Russia and Ukraine Battling for Historical Truth

... intensifying jostling in the media, textbooks, movies and other cultural areas for the exclusive right to interpret the same historical facts. Why can’t these two states share a common history and why is it so important to possess a unique past? History for Substantiating Legitimacy In his address to the Federal Assembly last December, President Vladimir Putin mentioned Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev in the Crimean context, which was perceived by many that the affiliation of the peninsula was being legitimized through the myth of restoration, the historical truth and the preservation of continuity in traditions, culture and statehood. To this end, Moscow ...