Ukraine

**Ukraine** (Ukrainian: Україна, Ukrajina) is a large nation in eastern Europe. It is south of Russia, east of Romania and Moldavia, and north of Turkey across the Black Sea.

In 2022, Ukraine was invaded by Russian forces, who used various reasons to justify bombing and massacring people in Ukraine: accusations of Nazism, fear of a possible NATO attack using Ukraine, supporting militants in eastern regions, and ultimately, to erase Ukraine and forcibly subjugate it under another period of Russian rule.

Due to the devastation and mass murders caused by Russian forces, Western countries tried to support Ukraine to prevent it from falling into Russian rule again.

## Factfile

* Official name: Ukraine
* Anthem: State Anthem of Ukraine ("Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished")
* Official motto: N/A
* Capital city: Kyiv
* Official language: Ukrainian
	+ Recognised minority languages: Crimean Tatar, Karaim, Krymchak
	+ Other minority languages: Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Moldavian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Russian
* State religion: N/A (secular)
	+ National religion: Christianity (Orthodox)
	+ Minorities: Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Rodnovery
* Government: Unitary semi-presidential republic
* President: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
* Prime Minister: Denys Shmyhal
* Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada: Ruslan Stefanchuk
* Climate: Mostly temperate
* Population: 41,167,336
* Currency: Hryvnia (100 kopiyok)
* National Day: 24 August (Independence Day)

## In the Collectionverse

In this alternate timeline, Ukraine was the heart of the Indigo Revolution when it spread to Eastern Europe, and local activists there also supported their Baltic counterparts in their own localist revolution. It was also the founding member of the Free European Alliance, an attempt to create a separate European Union-like alliance as a defence against future attacks by Russia.

The reason why the leader of Ukraine created the FEA was to discourage Russian nationalists from using closer ties with the West as a pretext to invade Ukraine. He believed that if he joined NATO right away, instead of creating an alliance of separate European states, the embittered Russians will use it to wage war on Ukraine and the rest of Europe. The Russians, in turn, hated Ukraine for expelling their nationalists and supporters of the Soviet Union.

Over time, later presidents of Ukraine followed growing support of greater integration into Europe, resulting in one of its cities, Kharkiv, becoming a tech hub known as the "Seoul of the West" and "Europe's Silicon Valley", next to Dublin in Ireland and Warsaw in Poland.

Improving education rates and social mobility also caused people in Ukraine to become more polite and neat than before, and also led to a boom in local artists. This led to Kharkiv hosting Mockingston Faire's first-ever international event, at the request of 36 associations of fan-artists from all over the country.

## In the Rinnarverse

Ukraine became a member of Visegrad to protect itself from being annexed into the Russian Empire. However, it had to deal with occasional anti-Orthodox sentiments - luckily, Romania and Greece were present to help it.

Due to the hostile and mocking behaviour by Indian netizens during the Invasion of Ukraine, Akhand Bharat and Ukraine bitterly hate each other. In government propaganda, Ukraine is denounced as "a Hinduphobic enemy that must die for its sin" - according to the leaders, anyone who practices Hinduphobia must die a cruel death for contributing to so much trauma suffered by their people over the millennia. In turn, the Ukrainian leaders denounced the leaders of Akhand Bharat as arrogant fanatics. Ultimately, it was due to Ukraine's former government supporting its arch-enemy, Pakistan, by arming it with military vehicles.

Over the centuries, this rivalry carried on between the two nations, that they were at war even within the same alliances against the Four Powers and the Earth Union. Nonetheless, while Ukrainians in Akhand Bharat were bullied over their nation's crimes against Hinduism, Hindus and Indians in Ukraine were treated fairly without any malice over historical rivalry - although the more-fanatical ones were exiled, the same treatment that was done to Islamists, communists, and fascists within this Ukraine.

This bitter hatred may had caused the Vetarbroitar to turn against their former ally, Akhand Bharat, for being no different than all the other Earthlings. At some point in the future, the leaders of both nations apologised and reconciled, especially in the wake of World War III and the Farsider bombardment of Earth.

## In the Rabydosverse

Although Ukraine does not exist in the Rinnarverse *per se*, its equivalent on Jerde is the Kingdom of Rukania, the Land of the Hundred Hands. It is a large agricultural and maritime nation just to the east of Zarijana across the ocean, known for its knighthood culture.

### Rukania, Land of Knights

Rukania's symbol is a stylised sunflower shaped like a trident, symbols of two gods (Stribog for the trident and the sea, and Dazhbog for the flower and land) put together as the emblem of the royal house. The Hundred Hands, another symbol in Rukania, represents the Hundred Houses that were the first to found Rukania as Oruz during the Second Age. It was much older than Darros in the north, and may have influenced its culture - the age of that civilisation was why monoliths and stone circles are reconsecrated as holy sites across the kingdom.

The large nation of Rukania is known for its knights, spinels, usage of pink (representing their ancient kings), elaborate religion, hydroelectric power, and chivalry. In fact, the Bujanski Slavs rejected their former homeland of Darros to become students of Rukanian chivalry, after intervening to defeat Darroskei invasion forces. Their renunciation of their ties with Darros (associated with the empire's militarism) angered the Darroskei, who were no longer allowed in Bujan after their defeated invasion of Bujan.

