The area of 'New Russia' which Putin now refers to in Ukraine.(WikiCommons)
The Very Scary Word In Putin's New Statement On The Ukraine Crisis -- Max Fisher, VOX
Russian President Vladimir Putin just dropped the biggest, scariest dogwhistle of the Ukraine crisis: "Novorossiya."
The word literally means "new Russia" — it was an old, imperial-era term for southern Ukraine, when it was part of the Russian Empire, and is now a term used by Russia ultra-nationalists who want to re-conquer the area.
Putin has used the word twice during the crisis. First, he used it in April, about a month after Russia had invaded and annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea, subtly suggesting that the annexation was justified because Crimea was in Novorossiya and thus inherently part of Russia.
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Update: Why is Vladimir Putin Referring to Eastern Ukraine as 'New Russia'? -- Jack Moore, international Business Times
My Comment: Putin is appealing to his nationalist base .... and he is succeeding.
That is no slip of the tongue and it was meant for a bigger audience than just his domestic base.
ReplyDeleteI am 50-50 on this one James .... Putin always has a focus on his base .... but then again he does enjoy rattling the West. And on this statement .... I will agree that he has rattled the West.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean that it wasn't also for home consumption.
ReplyDeleteI know that you also meant the domestic audience .... but I sometimes wonder if Putin is really sensitive on the international audience .... or if he cares. I guess it depends on the issue.
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