Ukraine Crisis Media Center hosted a public discussion on Russia’s ongoing myth-making about the modern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: “Myths that live on: how Russian propaganda still manipulates the history of Dnipro and the region“. UCMC experts, historians, journalists, and regional government officials joined the discussion and revealed the main features of the Kremlin’s propaganda narratives that distort the region’s past. They also substantiated the main ways to refute and eradicate pro-Moscow narratives from the collective historical memory.
The discussion was organized around the demonstration of the video “Dnipro – City of the Unbreakable | The whole truth about the city’s history”, created as part of the special study “Myths and narratives of Russian propaganda that destroy Ukrainian identity in the south and east of Ukraine. Refuting and Exposing,” conducted by UCMC experts based on a questionnaire survey of historians, local lore experts, journalists, and civic activists in each of the nine regions covered by the project. The event was held under the project “Strengthening Information Resilience in Ukraine” in partnership with the International Practitioners’ Partnership Network (Estonia) with the support of the European Union.
The discussion revealed the strategy for researching myths in the city and the region, as well as highlighted the myths identified and refuted by the UCMC team. As in most of the nine oblasts studied by the experts involved in the project, two main groups of myths were identified in Sicheslavshchyna, the unofficial name of the region: anti-Ukrainian pro-Moscow narratives, such as the idea that it was the Russian Empire that brought civilization to the region, and myths related to economic nostalgia. These include the idea that it was the Russians who transformed the region from an agrarian to an industrial one, and that the entire region has economic ties only with Moscow.
Event moderator Mr. Ihor Stambol noted that the Russian Empire and its successors systematically destroyed Ukrainian historical memory: “With what does occupation begin? With the removal of archives. It is Russia that appropriates the facts and arguments confirming the right to a particular territory.” The expert emphasized that Ukrainians need a systematic state policy of researching and highlighting their cultural values: “We have enough sources to prove that we are a part of the European civilization.” At all times, the Russian Empire and its state successors tried to tear Ukraine away from Europe and suppressed important civilizational aspects of Ukrainian history, for example, the importance of ancient Greek civilization on Ukrainian territory, or the involvement of Ukrainians in the Reformation or common-European artistic processes. According to the historian, in order to counter Moscow’s propaganda, more attention should be paid to vivid visuals that interest younger generations and supplant all the content produced by the aggressor state. For this purpose, we could use the burial mounds, whose historical value should be emphasized in a qualitative way.
The fact that Sicheslavshchyna was not founded by Muscovites is also evidenced by written documents, including the entire archive of the Kosh of the Zaporozhian Sich, a military and political entity that had a developed legal system in these lands in the pre-Moscow period. Therefore, the claim that there was only the steppe here is a manipulation and an outright lie. As for cities such as Beryslav, Kakhovka, and further south, beyond modern Oleshky, into the Crimea, many documents about them are stored in Istanbul, in Turkish archives. As for the date of the foundation of the city of Dnipro, the most common approach is to start the city’s chronology from the palanka center of Novyi Kodak. It was the administrative center of the Kodak palanka (an administrative division in the Zaporozhian Host the Lower in the 18th century), with all the administrative positions of the time: colonel, town ataman, etc. According to Cossack historian Mr. Ivan Storozhenko, this palanka appeared in the 1650s after Bohdan Khmelnytsky came to power. Initially, it was small, but during the last Sich it became one of the most populated palankas, along with the Samar palanka. Samar is a city that is for now called Novomoskovsk. There were many Cossack winter camps on the site of the modern city of Dnipro before the Moscow conquest. Historical documents state that in the 1770s, about 5,000 people lived in Novyi Kodak on the right bank of the Dnipro and the same number on the left bank. All of the modern bridges in the city of Dnipro that are in operation today are built on former Cossack transportation routes. In particular, the Samarskyi Bridge stands on a transportation that existed back in the days of the Golden Horde. All this shows that the Muscovites occupied this territory already civilized and only adapted everything to their own legislation.
Ms. Tetyana Kolosova, Head of UCMC P ress Center and moderator of the discussion, noted that Russian propaganda actively mythologizes both historical figures and entire periods of history. The Kremlin’s rhetoric pays special attention to the Soviet past: “From Stalin to Catherine the Great, the image of “liberators” is created, who allegedly built, defended, and created. And everything that is Ukrainian is secondary or artificial. This manipulation is part of the colonial narrative.” She also emphasized that one of the tasks of Ukraine today is to restore the truth: “We must form our own historical discourse based on facts, not propaganda.”
