Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire

In Ukraine, the interviewed youths were from Ukraine’s third largest city, Odessa. In 2014, Putin emphasized that Odessa was part of the region of Russia’s historic empire known as Novorossiya (New Russia), implying that that region should be part of the Russian Federation.³² Today, the port city of Odessa boasts a vibrant multiethnic population that includes more than ten nationalities. While ethnic Ukrainians make up more than 60 percent of the population, the city is mostly Russian-speaking with most ethnic Ukrainians using Russian as their native language. The subject I will call Margarita is a Russian speaker and a student of marine logistics at Odessa University.³³ She dreams of working in the merchant marines. With Russian roots on her paternal side, she considers herself half Russian, but certainly not a Russian compatriot or Russian patriot. As she explains, “Russia and Ukraine are two separate countries” and “I have never lived in and will never live in Russia.” She would prefer Russian to be the second national language of Ukraine, so that Russian speakers could choose to conduct their education and bureaucratic procedures in their mother tongue. However, she does not think that Ukrainian Russian speakers need Russia’s protection and that “all problems can be solved within the border of our own country.”

Another Russian-speaking Odessan, whom I will call Viktoriya, is a young marketing professional.³⁴ She enjoys speaking English and hopes to travel to America someday. Like Margarita, she does not feel she is a Russian compatriot and has no grievances as a Russian speaker in Ukraine. As she says, “in a democratic society everyone has the freedom and right to speak the language of their choice. We don’t have fascism or totalitarianism. Nobody dictates the language we speak here and certainly not in my region.” She thinks Russian protection or support is unnecessary and that in fact “Russia should turn its attention to its own domestic problems and not to the domestic problems of a neighboring country.”

Yelena, a recent university graduate from Odessa, moved to Kiev not long ago to seek employment.³⁵ Born and raised in Odessa in a Ukrainian family, she grew up speaking Russian. But, as she explains, “here everyone speaks in Russian, but we are not Russian. We are Russian-speaking Ukrainians and patriots of our country.” Based on her personal experience, she refutes myths that Russian speakers are discriminated against, pressured, or intimidated anywhere in Ukraine, including western Ukrainian-speaking territories. She adamantly rejects the prospect of Moscow’s protection—“I wonder from whom Russia is going to protect us? From ourselves? What is happening in our country should be decided from within and we do not need outside help.”

In Moldova’s predominantly Russian-speaking territory of Gagauzia the sentiments are similar. Deniz is a young journalist and a native Russian speaker.³⁶ As he explains, “my mother is Moldavian and my father is Gagauz, but in the family they spoke Russian, so they could understand one another. This is why from my childhood I spoke in Russian.” He explains that in the cities most Gagauz are Russian speakers, but in the provinces they speak Gagauz though they all know Russian as well. He rejects the notion of being identified as a Russian compatriot, declaring: “I am a citizen of Moldova. My homeland is Moldova! I was born here and I am a patriot of my own country!” He has never encountered any discrimination in Moldova other than the occasional request in the capital of Chisinau to speak Romanian. He believes that “no one here would ever want Russian protection.”

In Moldova’s breakaway territory, Transnistria, opinions are more divided. Yevgeny is in his thirties and a member of the leading political party.³⁷ He represents the vanguard of pro-Russian compatriots in Moldova. He considers himself to be a Russian compatriot and a Russian because “I was born and raised in a Russian environment and I have only one homeland—Russia.” A staunch Russian patriot, Yevgeny actively supports the notion of Russia absorbing Transnistria and the latter becoming part of Novorossiya and the Eurasian Economic Union. When asked about potential grievances, he stated, “only the Western-leaning Moldovan government causes problems for Russian speakers.” He also believes that “Russian protection is necessary and that a few military bases would cool down the pro-Western officials in Chisinau.” Finally, when asked about Russia’s 2014 policies in Ukraine, he mentioned that “Crimea always belonged to Russia” and that “a great historical mistake has been fixed.”