• Putin has relied on historical borders to argue that Ukraine is part of Russia, justifying the war.
  • Mongolia’s former president shared a map of the Mongol Empire, which included parts of Russia.
  • “After Putin’s talk. I found Mongolian historic map. Don’t worry. We are a peaceful and free nation,” he wrote.

The former president of Mongolia mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend and his focus on history to try to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

Putin has frequently used historical borders to justify his brutal invasion, arguing that Russia has a claim over Ukraine even though Ukraine is an independent country.

In his interview with Tucker Carlson last week, Putin outlined centuries of Russian and European history to justify his invasion. Historians say much of the history he gave doesn’t stand up.

Tsakhia Elbegdorj, who was Mongolia’s president between 2009 and 2017, and was also its prime minister, poked fun at Putin’s argument on X.

  • Chainweasel@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Just go take it back, Russia is so wrapped up in the western front they wouldn’t be able to mount any kind of defense until it was far too late to hold Siberia.

      • tal@lemmy.today
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        7 months ago

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varangians

        The Varangians (/vəˈrændʒiənz/; Old Norse: Væringjar; Medieval Greek: Βάραγγοι, Várangoi;[1][2] Old East Slavic: варяже, varyazhe or варязи, varyazi) were Viking[3] conquerors, traders and settlers, mostly from present-day Sweden.[4][5][6] The Varangians settled in the territories of present-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine from the 8th and 9th centuries, and established the state of Kievan Rus’ as well as the principalities of Polotsk and Turov.

        “Mostly” Sweden. Probably a team effort.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rus'_people

        The first Western European source to mention the Rus’ are the Annals of St. Bertin (Annales Bertiniani).[84] These relate that Emperor Louis the Pious’ court at Ingelheim, in 839, was visited by a delegation from the Byzantine emperor. In this delegation there were men who called themselves Rhos (in the Latin text, … qui se, id est gentem suam, Rhos vocari dicebant, …; translated by Aleksandr Nazarenko as … who stated that they, i.e. their nation, were called Rhos, …). Once Louis enquired the reason of their arrival (in the Latin text, … Quorum adventus causam imperator diligentius investigans, …), he learnt that they were Swedes (eos gentis esse Sueonum; verbatim, their nation is Sveoni).[85][86]

        Hmm. Well, I guess that’s it, then. Sweden gets Russia.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        The whole area was a group of different kingdoms, but Norway and Sweden united under one kingdom in the 11th century, so take your pick.

  • x0chi@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Hey Portugal and Spain, according to the treaty of Tordesilhas together, Portugal and Spain had conquering rights for half the world. And the pope signed it…

    And Romans… You had a great empire. So did the Mouros (Arabs) Etc…

    • tal@lemmy.today
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      7 months ago

      Hey Portugal and Spain, according to the treaty of Tordesilhas together, Portugal and Spain had conquering rights for half the world.

      They got most of the other half a bit later:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tordesillas

      The lands to the east would belong to Portugal and the lands to the west to Castile, modifying an earlier bull by Pope Alexander VI. The treaty was signed by Spain on 2 July 1494, and by Portugal on 5 September 1494. The other side of the world was divided a few decades later by the Treaty of Zaragoza, signed on 22 April 1529, which specified the antimeridian to the line of demarcation specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas. Portugal and Spain largely respected the treaties, while the indigenous peoples of the Americas did not acknowledge them.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Zaragoza

      Under the treaty, Portugal gained control of all lands and seas west of the line, including all of Asia and its neighbouring islands so far “discovered”, leaving Spain with most of the Pacific Ocean.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Portugal and Spain largely respected the treaties, while the indigenous peoples of the Americas did not acknowledge them.

        You think!?

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Don’t worry. We are a peaceful and free nation

    …until someone messes with a Mongolian trade delegation.

  • drathvedro@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    Good joke, but it’s bold on him to poke fun at one of the only two neighbors Mongolia has, while the other dreams of invading it.

        • merc@sh.itjust.works
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          7 months ago

          Yeah. First of all, there wasn’t really a “Russia” at the time. Vikings invaded the European mainland and controlled some settlements like Novogrod. They eventually made it down to Kiev, and for a while there was the “Kievan Rus” state with its capital in Kiev. That was destroyed when the Mongols sacked and completely obliterated Kiev.

          In December 1237, Moscow was sacked by the Mongols, and many / most (?) of the civilians were either enslaved or killed. The Ukraine area was important because the Ukrainian lands were so fertile, but Moscow wasn’t, so it retained some independence. Moscow was under the thumb of the Mongols to such an extent that they acted as tax collectors for the Horde, and when town officials resisted the tax collection on behalf of the mongols, Alexander Nevsky (Prince of Novgorod, Grand Prince of Kiev, etc.) had their noses cut off. The Russians only stopped paying off the Mongols in 1476.

          Eventually the Mongol force faded due to infighting, and one of the forces pushing them out was based out of Moscow. But, again, this isn’t because Moscow was important and powerful. It’s because Moscow was at the very edge of their territory, and wasn’t a strategically important place the plains of Ukraine.

          Putin’s whole “Ukraine has always been part of Russia” is backwards. “Russia” was originally part of the Kievan Rus, based out of Kiev. Eventually, after the chaos following the Mongols, Ukraine was fought over by various empires, but it wasn’t until the 1800s that most of the territory now considered to be Ukraine was in Russian hands.

      • zik@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Depending on the time you choose, Russia was much smaller than that too.