Rukania is also well-known for being a huge haven to thousands of Ontemazei, who were protected from slavery and murder in other lands. Lots of Ontemazei joined its local knighthoods. Later on, the kingdom allowed the Bujanski and Wonaos to live in castle-towns, training them for the day they would return to liberate their homeland. The formalist culture of modern Bujan was derived from chivalry brought back by the knights from their birthplace of Rukania, and it helped prevent Bujan from descending into murderous chaos.

### Alternate Ukraines

#### Earth 96

Ukraine's equivalent in Earth 96 was rebuilt from the ruins of the Zetrosian-Q Church war. It was formerly the target of condemnation by the Southern Alliance simply for being in the way of Zetros' domination of Europe. With the help of the Neo-Europe Alliance, its survivors pushed the two armies back, until all that remained of the Zetrosian conquests was a tiny silver of land in the northeast, behind a great wall.

This country is among the most hated nations in Tyrska, a dictatorship located in southern Russia and eastern Belarus, alongside the Church of Q's American homeland. While the Zetrosians were wise to leave the Ukrainians alone, the Tyrskans sought to kill any Ukrainian they found, and exterminate it for the sake of supremacy.

While the Tyrskan Empire went on its wars against the Church of Q, Ukraine banded together with the remnants of Ilgeria and Rooistan, forming the Triple League. At some point, Ukraine renamed itself to Zaporizhia, as its people used the imagery of Cossacks in defiance to the Tyrskans' Soviet imagery and the Church of Q's fascist madness. The three nations built underground cities to protect their peoples while the Wannaenid Empire destroyed and enslaved most of the world, forming a fortified island of survivors. They watched in horror as the Wannaenids slaughtered anything that was not burned by the global bombardment.

Zaporizhia was not the only surviving remnant of Earth 96. Many other enclaves thrived across the planet, hidden from the Wannaenid rampages and emerging when the Wannaenids destroyed each other. These various peoples later rebuilt the world in the centuries to come, weeping together as they painstakingly restored civilisation as the seeds of a new alliance.

#### Earth 27

Ukraine's equivalent in Earth 27 is the Federal Republic of Koivarin, that world's first modern neopagan republic. It and Alastaria were protected by the Jerde Alliance, and this became its new base of operations as it attempted to rebuild the planet's peoples after the slaughter of corrupt leaders and the Wannaenid invasion's defeat. Many protests emerged in Koivarin and nearby nations, condemning the Bujanski and the Jerde Alliance for its bombardment of several nations.

In 1920s AT, the government of Bujan shifted from Velkeria and the Three Vostoii Kingdoms (the Russia of Earth 27) to Koivarin to defend the latter from an attempted invasion of the country. All over the kingdom, blue and yellow flags were set up in almost every temple. Besides, many Koivarin Rodnovers especially liked Bujan for being comfortably modernised like their country; but even then, they are forbidden from having any government post, like most other Terrans.

### Nightmare of Nightmares

For its successful resistance against historical invasions by Russia, the nation of Ukraine was the "ancient enemy" of Tyrska. While the Zetrosian successors of Russia were wise to leave it alone for their own concerns, the Tyrskans were more focused on destroying the historical enemies of Russia, from Ukraine to the Baltics all the way to the Church of Q and whatever that remained of America.

Certain aspects of Bujanski culture seemed similar to Ukrainian culture, angering the Tyrskan and Terran aristocrats when they ruled over Bujan. For example, writing "i" as dotted i's in all cases, any blue and yellow put together, a greater focus on deeds over names and symbols, and a greater respect to the nation of Rukania (whose culture resembles Ukrainian culture very much) instead of accepting any similarities with Russia.

The fanatical Tyrskans also compared Bujanski people to Ukrainians because of their stubborn refusal to convert to their culture. Because of that, the resistance sometimes displayed Rukanian symbols and emulated the distant kingdom's chivalry. The same comparisons also led to revolutionaries punishing Internet trolls for expressing any hatred towards either that Terran country, or other nations in Eastern Europe that resisted historical Russian and German domination. This was because to the revolution, *any* hate towards countries that were subjugated by the Terrans was seen as glorifying their rule over Bujan; even more so because Ukrainians were frequent bogeymen in Tyrskan propaganda.

Sophie Goodwill, a Serpentian from an alternate America, had an obsessive hatred towards anything related to Ukraine due to its people's opposition to Soviet and Russian rule. After her imprisonment and penance, she later found out that she herself *is* a Ukrainian, the very same people she wanted to put to death in her obsession with Soviet Russia.

