Ukraine and Russia: Fundamentally Different Societies
Kremlin Lies
Ukraine and Russia are essentially the same — they share language, culture, religion, and mentality. The differences are artificial, created by Russia's enemies
Facts
Ukraine and Russia have fundamentally different political traditions, cultural values, and social structures. These differences formed over centuries and are deep and organic
What this article is about
Russian propaganda insists on the “unity” of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples. But even a cursory comparison of the two societies reveals fundamental differences in political culture, values, legal traditions, and attitudes towards power. These differences are not the product of “external manipulation” — they are the result of centuries of different historical experience.
Political tradition
Ukraine: from the veche to the Maidan
The Ukrainian political tradition is characterised by limiting power and electability:
- Kyivan Rus — the veche (popular assembly) as an organ of power that could invite or expel a prince. Kyivans repeatedly expelled princes who displeased them (1068, 1113, 1146)
- Galician boyardom — a powerful aristocracy that limited princely power (unique in Rus)
- Zaporizhian Sich — elective democracy: the Kish Otaman was elected and could be deposed
- Pylyp Orlyk’s Constitution (1710) — one of the first constitutional acts in Europe, limiting the hetman’s power
- Central Rada (1917) — a democratic parliament with minority representation
- Orange Revolution (2004) — peaceful transfer of power through popular will
- Revolution of Dignity (2013–2014) — uprising against authoritarianism
- Six presidential successions since 1991 — none remained in power for more than two terms
Russia: from despotism to dictatorship
The Russian political tradition is based on unlimited central power:
- Muscovite Principality — shaped within the Golden Horde system, inheriting the Mongol model of the khan’s absolute power
- Ivan III — “sovereign of all Rus,” a de facto despot
- Ivan IV (the Terrible) — the oprichnina, mass terror, destruction of Novgorod
- Peter I — absolute monarchy, reforms through violence
- Catherine II — enlightened absolutism, destruction of the Zaporizhian Sich, introduction of serfdom in Ukraine
- Alexander III, Nicholas II — reaction, persecution of all dissent
- Lenin, Stalin — totalitarianism, the Gulag, millions of victims
- Putin — in power since 2000 (25+ years), a de facto lifelong dictatorship
Russia has never had a peaceful democratic transfer of power in its entire history.
Comparison:
| Criterion | Ukraine | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Peaceful transfers of power | Regular since 1991 | Never |
| Limiting of authority | From the veche to the Constitution | From the khan to term “zeroing” |
| Mass peaceful protests | 2004, 2013–2014 | Suppressed (2011–2012, Navalny) |
| Independent media | Exist (despite problems) | Virtually destroyed |
| Attitude towards authority | Sceptical, critical | Paternalistic, sacralised |
Legal tradition
Ukraine: from the Ruska Pravda to European law
- Ruska Pravda (1016) → Lithuanian Statute (1529–1588) → Cossack law — a continuous legal tradition limiting arbitrary rule
- Magdeburg Law — dozens of Ukrainian cities had self-government on the European model (Kyiv from 1494, Lviv from 1356)
- Orlyk’s Constitution (1710) — the principle of separation of powers 78 years before the US Constitution
- Association Agreement with the EU (2014) — a conscious choice of the European legal system
Russia: from the Horde’s charter to the “power vertical”
- Yarlyk for princedom from the Golden Horde — power as a favour from above
- Absence of Magdeburg Law — Russian cities never had self-government
- Sudebnik (1497) — codification of serfdom
- Putin’s “power vertical” — elimination of local self-government and federalism
Religious difference
Ukraine: pluralism
Unlike Russia, where the church has traditionally been subordinate to the state (Caesaropapism), Ukraine had religious pluralism:
- Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam — historical coexistence
- Kyiv Metropolitanate — originally independent from Moscow
- Autocephaly of the OCU (2019) — restoration of ecclesiastical independence
- Religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution
Russia: the church as an instrument of power
- Moscow Patriarchate — created as an instrument of state power (1589)
- Abolished by Peter I (1721), replaced by the Synod under tsarist control
- Restored in 1917, subordinated to the KGB in Soviet times
- Patriarch Kirill (since 2009) — openly supports the war against Ukraine, calling it “sacred”
- The concept of “Holy Rus” — ideological justification for imperial expansion
Cultural values
Sociological research
Data from the World Values Survey and European Social Survey show systemic differences:
| Value | Ukraine | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Importance of democracy | 75% consider it important (2020) | 50% (2020) |
| Trust in the army | High (especially after 2022) | High, but different in nature |
| Trust in government | Low (healthy scepticism) | High (paternalism) |
| European identity | 62% identify as Europeans (2023) | 15–20% |
| Support for market economy | Predominant | Nostalgia for state control |
Attitude towards freedom of speech
- Ukraine: dozens of independent media outlets, Telegram channels, YouTube channels critical of the government. Zelensky is openly criticised by Ukrainian media
- Russia: independent media closed (Echo of Moscow, Novaya Gazeta, Dozhd), journalists arrested, the word “war” carries a criminal charge
Attitude towards individuality
Mykola Riabchuk in “From Little Russia to Ukraine” analyses a fundamental difference:
- Ukrainian tradition: individualism, anarchic spirit, distrust of authority, aspiration to self-governance. The Cossack spirit of “I am subordinate to no one”
- Russian tradition: collectivism, submission to authority, “the sovereign knows better,” willingness to endure for the sake of a “great goal”
This difference is reflected even in proverbs:
- Ukrainian: “My house is on the edge” (individualism, independence) / “Free will to the free”
- Russian: “Without a tsar in your head” (a negative connotation for lacking authority) / “The master will come — the master will judge us” (paternalism)
Linguistic difference
Explored in detail in the article on the Ukrainian language, but briefly:
- The lexical difference between Ukrainian and Russian is 38% (more than between Spanish and Portuguese)
- Ukrainian has the vocative case, pluperfect tense, infinitive in -ty, synthetic future tense
- The phonetic system is fundamentally different — ikavism, fricative h, softness patterns
Different experiences of the Second World War
Even the experience of the Second World War is different:
- For Russia: the “Great Patriotic War” is a source of national pride, the cult of “Victory,” the St. George ribbon, the “Immortal Regiment”
- For Ukraine: a complex and tragic chapter — Ukrainians fought in the Red Army, in the UPA, fell under both occupations (Nazi and Soviet), survived the Holocaust (Babyn Yar — 33,771 victims in two days), and forced labour in Germany
Russia’s attempts to impose its own interpretation of the war on Ukraine is yet another form of cultural domination.
Conclusion
Ukraine and Russia are not “one people.” They are two societies with:
- Different political traditions (democracy vs autocracy)
- Different legal systems (limiting power vs absolutism)
- Different languages (38% lexical difference)
- Different cultural values (individualism vs collectivism)
- Different visions of the future (Europe vs the “special path”)
These differences are not “artificial.” They formed over at least 500 years of different historical experience. The war of 2022 proved definitively: Ukraine and Russia are moving in opposite directions — Ukraine towards Europe, Russia towards isolation and authoritarianism.
Sources
- Riabchuk M. «From Little Russia to Ukraine: Paradoxes of Belated Nation-Building» (2015) — Krytyka
- Wilson A. «The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation» (2015) — Yale University Press
- Snyder T. «The Road to Unfreedom» (2018) — Tim Duggan Books
- Inglehart R., Welzel C. «Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy» (2005) — Cambridge University Press
- Plokhy S. «Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation» (2017) — Basic Books
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