This is exactly what I was talking about — although for now these are just comments from “ordinary Russians” about Ukrainian athletes at the Olympics:
“If they didn’t want this, they shouldn’t have come. They are descendants of nationalists, these two foolish Ukrainians. At the same time, I have always had great respect for native Ukrainians, who grew up on incredibly fertile lands and impressed with their diligence and work ethic. But now we’re talking about different people. These Ukrainian athletes don’t even know that a country like Ukraine was created by Russia. They know nothing about history — idiots.
Only a few weeks remain until your defeat. And you are nobody. There is no such nationality as Ukrainians. If you ask these fools why they don’t love Russia, none of these nationalists will ever answer. They are subject, as Stalin said, to complete extermination. I am speaking specifically about nationalists, not about native Ukrainians. And Nikita Khrushchev was wrong to release them from the prisons where Stalin had put them. That is my answer to these two rams.”
— Russian Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov.
The old man’s message is essentially this: “Real Ukrainians” are meant to till the soil, dig, and remain simple, obedient people — it’s in their blood, that’s the purpose of “true” Ukrainians. And any Ukrainians who want more than that are a danger that must be destroyed.
This rhetoric has been repeated against us since Soviet times, and there’s honestly nothing more to add.
💬 0 🔁 7 ❤️ 8 · A third Ukrainian athlete has been banned from competing in his helmet — this time, short track speed skater Oleh Handey. ·
