Authors

Discussion

The Russian historical narrative has several dominant (leading) plots, the systematic reproduction of which traditionally served as a sanction for the implementation of Russia's imperial/neo-imperial ambitions. Among them, a special place is occupied by the plot about the unity of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples. The starting point for its development was the Pereyaslav Treaty of 1654. The essence of the narrative representation of this document in Russian texts was traditionally the distortion of its goals, content and meaning for the signatories. Over time, the agreement on Russia's military protection of Ukraine began to be interpreted as a text embodying the centuries-old aspirations of the Ukrainian people to merge with the Russian one.

The current war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has introduced critical changes in the interpretation of this event. According to the modern doctrine of the Russian Federation, the event of “reunification” itself should be treated as a non-event, since the basic postulate of the modern Russian narrative declares the non-existence of the Ukrainian people as such.