ABSTRACT
This paper examines Russia’s view of contemporary Ukraine from the period of the Euromaidan protests that peaked in February 2014 to the present. It looks at both the official Moscow view, as well as that of leading Russian think tanks, and how these opinions are being disseminated in narrative form through media and social networks with a prime focus on two pivotal months: February 2014 and February 2015, though the interpretation could be applied to the entire period of the conflict, including the present. It provides an assessment of why Russian opted to intervene in Ukraine. It then focuses on the significance of historical questions in the rift between the two states that began with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and continued as fighting broke out in the Donbas. How do the two states differ on the interpretation of the past and how is it reflected in Russian and Ukrainian initiatives today?
