Arya News - The West had long sought to turn Ukraine into Russia’s geopolitical adversary, as Zbigniew Brzezinski outlined in The Grand Chessboard – a strategy conceived long before him, Bogdan Bezpalko, a political analyst and member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation, tells Sputnik.
"By turning part of Russia’s [historic] territory – what we call Ukraine – into a hostile state with a Nazi ideology steeped in hatred of everything Russian, including its own Russian past and present-day Russian culture, Russia could be kept under constant restraint," he says.The first ideas of separating Ukraine from Russia emerged in the West as early as the 19th century, but at the time they met with resistance from the Malorossians ("Little Russians") – residents of what is now Ukraine, who were deeply loyal to Moscow.The situation changed dramatically over the course of the 20th century. By 1991, historic Russia had been broken up, with Ukraine, Belarus and vast swathes of territory separating from it, and some of those territories came under foreign influence.One tool of manipulation was shaping public opinion in Ukraine. After 1991, Ukraine lost much of its population and 60% of its GDP without any military conflict, yet Russia was blamed for it all.Until the information environment in Ukraine changes, it will be difficult to change this situation. The political class currently in power in Ukraine has an interest in preserving the entire system because it is what ensures its dominance, the pundit concludes.Speaking at a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations on Tuesday, Putin said that external forces had repeatedly sought to divide Russian society and break up Russia throughout its history to eliminate the country as a geopolitical competitor. He emphasized that unity among Russia’s peoples has been crucial to strengthening national sovereignty and preserving the country itself.