Bolsheviks. Perhaps the political entity only. Perhaps Gogol’s Ukrainian nationalism was cultural only, a form of nostalgia for a peasant way of life that his stories somewhat romanticize or even cannibalize.
Katherine
You might look into translating this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTLFIFVJwy0 . Produced in Kharkiv, 2012.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BUZINA HAS BEEN MURDERED
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://novorossia.today/journalist-and-writer-of-anti-fascist-convictions-oles-buzina-was-murdered-in-kiev/
In broad daylight.
RIP
RIP. Condolences to all his family.
:(
Rgds,
Veritas