Slezkine offers the best explanation I have found so far why Jews are almost invariably pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian. If the goal of embracing national belonging consists of no longer feeling like an outsider and a loser, it doesn’t make sense to identify with a newly formed nation that is constantly aggressed against.
There’s a profound dislike of Ukrainian nationhood among Jews which can’t be explained by the history of pogroms which were near and dear to the Russian Empire at large. Slezkine’s explanation makes much more sense. It’s just a reflective “I don’t want to be with the victims anymore.” Ukrainian national identity, to my endless annoyance, is deeply tied to the feelings of victimhood. There are efforts to change that but they are recent and don’t yet dominate.
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