Pro-Russian revanche: electioneering

Throat singing pop hits from Bashkortostan. The Freedom Legion. Oksana we have a proposition for Oleksiy, 20000 hryvnia and in an hour he’ll be free. You have 15min

Today’s article will be about the future of politics in Ukraine, and in particular, the possible contours of the ‘pro-Russian revanche’ that has been haunting many Ukrainian thought leaders. We’ll take a look at what this could look like, and how mainstays of Ukraine’s nationalist, oligarchic elite have been investing in ‘pro-Russian disinformation’. For good reason - the people like it. We’ll also take a look at some new Ukrainian polls, stories of mobilization corruption and extortion with drug and scam call center links, and how Ukraine’s law enforcement is luring opposition intellectuals to Poland for their swift extradition.

First of all, return of the Russians - by means of elections. That might seem unlikely. I can say from personal experience that I know plenty of Ukrainians who were more ‘pro-Russian’ than many Russian citizens who reversed their views after the war relieved them of their homes and jobs. But this was most true for the first year or so of war. Now, many people are tired of blaming all Ukraine’s problems on Russia, and in any case are willing to do anything to end the war. The impudence of enthusiastic ‘Ukrainizers’ has also become more and more grating.

To begin with, a sign from the musical sphere - as has happened numerous times before in wartime, a Russian cultural product is driving Ukrainians crazy - in a good way. This time, from distant Bashkortostan - coincidentally, it is often through reference to supposedly sexually ravenous, brutal Bashkirs and other asiatic ethnic groups of Russia that Ukrainian government propagandists motivate the population to keep on fighting and tolerate all abuses by the mobilization authorities.

A meme posted by Maria Berlinska, a western-funded NGO warrior. It says, in caricatured Russian: ‘Don’t like the mobilization authorities? Then we’ll come to you…’ I wrote more about Berlinska here.

This time, it was Bashkir music - the song involves throat singing and lyrics in the Bashkir language. Despite claims of systematic eradication of minority culture by the Russian chauvinist authorities, it turned out that this Bashkir-language group also supports Russia’s Special Military Operation. That hasn’t stopped the song, released on March 14, from topping Ukraine’s iTunes.

Elections?

Soothed by the timeless rhythms of the great Eurasian steppe, time to enter the choppy waters of Ukraine’s political arena.

The Trump administration seems to be sailing into uncharted territory on a range of vectors. To begin with, of course, its remarkable tariffs. But in Ukraine, Trump’s initial clarity has faded – what happened to getting rid of the ‘dictator’ Zelensky? In the next 4,500 words, let’s dive into the murky depths and ebbing tides of Ukraine’s political marketplace.