An orange-black ribbon holds a clue to eastern Ukraine's chaos
As pro-Russia protests spread in eastern Ukraine, a strip of striped orange-and-black fabric has become as ubiquitous as the armed men in unmarked military fatigues.
Its name is the Ribbon of Saint George. Imbued with history,聽it鈥檚 a powerful symbol in the聽ongoing information battle聽over Ukraine. For Russians it's a mark of allegiance to the state 鈥� both the fearsome, expansionist Russian state of old and its modern successor under聽President Vladimir Putin.
When pro-Russia rallies took place last December, seeking to rival the Maidan demonstrations in Kiev, very few ribbons were seen. That all changed after the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych and the secessionist fires in Crimea: The ribbon appeared first in 聽in Crimea; then聽 of Russian Duma deputies as they annexed the peninsula; and now tied to bulletproof vests and weapons of pro-Russian militiamen in eastern Ukraine.
The ribbon traces its roots to the 18th聽century Russian Empire, when Catherine the Great instituted a new top decoration for battlefield valor: (the same Saint George who slays a dragon on the ). This tradition continued under successive czarist rulers.
But the orange and black stripes reached new heights during World War II, when they were incorporated into the in 1943. More than a million people received the award for 鈥渇eats of bravery, courage, and fearlessness in the battle for the Soviet Motherland鈥� against Nazi Germany in which almost 14 million Russian civilians and soldiers died. (Nearly 9 million died in Ukraine, then a Soviet republic.)
The ribbon made a post-Soviet comeback as part of the Order of Saint George, initiated by the Russian Federation in 1992. The award was聽 during the 2008 war with Georgia.
Victory parade
For many Russians and Russian speakers, especially the elderly, the ribbon is a direct link to family members who fought and suffered in World War II. During the annual Victor Day parade on May 9, the Kremlin funds the distribution of hundreds of thousands of ribbons聽聽in Russia and abroad, and wearing one is a sacred ritual.
Even for younger generations, the ribbon remains a symbol of historic glory and patriotism in World War II, along with the image of red stars gleaming on Red Army hats 鈥� millions of them 鈥� as soldiers marched off to the front. The ribbon is a part of Russians' identity, regardless of political affiliation, and to renounce its significance is to spurn your past.聽
And this fits perfectly into Moscow's explanation of events in eastern Ukraine: a righteous revolt by Russian-speaking citizens against Kiev鈥檚 illegitimate new government and its 鈥渇ascist鈥� followers. For Russians speaker in Donetsk or Slovyansk, it鈥檚 easy to feel an affinity with protesters displaying the聽orange-and-black stripes.
Many Ukrainians have objected to the hijacking of the ribbon of St. George by instigators of separatist protests, calling it a perversion of historic memory. Some are even calling it the 鈥淐olorado ribbon,鈥� after the similarly colored Colorado beetle that infests potato fields across Eastern Europe. At least one Maidan activist has made a show of in the eternal flame in Odessa. All of this is grist to the mill of pro-Russian agitation and popular paranoia.聽
