How similar are the Russian and Ukrainian languages?
One frequently cited figure is that Ukrainian and Russian share about 62% of their vocabulary. This is about the same amount of shared vocabulary that English has with Dutch, according to the same calculations. If you expand your sample by scraping internet data to compare a broader range of words than just those 200 ancient "core" words, the proportion of shared words declines. One computational model suggests that Russian and Ukrainian share about 55% of their vocabulary.
Russian and Ukrainian emerged from the same ancestor language, and, in the grand scheme of things, not very long ago. It is easier for a Russian to learn Ukrainian (or vice versa) than it is for an English speaker trying to master either of those languages. Their shared vocabulary and the fact that even words that have different meanings may look familiar makes it easier for Russian or Ukrainian speakers to "tune into" the other.
The long history of Russia as the dominant political and cultural language of the Soviet Union means that many of Ukraine's citizens -– around 30% by the last census –- are native speakers of Russian, and many more studied Russian to a high level. The reverse has not been true historically, though that is now changing. The languages are close enough and have coexisted long enough that they even have a hybrid called Surzhyk, which is in common use in many parts of Ukraine.
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Putin Insights from Fiona Hill
Fiona Hill was a name I recognized though I couldn't pick her out of a line up or tell you why her name sounded familiar. The answer is she has worked for the government for multiple Presidents with a focus on Russia. This Politico interview was excellent at gaining her insight onto what is going on in Ukraine and what Putin's thinking is.
A few excerpts:
I think there's been a logical, methodical plan that goes back a very long way, at least to 2007 when he put the world, and certainly Europe, on notice that Moscow would not accept the further expansion of NATO. And then within a year in 2008 NATO gave an open door to Georgia and Ukraine. It absolutely goes back to that juncture.
So what Putin wants isn't necessarily to occupy the whole country, but really to divide it up. He's looked at Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other places where there's a division of the country between the officially sanctioned forces on the one hand, and the rebel forces on the other. That's something that Putin could definitely live with — a fractured, shattered Ukraine with different bits being in different statuses.
The only other person who has been Russian leader in modern times longer than Putin is Stalin, and Stalin died in office.
[P]eople are saying Ukraine is the largest military operation in Europe since World War II. The first largest military action in Europe since World War II was actually in Chechnya, because Chechnya is part of Russia. This was a devastating conflict that dragged on for years, with two rounds of war after a brief truce, and tens of thousands of military and civilian casualties. The regional capital of Grozny was leveled. The casualties were predominantly ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. The Chechens fought back, and this became a military debacle on Russia's own soil. Analysts called it "the nadir of the Russian army." After NATO's intervention in the Balkan wars in the same timeframe in the 1990s, Moscow even worried that NATO might intervene.
Putin tried to warn Trump about this, but I don't think Trump figured out what he was saying. In one of the last meetings between Putin and Trump when I was there, Putin was making the point that: "Well you know, Donald, we have these hypersonic missiles." And Trump was saying, "Well, we will get them too." Putin was saying, "Well, yes, you will get them eventually, but we've got them first." There was a menace in this exchange. Putin was putting us on notice that if push came to shove in some confrontational environment that the nuclear option would be on the table.
If people look back to the history of World War II, there were an awful lot of people around Europe who became Nazi German sympathizers before the invasion of Poland. In the United Kingdom, there was a whole host of British politicians who admired Hitler's strength and his power, for doing what Great Powers do, before the horrors of the Blitz and the Holocaust finally penetrated.
What stops a lot of people from pulling out of Russia even temporarily is, they will say, "Well, the Chinese will just step in." This is what every investor always tells me. "If I get out, someone else will move in." I'm not sure that Russian businesspeople want to wake up one morning and find out the only investors in the Russian economy are Chinese, because then Russia becomes the periphery of China, the Chinese hinterlands, and not another great power that's operating in tandem with China.
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Moldova fears Russian invasion after the war in Ukraine
I can only imagine what these people are thinking. It's like watching a 2 week long gun fight at your next door neighbor's house and hoping they don't come over to your house, while the neighbor's already got a cousin staying with you.
The article makes mention of 'Transnistria.' Up until a few months ago, I'd never heard of the place. The only reason that changed was because of this YouTube video with some folks decided to go check it out:
[{embed}]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXzhcfYlKFQ\[{/embed}]
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THE UNIPOLAR MOMENT (1990)
The below article discussing if America is to blame for Russia's invasion of Ukraine referred to 'the uniporal moment' - something I don't recall ever hearing before. So I went looking for a resource on it and this article from 1990 seems to be it.
In short, it refers to the moment that the USSR conceded West Germany and ended the Cold War.
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Is America to Blame for Russia's War in Ukraine?
Nations do not have unified, objective interests. The foreign policies that would best serve American power are not necessarily those that would best serve the Pentagon bureaucracy, which are not necessarily those that would best serve an incumbent president's reelection odds, which are not necessarily those that would best flatter the ideological convictions of his National Security Council, which are not necessarily those that would best please his party's top donors. Similarly, the policies that would maximize Russia's national security are not necessarily the same as those that would maximize the Putin regime's political stability. And in any case, the Russian president is not necessarily capable of accurately identifying either. It is bizarre to suggest that Russia's actions in Ukraine were dictated by its objective security interests when, by virtually any measure, Putin's invasion has already undermined those interests.
This last paragraph was what I came to the article due, but the lead up and context was very worthwhile:
Putin's invasion of Ukraine was a free choice. And whatever role U.S. policy played in determining Putin's decision, it did not force his hand. Critics of NATO expansion would be wise to stipulate this point, since doing otherwise only renders their causal analysis easier to stigmatize.
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A fascinating video diving into the Ukrainian history from the Jewish perspective (recorded as a direct response to Putin's twisted narrative he gave supporting his invasion.)
