Putin rants about Ukraine, US reporter, and history in Tucker Carlson interview: Live

Putin: Ukraine Created By Stalin, Not Natural

While Putin was in the midst of discussing history, Carlson interjected by questioning his previous actions. Carlson pointed out, "It's clear that you possess an immense understanding of this area, but why didn't you argue that Ukraine wasn't a genuine nation while serving as president for 22 years?"

The Soviet Union was granted a significant amount of land which wasn't previously theirs, including the Black Sea area. They got Bucha at some point as a result of the Russo-Turkish conflicts. These territories were named New Russia, but that's not important. What's important is that Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state, created Ukraine in this manner, according to Putin.

The Ukrainian Soviet Republic grew over many years while it was part of the USSR. The Bolsheviks had a part in this for reasons that are not clear. It wasn't just because many people in the Soviet leadership came from Ukraine. Instead, it was due to the Soviet Union's overall strategy of encouraging local cultures, known as indigenisation. This was stated by the Russian leader.

According to him, similar actions were taken in other Soviet republics where the focus was on supporting and advancing national languages and cultures. He stated that this strategy wasn't necessarily a negative one. In fact, this approach is what led to the establishment of Soviet Ukraine. Post World War II, Ukraine gained possession of the territories that were previously held by Poland, Hungary, and Romania. As a result, Romania and Hungary lost some of their lands and these territories continue to be a part of Ukraine even today.

Putin asserted that Ukraine is an unnatural country created under Stalin's control.

Back in November of 2022, Olesya Khromeychuk, a historian and the director of the Ukrainian Institute London, expressed her thoughts in The New York Times stating that Ukraine's history has played a crucial role in shaping their current national identity, which is fundamentally against imperialism, highly unified when faced with adversaries, and downright committed to protecting their freedom. This sense of freedom is crucial to the survival of the Ukrainian people, not merely some ideal they strive towards.

Stephen Schlesinger, an American historian, wrote in PassBlue in May 2022 that seven years prior to his death, Joseph Stalin proposed that Ukraine be recognized as an independent country in anticipation of the Soviet Union's membership in the newly established United Nations.

The historian explained that Stalin made a declaration during a conference in San Francisco that took place in the spring of 1945 when the UN was established. Stalin demanded that Ukraine should be allowed to enter the organization as a separate nation and should receive all the benefits that come with full membership, such as having its own ambassador and taking part in all UN sessions as a member state. The historian pointed out that Stalin's position originated from an earlier meeting called the Dumbarton Oaks conference, which was held in Washington a year before the UN Charter was drafted. This conference brought together the four nations sponsoring the UN, which were Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States and China.