30 years since Czechoslovakia 'Velvet Divorce'

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After the fall of the Iron Curtain, many countries broke up and descended into ethnic violence and civil wars. USRR broke up and Estonia, Latvia, Letonia, Kazahstan, Kyrgystan, Uzebekistan, Tadjikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova emerged as newly independent states. Because of the power vaccum left by Moscow, Armenia decided to reclaim its ethnic exclave in Azerbaijan and occupied a chunk of territory of the newly established Azeri state, Russia prevented Moldova's union with Romania by occupying Transnistria and Chechnya also seized the opportunity to declare independence, which eventually led to two civil wars.

As Yugoslavia fell, its constituent republics (Slovenia, North Macedonia and more violently Croatia, Bosnia&Hervegovina) asserted their independence from Serbia+Montenegro (what was left of the former Yoguslavia), autonomous province Kosovo eventually following the same path.

Czechoslovakia, however, was the exception to the rule, and broke up peacefully into Czech Republic and Slovakia, neither country preventing the other from declaring their separation and self-rule.

[ScreamQueen007 415]

Does anyone know the history of Sweden and Rurik and how a Swedish ruler used to own much of Russia’s territory? And the history of Kyivan Rus’ and how it existed before Russia? And how the name Russia comes from a Swedish word meaning “to row”? If Russia claims Ukraine belongs to Russians, can Sweden claim Russia back as well? 

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2 hours ago, ScreamQueen007 said:

Does anyone know the history of Sweden and Rurik and how a Swedish ruler used to own much of Russia’s territory? And the history of Kyivan Rus’ and how it existed before Russia? And how the name Russia comes from a Swedish word meaning “to row”? If Russia claims Ukraine belongs to Russians, can Sweden claim Russia back as well? 

It's true, to say Russia is the same as the Kyievan Rus is an anachronism, same as saying Germany is the HRE or Italy is the Roman Empire. This is because the nations of today don't have continuity with states that far back time, so it's also not fair to say Swedes ruled over Russia. Rurik were Viking nobility who ruled over Kyievan Rus (the OG country of East Slavs which gave birth to the Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians). And they were eventually assimilated by Slavic population, the same way Fino-Ugric peoples were assimilated by the Russians when they expanded to the Urals (Moscow is a Fino-Ugric name). That said, Russia doesn't only claim Ukraine because of the Kyievan Rus: it claims Ukraine because all or parts of the territory of Ukraine belonged to Russia during the Czarist Empire and USSR.

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