Historically, you have to go back to tsarist days (as it appears Vladimir IV is keen to do) and even before; the Ukraine was once, and for a very long time, one of the Russias referred to in the Tsar's formal style, "Autocrat of All the Russias" (along with Belarus, formerly romanized "Byelorussia").

It says all you really need to know about the very-long-standing Muscovite attitude toward the western branch of the Rus' nation, in fact, when you consider that modern-day Russia, under the Early Modern multiple-Russias nomenclature, was "Great Russia"; Byelorussia was "White Russia"; and the Ukraine was... wait for it... "Lesser Russia".

I'm not saying the modern-day Ukrainians don't have plenty of latitude for grievance there, obviously, nor that the modern Russian attitude that one can wind that tape back has any validity whatever, but terminologically, if you go back far enough...

--G.
Banter's not the same if you say it slower, Squiffy.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
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