Medium Ukraine (Politics)

[Mick Harper]

Did I say capitalist countries? I meant totalitarian fascist ones. Germany under Goebbels 1943-5 is our template.

[Mick Harper]

The IOC has allowed the Russian National Committee back into the fold (though various other restrictions are still lurking around). The reason, according to the IOC, is that the RNC agreed not to select athletes from the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

This is, as both sides recognise, something of a sop since precious view actual individual sportspersons are affected by this but politically it is seismic because the Russian constitution states these areas are part of Russia. Technically the RNC is committing treason.

Now of course they did it with Putin's consent--possibly even at his urging--but it does open up further avenues. For example, the IOC could let it be known in Kremlin circles that they would be obliged if official Russian mouthpieces would not bang on about the IOC being a NATO catspaw and stuff like that.

As the 2028 Los Angeles Games near--and full Russian involvement would be regarded as heaven-sent by Trump and the TV networks as well as Russia--the IOC might politely ask Putin to make it clear to his people just why they have been excluded from international sport since 2022.

I doubt he could get those words past his lips but we can expect some unusual developments from that direction. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the ending of the war might somehow get into the mix.

[Mick Harper]

A Nation Denied: Ukraine's Battle for History (PBS)

This two-part blockbuster is a must-see for both history- and Ukraine-nerds. It is remarkably detailed and will fill in gaps even for fairly clued-up people such as myself.

As the title implies, you won't get much about the Russian perspective. In fact nothing at all, but there are other lacunae and errors. For instance I wouldn't say the Russians 'liberated' Berlin in 1945. Nor would I say Ukrainian is 'very similar' to Polish, not in the context where later the programme-makers refer to Ukrainian as 'a dialect of Russian'.

More seriously, the Donbas is not mentioned at all, save as being where Khrushchev came from. This is important because it was Khrushchev who added the Donbas (as well as Crimea) to the Ukraine SSR in 1954. The program claimed this was done because it was the bicentennial of the 1754 treaty that bound Ukraine and Russia together, and Ukraine needed to be rewarded for being such a faithful 'little brother'. If you believe that you'll believe anything.

There was one amusing moment in an overall grim story. When the Ukrainian people voted 90% for independence (a surprisingly large figure) in 1991 and the Ukrainian parliament had formally ratified it, the Ukrainian national anthem was solemnly played. On loudspeakers since it was obvious none of the MPs knew the words.