## Trivia

* The national emblem of Ukraine is a stylised trident, the state seal of King Volodymyr the Great. This trident, known as a *tryzub*, was also used by Sviatoslav the Great.
	+ The deities Shiva, Kali (as Durga), and Poseidon also use tridents as their divine weapons. In Sanskrit, the trident is known as a *trishula*.
* The author decided to support Ukraine for the same reason he disliked America and China - he hated empires in the modern world, and he saw Russia as yet another empire, like the other two.
* The Latin Z used by Russian nationalists to support the invasion of Ukraine, was the inspiration for the Zavtrana Usurpation, where a faction of militants in Zvesta (Bujan) used a Latin Z as their symbol in their war against Zvesta's king.
	+ The Latin Z represents military vehicles sent towards the southeastern part of Ukraine. The "Z" itself may have stood for "for victory", "for peace", or "westward" (Zа победу, Zа мир, Zапад), which was the Russian government's view of the invasion as a "peacekeeping operation".
	+ Several excuses used by the Russian nationalists include the government's attempted bans on the Russian language and bombardments against Donetsk and Luhansk, which had Russian majorities. In the war of 2022, there was also a whataboutist phrase known as "Where have you been for eight years?!" (Где вы были последние восемь лет?!, Gdje vy byli posljednije vosjem' ljet?!), referring to the Ukrainian army's operations against the Donbass separatists.
	+ Russian nationalists were the inspiration for the Tyrskans, and also various Terran armies in earlier times, including American factions.

* In Russia, Ukrainians are usually called "hohol", mocking traditional topknots won by Cossacks. Although even during the invasion, many Russians thought it was simply a playful nickname, to Ukrainians, this is an extremely offensive slur.
	+ The Tyrskans, being fanatical nationalists who had an obsessive hatred towards Ukraine, applied the slur to everyone in Eastern Europe who fought against Russian rule, turning the slur into a more hateful word. By extension, when the Tyrskans ruled over Bujan under the Wannaenid overlords, they also called Bujanski Slavs as "khol", denouncing them as "slaves" for their refusal to convert. Bujanski people then thought that the word meant "slave", as a curse towards them.
	+ When used towards the Bujanski, any Tyrskan who used it was marked for death as an enemy soldier, By extension, people were murdered just for calling a Bujanski person by that slur, because it was considered calling the Bujanski "you slave!". Modern Bujanski law mandates the death penalty towards anyone who used that word, especially for fun, because it is considered as an enemy symbol. Other words associated with the Tyrskans included "satnik" (demon worshipper), "uoka" (infidel), and "jazik" (heathen).

* Russian nationalists also used an old term for Ukraine, "Malorossija" or "Malorussia", which means "Little Russia". It obviously is offensive to Ukrainians, who associate it with Tsarist rule and suppression of their culture. For the same reason as associated with the cruelty of Tsarist rule, it is also disrespectful to refer Ukraine as "*the* Ukraine", as it implies that it is supposed to be a colony of another empire.
	+ Stereotypes of Ukraine, like salo fat, "hohol", topknots, drunkenness, obesity, corruption, and farming culture, are known locally in Ukraine as "шароварщина" (sharovarschyna), named after trousers worn by men.
* Sunflowers are one of several symbols used for Ukraine.
	+ Sunflowers were popular as they were used to make an alternative to butter, which was forbidden on the Christian festival of Lent. They are also used a symbol of peace.
	+ This is reflected in Rukania using a stylised sunflower as its royal symbol. In Rukania, the sunflower is a symbol of Dazhbog ("Daiboh", "Daiboro"), symbolising the wealth of the land. Piles of flowers are cut and burned as sacrifices to Dazhbog to thank the sun god. Put together with the trident of Stribog ("Strejboro", the lord of the nine winds), the royal seal represents the blessing of the land and oceans.
	+ The author considered using stylised tridents with rising sun motifs as a traditional Rukanian symbol, representing the country's veneration of Dazhbog, the sun god.
* The Valjads of northern Rukania were based on the Zaporizhian Cossacks and mediaeval knights.
* In Bujanski, the suffix -y (for plurals) is written as и, similar to the "y" phoneme in all positions of words in the Ukrainian language.
	+ Also, Bujanski always write "i" as "і", similarly to Ukrainians. This may had been one reason why Tyrskans hated Bujanski.
* The watermelons used in Rukanian celebrations were based on watermelons used by Ukrainians to celebrate the return of Kherson on November 2022. Watermelons are a regional vegetable associated with the southerly city of Kherson.
	+ Coincidentally, the date of Kherson's return to Ukrainian control is November 11, sometimes associated as the holy day of Dazhbog. Dazhbog is also popular among modern Ukrainian pagans.
* The modern Rukanian monarchy was somewhat influenced by the "Ukrainian State", a monarchist government in Ukraine after World War I.
* Bujanski people reusing Terran symbols in their independence were inspired by Ukrainians reusing Russian nationalist tropes to mock the latter's failures.
	+ For example, In Ukraine, the insult страна 404 (country 404) used by Russian nationalists became into країна 404. The former represents nationalist attempts to destroy and annex Ukraine as a Russian colony after the Maidan revolt, while the latter mock Russia's declining economy and worsening reputation caused by its invasion of Ukraine.
	+ Likewise, 50's American fashion, Halloween, and cats were "stolen" from Terran demon worshippers, used by the Bujanski to represent happiness, defeat of evil, and freedom.