Evanescent Propaganda
Searching for meaning in Novorossiya
Historical Context
Some time in the Middle Ages, a nascent proto-Russian state was formed known as Kievan Rus’. This new kingdom was helmed at the banks of the Dnieper, near modern-day Kiev (or Kyiv if you happen to swing that way). Over the years and following many different wars, incursions, and feudal reorganizations, the center of power for this new state eventually moved to modern-day Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kiev taking second- and third-place centers of power respectively.
Eventually, these fractured Slavic political bodies merged into one unified Russian Empire. This Empire began to expand well outside its borders, settlers following shortly thereafter. Russification followed as well, both in the form of settling previously nomadic steppe and mountain peoples, and in the form of ethnic cleansing. But early on in this Russian state’s organization, the peoples which fell under its rule did not have strong sentiments of…
