Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Alexander Motyl: Ukraine’s Donbas is like America’s deep South
A woman walks in the center of the eastern city of Donetsk, capital of the self-proclaimed \"People's Republic of Donetsk\" on Dec. 29, 2014. The sign on the poster reads: \"Protect the Republic!\".
Many journalistic accounts -- as well as the Kremlin's propaganda machine -- depict the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine's separatist Donbas region and the Crimea as an aggrieved ethnic minority clamoring for nothing more than greater autonomy and cultural and language rights. Seen in this light, Kyiv and ethnic Ukrainians are the victimizers. The Donbas and its Russians are the victims. To put the conflict in American terms, Kiev is white America and the Russian-speaking regions are black America.
