Appropriation of Ukrainian History in the formation of Naval traditions in modern Russia

Abstract

Abstract. Introduction. The article examines the process of modern Russia appropriating Ukrainian maritime history to construct a myth of itself as a naval power with ancient naval traditions and to legitimize territorial claims while simultaneously denying Ukrainian`s right to distinct historical continuity and statehood. With the collapse of the Soviet Union (and before that, Russian Empire in 1917, which artificially created a common historical past, Russian historians felt the need to research their own history as a concept for the formation of the modern Russian state, separated from the other states that were previously part of the Empire. Facing difficulties in creating its own Russian historical myth attractive to the citizens and leadership of the Russian Federation, Russian historiography after 1991 demonstrates a tendency toward the systematic appropriation of the Ukrainian historical heritage. This trend is particularly evident in the context of forming naval traditions, which are in turn largely focused on heroic historical naval events. This practice is part of a broader information war, in which history is used as an instrument of ideological influence, both on its own citizens and the citizens of neighbouring states, as well as a justification for Russian aggression in the eyes of the civilized world. Russia, in forming its own naval traditions, not only actively uses the Ukrainian past to strengthen its own naval mythology but also ignores the distinctiveness and state-building heritage of Ukraine, thereby obstructing the formation of specifically Ukrainian naval traditions. Purpose of the article. The purpose of the study is to debunk the myth of Russia as a navel state and to expose the works of Russian researches that are aimed not at scientific reconstruction but at the mythologization of the past for the purpose of political mobilization and its using as a political tool. The scientific novelty. The process of the systemic appropriation of Ukrainian maritime heritage by Russian historiography, which served the function of ideologically substantiating expansion and undermining Ukraine’s historical subjectivity, has been investigated stage-by-stage.

Conclusions. The investigated changes in the paradigm of Russian historiography have a clearly expressed ideological function. Firstly, they are aimed at creating an imperial myth that asserts the image of Russia as an eternal naval state, the successor to Kyivan Rus with deep naval traditions. Secondly this myth serves to justify aggressive policy - the legitimization of territorial claims, particularly concerning Crimea, and the denial of Ukrainian’s right to separate historical continuity and statehood. Thus, this is not an issue of academic disputes but a purposeful policy of historical appropriation. Russia uses the Ukrainian naval heritage – from the maritime power of Kyivan Rus to the heroic deeds of Cossack flotillas – as a tool of hybrid warfare, where hysteria transformed into a battlefield. Naval traditions have become a key element of imperial myth of Russia as a naval power. The debunking of the myth means a return to historical reality - to Moskovia, as a continental principality devoid of maritime identity. For Ukraine it’s extremely important to restore the mindset of a maritime state, which historically was. This involves not only the return of forgotten pages of maritime history but also the active cultivation of new national naval traditions as a component of state continuity, security and identity.