> Reality of Ukraine war hidden from Fortress Russia
> By Steve Rosenberg, Pskov in western Russia, July 31, 2022, BBC

BBC's Steve Rosenberg is known in Russia well as an all around scumbag.

> Ukraine isn't mentioned in the mass. But it's on people's minds.

Due to migrations throughout the recent centuries, about 25-30% of the
modern Russia's population are people whose ancestral roots go back to
the area that is the Ukraine presently (so no doubt it's in our minds).

> Pskov is a medieval fortress town which, in a thousand years, has seen
> many battles. With its high walls and watchtowers, the ancient citadel
> is curiously topical and symbolic.

Indeed. In the pre-Russia time it was an area where the Slavs were
sometimes in clash with the Baltic tribes. Later the Germanic "northern
crusaders" came to Christianize the pagan Balts and Finns. Their
expansionist urge led to clashes with the Russians as well. Pskov was
geographically in there.

In the 13th century, Teutonic and Livonian Orders became especially
enthusiastic to attack northern Russia since they saw southern / eastern
Russia completely devastated by the Mongol-led nomadic invasion.

Since the late 15th century and throughout the 16th century Pskov was
in the middle of hostilities between the Baltic and Russian forces (the
series of Livonian wars, then Lithuanian wars). In the early 17th
century (by the end of "The Time of Troubles") Pskov was first attacked
by Sweden. It was a fortress against the Swedes until the 18th century.

Watch Pskov-related videos (Chinese narration)

<https://youtu.be/sDYUqWi7L-E>
<https://youtu.be/YUciXacke9k>
<https://youtu.be/5V2WrqTJb7A>

Someone who wants to learn and feel the most ancient, core spirit of the
Russianness should visit the area. The early Russia is traditionally
associated with Novgorod, but Pskov is within about the same area close
to Novgorod. It's 200 km south-west from Novgorod, and 50 km east from
the modern Estonia border.

A curious but little mentioned fact is that the post-Balts and Finns in
the area are the only peoples in the world who have kept the memory of
the Russians before the latter became known as the Russians to the rest
of the world (since other ancient (pre-)Russia's neighbors turned to the
Russians themselves). So the modern Estonians and the Finnish Finns call
the Russians "Vene" (origin of this ethnonym is linked with the ancient
Veneti/Wend peoples <https://is.gd/vQ1Tim>). And the modern Latvians
call the Russians "Kriev" (originated in more local scale, as a specific
name of the local Slavic/Veneti clan <https://is.gd/IppCI8>).