Russia-Ukraine Conflict Lies in the Bones of an 11th-Century Prince – WSJ

In the 11th century, a prince called Yaroslav the Wise united principalities lying between the Baltic and Black seas, codifying laws and forming the first political state of the eastern Slavs. Both Russia and Ukraine claim him as a forefather.

Now, Ukraine is searching for Yaroslav s missing bones.

Finding them would be a notable if symbolic victory, bolstering Ukraine s case for sovereignty at a moment of significant tension with its neighbor. Yaroslav s legacy is contested ground, forming a historical underpinning to Russia s current military buildup near Ukraine that U.S. officials see as a potential prelude to a Russian invasion.

Russia and Ukraine each claim to be the political heir of the Kievan Rus federation he founded. Ukraine awards the order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise for service to the state. A Russian frigate carrying his name patrols the Baltic Sea. Yaroslav s image appears on a bank note from each country.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kievan Rus is part proof that Russia and Ukraine are one historical and spiritual space, as he put it in a July essay, and that Ukraine has no basis to exist as a sovereign state. He pointed to their common medieval linguistic roots, a shared Orthodox Christian faith and their rule starting in the ninth century by the Rurikid dynasty, of which Yaroslav was a part.

via www.wsj.com

So much to unpack here. I’ll just note that it’s too bad that Yaroslav the Wise was not a saint and neither is Putin, at least not yet.