And other things, such as the position of women in society. There’s a great play called “Бояриня” by the 19th-century Ukrainian poet Lesia Ukrainka. In the poem, a Ukrainian girl marries a Russian nobleman and is shocked to discover how differently women are treated in Russia, how little agency and freedom they have.
If you read Ukrainian, the play is available online. What’s described in it is massively recognizable to people in our region. I know we all look the same to outsiders, and that’s perfectly OK. But we are different. I have a friend from Belarus. A lovely, lovely person. But you look at her, you look at me, and it’s very obvious why Belarus has an authocratic regime of Lukashenka, and Ukraine doesn’t.
In short, do read Galeev.
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