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                  Russia-Ukraine Ties Are Deep and Complicated

   by Michael Eckels

   The political events unfolding in Ukraine reveal complex ethnic,
   historical, cultural, economic, and religious links between Russia and
   Ukraine.
   Those ties were on display Friday in Moscow during the  200th birthday
   celebrations for Taras Shevchenko who composed poetry in Ukrainian and
   prose in Russian.
   Participants from both nations took part including Ukraine's ambassador
   to Moscow, Volodymyr Yelchenko.
   "Unfortunately today's ceremony is happening on the backdrop of events
   that I will not comment on, out of respect for our mutual holiday," he
   said.
   It is a crisis of two nations deeply entwined.  Experts estimate there
   are between three-to-five-million Ukrainians in Russia - many of them
   undocumented migrant workers who send their earnings back to Ukraine.
   Russian and Ukraine did $45 billion  worth of trade in 2012.
   Beyond the literature of Shevchenko, analyst Pavel Felgenhauer
   identifies a mixed language called Surzhik - meaning "mixed-grain
   bread" - common in Crimea, eastern Ukraine, and neighboring Russian
   areas.
   "It's not classical Ukrainian literature, and it's not Russian. It's a
   kind of non-literary talking language, which everyone finds disgusting
   and funny," he said.
   Living in Moscow for 34 years, Ukrainian-Russian Vera Onipko grew up in
   Ukraine's deep east near Lugansk, a hotbed of Surzhik speakers.
   "At school we had classes in Russian language and literature, Ukrainian
   language and literature.  But for math, algebra, or geometry, teachers
   spoke in the mixed-language," recalled Onipko.
   The nations' churches have ancient ties dating back to the eighth
   century Kievan-Rus - the proto-nation for both Russia and Ukraine.
   Church leaders have had a public exchange of letters decrying violence
   and promoting brotherhood.
   And according to Russian President Vladimir Putin these brotherly
   relations, ultimately, could prevent armed conflict.
   "Ukrainian and Russian servicemen will not stand on opposite sides of
   the barricades. They will stand on the same side," he said.
   But the question is - if tensions continue to rise, will Putin's
   assessment still hold?
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-ukraine-ties-are-deep-and-comp
   licated/1867181.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-ukraine-ties-are-deep-and-complicated/1867181.html