When Ms. Tetyana Kolosova asked Mr. Ihor Stambol what surprised him most about this research, the historian focused on the role of Oleksandr Pol, an explorer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and public figure of Ukrainian-German descent. In 1866, he found large deposits of ore in the region. Exploration had been carried out before, and its results confirmed that there was a lot of ore in these lands. But because of personal danger and the threat to their capital in the then Russian Empire, foreign investors did not invest in mining. For 15 years, he appealed to the governor general of Novorossiysk, traveled to St. Petersburg on numerous occasions, and proved there how important this region was and how the entire empire would benefit from the development of ore deposits in Katerynoslav (now Dnipro.) He himself engaged foreign specialists, paid them with his own money, and repeatedly mortgaged his estates. Due to his active work and confidence in success, Oleksandr Pol received the support of the local nobility and authorities, who saw it as an opportunity to receive funds for the region. Thanks to this , a railroad appeared in the region, and then the development of enterprises began alongside it. So it is the activities of this entrepreneur and public figure that are extremely significant not only for Sicheslavshchyna, but also explain the economic processes in the entirety of Ukraine under Russia. His activities shatter the magistral myth of the region about the main role of Muscovites in the development of this land. The fact that it was difficult for Oleksandr Pol to win the right from St. Petersburg to industrialize Katerynoslav proves the opposite: the region developed not because of, but in spite of, the empire’s policies. If it were not for a local enthusiast who won the right and attracted foreign investment, the corrupt Russian authorities would not have undertaken such a mission on their own. Most of the industrial enterprises in Dnipro and the region as a whole were formed thanks to foreign investment. Belgians and Germans invested in the promising region. The Soviet government took all of this away from the rightful owners and “re-established” it, creating a propaganda myth that nothing existed in the region before it.
Ms. Victoria Shikhmagomedova, a representative of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, noted how pro-Moscow myths are still alive today, pointing out that historical myths did not disappear with the start of the full-scale invasion – on the contrary, they have intensified:
“In the temporarily occupied territories, people are told that the region has never been part of Ukraine. That the entire infrastructure is a legacy of Russia. But we have the tools to counter this.” According to Ms. Shikhmagomedova, educational initiatives, support for regional historians, and accessible popular science information are effective.
Ms. Iryna Sytnik, editor of Stepova Zoria, emphasized the role of local media in countering historical myths: “If we do not tell people about their past, the enemy will do it. And they will do it in a way that is beneficial to them. We are studying archives, recording memories, looking for living history – and this is our response to attempts to destroy our identity.”
Writer and philologist Ms. Iryna Pasko added that myths work on a deep level because they affect emotions. Therefore, it is important to create not only analytical texts but also works of fiction that restore the truth in the readers’ imagination: “We need to work against the myth not only with facts but also with meanings.” She emphasized the importance of the video material created by the UCMC as part of the project, noting its modernity, accuracy, and suitability for engaging young people with specific messages. In her opinion, there should be much more of such materials, as the Russian propaganda machine is very active and works with popular media formats.
Mr. Ihor Zadorozhnyi, a Kamianske official, noted that the fight against propaganda is not only the responsibility of the central government, but also the responsibility of communities: “When a community knows its history, it cannot be convinced that it is a part of the ‘Russian world.’ That’s why we initiate new museum expositions, local history clubs, exhibitions – and it works.” Mr. Ihor Zadorozhnyi also confirmed the region’s significant historical potential (particularly in terms of Cossack studies), which was previously silenced and needs to be revealed and popularized today. It is also worth restoring the forgotten names of the Ukrainian elite of the past centuries, who were replaced by Moscow propaganda with Russia’s satraps. Over the years of assimilation, the propaganda convinced the locals of these governors’ intellectual and economic superiority over them. The results of the UCMC project will contribute to the revival of historical awareness in the region, but in order to consolidate the results achieved, similar work needs to be carried out in other venues.
The restoration of the true narrative is also part of the Ukrainian resistance, which must continue every day: in schools, in the media, in museums, and in the community. “Myth is not fiction. It is an ideological weapon. And the only counteraction is our memory, research, education, and culture,” Mr. Ihor Stambol said at the end of the conversation. All speakers agreed that the fight against Russian myths is not only about the past, but also about the future. And this is not a one-day job, but a systematic, periodic work that requires a serious strategy.