--- Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu> wrote:
>
>
> [WS:] I think that this whole Great Eastern European
> Power business is mere
> wishful thinking of those living in a doghouse. It
> is untethered by
> reality, and I would not put too much value into it.
> Besides, most nations
> also have hefty doses of ethnocentrism, which makes
> them look inwards rather
> than outwards.
I think you're selling the history of Poland short. Ukrainian national consciousness is based on kicking out the Polish imperial overlords, which is why Bogdan Khmelnitsky* is THE national hero in Ukraine. Poland occupied Moscow at one point. Didn't hold onto it long, though.
*I've seen Ukrainian Soviet posters from WWII. They say, "Arise, Sons of Khmelnitsky!"
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