The Fate of Baturyn

I cannot shake the feeling that we are approaching another critical point in our history (a bifurcation point, if you like). After formally gaining independence in 1991, our country remained deeply dependent on the Moscow empire for a long time. Imagine: a boat was moored to a barge and moved with it as one whole. The ropes seem to have been cast off, yet the boat still keeps moving near the heavy barge. But now streams of water appear between them, it begins to drift away... they try to grab it, pull it back, and in doing so push it farther away... To a considerable extent, the unification of Ukraine was helped by Muscovy itself — by brute force, the seizure of Crimea, and the war in Donbas. Many people in Ukraine felt connected to the former metropolis. I myself am very grateful for the scientific experience I gained in the 1990s in Moscow, at the Institute of Developmental Biology, and in the early 2000s in St. Petersburg, at the Zoological Institute. No offense to Kyiv zoologists, but they could not provide such opportunities for work, cooperation, and professional development. Had it not been for the imperial arrogance of the metropolis, I would likely have remained a pro-Russian citizen of Ukraine. By the way, in 2006–2008 we created the course “Ecology. Designing the Biosphere” by Moscow’s order. In today’s terms, it was an “integrated course,” and probably the best work of my life. Never mind; now I am trying to surpass and improve on that work — and you will see, my colleagues and I will succeed. In 2013–2014, I openly supported association with the EU and the Maidan. I had an interesting experience trying to explain what was happening on Maidan to readers of Moscow’s “Computerra.” What a wave of malice, arrogance, and contempt (akin to a colonizer’s contempt for a subhuman native) crashed over me then! Incidentally, Computerra itself is connected with much in my life. For some time, it was probably the most intellectual magazine published in the post-Soviet space; I am proud to have been its author and columnist. It is all the more interesting to see how Computerra degenerated into nothing. It is clear to me that this degeneration began with the annexation of Crimea — and naturally, current readers of what remains of the magazine will never agree with me. Oddly enough, I now understand that Maidan was largely pushed forward by Muscovy itself. For them, it was supposed to be a pretext to demonstrate that Ukraine was a failed state and then end even the formal independence of my country, or a large part of it. Moscow itself heated Ukraine’s desire to determine its own fate — and miscalculated. Many people I talk to like to criticize the current Ukrainian authorities and Poroshenko personally. Impoverishment, lies, cronyism... As for impoverishment, I do not think there are strong grounds for such claims, though crude lying and brazen cronyism have exhausted me too. And yet I see no reason for wringing our hands, not because of optimism but rather because of my own pessimism. In 2014, I considered the prospect of withstanding an imperial attack, preventing economic chaos, and preserving peaceful life in Ukraine (rather than collapsing into some “KhNR”) extremely unlikely. Imagine — it worked! So far... And, of course, I very much want it to keep working. But by preserving peaceful life in most of the country, we fell into a trap. We forgot that our country is at war. We are told that if not for profiteers making money from an internal Ukrainian conflict, peace would have come long ago. Those who understand this is an impudent lie, a way to support an offensive war, eventually get tired of refuting it. And now voices are heard again: come on, we lived together with Russians for so many years, we can live together again... Some pro-Moscow politicians display such “humanity.” There are supposedly things more important than fixation on the national question... And here, I think, we should remember Baturyn. If you do not know, read what happened in that city in 1708. It was the residence of Hetman Mazepa. Under Mazepa, three centuries ago, Ukraine, as now, tried to break away from Muscovy. When Peter I’s army under Menshikov captured Baturyn, it exterminated all inhabitants regardless of age or sex. Some were simply killed, others were abused before being killed. This was part of measures aimed at restoring Moscow’s control over Ukraine. As in Mazepa’s time, Ukraine is moving out from under Moscow’s dependence. For a dying empire, this will be an unbearable blow. The Kremlin authorities are convinced that reclaiming Ukraine is a condition for their survival. That is precisely why the Ukrainian question has become the main issue of Moscow policy, why they are preparing their population for war with us. So yes. The fate of Baturyn has been prepared for us. Perhaps, because times are “softer,” it will not be total slaughter but selective destruction of everyone who risks having an independent opinion. Yet the experience of purges in Chechnya shows that our northern brothers do not stop short of medieval cruelty even in our time. The fate of Baturyn has been prepared for us. We must realize this, keep it in memory, and act with this scenario in mind. And the most important thing in such a situation is to keep moving, without stopping. When we are reminded of great Russian culture, when we are pushed toward cooperation with the best representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, when we are persuaded to remember the bright sides of the Soviet Union and our youth within it — they are preparing for us the fate of Baturyn. I respect the culture that gave us Rachmaninoff, Bunin, and Mandelstam; it is very important to me. But let us not pretend that today’s Muscovy is the legal successor of that culture. Of course not; they trampled that culture. It is not I who betray that culture by distancing myself from Moscow; Muscovy itself betrayed it. I am deeply grateful to the scientific tradition that included Darevsky and Vorontsov and includes Rasnitsyn and Shishkin. The attempt to bring Ukraine back at any cost is destroying that science as well. Alas, Moscow policy is determined by those preparing for us the fate of Baturyn. A specifically Ukrainian attitude toward power is quite natural to me: to remember it while keeping a fig in one’s pocket. For example, I calmly sabotaged the most severe directives on immediate transition to teaching in Ukrainian. They ordered it? Fine... The point is that it is easier for me to express complex thoughts in the language I know best. But this year I switched to teaching in Ukrainian myself. The first lecture was terrible; hopefully the second was better. Students face additional difficulties — and that is exactly why I did not do this earlier. But now, when I compare the extra difficulties for myself and for students with what awaits us if we can be “cleansed” like Baturyn, I make a different decision. We will adapt. Alas, all our decisions must be made with the possibility of the “Baturyn scenario” in mind. I mean teaching, elections, and plans for life in general... And by the way, Russian-language educational materials on my website, on Batrachos, will be replaced with Ukrainian ones. In most cases, Russian ones will disappear — what can be done... Let Russian readers learn Ukrainian or go wherever they want. Away from Moscow! D.Sh.