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Transcript of Ukraine's President Appeal to Russia
Today, I initiated a call with the president of the Russian Federation. The result? Silence. Although the silence should be in Donbas. That is why I come today with an appeal to all citizens of Russia. Not as President. I am appealing to the people of Russia as a citizen of Ukraine.
We share more than 2000km of border. Around it, today, is your army: almost 200,000 soldiers; thousands of military units. Your leadership has approved their movement towards us. Towards the territory of another country. This step can become the start of a huge war on the European continent. The whole world is talking about what can happen any day now. A reason can appear at any moment. Any provocation. Any spark. A spark that has the potential of burning everything down.
You are told that this flame will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine. But the people of Ukraine are already free. They remember their past, and are building their own future. They are building it, not destroying it, as you are told every day on TV. Ukraine in your news and Ukraine in reality are two completely different countries. The most important difference is that ours is real.
You are being told that we are Nazis. But how can a nation be called Nazist after sacrificing more than 8 million lives to eradicate Nazism? How can I be a Nazi, when my grandfather survived the whole war as part of the Soviet infantry, and died a colonel in an independent Ukraine? You are told that we hate Russian culture. But how can a culture be hated? Any culture? Neighbours are always enriching each other culturally. Yet, that does not make them one entity, and does not separate people into "us" and "them". We are different, but that is not a reason to be enemies. We want to build our own history. Peacefully, calmly, and truthfully.
You are told that I am ordering to attack Donbas. To shoot. To bomb without question. Although there are questions: To shoot who? To bomb what?
Donetsk? Where I have been dozens of times? I have seen their faces and eyes.
Artema? Where I've walked with friends before?
Donbass Arena? Where I have rooted with the locals for our boys during the Euros?
Shcherbakova Park? Where we drank together after our team lost?
Lugansk? The home of my best friend's mom? The place where his father is buried?
Note that I am now speaking in Russian, yet no one in Russia understands what these names, streets, and events mean. This is all foreign to you. Unknown. This is our land. This is our history. What are you going to fight for? And against whom?
Many of you have visited Ukraine before. Many of you have relatives in Ukraine. Some of you studied in our universities. Befriended Ukrainians. You know our character, you know our people, you know our principles. You know what we cherish the most. Look inside you, listen to the voice of reason, of common sense. Hear our voices. The people of Ukraine want peace. Ukrainian authorities want peace. We want it, and we make it. We do everything in our power.
We are not alone. It's true, Ukraine is supported by many countries. Why? Because we are not talking about "peace at any cost." We are talking about peace, and about principles, justice. About everyone's right to define their own future, of safety, and everyone's right to live without threat. All of this is important to us. All of this is important for peace. I know this is also important for you. We know for sure that we don't want war. Not cold, not hot, not hybrid.
But, if we are threatened, if someone is trying to take away our country, our freedom, our lives. The lives of our children. We are going to defend ourselves. Not attack -- defend. By attacking us, you are going to see our faces. Not backs -- our faces.
War is a big distress, and it has a big price, in all meanings of this word. People lose their money, reputation, quality of life, freedom, and most important, people lose their loved ones. Lose themselves. A lot of things are always lacking in war. But what is in abundance is pain, dirt, blood, and death. Thousands, tens of thousands of deaths.
You are told that Ukraine is a threat to Russia. This was not true before, not now, and won't be in the future. You want security guarantees from NATO. We also want guarantees of our security. The security of Ukraine - from you. From Russia, and from other guarantors of the Budapest memorandum. Today, we are not part of random security alliances. The security of Ukraine is tied to the security of our neighbours. That is why we are now talking about the security of all Europe. But our main goal is peace in Ukraine, and the safety of our citizens. Of Ukrainians. We are determined to let everyone know about this, including you. War is going to deprive everyone of guarantees. No one will have guarantees of security.
Who is going to suffer from this most? The people.
Who doesn't want this more than anyone? The people.
Who can prevent all this from happening? The people.
If these people are among you -- I am sure they are. Public figures, journalists, musicians, actors, athletes, scientists, doctors, bloggers, stand-ups. Tiktokers, and more. Ordinary people. Ordinary, simple people. Men, women, old, young, fathers, and most importantly -- mothers. Just as much as the people in Ukraine, no matter how much they try to convince you of the opposite.
I know that my announcement will not be aired on Russian television. But the citizens of Russia have to see it. They need to know the truth. And the truth is, that this needs to stop, before it's too late. And if the authorities of Russia don't want to talk to us, for the sake of peace, maybe they will talk to you.
Do the people of Russia want war? I would like to be able to answer this, but the answer depends only on you: the citizens of the Russian Federation. Thank you.
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The Courier (2020)
Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan in a Cold War era film. My first movie of 2022. Overall quite good though the ending dragged.
3.5/5
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Russian TV Hobbit adaptation is amazing
I have a deep love for Middle Earth and the works of JRR Tolkien. So, when my friend Aideen shared this video, I knew I had to dive in and it is... amazing? It's not a Hollywood blockbuster, but I wouldn't expect it to be. I don't speak Russian, but I am watching it with Google's translation of their auto-generated Russian captions, and it's good enough that I can follow the story (given that I know the book.)
It is like looking at a piece of art you know extremely well through a concave lens that also swaps colors. It's the same, but different. It lets me appreciate things I had forgotten or hadn't considered. Also, I have a soft spot for Russian music so that helps as well.
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Inside the digital clock from a Soyuz spacecraft
I took exactly one course in computer engineering when I was at Georgia Tech, and when it moved beyond the basic diagramming that I could imagine as logic puzzles I relied heavily on my roommate (who now is an engineer for a robotics company I believe.) That said, while I don't understand a lot of this, I did still find it interesting to read!
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