Between Russia and Ukraine—The Cossack Boundary

How do cultural legacies expand our understanding of the causes and longevity of the war? Is this Putin’s or Russia’s war? While Russia and Ukraine share many cultural traditions, this article takes just one—the Cossack legacy—and uses it to gauge popular support for the war. Whereas in Russia one branch of the Cossack revival movement has become institutionalised as a paramilitary movement, in Ukraine its legacy has become foundational to a civic conception of nationhood. The theory is evaluated using contestations of the Cossack legacy by Russians and Ukrainians.