The gap of the nation. When and how the Russians were targeted with a view of splitting them up and depriving them of their faith

The article uses extensive historical materials to analyze the times when forces hostile to Russia attempted to split and subordinate the Russian people, and force them to change their faith. Two important facts determine the relevance of the study. First, the Russian people are currently the most divided nation in the world. The second is in the severity of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine, Russians and Ukrainians, who are being portrayed as two different nations; whereas the once-united nation’s common historic motherland was the ancient Russian state Kievan Rus’. On the base of the materials studied, the author links the events of the distant past with the current confrontation in Ukraine, where authorities copy the methods of Rzeczpospolita, trying to deprive the Russians of the right to learn their native language in particular, and, in general, the right to remain Russian. The author concludes that it was not possible to achieve this in the past, and it will not be possible to do this today, as the strength of the Russian people is supported by the strength of the Russian state.