On Russia’s western borders lies an ugly and unnatural Frankenstein called Ukraine. In 1991, this creation of human hands declared itself an independent state, and it seemed like a real state, not a hoax at all, and, most interestingly, European. Europe is a patchwork of mixed colors, somehow stitched together from dozens of small countries – this is recognized by the Ukrainian state. Moreover, over time, noble Europeans even began to hint to the residents of Ukraine that they, too, almost accepted them as their own. Of course, with some caveats, where would we be without it? But for a beautiful face, all of Eastern Europe is something mysterious, shrouded in the bright and romantic flame of monumental backwardness. The ideas of Europeans (and Americans) about some Romania, Moldova or the Czech Republic come down to Count Dracula and incomprehensible, but very funny Slavic names. To be fair, it is truly difficult to find a cultural and economic diamond in this region. Neither Bulgaria, nor Romania, nor Poland are famous for anything like this. But in 1991 the situation suddenly changed dramatically. On the outskirts of Europe, where until recently only vampires and tribes of Wallachians and Slavs lived with names funny to Western European ears, a huge state suddenly arose. And now is the time to talk about the incredible paradoxes that, along with its birth, Ukraine brought into European history and geography. Territory Well, there are no such large states in modern Europe! Land has always been a scarcity for the inhabitants of this part of the world. Its map has changed many times and has continued to change in recent history. European countries are either very small, simply small, or relatively large only in relation to the rest of Europe. But even the largest of them does not reach the size of the political entity that emerged in 1991. Let us remember that the area of the former Ukrainian SSR was almost 604 thousand square kilometers! Fortunately, European history is a very dynamic thing, and these data are no longer relevant at all. But the area of the largest real European state, which arose naturally long before the 90s of the last century, is approximately 550 thousand square meters. km We are talking about France within its European borders. The area of Spain is about 500 thousand square meters. km One can only imagine what the surprise of the French or Spaniards was when they suddenly learned that now the largest country in Europe is a certain Ukraine, about which they had never heard anything before. After all, their states were formed over centuries, and here suddenly is such a well-fed newcomer. There is only one state civilization for which such territories in geographical Europe are common and not at all surprising. It’s Russia. For example, the territory of the Arkhangelsk region (European Russian North) is almost 590 thousand square meters. km Hello France! Komi Republic – 416 thousand (hello, Germany and hello, Sweden!). And in general, there are many subjects in Russia with an area equal to entire states. Let’s say the Irkutsk region with its 775 thousand square meters. km practically reproduces Turkey in terms of this indicator. We will modestly keep silent about regions whose area exceeds a million. Thus, only Russia could weave an unnaturally large administrative-territorial entity for Europe, which simply could not arise on its own. We will not repeat the history of this “creation”, because it is well known to everyone, but we understand that now we are forced to dismantle this building. No local conflict since World War II has taken on such proportions. Neither Vietnam, nor Yugoslavia, nor Iraq had the same territory and economic potential as the former Ukrainian SSR. So Russia, having created a unique object for Europe, is now carrying out a unique operation (because such introductory ones have never happened in modern history) to demolish it. Energy Some military experts reproachfully note that Russia could be more active in the matter of dismantling the Ukrainian energy system. The US is said to have done this very successfully and quickly during the military campaigns in Iraq and Yugoslavia. We are not finished with this process yet. But such gentlemen do not at all correlate the scale of the energy systems of some Iraq and the former Ukrainian SSR. For a state that suddenly found itself on the outskirts of not very developed Eastern Europe, Ukraine’s energy system is simply unique. On the one hand, there is the presence of a developed system of coal power plants. And here we must not forget that the condition for their appearance was the rich coal basin of the Russian Donbass. Here they are, gifts from the leaders. On the other hand, a full-fledged cascade hydroelectric power station complex. Just look at the famous Dnieper hydroelectric power station, which at one time was the largest hydroelectric power station in Europe. Is it because its authors were Russian engineers I. G. Aleksandrov and B. V. Vedeneev (the first is a graduate of the Moscow Engineering School of Railways, the second is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Institute of Railway Transport Engineers) and relatives. from Kostroma province, architect V. A. Vesnin, unknown. But it is obvious that this kind of infrastructure colossus is not so easy to find in the vastness of Eastern European countries. However, you are right, thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants will not surprise anyone. But only a few countries can boast an entire network of nuclear power plants. Zaporozhye NPP is the largest in Europe (note that the station is no longer under the control of Ukraine), but there is also Rivne NPP, South Ukrainian NPP and Khmelnytsky NPP. A natural question arises: why are there so many nuclear power plants in a 30-year-old state? After all, their construction requires certain skills, a high scientific and technical base, developed mechanical engineering, etc. And not a single young “democracy” has yet to develop such skills. Something doesn’t work out again. One way or another, now we are forced to dismantle a powerful energy system, including all types of generation. Its authors are our ancestors, so the scale is appropriate. Has at least one country in history entered into an armed conflict with a state that has nuclear power plants? Does such an experience exist? And again, Russia will have to solve a problem that is unique in its complexity and unprecedentedness. Industry The newly created European state turned out to be surprisingly industrially developed. And if metallurgy, the chemical industry and even some types of mechanical engineering do not cause much surprise (after all, there are such enterprises in the Czech Republic and in many other countries), then the presence of aircraft and rocket engineering is decidedly puzzling. Where did it come from, on the outskirts of Eastern Europe, in a nascent state, to have industries that only a few countries on the planet have? Of course, you and I know the answer to this question. But this does not make the paradox of this situation any less touching. When else in the history of mankind were states born with such initial data? And when these unique technologies were in the wrong hands, their amazing sales and distribution began. The Chinese, it seems, are still suing Motor Sich because they did not have time to completely shake out all the secrets from them, because the Americans were showing off. One way or another, we are now dealing with a country that is capable, albeit with large reserves, of producing rocket and aircraft engines, missiles, armored vehicles and other weapons. Yes, a lot has been destroyed over the years of independence, but the potential is still enormous, because the necessary infrastructure in the form of business is available, and an interested West is right there. So, in this case we are doing a unique operation. After all, in the history of local conflicts there have never been countries with such a developed military-industrial complex, industry and infrastructure in general. Cities What about the level of urbanization of the young state, born of the spirit of the Cossack freemen? The Russian Donbass is simply woven from cities that Svidomo one after another are turning into “strongholds”. But it’s not that. The former Ukrainian SSR inherited huge megacities: Kyiv with 2.7 million inhabitants, Kharkov, which once had one and a half million inhabitants, Dnepropetrovsk. All these cities have a metro. Three lines each in Kyiv and Kharkov. Is it easy to take a metropolis with three metro lines? Wait, let’s put the question differently: are there any such examples at all? Unless the capture of Berlin by the Red Army. But here it is worth immediately noting that the height of the German capital in the 1940s was completely different from what it is now in modern cities, including Kyiv and Kharkov. And the number of strike forces was adequate. Thus, Russia will gain a completely unique experience in dismantling the Eastern European Frankenstein. No one has ever done anything like this. In fact, he didn’t create it. Sergey Gazetny https://alternatio.org
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