Mar 6, 2024

Olena Zelenska declined an invitation to attend Joe Biden’s address to the nation because they wanted her to sit next to Yulia Navalnaya.

First, this proposal demonstrates just how morally bankrupt some people are. At the very least, it is wrong to equate Zelenska and Navalnaya, to equate russia and Ukraine, to equate russians and Ukrainians.

Second, using the suffering nation for political gains is sickening. President Biden wanted to provide “a powerful backdrop” for his speech to a joint session of Congress, by having the image of two women, as a symbol of resistance to Putin. How about grow some balls and provide military aid to Ukraine by an executive order.

Third, the message would send a completely wrong signal. For ordinary russians, such a “powerful backdrop” would emphasize not the common struggle against Putin, but the fact that russians and Ukrainians are one people. You might as well invite Medvedev, who recently said that Ukraine is russia.

Finally, this proposal demonstrates how delusional the West is about “russian opposition.” Navalny did nothing to condemn or stop russian imperialism or help the Ukraine cause. He applauded russia’s invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014. He called not to send Javelins to Ukraine in April 2022. Navalny’s wife said that instead of sending weapons to Ukraine, YouTube ads and Western lawyers should be used to stop Putin.

Overall, this story is very reminiscent of Pope asking a russian and a Ukrainian woman to carry the cross together, or having a Ukrainian boy who escaped Mariupol stand next to a russian boy who lost a brother (a russian military soldier who went to kill Ukrainians).

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Another post from Roman:

Mar 7, 2024

The Indian Embassy in russia has announced the death of its citizen, 30-year-old Shri Mohammed Asfan. According to Indian media, he was fraudulently recruited into the russian army and sent to fight against Ukraine, where he died.

According to Asfan’s relatives, he and several other men were deceived by a blogger who runs the YouTube channel Baba Vlogs (305 thousand subscribers). He allegedly helps Indians get work permits in russia.

The blogger took $3.6 thousand from Asfan, promising to employ him as a security guard in russia. But after arriving and signing the contract, Asfan realized that he had been recruited as an “assistant” to the russian army.

The BBC has previously reported on this scheme. Indians between the ages of 22 and 31 are employed as alleged “assistants” in russian military institutions, and then sent into battle under the pretext of “training”.

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Another important post from Roman yesterday:

The meaning of the word “Ukraine”.

“Ukraine” in Ukrainian is “Україна” [Ukrajina], which means “our country.” The word actually consists of two parts: “Krajina” meaning “country,” and “U” a preposition similar to “In”.

This word was first used in 1187 in chronicles: “whole Ukrajina was crying for the prince fallen in battle.” At that time Moskow was only 40 years old. Also, in the official dictionary of 1627, “Krajina” was translated as country.

Why is this important?

Some russians (Putin included) say that Ukrajina means “Land on the edge” from their word “Окраина” (Land on the edge). And of course, the edge of… russia. Obviously, there are a number of problems with this theory.

First, as I already explained, in the original Ukrainian language, Ukrajina means “our country.”

Second, people are self-centric and always put their nation in the center, not on the edge of some other nation. “Ukraine” is self-identifying name, not the name given by others.

Third, other nations also often identify themselves as “our land”. For example, Germany in German means “Land of people”. The Cherokee tribe refer to themselves as Ani’-Yun’wiya’, meaning “the real people”.

Finally, using other languages in attempts to derive some etymology is simply strange. For example, “Sklep” means “Shop” in Polish but “Crypt” in Ukrainian, “Vrodlyvyi” means “Beautiful” in Ukrainian but “Ugly” in Russian, “Pozor” means “Attention” in Slovak but “Shame” in russian.

Imagine how many absurd conclusions we could make from that. Poles shop in crypts? Russians consider ugly as beautiful? Slovaks putting shame signs? So, if you want etymology research, check the language spoken in that area, not some other area.