The battle between empire and Freedom – is also a struggle of meanings, values and the truth of free people against the lies and manipulations of tyrants.
In front of us is an interesting document (it can probably now be called such), which Professor Volodymyr Kosyk (R.I.P) gave me during a summer session at the Ukrainian Free University (Munich).
That was in 1999 and the professor’s lecture was about the criticism of historical sources. Of course, it referred to the definition of the term “prison of nations” as regards to Russia, which was first used by Astolphe de Custine in 1839. The history of its appearance and application is so interesting and revealing, that it is worth mentioning before proceeding with the illustration given here. Custine’s statement about being a prison of nations was picked up by Lenin, who was preparing to seize power in Russia, so criticism of the national policy in a multinational empire was beneficial to him. After all, in his early works, he falsely spoke about the right of Russian nationalities to self-determination, to the point of secession and the formation of independent states.
After coming to power, the Bolsheviks so vigorously continued to stifle the national movements of people oppressed by Moscow, that already under Stalin, Lenin’s successor, the term “Russia – the prison of nations” was replaced by “Mykolayiv Russia – the prison of nations”, to avoid unnecessary comparisons. Under Tsar Nicholas II there was an imperial policy of oppressing people whilst under the internationalist-Bolsheviks – there was “the friendship of people”, “the flourishing of nationalities’ rights” and “the triumph of Lenin’s national policy”.
Therefore, you can be а greater imperialist than all previous tsars but at the same time declare (as did George Orwell) “War – is peace, freedom – is slavery, ignorance – strength”.
And they will believe you, as they believe today in the notion of “Ukrainian – nazis” …
Moreover, Moscow constantly emphasized, that it is fighting for the right of people throughout the world to self-determination while simultaneously playing the role of leader of the decolonization process. Obviously, this was when it came to foreign countries – Asia, Africa, Latin America and not about “native” regions, which from time immemorial were inhabited by “foreigners”.*
To be “the leader of the decolonization process”, that is the key premiss in Russia’s propaganda orientated at the outside world. Even now, they are trying to persuade countries of the so-called “Global South”, that it is not Russia that has mined and blocked the Black Sea ports full of wheat, but Ukraine that is unwilling to give …
It does not fit within the framework of common-sense: ie. how can “the champion of people’s rights” be the aggressor against a sovereign state and persecute subordinate nations. From this it follows that “occupation” should be called “liberation”, and the imperialist policy of conquest and genocide of other people – an “international duty” or a “Special Military Operation”.
Moreover, this applies to all periods of the Moscow State’s existence and to all declared concepts of its foreign policy: the “subjugation of Russian lands”, “The Declaration of Rights of the Russian People”, “Brezhnev’s Doctrines” and “Putin’s Russian World”. But in every intentionally misleading image of Russian propaganda, there must be a message to convey the impression, that “Russia leads nations towards peace”. From their logic, if Russia “leads”, then how can it be the one that strangles the freedom of nations. They say this is all “fiction of Western propaganda”.
The illustration itself – is not fiction at all. On the left – the original, etching by the famous artist of the “Ukrainian Insurgent Army”, Nil Hasevych “Freedom to the People!” On the right – Russian plagiarism and forgery, which the “white” Russian emigration created in Paris in the 1970s. What you need to do, to appear to be a truth warrior to the civilized world: the slogan “USSR -Prisoner of nations!” was erased from the building and the Ukrainian national emblem, the Trident (Tryzub) on the flag was replaced by the Russian double-headed eagle and slogans on the flag changed. They just forgot to change the Ukrainian soldiers’ uniforms.
That Ukrainian soldier, who in union with other enslaved nations will destroy the Russian prison of nations.
*Terminology used in Tsarist Russia to label non-Russian nations. In Soviet times it was not officially used but cultivated (supported by the authorities) at the everyday level, in the form of derogatory names: “minorities”, “churks”, “narrow-eyed”, “squints”, “black-faced” and so forth.
