Posted by Mirko on October 18, 1999 at 03:15:13:
In Reply to: Re: Are Ukrainians Tatars? Q: to Hanya posted by hanya on October 15, 1999 at 09:10:35:
: : Under the empire of Kyivan Rus, the nation now known as Russia (previously Muscovy, prior to that, Suzdalia) was at the north east edge of the empire. They were both ethnically and linguistically Finno-Ugrian. The language of literature, commerce & empire being church Slavonic,( related to Bulgarian) this language was imposed on the natives. These principalities chafed under the rule of imperial Kyiv, & by 1169 their armies under Andrij Boholubskij sacked Kyiv. Note, they sacked it, but did not want to rule in it! The Finnish language was not eradicated by the Suzdalian / Muscovite rulers until late in the 16th century. Moscow was able to build its empire on the dying corpse of the Mongol empire, eventually occupying similar territory. This rapid growth from principality to continental empire prevented the development of a Moscovite national consciousness, just an imperial one. The concept of a Moscovite / Russian nation is being painfully born today. So "Russians" are ethnically Finns with a mixture of Mongol, Ukrainian etc etc, (if you want to chase the human genome...) but linguistically they are now Slavs. The Kozaks were a lifestyle not an ethnic designation. Culturally they occupy somewhat the same space as the cowboys of America/ Canada / Argentina etc. Yes , there were Ukrainian Kozaks (along the Dnipro River) and Moscovite Cossaks on the lower Don. Furthermore, many Ukrainian Kozaks, after their defeat(s) at the hands of Moscow settled in the empty lands of the Kuban (between the Black Sea & Chechnya, roughly) where they were considered Ukrainians until 192x when the Soviet regime recategorized them as Russians.....but I digress, any more questions?