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| Publication | Financial Times | |
| Title | Western perception not matched by reality | |
| Author | Bohdan Skrobach | |
| Published | May 25, 1999 |
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Sir, In "Ukraine caught between west and Slav brethren" (May 8) the continued western perception that Ukraine is divided between east and west was reiterated. It was stated that "Ukraine has long been divided linguistically and confessionally into its Orthodox Christian east, which is pro-Russian and it's Catholic west, which is the seat of the pro-western independence movement". Such a viewpoint persists mainly because more than 12 million ethnic Russians live in eastern Ukraine. Not surprising they are pro-Russian and do not possess a strong support for an independent Ukraine. This however does not mean that the history of eastern Ukraine is only Russian. One should not forget that the origins of the Ukrainian literature language are found in eastern Ukraine. It was in the eastern town of Kharkiv where the start of Ukraine's cultural revival occurred in the 19th century. The majority of Russians who reside today in Ukraine came only in this century. The Kremlin brought them as colonists after the 1917 revolution. Previously, there were only about 2 million on Ukrainian territory. Those who settled replaced the 10 million Ukrainians that the Kremlin eliminated after the revolution. The present territory of Ukraine (excluding the Crimea) also does not contain land that was historically part of Russia. The Russians settled on Ukrainian, not Russian territory. There is thus no basis for Ukraine to be viewed as naturally divided into pro-Russian east and pro-independent west. Since independence in 1991 many experts (including the CIA) have predicted that Ukraine will disintegrate. Such a conclusion was based on a viewpoint similar to your article. The fact Ukraine has not disintegrated is proof that the west's perception is not matched by reality. |