Ukraine's gas pipeline deal with the EU on March 23 led to an avalanche of Russian outrage that had less to do with the agreement, but exposed the Kremlin's use of Russian national identity. Russia apparently felt 'betrayed' by Europe and Ukraine. Russian state-controlled media attacked its exclusion from the negotiations, maintaining that without Russia the modernization of the pipelines would not be viable, cast doubt on the viability of the plans and vilified the $5 to 7 billion promised by the EU as far too little. On March 23 Rossiya TV said the EU had forgotten that the pipelines are “mere junk without gas.”
Far more was involved than a show of anger over Moscow's exclusion from the deal. On March 25 Rossiyskaya Gazeta claimed, “Europe does not want to see our country [as part of Europe] and sometimes does not even want to listen to it.” While Komsomolskaya Pravda noted that, “Europe wants to control our gas all by itself, so to speak. Russia has been assigned the role of a docile gas supplier, an appendix which possesses natural resources.” Elsewhere, the Russian media was no less critical, describing the EU and Ukraine as adopting a “disrespectful attitude towards [Russia's] interests.” A report on Center TV International on March 28 concluded that, “Our European partners are incapable of being loyal on either geopolitical or economic issues” (Trud, Center TV International, March 25, 28).
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On March 26 a discussion between Ukraine's Ambassador to Russia Kostyantyn Hryshchenko, shadow foreign minister in the pro-Russian Party of Regions, and Russia's representative to NATO Dmitriy Rogozin on NTV showed that Russia's over-reaction was a product of its inability to see Ukraine as a fully fledged independent state. In addition, the pipeline deal was evidence that Ukraine was continuing to distance itself from Russia. Rogozin, like most Russians, regards the Orange Revolution as Ukraine, “embarking on a course of splitting the East Slav world.” Russia had not criticized Ukraine for seeking EU membership until now because it had always been seen this as an unrealistic objective (unlike NATO membership which Moscow thought was imminent after Yushchenko's election). Hryshchenko stated that Ukraine seeks good relations with Russia. NTV refuted this, saying it is not perceived in Moscow and said it was a “tragedy for Russia” that Ukraine, “does not want to be with us and instead they want to be in NATO, which means that our former neighbors and our fraternal countries do not believe in Russia, do not believe in its course and do not want to be part of it.”
Even the Party of Regions is getting fed up with the Russians. They really need to rethink their world. When dealing with Ukrainians they need to absolutely dump the 'Malorus' - Little Russian - meme. However, I don't see that happening: they have a hard enough time when they immigrate here and still keep the thought that Americans are 'dumb and naive.' *sighs*
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